The creator economy is a game-changing online ecosystem and community where content producers may monetize their skills by curating one-of-a-kind material. It's an ecosystem created by independent content creators, curators, community builders, social media influencers, bloggers, videographers, and the software and financial tools that allow them to expand and monetize their enterprises.
- The current market size is $104bn with $1.3bn funded across creator economy startups in 2021 alone [ref]
- The 50mn creator pool is expected to reach a massive 404mn by 2024; an increase of 808% [ref1, ref2]
- 46% of creators who have been building an audience for 4+ years earn over $20k annually across their monetized channels. [ref]
- 4 out of 7 platforms listed Engagement Rate as their top measure of success4 out of 7 platforms listed Engagement Rate as their top measure of success [ref]
A creators journey can be broken down into the following four significant segments:
The major categories in creator economy include platforms across:
- Content Creation: Creators are leveraging the power of these tech-driven tools to create better and more efficient content. Platforms include PhotoRoom, Mojo, Streamerloot
- Analytics & Operations: These platforms allow the creators to reduce the operational dependency of managing multiple accounts and links across social channels. Platforms include Qoohoo, Linktree, Stir
- Courses: The platforms provide an opportunity for the creator to interact or educate their audience closely. Platforms include Maven, Kajabi, Questbook
- Payments & Finance: These platforms offer the creator to accept/manage their finances. Platforms include Karat, Indifi, Pry
- Community Management: The creator uses these platforms to have more intimate interactions with their supporters. Platforms include Circle, Beacons, Geneva
- Merchandising: The creators use these platforms to carry out their supply chain and logistics of their offline merchandise. Platforms include Cala, Printify, Spreadshirt
- Fan Interactions: The creators use these platforms to host/interact with their fans via events and ticketing. Platforms include Moment House, Buy Me a Coffee, Myfanpark
- Subscriptions: The creators use these platforms to monetize their audience via running subscriptions. Platforms include Substack, Patreon, Onlyfans
- Blockchain-based: These offer the creator an opportunity to sell their digital goods online. Platforms include Mirror Opensea Rarible
Overall Investment Landscape:
Key highlights :
- The total funding in 2021 has been more than the previous five years combined and is expected to increase in 2022. [ref]
- The top funded startups include Kajabi, Hopin, Patreon, Cameo
Companies have been funded across stages (Source : Antler):
Top VC’s investing in creator economy include (Source: CBinsights & Influencers.in ) :
Notable acquisitions:
The startups I am closely tracking are :
- Qoohoo [website]: It is a one-stop platform for creators in India to grow, engage and monetize their community with actionable insights. I have done a deep dive on it here. They have raised $800k in seed funding.
- Passionfroot [website]: Love what Jens & team are building. It’s building a product for providing the creators an end-to-end platform to manage their payments, set up partnerships, track analytics & accept payments. They have raised $3.1mn in seed funding
- Beehiv [website] : It’s an amazing alternative to Substack for starting your own newsletter; they’ve got an amazing roadmap & features such as referrals, paid subscriptions, user segmentation, superior analytics. They have raised $2.6mn in seed funding
From a Web3 lens, a few projects I am excited about include :
- Mirror
- Sound
- Glass
- Streamloots
- Circle
I have really excited about the intersection of Web3 x Creator Economy. I’ve been building FutureX, a tool for tracking 100,000+ Web3 projects including ones building for the creators.
I would love to connect & chat about the amazing use cases in the creator economy!
My socials:
Twitter: @darshang
Linkedin: in/gandhi-darshan
Website: darshang.xyz
Email: darshangandhi1151@gmail.com
