Recent Editions

Norby co-founders, Steven Layne (left), Sam Safer Valentine and Nick Gerard (right). Photo: Norby
Creator Economy

Norby, a CRM for Creators, Raises More Seed Funding; Celebrity Avatar Startup Genies Valued at $1 Billion

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 12, 2022 2:19pm PDT
When the founders of creator economy startup Norby set out to raise venture capital last summer, they were met with some skepticism after they told potential investors they didn’t plan to offer services to expand the ways creators make money, such as tipping and subscriptions. “We got a lot of raised eyebrows from VCs for saying that,” Nick... When the founders of creator economy startup Norby set out to raise venture capital last summer,...
Garry Tan, managing partner of Initialized Capital. Photo: Oliver Covrett
Creator Economy

The YouTube Advice MrBeast Gave Initialized’s Garry Tan; TikTok Eyes Podcasting

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 11, 2022 2:44pm PDT
Garry Tan, the co-founder and managing partner of early-stage venture firm Initialized Capital, was chatting on live audio app Clubhouse early last year when YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson offered a critique of Tan’s YouTube channel. Donaldson, who goes by MrBeast, said Tan’s “thumbnails and titles were garbage” and “they effing sucked,” Tan... Garry Tan, the co-founder and managing partner of early-stage venture firm Initialized Capital,...
Catherine Coddington Credit: Meta Art: Mike Sullivan
Creator Economy

Facebook Gaming Tests Cross-App Streaming; TikTok to Stream a Musical

By Mahira Dayal · Apr 7, 2022 4:46pm PDT
Since its launch four years ago, Facebook Gaming has been trying to establish itself as a competitor to Twitch and YouTube, the two dominant sites for video gamers who livestream their playing and commentary to fans. In April 2020, spurred by demand for online gaming brought on by the pandemic, the gaming division of Meta Platforms launched a... Since its launch four years ago, Facebook Gaming has been trying to establish itself as a...
Lydia Hylton. Credit: Bain Capital Crypto Art: Mike Sullivan
Bain Capital Crypto’s New Partner on How to Tell if NFT Hype Is Real
By Mahira Dayal · Apr 6, 2022 4:20pm PDT · 1 comment
Lydia Hylton. Credit: Bain Capital Crypto Art: Mike Sullivan
Creator Economy

Bain Capital Crypto’s New Partner on How to Tell if NFT Hype Is Real

By Mahira Dayal · Apr 6, 2022 4:20pm PDT · 1 comment
A week after Bain Capital Ventures unveiled a new fund that will pour $560 million into crypto investments, Lydia Hylton joined the venture firm as a partner from Redpoint Ventures, where she previously invested in Web 3 infrastructure startups. In an interview with The Information, Hylton discussed how she and her colleagues are doing due... A week after Bain Capital Ventures unveiled a new fund that will pour $560 million into crypto...
Creative Juice CEO Sima Gandhi. Photo: Creative Juice
Creator Economy

Creative Juice Expands Pool for Financing Creators to $50 Million; Songfinch Raises Seed Round

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 5, 2022 3:04pm PDT
An emerging group of startups is investing directly in creators, betting that short-term financing now will pay off as these creators build brands and even bigger followings. Creative Juice, one of the newest, is increasing its pool of money for bankrolling creators to $50 million, CEO Sima Gandhi told The Information. The decision follows a... An emerging group of startups is investing directly in creators, betting that short-term...
Dayslice CEO and co-founder Ishita Arora. Photo: Dayslice
Creator Economy

Dayslice, a Calendly Rival for Solopreneurs, Raises From Upfront; Women’s Social App Peanut Launches Creator Network

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 4, 2022 2:26pm PDT
Dayslice, a new software startup providing virtual storefronts for solopreneurs, raised $6 million in pre-seed and seed funding led by Upfront Ventures, The Information is the first to report. Other investors included Founder Collective, Ground Up Ventures, The House Fund and former Stripe COO Claire Hughes Johnson. The company, which... Dayslice, a new software startup providing virtual storefronts for solopreneurs, raised $6...
TikTok creator Cole Prots. Photo: Marina Elise
Creator Economy

