#1: Costart is back, Creator Economy, Startup Storytelling ⚡️
We are back and we are here to stay ✨
Costart is a community that helps early-stage Gen Z female & BIPOC founders build successful startups ⚡️
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2021 Update: Costart is back ⚡️
It’s been a while but we are back, This time we are bringing to you -
Industry Trends: Covering trends from creator economy, NFT’s, B2B Saas, hardware consumer electronics to just about all the hottest tech trends. We will talk about market opportunities, emerging players, and how you can enter this industry!
Startup resources: Each week we will share a resource on a specific topic related to startups like user interviews, how to create pitch decks to boring startup stuff like HR and bookkeeping!
Community - An exclusive Discord channel for active/aspiring founders.
In this newsletter, we are going to talk about ⚡️ The Creator Economy ⚡️ an industry with 50M+ creators in the world, and an incredible 2M creators now make six figures, it is taking the tech world by storm. What’s all this hype about? Let’s dig in!
Creator Economy ⚡️
The creator economy is the class of businesses built by content creators, curators, and community builders including social media influencers, bloggers, and videographers, plus the software and finance tools designed to help them with growth and monetization.
The Creator Economy is blowing up. There are 50M+ creators in the world, and an incredible 2M creators now make six figures.
So who are creators?
Creators are those who create digital content on online platforms such as bloggers, influencers, podcasters, filmmakers, travelers, writers, and more. They can also be experts who can make a living by teaching their skills on a site like Teachable rather than having to organize in-person classes as they would have done previously or developers who can use programs like GitHub Sponsors to receive money directly from the community. These creators either create content professionally by making content full-time or as Individual Creators, monetizing content creation part-time.
We have reached a point in time where anyone anywhere can become a creator, monetize their content and convert that into a business.
Before the advent of the creator economy, many of today's creators would have been unemployed or at very least engaged in comparatively low-level employment. All these people have skills, but previously they would have been unable to monetize their passions. Now people can unlock their creative potential and give it value.
How do creators make money?
By developing fandoms that follow them off-platform, creators can become full-fledged businesses with multiple revenue streams beyond ads. In addition, companies in the creator economy have arrived to help creators earn money by selling products such as premium content, merchandise, books/ebooks, newsletters, or selling services such as fan engagement, coaching, consulting, speaking engagements, etc.
The big trend we see here is that over time, creators are becoming more diversified in their revenue streams and are being funded directly by their fans.
One creator made $1,332,400 across 6 revenue streams in 2020:
$135k - Ads
$177k - Affiliates
$182k - Sponsorships
$470k - Self-paced courses
$295k - Cohort-based course
$71k - Community
How You Can Get Involved In The Creator Economy
Now let’s jump right into the main stuff, how can you get started in this industry!
1) Start a creator economy company
If you want to build a tech startup product that helps creators monetize their content and scale their businesses then now is the time. The creator economy market is ripe and there are 50 Million creators that can be targeted. This product could be of two types:
A platform to create and share content with a marketplace business model where the supply side would be the creators and the demand side would be the consumers.
A tool product that solves a creator pain-point such as monetization with a Saas business model in this case consumer Saas, the consumers being the creators.
2) Become a creator
Becoming a successful creator is the new dream career path for any Gen Z’er. This means having financial freedom, traveling while making content, and being creative. To get started on becoming a creator all you need is:
An idea in a niche
A phone or a camera
A laptop to record audio, film videos, or write.
You will also need to spend some time on personal branding and branding for your channels and voila you can get started creating content and telling your story.
3) Invest in creator economy brands, companies, or creators
If you are a millennial or a boomer who has more experience with investing, has some savings, or is curious about investing in the creator economy, then now is the time to not only invest in the creator economy business but also in the creators. Yes, you can now invest in creators through creator coins on platforms such as Roll and Rally. What is a creator coin?
A creator coin is a simplified form of blockchain technology that tends to revolutionize how streamers and content creators engage with their audience and earn a living. Let me put it simply: Creator Coin is a digital currency that can be custom branded.
Now more than ever is the right time to get involved in the booming creator economy. You heard it here first!!
Startup Resource 📕
Every week we will be sharing with you a resource to help you get started on your startup journey. This week we will be sharing more about:
Storytelling In Pitch Deck
Storytelling is a powerful marketing technique that can be very helpful when it comes to writing a pitch deck. It helps create an emotional connection with your audience. Some ways you can do that by -
Founders Story - Talking about why you decided to launch your startup. It is personal; it explains where you have come from and what is motivating you.
The Customer's Story - Explaining a user persona, what problems they face and what difference your solution can make to their life
The industry point of view - Tell how the industry works right now and how your company is disrupting the market
Turning your pitch deck into a story is a great way to demonstrate your solution and create an emotional connection between investors and your venture. There are many different ways to tell a story, so chose the one that makes sense to you and highlights the most important aspects of your venture.
Opportunities 🚀
Dorm Room Fund Female Investor Track
Dorm Room Blueprint Investor Track
Smart Hardware Product Competition
e.ventures - Investment Researcher (SF)
Greycroft - Associates (LA, NYC)
Toyota AI Ventures - Research Intern (Los Altos)
Meme of the Week 🤪
Thank you for reading Costart ✨ We are trying to bring the magic of building startups to you in your inbox. Help us spread the word, forward this to others in your community!
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