With creators generating over $8 billion in revenue through the creator commerce platform and a clear vision for transformation, Kajabi stands apart from traditional social media platforms. CEO Ahad Khan leads this transformation with a focused mission: empowering creators to build sustainable businesses under their control.
The Reality of Creator Economics
“The creator economy is an economy built by creators, but not for creators,” Ahad explains, highlighting a stark reality where platforms retain roughly 90% of revenue while creators struggle financially.
“People creating the value are not reaping the rewards,” he continues. “You can put together an awesome YouTube video, a string of YouTube videos, or many TikToks that go viral. The platform can make a lot of money because it makes money from views and ad-driven models. But then you get some kind of de minimis payout.”
A research campaign by Kajabi reveals ‘The Realities of the Creator Economy’ with one particularly shocking insight: 50% of creators earn below poverty-level income. This financial vulnerability becomes particularly apparent during economic shifts.
“One day, interest rates are really low, marketing budgets are high, and you’re getting many brand deals,” Ahad says. “The next year, the central government decides we’re going to tighten monetary policy, interest rates go up, budgets at these big companies go tight, and then suddenly you have no income because you relied on brands. That’s a very difficult dynamic for creators to deal with.”
Building Sustainable Creator Businesses
The platform focuses on helping creators establish independent revenue streams rather than depending on social platforms.
“Social media platforms are awesome places to build audiences but terrible places to build businesses,” Ahad notes. “You should be thinking about building your audience on YouTube, but building your business and revenue on Kajabi.”
The results speak for themselves: Kajabi has processed over $8 billion in creator revenue since its founding and currently handles nearly $2.5 billion annually.
“We were a creator economy company before there was a creator economy,” Ahad reflects. “People didn’t have a language to describe what our customers were doing, which is really like online entrepreneurship and building audiences and building a product that is digital in nature and selling that product or creating value with that product and giving it to an audience where transactions or commerce happens.”
The platform’s impact on creator earnings is significant—Kajabi creators average $40,000-$50,000 yearly, matching typical U.S. income levels.
“We’re providing real commerce,” Ahad points out. “These are dollars like house payments, education, car, etc. We power real commerce.”
Challenging Common Misconceptions
Ahad addresses a prevalent misconception that creators need massive followings for business success.
“Many people think, ‘I have to be MrBeast to build a successful business.’ That’s not the case at all,” he explains. “The average transaction value on Kajabi is about $150 per transaction. If you have 12 people paying you that much monthly, you have a five or six-figure business right there.”
Ahad encourages focusing on meaningful metrics: “Followers can be like a vanity metric. If you’re an ambitious creator, the one who is trying to build a meaningful business, follower count can be a vanity metric.”
Ahad wants people to think, “‘How many of these people are following me? Am I building enough valuable content and a good enough relationship with them that when I put a product out there that has a price tag next to it, they see enough value in me and my knowledge and experience to transact and build value?’”
New Tools for Creator Success
Kajabi recently introduced three key features designed for creators at different stages:
Digital Downloads
“You may not be ready to build a course,” Ahad explains. “How do we create ways for you to validate your work and ideas and give you an opportunity in the market?”
“Digital Downloads are first. ‘Oh my God, somebody bought something from me.’ Even if it’s $5 or $3 or $1 or whatever it is, you get validation that my ideas matter because somebody’s willing to transact.”
Newsletters
“Not everybody’s a visual person. Some people like to write first,” Ahad notes. “Some people use newsletters as a marketing tool to build an audience.”
“Sometimes, it’ll be free because the explicit reason is that I want to build an audience,” he adds. “Sometimes it’s a revenue-generating engine which is, hey, I’m going to charge $5.99 a month or whatever it is where you get access to me because I’m going to teach you how to sleep train your kids.”
Invoicing
“As a creator commerce platform, we have to enable people to take in revenue however they want,” Ahad emphasizes. “Invoicing is a big deal if you’re a coach and want to take payments differently. We just fulfill that promise to our creators.”
