We believe that creators connect us to our own humanity and to each other.

Tellie gives independent creators the tools to express yourselves, build relationships, and make a living from your creativity.

You deserve more.

You deserve dignity and ownership over your creative output and your livelihood. For too long, gatekeepers have controlled who gets to be a creator and what creative works get made. They have retained ownership over your work and made you financially dependent on them. In the original Renaissance, rich patrons chose who got to be an artist and were considered the primary force behind a work’s creation.

In the modern era, a new set of gatekeepers—labels and studios first, social media platforms next—continue to control you, your content, your audience, and your finances. Social media platforms created the illusion of democratized distribution, but in reality all but a handful of you have no meaningful chance of achieving financial independence based on your creative work. You deserve more.

At Tellie, we believe:

You deserve to make money from the value you create.

In the current system, the platforms and the top 1% of creators make all the money, while everyone else struggles to put food on the table. You should not be expected to provide endless free labor in exchange for the hope of one day getting your big break.

You should be able to make a living wage from your creativity. You deserve the financial tools to fund your passions and participate in the value you create. The interests of creators, tech platforms, and fans can be aligned, not adversarial. Having the tools for your fans to fund your passions, rather than relying on advertising dollars, will lead to a more equitable system. 

You deserve to own your content.

You should not have to give up your ownership rights to find an audience that connects with your work. You should have the option to store your digital files centrally or decentrally and the choice to permanently host your own content.

You deserve to own your relationships.

For too long, you have been trapped inside walled gardens. You should know who your fans are and be able to take your relationships anywhere. If new platforms or services come online that provide value to you and your community, you and your fans should have the freedom to move to that new platform. Single platform lock-in has gone on long enough.

You deserve to build community on your terms.

You should have flexibility in how you build and engage your community. You should not be required to become a full-time community manager. You should not have to expose yourself to an endless barrage of toxicity, cruelty, and hate. You should be able to choose when, where, and how to engage in two-way conversations. You should have the control to erect boundaries that keep you healthy and sane.

You deserve tools that make it all a little easier.

You should not need a PhD to build, manage, and grow a home for your creativity. You should have tools that get out of your way, and let you go back to creating.

You deserve to tell your story. 

You deserve beautiful design and storytelling tools to fully express yourself and make new kinds of art. You should not be constrained by one-size-fits all templates that reduce your creativity to generic boxes and buttons or long templatized, algorithmically-driven feeds.

Own your story. Take control over your creative destiny.

‍