Imagine popular YouTubers wielding the financial power of a Hollywood studio. That’s the future Everbloom is trying to make a reality.

By advancing creators up to half their annual earnings, the fintech startup aims to turn digital personas into media moguls. But the real story isn’t in the numbers — it’s in the vision. 

Everbloom co-founder & CEO Lukas Runte reveals why he and his team are betting big on the creator economy. 

According to him, the next binge-worthy obsession might not come from a streaming giant but from a creator in their bedroom, backed by Silicon Valley-style financing.

Beyond the Check

Lukas began his career in Germany, helping creatives launch e-commerce stores. 

“That’s how I fell in love with the creator economy, seeing how to support people essentially chasing their dreams, doing what they love,” he says.

A stint at a Stockholm-based venture studio, backed by the founders of mobile gaming giant King, brought Lukas together with his Everbloom co-founder, Brendan Alper. Their shared vision is to impact creators more broadly than individual collaborations.

Everbloom emerged from this ambition, offering a transparent financing model for content creators. 

The platform addresses a gap in the market, providing financial options for creators who often need help securing traditional funding. “Banks and VCs don’t understand how creator businesses work,” Lukas notes. “It’s problematic for traditional lenders.”

Everbloom’s approach is simple and transparent, responding to what Lukas saw as shortcomings in existing back-catalog licensing models.

“We talked to creators who were licensing out their back catalog for many years, not knowing how much it’s worth,” he says. “A few years later, they realize how much money they gave up by just taking this check upfront for their catalog. When we built the business model for Everbloom, we wanted to change that.” 

Beyond funding, Everbloom offers an accelerator program featuring education from industry veterans and additional services to support the creators’ growth. Lukas believes this additional support gives his startup the edge over competitors.

Creator-Centric Financing Model

Everbloom has developed a financing model tailored to the needs of content creators, particularly those on YouTube. 

Lukas outlines their business model: “We usually invest up to 50% of their previous year’s earnings in cash. They can then use it to grow their production team, build studios, and help the business grow.”

The company’s revenue model is based on a flexible revenue-sharing agreement. 

“We are taking a revenue share every month from their monthly earnings. So it scales up and down,” Lukas explains, adding that this adaptability helps creators manage the industry’s typical cash flow fluctuations.

Everbloom’s vetting process focuses on creators earning at least $60,000 annually from platform revenue, primarily YouTube. However, they also consider income from other sources like Patreon and Facebook. 

The process includes a qualitative assessment. 

“We jump on a call with the creator to understand how they plan to use the funding,” Lukas says.

He justifies Everbloom’s initial focus on YouTube by describing the video-sharing platform as “the most predictable revenue source for many creators.” 

“YouTube’s impact is just growing and growing,” he adds. “Viewership is growing and now taking over TV.”

Indeed, YouTube became the first streaming platform to exceed 10% of total TV usage, reaching 10.4% in July, up 7% from the previous month and solidifying its position as the most popular streaming service.

Nurturing Creator Growth

Everbloom goes beyond mere financial backing, offering a broad support system for content creators. 

“There are new trends every day, new monetization opportunities, new platforms, new tools,” Lukas says.

To tackle these challenges, Everbloom has established the Million View Club, a community where creators can access valuable insights and expertise. 

“We have weekly live sessions with Mario Joos, who’s the expert and always on top of things,” Lukas explains. This initiative aims to keep creators informed about industry developments and platform changes.

Everbloom also takes a nuanced approach to data analysis. “We advise creators to mostly look at the retention graph to find opportunities for video optimizations,” Lukas notes. 

The company encourages creators to transform quantitative data into qualitative insights for continuous improvement. However, Everbloom currently targets more established creators. 

Lukas says for emerging creators below their threshold, “We are sending them free resources that Mario has put together about how to optimize essentially my YouTube channel to hit [our] threshold ($60K).” 

Impact on Content Production

Everbloom’s investment strategy has yielded results for many content creators, exemplified by the success story of Andreas Eskander, a rising YouTuber.

“We were sitting down with him and essentially creating a P&L,” Lukas explains. 

The financial analysis revealed that the costs associated with filming in various locations hindered Andreas’s profitability.

Everbloom’s solution was to provide a substantial investment, allowing Andreas to establish his studio space. 

“Instead of renting out different studios and building the set over the course of days, it was cheaper to build out a studio space with different, reusable sets, and essentially make your way towards becoming more and more profitable over time,” Lukas recounts telling the content creator.

This strategic use of funds improved Andreas’s content production capabilities and enhanced his business acumen. 

“It was super helpful for him to sit down with the Everbloom team and understand how his business looks on a P&L sheet,” Lukas notes.

Everbloom’s investment strategy has also benefited Jimmy Zhang, another successful creator. With a $110,000 investment from Everbloom, Zhang has developed his reality TV show on YouTube.

This project, partly behind a paywall, showcases how creators can leverage funding to produce high-quality content that rivals traditional media.

AI, Syndication, and Brand Development

Lukas believes technological advancements and changing consumer trust dynamics will drive industry shifts.

Artificial Intelligence is set to change content creation forever, according to Lukas. 

“AI is just going to accelerate content production even more, which I believe will improve the amount of content, the quantity, and the quality of the content we are watching,” he says. 

This democratization of content creation tools could potentially “break Hollywood and give the power to the creators,” Lukas predicts.

Content syndication is another trend Lukas highlights. 

“There’s so much opportunity in sending your content, your existing library of content, to many more places and publishing it on essentially all types of channels and unlocking more revenue,” he explains. 

This includes translating content into new languages and licensing it to publishers.

Lukas also foresees a shift in brand-influencer relationships. 

“More and more brands are gonna more or less become influencers,” he notes, pointing to the trend of companies hiring creators to represent them on social media platforms. 

The trend aligns with Lukas’ observation that “trust is moving away from corporations towards individuals.”

The German entrepreneur envisions Everbloom funding creators in emerging commerce channels like TikTok Shop or LTK stores. 

The ultimate goal, he says, is “allowing them to start there by then becoming more and more independent to essentially take the brand out of the equation and unlock the biggest equity value by becoming their brand.”

Plans for Cross-Platform Expansion

Lukas reveals plans for Everbloom’s future, focusing on growth and diversification. “It’s a lot about finding more creators we can invest in and helping them,” he states.

Everbloom aims to expand its reach beyond YouTube, addressing the “big lack of financing for all types of creators.” 

Lukas mentions plans to invest in creators on platforms like Patreon, Facebook, and Snapchat and those involved in course businesses, e-commerce, and emerging platforms like TikTok Shop.

“Consistency is a big piece,” Lukas tells creators, stressing the importance of resilience in the face of initial low viewership. He encourages novices to persist and give themselves “enough time, enough chances, enough shots.”

Lukas also highlights the value of collaboration and seeking help. “It’s often not always figuring out how to do everything yourself, but also who to ask and who can help you,” he concludes.