INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Creative platform Patreon has laid off 30 employees, which is 13% of its workforce, TechCrunch has learned.
It is unclear how long this
economic uncertainty will last and therefore, to prepare accordingly, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with 13% of Patreon
workforce,& a Patreon spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch
&This decision was not made lightly and consisted of several other factors beyond the financial ones.
Patreon, which enables creators to
build relationships with their fans via monthly subscriptions for content in exchange for perks and other benefits, had seen an uptick in
new creators launching on the platform in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March, Patreon wrote in a blog post, &Not only are patrons not
leaving the platform, we&ve even seen many of them upgrade their tiers to support their favorite creators during this challenging time.&
Additionally, the average income for creators was 60% higher in March than in previous months, according to the company.
Around that same
time, however, Patreon said it saw patrons exiting the platform more than usual due to financial hardships
Still, Patreon said churn rates were stable.
The startup ecosystem has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with layoffs no longer the
Still, it peculiar timing for Patreon, given the company touted an increase in new memberships during the first three weeks of March.
This
surge, along with years of continuous growth, has put Patreon in a strong financial position to help creators successfully manage creative
businesses during this challenging time,& the spokesperson said
&Although the business is in a strong cash position, we want to ensure that we can continue to support creators for many years to come.
Here
Patreon full statement below:
Over the past six weeks, Patreon has experienced a significant influx of new creators launching on the
platform along with increased financial support from both their new and existing patrons
In March alone, we onboarded 50,000 new creators to the platform of which the average income was 60% higher than previous months
This surge, along with years of continuous growth, has put Patreon in a strong financial position to help creators successfully manage their
creative businesses during this challenging time.
Although the business is in a strong cash position, we want to ensure that we can continue
to support creators for many years to come
It is unclear how long this economic uncertainty will last and therefore, to prepare accordingly, we have made the difficult decision to
part ways with 13% of Patreon workforce
This decision was not made lightly and consisted of several other factors beyond the financial ones
Prior to the pandemic, we had completed an in-depth performance review cycle and deployed a new company strategy & both exercises
highlighted the need for different skill sets moving forward.
It was this combination of economic uncertainty, performance reviews and a
shift in strategy that prompted us to make this change
Patreon is now on a path to long-term success and the business will emerge from this layoff even stronger, both financially and
