Creator Economy : An exploratory study on the emerging phenomenon of content creators and creator accelerator programs

Sammanfattning

The creator economy is a growing phenomenon in business, entrepreneurship and the global economy. This thesis seeks to explore the identity of content creators and the format of creator accelerator programs to help understand the growing phenomenon of the creator economy. In comparing the two ecosystems of content creators and entrepreneurs we can begin to understand the effects and implications. The thesis also aims to understand the similarities between upcoming content creator accelerator programs and mature startup accelerator programs. Through qualitative methods, primary sources are collected to compare content creators to entrepreneurs and creator accelerator programs to startup accelerator programs. By reviewing one hundred eighty-two (182) content creators and four hundred and three (403) entrepreneurs, the results are divided into three categories; the top roles identified, the number of times the role appeared in the group, and the percentage of roles based on the total number of people. The primary difference between content creators and entrepreneurs is content creators focus on the content produced, whereas the entrepreneur focuses on the organization, product or services. In exploring similarities between the two types of accelerator programs four categories emerge in organizing the program information: length of the program, goals, mentorship or networking opportunities, and funding. This paves the way in understanding the growing creator economy phenomenon by finding overlap amongst content creators and traditional entrepreneurs alongside accelerator programs.