British tech start-up targets growth through creator economy boom
A British app-developer that counts the country star Luke Bryan as a client is set to grow its revenues by 60% this year as it taps into the booming creator economy.
At a glance
Disciple Media, which provides white labelled apps and websites to content creators to build and interact with their own subscription-based community already hosts more than 500 communities with a combined two million members globally.
The business employs a 48-strong team in Farringdon, London, has secured a £3m venture debt facility from Shawbrook to build on its impressive customer base attracting more entrepreneurs and community builders to its platform through investment in sales and marketing.
Clients range from Coutts Bank to Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor, which run official superfan communities on the platform, to yoga teachers, chefs, and personal fitness instructors. The firm is backed by several prominent technology investors including Jellyfish founder Rob Pierre.
The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider sees a major growth opportunity with the creator economy, which comprises more than 50 million independent curators and is expected to exceed a value of $104 billion this year, up from $20 billion in 2021*.
The global creator economy is in a stage of hypergrowth. The pandemic forced content creators to find new revenue streams and to engage with their audiences in a purely online environment. Creators were already looking at ways to really own their audience and engage with their audience in a more meaningful way than what social networks could provide.
Benji added:
“Our platform fills a gap that creators need - somewhere where they can directly engage with and have more control over how they interact with their growing audiences.
“As a creator myself, it has been exciting to bring to life a service I feel has a real benefit to those in this industry. The finance secured from Shawbrook helps us to scale-up our marketing activities to give us the best success of tapping into the creator economy’s growth.”
Jack Bates, Venture Debt Associate Director at Shawbrook Bank, said:
“The creator economy is an exciting place to be right now. It presents huge potential for Disciple to scale and really make the most of the strong foundations the team has already built.
“Marketing investment will be crucial to help Disciple build awareness and interest among the world’s creators, crafters, hobbyists, and even rock stars. A star-studded clientele and investor club reflects a quality team, product and market opportunity, giving us good reason to back Disciple’s promising growth potential.”
* https://influencermarketinghub.com/creator-earnings-benchmark-report/
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