I just raised brains (not money)

Do not index
Do not index
December 2021. Tweet Hunter was exploding.
We had momentum. We had users. We had growth.
What we didn't need? Money.
What we did need? Distribution firepower.
So we did something crazy πŸ‘‡
The "Creative Investor" experiment:
Instead of raising $2M from VCs, we raised something more valuable:
17 Twitter legends as micro-investors.
The deal:
> 0.1% equity each > Zero obligations (seriously, zero) > Just hoping they'd support us
Total given away: 1.7% of the company.

Why This Worked So Well

The key was making it ridiculously easy to say yes:
No monthly commitments. No posting quotas. No contracts full of obligations.
They could literally do nothing and get the equity. We just hoped they would help us grow.
Just a simple profit-sharing agreement. One piece of paper.
"If we win, you win. If we lose, you lose nothing."
2/3 of them became active supporters, retweeting launches and referring customers.

The Network Effects Were Insane πŸ“ˆ

Here's what we didn't expect:
Social proof compounding: When creator1 tweeted about us, creator2 felt more comfortable doing the same.
Cross-pollination: They introduced us to their networks, creating a web effect.
Authentic endorsements: It wasn't paid promotion - they had skin in the game.
Recruiting magnet: Other creators wanted to join our "inner circle."

The Results Speak for Themselves

When we sold Tweet Hunter, they all got paid.
Not life-changing money, but enough to buy a nice vacation.
More importantly, we built relationships that lasted beyond the exit.

The Frustrating Problem Now

I've been trying to replicate this with my other projects. Especially Superx.so.
It's not huge right now (about $5k MRR) but the momentum I'm seeing is amazing!
The problem: There's no trustable infrastructure for this.
The obvious answer is crypto/NFTs, but everything in that space feels scammy.
People run away when you mention it.
So we're stuck with legal paperwork that takes weeks to set up.
(If you have a solution or can build one - feel free to reply or DM me - happy to chat!)
Should We Do This for SuperX? πŸ€”
Who would be the obvious partners?
We're earlier in the journey, but momentum is building.
I'm wondering if we should recruit another group of micro-investors:
β†’ 10-15 X power users β†’ 0.1% each for future profits β†’ Same "no obligations" deal
The product is solid. The timing feels right. The audience alignment is perfect.

Why This Model Is Genius

Think about it:
For founders: You get distribution without giving up board seats or control.
For creators: You get upside without writing checks or taking meetings.
For the market: Products with genuine community backing win faster.
It's basically turning your biggest potential advocates into literal stakeholders.

The Bigger Picture

This isn't just about Tweet Hunter or SuperX. This model could work for any product where:
Your investors are also your ideal customers
Network effects matter
Community > capital
Imagine if every SaaS had 20 micro-investors who were actual users. The word-of-mouth would be unstoppable.

Your Turn

I'm seriously considering doing this for SuperX.
Hit reply and tell me:
1 - Would you be interested in something like this? (must have great X community)
2 - What's the biggest risk you see?
3 - Any ideas for making the legal side simpler?

Tweet of the week

CEO of PayPal is hiring for a content person.
Why are you not building a personal brand yet?

I will see you next week,
Keep building
Tibo πŸ’»

P.S. If enough people are interested, I might document the entire SuperX "creative investor" process publicly. Could be a fun experiment to follow along with.

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Written by

Tibo
Tibo

Maker