AI Integration for Creators
Kajabi implements AI strategically, focusing on practical business applications.
“We don’t want just to throw AI at customers and be like, ‘Here you go.’ It doesn’t make sense because, at the end of the day, it’s got to make sense for how they build their business,” Ahad explains.
While AI reduces content creation barriers, Ahad believes creator expertise becomes more valuable: “The barriers to creating content are going to go down and down. But what we think in an environment where content becomes commoditized is the brand, where you’re digesting that content, and who you’re digesting it from becomes more important.”
Building Strong Communities
Understanding the isolation digital entrepreneurs often face, Kajabi prioritizes community building through various events.
“If you think about digital entrepreneurship, creator commerce, or creator economy, it can be very lonely,” Ahad acknowledges. “Sometimes you’re struggling and don’t realize your struggle is common.”
The company hosts Kajabi Hero Live annually and Kajabi Sessions globally, including recent expansions to London and Australia and next stops in Dubai and Vancouver.
“We’re going to be doing these events worldwide to unite our community,” Ahad shares. “Digital is awesome; in-person is awesome. We got to do both because we take community so seriously.”
Future Growth and Development
Kajabi plans to expand globally while enhancing core features.
“We think of ourselves as a commerce platform,” he states. “We want to be the default creator commerce platform in the creator economy. We will expand our Kajabi payments product to the rest of the world more explicitly. Europe and all the countries we’re not quite in yet [are next].”
The company measures success through creator earnings: “My main KPI is creator revenue. If creator revenue is going well, we do well. And again, it’s a nod to that creator centricity.”
“Get started,” Ahad advises creators considering the platform. “Often, people come to Kajabi and sit there, ensuring everything looks pixel-perfect. Let the market help you. See what the market tells you, learn from it, and build in that direction—as long as it’s authentic to your core belief.”
Cecilia Carloni, Interview Manager at Influence Weekly and writer for NetInfluencer. Coming from beautiful Argentina, Ceci has spent years chatting with big names in the influencer world, making friends and learning insider info along the way. When she’s not deep in interviews or writing, she's enjoying life with her two daughters. Ceci’s stories give a peek behind the curtain of influencer life, sharing the real and interesting tales from her many conversations with movers and shakers in the space.
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With creators generating over $8 billion in revenue through the creator commerce platform and a clear vision for transformation, Kajabi stands apart from traditional social media platforms. CEO Ahad Khan leads this transformation with a focused mission: empowering creators to build sustainable businesses under their control.
The Reality of Creator Economics
“The creator economy is an economy built by creators, but not for creators,” Ahad explains, highlighting a stark reality where platforms retain roughly 90% of revenue while creators struggle financially.
“People creating the value are not reaping the rewards,” he continues. “You can put together an awesome YouTube video, a string of YouTube videos, or many TikToks that go viral. The platform can make a lot of money because it makes money from views and ad-driven models. But then you get some kind of de minimis payout.”
A research campaign by Kajabi reveals ‘The Realities of the Creator Economy’ with one particularly shocking insight: 50% of creators earn below poverty-level income. This financial vulnerability becomes particularly apparent during economic shifts.
“One day, interest rates are really low, marketing budgets are high, and you’re getting many brand deals,” Ahad says. “The next year, the central government decides we’re going to tighten monetary policy, interest rates go up, budgets at these big companies go tight, and then suddenly you have no income because you relied on brands. That’s a very difficult dynamic for creators to deal with.”
Building Sustainable Creator Businesses
The platform focuses on helping creators establish independent revenue streams rather than depending on social platforms.
“Social media platforms are awesome places to build audiences but terrible places to build businesses,” Ahad notes. “You should be thinking about building your audience on YouTube, but building your business and revenue on Kajabi.”
The results speak for themselves: Kajabi has processed over $8 billion in creator revenue since its founding and currently handles nearly $2.5 billion annually.
