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Surprised to see "Supporting Creators" on here too. I thought Patreon (and others) had made meaningful progress on this front.

adora 9y ago
One example that YC has already funded is Substack https://www.substack.com/ https://www.substack.com/ Writers on there are making more than have ever made elsewhere.
mnx 9y ago
Patreon works for many kinds of creators, but I think the space could still use innovation.
- jamesjyu 9y ago
  What particularly do you find Patreon lacking?
  - mnx 9y ago
    A model which works without super-fans willing to pay significant amounts. Something that could work for journalism, and written content of the type that you don't "subscribe" to in any way. I know it's hard, and I know attempts have been made (flattr, brave) in that space. But I think there's still room for more.
zanny 9y ago
Patreon is another walled garden that can become much worse than Facebook if left in isolation. For the investors behind it it would be great, but I don't believe Patreon was a YC company? Which means its a huge untapped industry with only one major player that has consistently moved towards pulling creatives into their ecosystem and keeping them there while trying to increase revenues. We need, probably more than in any other use case besides general social media, a federated solution to patronage. We cannot let Facebook et al happen again with crowdfunding and recurrent subscription services like Patreon. The kickstarter space has opened up to several options including the original Kickstarer, Indiegogo, GoFundMe, Fig, etc. That is a healthy competitive ecosystem and Kickstarter went public benefit so their general dominance in the market is less dangerous for it. Patreon sits alone, and has been growing exponentially for years. They acquired their only ever major competitor, Subbable, in early 2015. Kofi is about as close to a competitor as they have, but its not the same thing in the slightest because its not automatic which is a fundamental part of what makes Patreon work. The mindshare of creators Patreon has acquired should be terrifying to anyone who can see the writing on the wall about how this will just lead to a hegemony of Patreon controlling all the amateur and hobbyist and even some semi-professional small creative / online business ventures. And unlike most companies their revenue is plastered right in their face - all they need is a breakout moment into popular culture, which they really have not had yet - the number of people actively supporting anyone else on Patreon is still a small percentage of the whole Internet user population - but if they got that consumer breakout moment they would be unstoppable and way more directly dangerous and harmful in how many people are now making careers out of having a Patreon.
- Siecje 9y ago
  For completeness Gratipay[0] (formerly gittip) is also dead. [0]: https://gratipay.com/ https://gratipay.com/

adora 9y ago

One example that YC has already funded is Substack https://www.substack.com/ https://www.substack.com/ Writers on there are making more than have ever made elsewhere.

mnx 9y ago

Patreon works for many kinds of creators, but I think the space could still use innovation.

jamesjyu 9y ago
What particularly do you find Patreon lacking?
- mnx 9y ago
  A model which works without super-fans willing to pay significant amounts. Something that could work for journalism, and written content of the type that you don't "subscribe" to in any way. I know it's hard, and I know attempts have been made (flattr, brave) in that space. But I think there's still room for more.

zanny 9y ago

Patreon is another walled garden that can become much worse than Facebook if left in isolation. For the investors behind it it would be great, but I don't believe Patreon was a YC company? Which means its a huge untapped industry with only one major player that has consistently moved towards pulling creatives into their ecosystem and keeping them there while trying to increase revenues. We need, probably more than in any other use case besides general social media, a federated solution to patronage. We cannot let Facebook et al happen again with crowdfunding and recurrent subscription services like Patreon. The kickstarter space has opened up to several options including the original Kickstarer, Indiegogo, GoFundMe, Fig, etc. That is a healthy competitive ecosystem and Kickstarter went public benefit so their general dominance in the market is less dangerous for it. Patreon sits alone, and has been growing exponentially for years. They acquired their only ever major competitor, Subbable, in early 2015. Kofi is about as close to a competitor as they have, but its not the same thing in the slightest because its not automatic which is a fundamental part of what makes Patreon work. The mindshare of creators Patreon has acquired should be terrifying to anyone who can see the writing on the wall about how this will just lead to a hegemony of Patreon controlling all the amateur and hobbyist and even some semi-professional small creative / online business ventures. And unlike most companies their revenue is plastered right in their face - all they need is a breakout moment into popular culture, which they really have not had yet - the number of people actively supporting anyone else on Patreon is still a small percentage of the whole Internet user population - but if they got that consumer breakout moment they would be unstoppable and way more directly dangerous and harmful in how many people are now making careers out of having a Patreon.

Siecje 9y ago
For completeness Gratipay[0] (formerly gittip) is also dead. [0]: https://gratipay.com/ https://gratipay.com/