I’m launching a cohort-based course on building for the Creator Economy!
I'll teach live classes with amazing guest speakers, including case studies & frameworks I’ve learned from studying this space & meeting w 100s of companies.
This course has been a longgg time in the making—it encompasses a ton of original research that I’ve never written or spoken about publicly before. And hear from 🔥 experts like @blakeir and @kevinlin!
Students will be the first people ever to learn from this content.
The course will start on Feb. 22 and take place over 3 weeks.
Learn how creator companies overcame the cold start problem, creator-market fit, monetization strategy, & what metrics to measure.
Graduates will be better equipped to build and evaluate creator-focused products.
Don’t just take my word for it. Here’s what @samyamiam, the CTO and Patreon, had to say:
“Li is one of the deepest thinkers in the creator economy. I'm lucky to have benefited from her frameworks and perspective via our many conversations over the years.” 🤗
Who is this course for?
- Early-stage founders & employees in the creator space
- Operators at later-stage companies who want to better understand creators as a segment of their user base
- Investors & others who want to better understand the creator economy (i.e. everyone?!)
A large part of the experience will be community-based through projects & group learning w/ people actively building in the space.
It's clear that businesses that figure out how to leverage TikTok will have an advantage in cultivating user trust and efficiently acquiring customers.
As of mid-2020, TikTok had 50M daily actives in the US. Businesses—from solopreneurs to public companies—have seen success.
Excitingly for startups, TikTok is designed with a more level playing field on which newcomers can succeed.
TikTok’s FYP purposefully surfaces videos from even little-known accounts. That means startups can create content that quickly grows.
Today's creator platforms resemble economies in which wealth and attention are concentrated at the top.
On Spotify, artists need 3.5M streams/year to achieve a minimum-wage income of $15K. The top 1.4% of artists pull in 90% of royalties. rollingstone.com/pro/features/s…
On Roblox, the top game accounts for 20-25% of concurrent users, and concentration is growing over time.
On Patreon, only 2% of creators made the federal minimum wage of $1,160 per month in 2017.
People often say that IG feels aspirational, polished, and often leads to feelings of inadequacy, while TikTok is authentic, fun, and uplifting.
Why? Creator monetization is a huge, underrated factor (in addition to content format & interest vs. social graph).
Thread👇
Instagram doesn’t pay creators directly; creators monetize by finding sponsors for their content or via affiliate links.
This means the most successful IG creators induce a desire among viewers to buy something--i.e. making them feel that what they already have is insufficient.
In contrast, on TikTok, most creators make money through live streaming & getting viewer donations, or by participating in the Creator Fund, which distributes based on # of views.
This monetization model incentivizes creators to make content that many people watch and enjoy.
In the 1st episode, @shl discussed the horizontal vs. vertical strategy in building for creators. Watch here:
We interview guests *live* on Zoom each Friday at 2pm ET - to join and ask questions, you'll need to subscribe to the Everything bundle: meansofcreation.substack.com/subscribe
At the turn of the 20th century, in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, agrarian society and cottage industries gave way to urbanization, mass production, and corporate employment.
We’re in the midst of a massive rearrangement in how work, and thus society, is organized. We’re going from the “Organization Man" Era to the “Unbundled Work" Era.
Digital platforms remove the gatekeeper of the company, and empower individuals to create products, reach customers, and earn income without needing an employer.
Call these independent workers whatever you want: micro-entrepreneurs, creators, free agents, or freelancers.
After I wrote 100 True Fans, lots of folks asked, "Isn't this model risky? Losing 1 fan is a huge portion of income."
But traditional employment is like having only 1 true fan. People can lose 100% of income w/ recession, cancellation, or for any reason! a16z.com/2020/02/06/100…