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I like the patreon model, as it's let me support various creators whose content I like (Webcomics/Websites/Musicians) without having to endure web ads. I get w

I like the patreon model, as it's let me support various creators whose content I like (Webcomics/Websites/Musicians) without having to endure web ads. I get what this post is saying about wanting to add new features, but I can't help but be a little apprehensive about what taking this amount of external funding means for Patreon's future. It doesn't strike me as a business that's likely to experience "hockey stick" growth, so there's a worry that they'll need to extract more money from existing creators to show the return on investment that their external investors are likely to seek...

replicatorblog 9y ago
Right. How many features do they need to add? Kickstarter raised a few million dollars and has grown organically, and fairly rapidly, since. Who is the natural acquirer for Patreon? Is it a likely IPO candidate? It's cheap criticism to say that it would be an easy extension for Kickstarter to offer this kind of funding model, but it really would. The cultural barriers that usually keep companies from moving into adjacent areas are non-existant. Both companies serve the same "Creative Class" customer with nearly identical positioning. I'm long Kickstarter, moderately short Patreon.
- chx 9y ago
  I support my favorite musicians on Patreon and usually get gadgets on Kickstarter although I admit I supported the occassional video game or novels. But Patreon is about continous delivery while Kickstarter is about one big bang, delivery is on the several months-1/2 years scale while Patreon doesn't work well if you don't deliver a thing every month preferably more than one. Seems like a completely different thing.
unkown-unknowns 9y ago
If someone on Patreon becomes really popular then Patreon could earn good money from that without changing their fee structure. It could happen. But I wouldn't bet on it.
teej 9y ago
It really depends on how sticky the patrons are, which I would guess is very sticky. A dollar in advertising revenue that Snapchat books isn't as valuable as a dollar that Patreon books for a lot of reasons, but primarily because they have a direct-to-customer relationship and because they generate predictable subscription income. I would think about the Patreon opportunity as such - 1/ Patreon has built a platform that has proven to be the best way for artisans and creatives to create a direct connection to their fans 2/ Since the inception of the company, they have seen very strong improvements in artist growth, patron growth, and retention in both. 3/ The total addressable market is huge. Every creative is a potential user. Their platform may even be growing the market by allowing people to quit their normal jobs to pursue creative ideas. 4/ They want to raise the money to build new functionality to continue to drive growth by addressing new segments of creatives and improving the product to drive retention. In summary, I think Patreon has a compelling story for raising money. They need to spend money to grow but not like Snapchat because the consistency of their cash flow is a major reason to continue to invest in retention.
shevy 9y ago
Yeah. They have now become dependent on external decision makers. I wonder if we'll have to read notes such as "how patreon was once great" ... before a sell-out to some other company will happen. However had, that being said, I applaude the guys who actually bootstrapped the whole thing. The 60 million is of course great, but I think that their INITIAL idea worked in practice, is much, much cooler than the 60 million they got.

replicatorblog 9y ago

Right. How many features do they need to add? Kickstarter raised a few million dollars and has grown organically, and fairly rapidly, since. Who is the natural acquirer for Patreon? Is it a likely IPO candidate? It's cheap criticism to say that it would be an easy extension for Kickstarter to offer this kind of funding model, but it really would. The cultural barriers that usually keep companies from moving into adjacent areas are non-existant. Both companies serve the same "Creative Class" customer with nearly identical positioning. I'm long Kickstarter, moderately short Patreon.

chx 9y ago
I support my favorite musicians on Patreon and usually get gadgets on Kickstarter although I admit I supported the occassional video game or novels. But Patreon is about continous delivery while Kickstarter is about one big bang, delivery is on the several months-1/2 years scale while Patreon doesn't work well if you don't deliver a thing every month preferably more than one. Seems like a completely different thing.

unkown-unknowns 9y ago

If someone on Patreon becomes really popular then Patreon could earn good money from that without changing their fee structure. It could happen. But I wouldn't bet on it.

teej 9y ago

It really depends on how sticky the patrons are, which I would guess is very sticky. A dollar in advertising revenue that Snapchat books isn't as valuable as a dollar that Patreon books for a lot of reasons, but primarily because they have a direct-to-customer relationship and because they generate predictable subscription income. I would think about the Patreon opportunity as such - 1/ Patreon has built a platform that has proven to be the best way for artisans and creatives to create a direct connection to their fans 2/ Since the inception of the company, they have seen very strong improvements in artist growth, patron growth, and retention in both. 3/ The total addressable market is huge. Every creative is a potential user. Their platform may even be growing the market by allowing people to quit their normal jobs to pursue creative ideas. 4/ They want to raise the money to build new functionality to continue to drive growth by addressing new segments of creatives and improving the product to drive retention. In summary, I think Patreon has a compelling story for raising money. They need to spend money to grow but not like Snapchat because the consistency of their cash flow is a major reason to continue to invest in retention.

shevy 9y ago

Yeah. They have now become dependent on external decision makers. I wonder if we'll have to read notes such as "how patreon was once great" ... before a sell-out to some other company will happen. However had, that being said, I applaude the guys who actually bootstrapped the whole thing. The 60 million is of course great, but I think that their INITIAL idea worked in practice, is much, much cooler than the 60 million they got.