Patreon, Inc.
Company History
Patreon History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 2013 in San Francisco, California, United States
When was Patreon founded?
Patreon was founded in 2013 in San Francisco, California, United States by Jack Conte and Sam Yam, making it 13 years old.
- Founded
- 2013
- Founding place
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Founders
- Jack Conte and Sam Yam
- Headquarters today
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Milestones documented
- 12 (2013–2026)
- Current CEO
- Jack Conte
- Acquisitions
- 3
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2013 | Patreon Founded in San Francisco by Jack Conte and Sam Yam |
| 2014 | $15M Series A Led by Danny Rimer at Index Ventures |
| 2015 | Data Breach |
| 2016 | $30M Series B & Crosses $100M in Cumulative Creator Payouts |
| 2017 | $60M Series C & The December Fee Crisis Humility Moment |
| 2018 | Memberful Acquired |
| 2019 | $60M Series D at $660M Valuation & Launches European Entity |
| 2020 | $90M Series E at $1.2B Valuation & Pandemic Creator Boom |
| 2021 | $155M Series F at $4.0B Valuation Led by Tiger & Lone Pine |
| 2022 | Layoffs |
| 2023 | Launches Free Memberships, Patreon Commerce & Spotify Partnership |
| 2026 | Creators Pass $10 Billion in Lifetime Earnings |
- Where was Patreon founded?
- Patreon was founded in San Francisco, California, United States in 2013.
- Who founded Patreon?
- Patreon was founded by Jack Conte and Sam Yam.
- When did Patreon start?
- Patreon was founded in 2013.
- How old is Patreon?
- Patreon is 13 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
In 2013 Jack Conte, half of the YouTube music duo Pomplamoose, spent heavily producing a music video that drew about a million views and paid him roughly $166 in ad revenue. He teamed up with his Stanford roommate Sam Yam, who had previously co-founded mobile ad company AdWhirl, and they launched Patreon in May 2013 so fans could pay creators a set amount per piece of work or per month.
Founders
Jack Conte
Jack Conte co-founded Patreon in 2013 after years of building an audience on YouTube with Pomplamoose and earning little from ads. He has been CEO since launch, steering the company through funding rounds up to a $4 billion valuation in 2021, the 2025 move to a single 10% fee for new creators, and a 20% workforce cut in July 2026. He continues to release music and publicly advocates for creator ownership of fan relationships. Jack Conte was born in 1984 in San Francisco.
Sam Yam
Sam Yam co-founded Patreon in 2013 alongside his Stanford roommate Jack Conte. While Conte was the creative musician deeply frustrated by YouTube's terrible ad payouts, Yam was the brilliant technical architect. He built the entire initial Patreon platform in just six weeks, creating the highly robust payment backend that allowed fans to reliably subscribe directly to creators. Sam Yam was born in 1983.
Key Milestones
Patreon Founded in San Francisco by Jack Conte and Sam Yam
Musician Jack Conte and engineer Sam Yam founded Patreon, writing the platform in six weeks and raising $2.1M.
Source: en.wikipedia.org$15M Series A Led by Danny Rimer at Index Ventures
Raised Series A, crossing 10,000 creators earning over $1 million per month in fan subscriptions.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgData Breach
Patreon disclosed in October 2015 that attackers had stolen and published user data.
Source: en.wikipedia.org$30M Series B & Crosses $100M in Cumulative Creator Payouts
Raised $30 million led by Thrive Capital, passing $100 million paid out directly to artists.
Source: en.wikipedia.org$60M Series C & The December Fee Crisis Humility Moment
Reached $60M Series C; reversed controversial transaction fee changes following creator community feedback.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgMemberful Acquired
Patreon bought the membership-software company Memberful in 2018.
Source: en.wikipedia.org$60M Series D at $660M Valuation & Launches European Entity
Expanded internationally, establishing Dublin operations and launching multi-currency billing.
Source: en.wikipedia.org$90M Series E at $1.2B Valuation & Pandemic Creator Boom
Achieved unicorn status during COVID-19 lockdowns as creators turned to Patreon for direct survival.
Source: en.wikipedia.org$155M Series F at $4.0B Valuation Led by Tiger & Lone Pine
Valuation reached $4.0 billion; cumulative creator payouts surged past $2.0 billion.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLaunches Free Memberships, Patreon Commerce & Spotify Partnership
Debuted digital goods sales, free membership tiers, and native podcast streaming inside Spotify.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgCreators Pass $10 Billion in Lifetime Earnings
Cumulative creator earnings passed $10 billion in August 2025, with about 25 million paid memberships.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgMajor Acquisitions
Subbable
2015Patronage platform created by Hank and John Green; its creators moved to Patreon.
Kit
2018New York product-curation startup acquired in June 2018 to build creator merch tools; Patreon sold the Kit.com assets to Geniuslink in September 2019.
Memberful
2018White-label membership software for creators and publishers running their own websites; still operated as a separate product.
Keep researching Patreon
Patreon Company History FAQ
What are the major historical milestones of Patreon since its founding in 2013?
Key historical milestones include: May 2013 founding by Jack Conte and Sam Yam; 2014 Series A led by Index Ventures; 2018 acquisition of Memberful; 2020 surge during COVID-19 pandemic; 2021 $4 billion valuation Series F; 2022 rollout of native Patreon Video; 2023 launch of Free Memberships and Commerce; and 2024 global mobile app overhaul.
How did Patreon evolve from basic crowdfunding tips to a full enterprise membership platform?
Patreon began as a simple 'tip jar' where fans pledged $1 per YouTube video or song. It evolved into an all-in-one business operating system offering monthly tiered subscriptions, merchandise fulfillment, native ad-free video streaming, community group chats, and digital commerce shops.
What was the 2017 payment fee controversy and how did Patreon handle it?
In December 2017, Patreon announced a plan to pass transaction fees directly to patrons rather than deducting them from creators. Following intense community backlash from patrons of micro-pledges ($1/month), CEO Jack Conte publicly apologized and reversed the decision within five days, reaffirming creator-first trust.
How did the rise of independent political and cultural podcasting impact Patreon's growth?
In the late 2010s, large independent podcasts (such as Chapo Trap House, TrueAnon, The Doughboys, and Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast) chose Patreon as their primary business model, generating millions in annual subscriptions and proving that high-end audio content could thrive without corporate sponsors.
What impact did the COVID-19 pandemic have on Patreon's adoption?
In 2020, as physical venues closed worldwide, over 30,000 creators joined Patreon in a single month, driving record subscriber signups and accelerating Patreon's Gross Merchandise Value beyond $1 billion annually.
When did Patreon introduce native video hosting and why was it significant?
Introduced in late 2022, Patreon Video allowed creators to host exclusive, ad-free video content directly within Patreon. This eliminated the risk of unlisted third-party links being leaked on forums and gave creators full control over their video content.
How did Patreon expand into digital product commerce in 2023?
In 2023, Patreon launched Patreon Commerce, allowing creators to sell one-off digital downloads (e-books, digital artwork, audio tracks, presets) to any fan without requiring an ongoing monthly subscription, opening a major new revenue stream.
What is Patreon's long-term historical impact on the Creator Economy?
Patreon pioneered the modern Creator Economy, shifting digital entertainment from platform-dependent advertising algorithms to direct fan patronage and proving that millions of people worldwide will pay recurring subscriptions to sustain independent artistic work.
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