Serial investor and visionary | Cofounder at Schwarzwald Capital, dedicated to empowering innovative fintech and creator economy projects.
The creator economy has been experiencing meteoric growth in recent years, jumping from $50 billion in 2021 to about $300 billion in 2024. But as impressive as this progress is, financial stability still remains a critical issue for creators who struggle to earn a sustainable income, and fragmented monetization often makes financial management difficult.
Turning content creation into a full-time career is especially challenging due to what I see as a lack of accessible financial and legal tools. To unlock its full potential, I believe the creator economy needs streamlined, business-friendly fintech solutions and tools. Startups and investors have an opportunity to address these gaps, shaping a more sustainable and scalable ecosystem for creators worldwide.
The fact is that despite its growth, this sector is still relatively new and fragile beneath the surface, and much of its infrastructure is still developing. If the creator industry is to live up to the heights projected for it, its current vulnerabilities need to be actively addressed.
Let’s take a closer look at what major pain points need to be tackled, and the role tech ventures can play in solving them.
Financial Instability Among Creators
Despite the booming growth and the fact that creator-generated content drives 12 times more engagement than brand content, Schwarzwald’s research shows that 73% of creators earn less than $30,000 annually, with only 8% surpassing the $100,000 mark. For many, content creation remains a secondary income stream rather than a sustainable career, limiting long-term growth opportunities.
Based on this, I think making monetization easier should be one of the industry’s most important focuses for growth. Right now, creators often use multiple platforms to monetize their content, each with its own payout system, fee structure and withdrawal limits. In some cases, especially with smaller amounts, transaction fees can consume nearly 50% of the payout.
Additionally, transferring funds—particularly across borders—can be a slow and costly process, bogged down by platform-specific limitations and high fees. All of this makes it harder for creators to access and manage their funds effectively.
A big step forward would be streamlining payment flows into unified fintech platforms tailored to creators. These solutions should consolidate earnings across channels and offer flexible withdrawal options with minimal fees. This way, creators will be able to reliably access their income, improving their financial resilience and, ultimately, consistent content quality.
When you have confidence in your monetary stability, you can plan for the future: Hire a team, purchase equipment, update software and invest in long-term development.
Rising Exposure To Fraud
The creator industry is characterized by many small transactions that do not fall under the traditional verification rules, which makes it a prime target for fraud. Adding fuel to the proverbial fire is the fact that a significant part of the target audience in this sector often lacks financial literacy or tools to protect themselves.
Therefore, improving transaction security without compromising user experience is an essential area of development where new technological solutions are needed. This is where it makes sense for fintech platforms to collaborate with the leaders of the anti-fraud market, who already have years of experience in the field and existing solutions that require only competent adaptation. Making creator payments safer would also mean expanding their access to broader financial products.
Another growing threat is identity fraud. Bad actors are increasingly impersonating high-profile creators using fake accounts, deepfakes or counterfeit content to scam audiences. Such actions undermine the trust of the audience and damage the reputation of influencers, getting in the way of the creator industry’s advancement.
To combat this, platforms can invest in content verification tools to help verify identity and authenticity in real time. Biometric authentication, AI-driven content analysis and watermarking systems can help flag fraudulent activity. At the same time, stronger regulatory frameworks around digital identity and likeness rights are urgently needed.
I urge regulators and tech companies to work together to create an environment that protects both creators and consumers.
A Lack Of Scalable, Global Financial Solutions
While creators operate on global platforms, their financial tools are often limited by geography. Some regions offer creator-specific financial products—such as specialized debit cards or creator-friendly banks—while others offer no tailored services at all. This uneven landscape forces many creators to improvise and cobble together temporary solutions, which can slow down their growth and makes tax compliance, currency conversion and fund access a lot more complicated than they really should be.
I think the industry requires a more global outlook and an infrastructure that can offer equally effective conditions to creators no matter where they operate. Cross-border fintech solutions that support multiple currencies can integrate with global platforms and offer region-adapted compliance features will be instrumental here. This can help the creator economy consolidate into a more cohesive industry.
Barriers To Pivoting A Hobby Into A Business
Many creators begin their journey as hobbyists, driven primarily by their passions, only later turning those hobbies into real jobs. Nowadays, almost half of surveyed creators work in the industry full time. But transforming a passion project into a professional brand is not always a smooth process—it requires financial tools, legal knowledge and business infrastructure that most creators initially lack.
This presents a unique opportunity for startups in the fintech and legaltech spaces, as they can help creators make this transition with a bit more ease. User-friendly apps with intuitive UX, smart onboarding flows and embedded financial literacy features can help bridge the gap, particularly where young audiences need to be engaged. Legaltech platforms that use gamification and plain language can better explain complex processes like tax filing or IP protection.
The simpler it becomes for creators to go “professional,” the faster they can scale, making the whole ecosystem more robust as a result.
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