Lenny's Podcast · Aug 19Monetizing passions, scaling marketplaces, and stories from a creator economy vet | Camille Hearst
Hearst co-founded it in 2015, raised over $2 million and sold it to Patreon in 2018. It started acquirer talks late, ran creator meetups for cross-pollination, and bet on trusted recommenders over stranger reviews.
Tips
- Treat selling your company as a managed process, like fundraising▶ 25:57Kit raised over $2 million, then sold to Patreon in 2018 after actively managing a sale process.
- Start talking to potential acquirers early, long before you need to sell▶ 26:06Kit began acquirer conversations late, so the first meeting with the eventual boss was also the first time they met her.
- Collaborate with other creators to share audiences and cross-pollinate▶ 20:57Kit ran creator meetups specifically to facilitate cross-pollination.
- Get your content associated with trusted curators who share your ethos▶ 22:20Kit's concept was curators recommending gear, since people buy what a trusted cyclist brother-in-law tells them to buy.