Online Course Provider Kajabi Hires Execs From Shopify, TikTok

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 31, 2022 3:26pm PDT
Kajabi, a provider of online courses, memberships and other tools for creators and entrepreneurs, raised the single biggest funding round for any creator economy startup last year. Armed with $550 million from a May deal led by Tiger Global Management, the 12-year-old startup has since brought on new executives and plotted a product... Kajabi, a provider of online courses, memberships and other tools for creators and entrepreneurs,...
Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa. Photo: Visa
Creator Economy Startups Catch Web3 Fever; Visa Launches NFT Program
By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 30, 2022 2:00pm PDT
Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa. Photo: Visa
Creator Economy

Creator Economy Startups Catch Web3 Fever; Visa Launches NFT Program

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 30, 2022 2:00pm PDT
The overlap between the creator economy and crypto is hard to ignore. Every week, I receive pitches from startups billing themselves as companies that touch a combination of creators, NFTs, Web3 and, in some cases, also the metaverse. The growing buzz around the creator economy and Web3 – often described as a decentralized,... The overlap between the creator economy and crypto is hard to ignore. Every week, I receive...
Credit: Bloomberg
Creator Economy

The Startups Taking on Creator Taxes; OnlyFans’ SPAC Plans

By Mahira Dayal · Mar 29, 2022 3:22pm PDT
The April 18 tax deadline could mean a last-minute scurry by creators to upload dozens of payment forms from brand sponsorships and advertising payouts from social media apps. About five startups in our Creator Economy Database—including FlyFin, Lili, Collective, KeeperTax and Catch—address the particular challenges facing online creators by... The April 18 tax deadline could mean a last-minute scurry by creators to upload dozens of payment...
Photo: Bloomberg
Creator Economy

Creator Economy Investors Grow More Discerning; Pinterest Expands Its Creator Fund

By Mahira Dayal · Mar 28, 2022 2:56pm PDT
Today we released an update to the Creator Economy Database, which now features 175 global startups and more than $6 billion in venture capital raised by U.S. startups since January 2021. There’s a lot that changed.For a start, we took eight categories and divided them into 12 to reflect growth in certain niches. Creator platforms (38) and... Today we released an update to the Creator Economy Database, which now features 175 global...
Kaeya Majmundar, co-founder and CEO of Swaypay. Credit: Michael Schacht
Creator Economy

The Startup Making TikTok Product Placements Easier; Q&A With Writer Polina Marinova Pompliano

By Mahira Dayal · Mar 24, 2022 3:44pm PDT
Creators have long expressed disappointment about how they make money from TikTok. Some receive payouts from the short-form video app’s $1 billion Creator Fund, but many others rely solely on brand partnerships. Swaypay, a startup launched in July, tries to provide an additional path: linking creators with advertisers for in-video product... Creators have long expressed disappointment about how they make money from TikTok. Some receive...
Drake Rehfeld, Day One Ventures. Credit: Deanie Chen. Art: Mike Sullivan
Day One’s Rehfeld: Creators’ Embrace of Crypto is Years Away
By Mahira Dayal · Mar 23, 2022 3:32pm PDT · 1 comment
Drake Rehfeld, Day One Ventures. Credit: Deanie Chen. Art: Mike Sullivan
Creator Economy

Day One’s Rehfeld: Creators’ Embrace of Crypto is Years Away

By Mahira Dayal · Mar 23, 2022 3:32pm PDT · 1 comment
Drake Rehfeld, a principal at Day One Ventures, has had a ring-side seat on the rise of the creator economy. He joined the early-stage venture firm two years ago from NTWRK, a video-shopping startup that had bought his startup Demeanor.co, which helps creators build digital and physical brands. Rehfeld had also led product and engineering at ... Drake Rehfeld, a principal at Day One Ventures, has had a ring-side seat on the rise of the...
Ronak Trivedi, Co-Founder and CEO of Pietra, Rushir Parikh, Co-Founder and CEO of Popchew
Creator Economy

The Startups Helping Creators Sell Food and Goods IRL; What Happens After a Youtube Channel Is Demonetized

By Mahira Dayal · Mar 22, 2022 3:49pm PDT
Creators are making their mark outside social media apps. Probably the best known is Jimmy Donaldson, better known by his YouTube name MrBeast, whose MrBeast Burger sells fast food through delivery apps like UberEats, DoorDash and GrubHub. Donaldson, YouTube’s highest paid creator, uses restaurant services company Virtual Dining Concepts to run... Creators are making their mark outside social media apps. Probably the best known is Jimmy ...
Kale’s co-founders Isha Patel and Luis Molina met while working at LinkedIn. Photo: Kale
Creator Economy

Kale, a Startup That Makes Influencers Out of Customers, Raises Funding from Forerunner

