The creator movement is entering prime time, and so is Circle with a fresh $4M
The creator movement has exploded in the last few years as platforms ranging from Substack to Clubhouse have made it easier than ever to reach an audience of willing readers and listeners. Yet the key to building sustainable creator businesses is the economics of these enterprises themselves. Get enough subscribers, and what often starts as a side hobby can quickly become a full-time job.
Circle was founded in January 2020 to make engaging with paying customers and thus building creator businesses as effortless as possible. We profiled the NYC-based startup last year when it announced its $1.5 million seed round in August, discussing how its founder DNA originates in the online course platform Teachable. Since then, all signs point to very strong early growth.
The creator movement has exploded in the last few years as platforms ranging from Substack to Clubhouse have made it easier than ever to reach an audience of willing readers and listeners. Circle was founded in January 2020 to make engaging with paying customers and thus building creator businesses as effortless as possible. The company surpassed $1 million ARR last month, and it already has 1,000 paying customers and is heading toward 2,000 paying communities.
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Sahil Lavingia is the founder and CEO of Gumroad, a platform that allows creators to sell products. Before that he was Pinterest s second employee.
Gumroad has no full-time employees, no meetings, and no deadlines and the company stayed profitable.
After facing burnout, Lavingia says his goal was no longer about growth at all costs, but freedom at all costs. While this way of working might not work for everyone, he believes that the future of work is not working.
I started Gumroad in 2011. In 2015, we reached a peak of 23 full-time employees. In 2016, after failing to raise more money, I ended up back where I began: a one-person company.