“We were a creator economy company before there was a creator economy,” Ahad reflects. “People didn’t have a language to describe what our customers were doing, which is really like online entrepreneurship and building audiences and building a product that is digital in nature and selling that product or creating value with that product and giving it to an audience where transactions or commerce happens.”
The platform’s impact on creator earnings is significant—Kajabi creators average $40,000-$50,000 yearly, matching typical U.S. income levels.
“We’re providing real commerce,” Ahad points out. “These are dollars like house payments, education, car, etc. We power real commerce.”
Challenging Common Misconceptions
Ahad addresses a prevalent misconception that creators need massive followings for business success.
“Many people think, ‘I have to be MrBeast to build a successful business.’ That’s not the case at all,” he explains. “The average transaction value on Kajabi is about $150 per transaction. If you have 12 people paying you that much monthly, you have a five or six-figure business right there.”
Ahad encourages focusing on meaningful metrics: “Followers can be like a vanity metric. If you’re an ambitious creator, the one who is trying to build a meaningful business, follower count can be a vanity metric.”
Ahad wants people to think, “‘How many of these people are following me? Am I building enough valuable content and a good enough relationship with them that when I put a product out there that has a price tag next to it, they see enough value in me and my knowledge and experience to transact and build value?’”
New Tools for Creator Success
Kajabi recently introduced three key features designed for creators at different stages:
“You may not be ready to build a course,” Ahad explains. “How do we create ways for you to validate your work and ideas and give you an opportunity in the market?”
“Digital Downloads are first. ‘Oh my God, somebody bought something from me.’ Even if it’s $5 or $3 or $1 or whatever it is, you get validation that my ideas matter because somebody’s willing to transact.”
“Not everybody’s a visual person. Some people like to write first,” Ahad notes. “Some people use newsletters as a marketing tool to build an audience.”
“Sometimes, it’ll be free because the explicit reason is that I want to build an audience,” he adds. “Sometimes it’s a revenue-generating engine which is, hey, I’m going to charge $5.99 a month or whatever it is where you get access to me because I’m going to teach you how to sleep train your kids.”
“As a creator commerce platform, we have to enable people to take in revenue however they want,” Ahad emphasizes. “Invoicing is a big deal if you’re a coach and want to take payments differently. We just fulfill that promise to our creators.”
AI Integration for Creators
Kajabi implements AI strategically, focusing on practical business applications.
“We don’t want just to throw AI at customers and be like, ‘Here you go.’ It doesn’t make sense because, at the end of the day, it’s got to make sense for how they build their business,” Ahad explains.
While AI reduces content creation barriers, Ahad believes creator expertise becomes more valuable: “The barriers to creating content are going to go down and down. But what we think in an environment where content becomes commoditized is the brand, where you’re digesting that content, and who you’re digesting it from becomes more important.”
Building Strong Communities
Understanding the isolation digital entrepreneurs often face, Kajabi prioritizes community building through various events.
“If you think about digital entrepreneurship, creator commerce, or creator economy, it can be very lonely,” Ahad acknowledges. “Sometimes you’re struggling and don’t realize your struggle is common.”
The company hosts Kajabi Hero Live annually and Kajabi Sessions globally, including recent expansions to London and Australia and next stops in Dubai and Vancouver.
“We’re going to be doing these events worldwide to unite our community,” Ahad shares. “Digital is awesome; in-person is awesome. We got to do both because we take community so seriously.”
Future Growth and Development
Kajabi plans to expand globally while enhancing core features.
“We think of ourselves as a commerce platform,” he states. “We want to be the default creator commerce platform in the creator economy. We will expand our Kajabi payments product to the rest of the world more explicitly. Europe and all the countries we’re not quite in yet [are next].”
The company measures success through creator earnings: “My main KPI is creator revenue. If creator revenue is going well, we do well. And again, it’s a nod to that creator centricity.”
“Get started,” Ahad advises creators considering the platform. “Often, people come to Kajabi and sit there, ensuring everything looks pixel-perfect. Let the market help you. See what the market tells you, learn from it, and build in that direction—as long as it’s authentic to your core belief.”