Who is Justin ‘GunRun’ Ignacio? VShojo CEO Announces Shutdown After Financial Troubles

Justin “GunRun” Ignacio, the CEO of VShojo, announced that the VTuber talent agency has officially shut down. The news came just days after serious allegations of financial mismanagement surfaced, including claims made by Ironmouse, one of the agency’s top talents.

Who is GunRun?

Justin Ignacio, better known as GunRun, is a well-known name in the streaming industry. He was part of the founding team of Twitch and played a key role in ensuring the platform’s smooth streaming operations. According to Forbes, he organized Twitch’s biggest events, including The DOTA 2 International and the League of Legends Championship Series.

GunRun is also the mind behind the UnlimitedIRL backpack, which allows streamers to broadcast live content outdoors, shaping some of Twitch’s most popular streaming trends.

Founding of VShojo

In 2020, GunRun co-founded VShojo in San Francisco with Phillip “MowtenDoo” Fortunat as CTO. VShojo aimed to bring the growing VTuber culture—which had already boomed in Japan—to English-speaking audiences. The agency represented popular VTubers like Ironmouse, Projekt Melody, Nyatasha Nyanners, Zentreya, and Hime Hajime.

GunRun explained the company’s mission in 2020: “VTubing is growing fast, and VShojo will connect creators with brands while supporting their talent.”

In 2022, VShojo raised $11 million in seed funding from Anthos Capital. The same year, the company expanded to Japan by onboarding kson for its “Next” campaign.

Ironmouse’s Success

Ironmouse, VShojo’s most popular VTuber, made history in 2023 by becoming the first VTuber to win the Creator of the Year award at The Game Awards. She also won the Best VTuber award at the Streamer Awards in both 2023 and 2024. Streams Charts ranked her as the third most-watched female streamer of 2024.

Financial Issues and Allegations

In July 2025, Ironmouse shocked fans by revealing on her YouTube channel that she was owed a large amount of unpaid money by VShojo. She also claimed that $500,000 raised for the Immune Deficiency Foundation during her subathon had not been paid to the charity even after a year.

Ironmouse said: “I believe I’m owed a lot of money, but what hurts me most is that the charity I care about hasn’t received over half a million dollars.”

Following her statement, other VShojo talents like Projekt Melody, AmaLee, Kuro, and kson announced they were leaving the agency. Nyatasha Nyanners also alleged unpaid dues for multiple streams, including one where she was swatted.

GunRun Takes Responsibility

On July 24, GunRun confirmed the company’s closure on X (formerly Twitter). He wrote: “VShojo has failed, and I’ve mismanaged the company into this situation. I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.”

GunRun admitted that even with funding, the “talent-first approach” of VShojo was not financially sustainable. He also suggested that charity funds may have been used by the company, but no further details were given.