The story of Patreon
2013
In 2013, YouTube musician Jack Conte was looking for a solution to his problem: millions of people loved his videos, but only hundreds of dollars were hitting his bank account. This didn’t add up, so he drafted up an idea about a website that would allow his fans to pay him directly for the value he was giving them.
He brought that doodle to his college roommate Sam Yam (now the co-founder of Patreon) who turned that chicken scratch into a fully-functioning service in only 6 weeks. Fast forward 8 years, and Patreon is the solution to this same problem for over 200,000 creators supported by more than 6 million+ patrons, and creators have earned over $2 billion.
Present
Patreon powers membership businesses for creators by giving them the tools they need to acquire, manage, and energize their paying patrons. With a subscription-style payment model, fans pay their favorite creators a monthly amount of their choice in exchange for exclusive access, extra content, or a closer look into their creative journey.
This model is a win-win; creators retain creative freedom while getting the salary they deserve, and fans get to rest easy knowing that their money goes directly towards creating more of what they love.
Our numbers
6 million+ monthly active patrons
Patrons support the creators they love in exchange for exclusive membership benefits.
200,000+ creators on Patreon
Our platform provides thousands of creators the opportunity to create on their own terms.
$2 billion paid out to creators
Since 2013, we have paid out over 2 billion dollars to Patreon creators.
What guides us
Our core behaviors
Our core behaviors were crafted by our first two dozen employees. To this day, as our company grows, we use them as our guiding light toward maintaining the culture we’ve built and love.
Our mission
We’re proud and motivated that creators rely on us for their paycheck, and ultimately, their creative freedom. We take that responsibility seriously, and have fun fulfilling that mission together.