Announcing Cultured Group and Moving to Substack

Hi All,

Sorry for the radio silence, we’ve been heads down the past several weeks and are excited to share a few updates: 

1. the launch of Cultured Group

2. the move of Going Direct over to Substack

For those of you who have been following our writing over the past year, you know we have been talking ad nauseam that there is no more creator economy, it’s just the economy. 

Traditional media was the first industry creators called checkmate on—now they’re setting their sights on the rest of the economy.

But here’s the thing: creators are no longer just content creators, they’re business builders. They’re flipping the traditional playbook, where distribution now comes before product. The ecosystem around them is a bit messy, chaotic, and intentionally decentralized. That’s both the beauty and the challenge. 

We’ve spent the past two years deep in the underbelly of the creator economy learning how the proverbial sausage is made. Along the way, we began investing in creator-led brands and startups where creators are the primary distribution strategy. We also started advising companies on how to structure equity deals with talent, launched co-branded product programs, and partnered with Veshin and their network of factories to offer a product design and manufacturing service tailored to creators.

All of this work started as exploration, but it led us to one clear conclusion:

Creators are ready, but the infrastructure around them isn’t.

That’s why we formed the Cultured Group.

Introducing the Cultured Group 🎆 

The Cultured Group provides seed capital as well as advisory services tailored to the creator economy. We just pushed the Cultured Group website live that explains much more about how we view the space, how we invest, and who we work with.

Scott will serve as Managing Partner, while Jordan will take on the role of Chairman. Both will be investing directly from their own balance sheets. In addition, Scott manages HotStart VC, a syndicate that invests more broadly across creator-led brands.

For all of you in the industry, we are going to start sending out a monthly deal sheet with active opportunities for agents, creators, and brands that we are working on. Sign up here.

Why are we doing this work?

We believe creators represent the largest direct distribution network the world has ever seen. They have the power to bypass the middlemen and gatekeepers that still dominate much of our economy, but unlocking this potential requires much better coordination and stronger support systems.

Creators are key enablers to building a more decentralized real economy that works for a broader share of the population. That’s the future we want to help build.

Moving Over to Substack

We’re moving all of our writing on the creator economy over to Substack.

Nothing changes on your end other than emails will now come from Substack vs Beehiiv.

In the coming week or so, you’ll receive a piece that unpacks the broader vision behind Going Direct and how the creator economy fits into that story. Scott and Jordan will continue writing on the creator economy, but Jordan will be covering other topics around creating a more decentralized real economy at Going Direct. 

Have a great day and remember to Go Direct!

Jordan & Scott

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