As
@ljin18 points out, the unbundling of work has fueled the growth of a broad ecosystem of tools for creators.
Today, we’re seeing a rebundling of that ecosystem across both all-in-one platforms (@stir,
@podia) and best-in-class products (@gumroad).
https://t.co/merZhn8bfo
.@gumroad’s mission is to be the easiest way to get started selling goods online, whether that’s a digital brush set, a photograph, a video, an app—or virtually anything else. They added memberships in 2020, and courses are next.
The company has facilitated $400M+ GMV since its inception. In 2020, COVID tailwinds drove 90% YoY growth, with more than $9M in revenue coming in on $142M in GMV.
.@gumroad is big with new creators and those making under $10,000 per year because of the ease of setup and 6.5% (blended) take rate, low relative to other online marketplaces like:
- eBay: 10%
- Etsy: 12%
- Cameo: 25%
The problem is that past $10k~ per year in revenue, there comes an equilibrium point where a course creator on Gumroad can pay the same or less on a vertical platform like
@kajabi and get more features.
The result has been a bifurcation of the market, with platforms like
@teachable @kajabi @podia more closely serving the needs of those higher-income creators and Gumroad serving the long tail or mass of creators.
While it's true that selling online is a side project for many, creator upward mobility is critical.
The top 1% of creators generate 50% of total GMV and the top 12% generate 80% of total GMV
Without a robust middle class,
@gumroad may have trouble sustaining its growth
.@gumroad has one major advantage: their roadmap and fundraising strategy have been carefully tailored for creator-alignment.
That gives creators the feeling that they can trust Gumroad to act in creator-aligned ways rather than VC-aligned ways in the future.
And the large scale possible from operating over the long tail could be a huge opportunity for
@gumroad. Just as
@Shopify leveraged operating at that kind of scale to “arm the rebels” in e-commerce, Gumroad can do the same for creators.
https://t.co/GyyhS4VCZc
Where companies like
@Shopify &
@Bolt are using data to optimize the B2C checkout,
@Gumroad can do the same, with more interoperability (native, deep embeds with 3rd parties), more conversions (Apple Pay, recommendations) and more products (courses, coaching, NFTs).
In our base case, Gumroad continues to grow as a kind of onramp to the creator economy for millions of new makers.
But building the best checkout for creators gives them a shot at building a $1B company and becoming an integral part of that economy.
https://t.co/cz3sI2z7ZL
Read our full report and 6 expert interviews on Gumroad here:
https://t.co/Vc0iSjhFfe And for more deep dives on private companies, sign up at
https://t.co/F9g3cPZ8tA
