Subbb 💲

Setting the Scene

• While online digital communities on Slack or WhatsApp have become increasingly popular, creators face challenges in monetizing them. 

• Here’s why:

  • Onboarding Friction: Popular community apps like Slack and WhatsApp lack customization and paid features.

  • It’s Expensive: Current platforms charge 9%-15% per transaction, plus additional fees and subscriptions.

  • You’re Locked In: Moving between platforms like Patreon and Discord requires canceling all subscriptions and starting from scratch. 

• This week’s company enables developers to seamlessly monetize their online communities, all while maintaining minimal friction and maximum customization.

In a Sentence

Subbb empowers creators to easily launch and manage paid communities across platforms with maximum customization.

• Manage: For only a 4% transaction fee, Subbb automatically operates all member subscriptions, maintains permissions, syncs roles, and analyzes metrics.

• Platforms: Subbb can be overlayed on popular platforms allowing audiences to join familiar channels like Discord, Slack, Whatsapp, and Telegram.

• Customization: Offers comprehensive theming tools for colors, fonts, images, and layouts to match the creator's brand.

The Basics

• Industry: Creator Economy, SaaS 

• Headquarters: New York

• Year Founded: 2024

• Employee Count: 1

• Investors: Antler and various angel investors

• Amount Raised: $500k pre-seed

• Business Model: 4% transaction fee per sign up

• Early Traction: Growing revenue 37.9% on average WoW, onboarding 10-40 new users per day, 100% organic growth

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

• The ARK Venture Fund is taking an asset class once reserved for the accredited, ultra-rich and making it available to all US investors.

• ARK offers investment exposure to companies like SpaceX, Epic Games, Figure AI, Anthropic, and more! See the portfolio here.

• You can invest in the ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX) for as little as a $500 minimum initial investment.

• All U.S. self-directed investors can download the SoFi or Titan app and invest in the ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX) now.

Due Diligence

WHAT WE LIKE

• Creator Economy: As of 2024 the global creator economy is worth $156B, with creators looking to expand their offerings by engaging their audience through exclusive community access.

• Seamless Integrations: Subbb supports integration with popular platforms like Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, and Telegram, allowing creators to effortlessly monetize and onboard their audiences onto familiar platforms, reducing friction and enhancing user experience.

• Social Hub Potential: By enabling creators to manage and monetize their communities across multiple platforms, Subbb has the potential to evolve into a central hub for discovering and engaging with various communities, effectively reverse engineering a user base from its current offerings.

POTENTIAL RISKS

• Feature vs. Product: There is a risk that Subbb may be seen as a feature rather than a standalone product.

• Defensibility: Despite exceptional UI, integrations, and lower transaction fees, Subbb's software might be easily replicable.

• Revenue Dependence: Subbb’s reliance on a 4% transaction fee model could become problematic if larger platforms reduce their fees or introduce competitive alternatives.

Founder Profile

• Jacob Binnie, CEO: A full-stack software engineer and YouTube creator.

Comps

• Stan: Backed by Pear VC

• Whop: Backed by Insight Partners, Pareto Holdings, JAM Fund

Event Board

• NYC Dinner for Technical Founders & Funders: On July 1st, we are hosting a dinner in NYC for technical founders and funders. Apply here.

Cast Your Vote

Last Week Today

• The results are in: Rito, a company using self-checkout kiosks and AI video tracking to serve food with minimal labor costs, was favored in last week’s poll.

• Subscriber feedback: “I love their model — sourcing food from restaurants during off-peak hours while supporting local restaurants with additional revenue is a win-win strategy.”