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 21, 2022 3:00pm PDT
Kale, a New York-based startup, is taking a different approach to influencer marketing. It works with loyal customers of a brand who generally have between 1,000 and 10,000 followers, rather than going for creators with hundreds of thousands—or millions—of followers. These super fans are then eligible for cashback rewards on items they’ve... Kale, a New York-based startup, is taking a different approach to influencer marketing. It works...
TikTok creator Taryn Smith. Photo: Taryn Smith
Creator Economy

Influencers Take On SXSW; Q&A with Comedic TikTok Creator Taryn Smith

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 17, 2022 2:00pm PDT
As I wrote for our Weekend section, crypto’s influence was hard to escape at South by Southwest this year. But when I wasn’t turning myself into a 3D avatar and minting it on a blockchain or walking around an Instagrammable exhibit celebrating pastel-themed non-fungible tokens called Doodles, I checked out creator-focused events. ... As I wrote for our Weekend section, crypto’s influence was hard to escape at South by Southwest...
John Riccitiello, Credit: Unity
Unity CEO Riccitiello Responds to Calls to Cut Off Russia Accounts
By Mahira Dayal · Mar 16, 2022 4:19pm PDT
John Riccitiello, Credit: Unity
Creator Economy

Unity CEO Riccitiello Responds to Calls to Cut Off Russia Accounts

By Mahira Dayal · Mar 16, 2022 4:19pm PDT
Two weeks ago Ukraine officials called on gaming companies to temporarily block Russian accounts to encourage people to pressure the Russian government to stop its war in Ukraine. The response was mixed: Fortnite creator Epic Games said it’s blocking Russian purchases within games but wouldn’t stop game play; Electronic Arts said it’s removing... Two weeks ago Ukraine officials called on gaming companies to temporarily block Russian accounts...
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg during a virtual conference in October. Photo: Bloomberg
Creator Economy

Zuckerberg on Instagram NFTs; How Facebook Could Use its TikTok Account

By Mahira Dayal · Mar 15, 2022 3:38pm PDT
Mark Zuckerberg’s meandering keynote at SXSW was fairly short on details. But he did drop a few:In the next several months, users will be able to bring their non-fungible tokens to Instagram, the Meta Platforms’ founder and CEO said via video livestream to the festival on Tuesday. Zuckerberg added that users will also eventually be able to mint... Mark Zuckerberg’s meandering keynote at SXSW was fairly short on details. But he did drop a few:...
David Dobrik, Credit: Killer Films
Creator Economy

Casey Neistat on Chronicling David Dobrik’s Rise and Fall; Facebook Sets Up a TikTok Account; Bob Iger Joins Genies

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 14, 2022 2:07pm PDT
I’ve been at South by Southwest, which is back in person for the first time since 2019. This is my first time going to the tech and arts festival in Austin, Tex., but longtime attendees tell me the conference isn’t as packed as usual. There’s less hustle and bustle at events and in hotel lobbies, and companies are putting on fewer pop-ups on... I’ve been at South by Southwest, which is back in person for the first time since 2019. This is...
Art: Mike Sullivan
Creator Economy

Pinterest Knows You Want to Shop; TikTok-Oracle Déjà Vu; Amazon Hires Influencer Managers

By Mahira Dayal · Mar 10, 2022 4:05pm PST
Pinterest has something other social media platforms don’t: users who often think of the app, first and foremost, as an inspiration for making purchases. People come to the digital scrapbooking app to look for decor and outfits, curating themed boards and following creators for ideas before making purchases. So it’s about time Pinterest... Pinterest has something other social media platforms don’t: users who often think of the app,...
Illustration by Mike Sullivan
Twitter’s Tiny Shopping Steps; NFT Mentions Usurp WFH on Twitter; TurboTax Tracks Rise in Creators
By Mahira Dayal · Mar 9, 2022 3:24pm PST
Illustration by Mike Sullivan
Creator Economy

Twitter’s Tiny Shopping Steps; NFT Mentions Usurp WFH on Twitter; TurboTax Tracks Rise in Creators

By Mahira Dayal · Mar 9, 2022 3:24pm PST
You can’t criticize Twitter for rushing into things. The microblogging site, in line with rivals like Instagram, Snap and Pinterest, has been expanding its shopping functions over the last year as it introduces new ways for super users on the platform to make money. But Twitter’s approach to e-commerce has the air of a company that still hasn’t... You can’t criticize Twitter for rushing into things. The microblogging site, in line with rivals...