Lucy Guo: Turning Creators Into Entrepreneurs by Supercharging Fan Relationships
Ladderworks is a publishing platform of diverse picture books and an online curriculum with the mission to empower over a million kids to become social entrepreneurs. Our current series features interviews by our interplanetary journalist Spiffy with inspiring Social Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builders, and Changemakers who are advancing the UN SDGs.
Spiffy here with the scoop on the entrepreneurial leaders of Planet Earth. As the only interplanetary journalist stationed on this blue planet, I’m thrilled to present this galactic exclusive with Lucy Guo, the founder and CEO of Passes. Let’s learn what’s happening at Passes and how Lucy is making a positive impact in the world.
Spiffy: Hi Lucy, thanks a million for talking to me today. Tell me, what challenge are you addressing through Passes?
Lucy: Thanks for having me, Spiffy! We turn creators into entrepreneurs, starting with allowing them to gather more data on their fans, build closer relationships with them, and optimize their time.
Spiffy: What motivates you to do it?
Lucy: I had tons of friends that got anxiety over losing brand deals, getting banned on socials, etc. over the course of their social media careers. I believed that creators should really be able to own their fans, and they should be able to make a good living and build long-term wealth with them. Creators are ultimately small businesses. We see the influence they can have.
Spiffy: What is the impact of your work?
Lucy: Creators are making more than ever before on our platform. We've brought people's incomes from $2000 a month to $30,000 a month, from $5000 a month to $60,000 a month, and more.
Spiffy: That’s amazing, where can I sign up! Next, can you tell me about a recent organization milestone or initiative, and the impact it makes on your community?
Lucy: We've recently paid creators out over one million dollars after just five months in a closed beta!
Spiffy: Congratulations! Thanks for speaking with me today, Lucy—it’s been an honor!
Lucy Guo is the former co-founder of Scale AI ($7.3 billion), and is now the CEO of Passes, working on supercharging creator-to-fan relationships. She's invested in several unicorn companies such as Ramp, Pave, and Fabric, and helps founders with her depth of experiences as a viral app creator (more than 15 million users), product designer (first woman at Snap), and founder. (Nominated by Gaingels. First published on the Ladderworks website on August 1, 2023.)
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect those of Ladderworks LLC.
© 2023 Ladderworks LLC. Edited by Anushree Nande. Spiffy’s illustration by Shreyas Navare. For the Ladderworks digital curriculum to help K-3 kids advance the UN SDGs, visit Spiffy's Launchpad: Creative Entrepreneurship Workshops for K-3 Kids and their caregivers here.