Press & Media

June 4, 2024  |  View on PRNewswire

The ClearValue Tax YouTube channel’s third offering sold out, raising its maximum funding goal of $1.09M from ~1,087 investors.

CHICAGO, IL —  June 4, 2024 — GigaStar, a startup bringing Creators and Investors together, has reached its first major milestone. On its platform, GigaStar Market, a single YouTube channel offering successfully raised over $1 million by issuing revenue-share securities, represented digitally by 1,625 Channel Revenue Tokens (CRTs).

Through GigaStar Market, its primary marketplace, GigaStar provides YouTube Creators with a streamlined way to raise capital by monetizing potential future revenue through a securities offering structured for investors who understand the terms and risks, including the risk of loss.

In an offering that opened May 7th and closed May 28th, Brian Kim, owner of the ClearValue Tax YouTube channel, offered investors 20% of his channel’s future AdSense revenue. In total, the channel has raised $1.87M from ~3,147 investors across 3 GigaStar Market offerings, with the 3rd offering raising over $1M.

“I want to thank everyone who has participated in my GigaStar offerings,” said Brian Kim. “Now, I have thousands of investors joining my journey, and supporting my mission to spread financial education and financial literacy.”

“We’re committed to connecting a new generation of entrepreneurs like Brian Kim with thousands of strategic investors,” said GigaStar CEO, Hazem Dawani. “Our mission to fuel human creativity has been validated and we believe our secondary market trading platform, which is targeted to launch by the end of 2024, will revolutionize how investors can participate in the Creator Economy.”

GigaStar Market, an SEC-registered funding portal, operates under Reg CF and has launched 13 YouTube channel offerings, raising over $2.4M for Creators to date on the platform with more than 15,500 investor accounts. Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve risks, including the risk of loss of the entire investment.

Learn more at https://gigastarmarket.io.

About GigaStar

GigaStar fuels human creativity by bringing Creators and Investors together. GigaStar provides Creators with an intuitive platform to raise capital from investors who gain exposure to the Creator Economy while joining a Creator’s journey. Learn more at gigastar.io.

Creator Networks, Inc., (dba GigaStar) is the Parent Company of GigaStar Portal, LLC (dba GigaStar Market). GigaStar Market is an SEC-registered funding portal and a member of FINRA offering securities under Reg CF. Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve risks, including the risk of loss of the entire investment. The past performance of an offering, security, or channel is not a guarantee of future results.

April 30, 2024  |  View on PRNewswire 

‘By the Numbers’ view on the dashboard highlights key performance metrics and mobile-first updates provide quick access to revenue information 

Chicago, IL – April 30, 2024 – GigaStar, a startup bringing YouTube Creators and Investors together, today announced significant platform updates to enhance user experience and provide comprehensive insights into portfolio performance.

“At GigaStar, we're driven by a vision where every Creator has the tools to turn their dreams into reality, and every Investor can contribute to the future of content creation,” said Hala Saleh, GigaStar’s VP of Product. “With our latest platform updates, from the intuitive 'By the Numbers' dashboard to our pioneering Drop Calculator, we're setting a new standard for collaboration in the Creator Economy.”

GigaStar provides YouTube Creators with a streamlined way to raise capital. On GigaStar Market, YouTube Creators can list a percentage of their channel's potential future revenue, represented by revenue-sharing securities, which Investors aged 18 or older, who are willing to accept the associated risks of a securities offering, including the risk of loss, can purchase during a drop. 

Underscoring the company’s commitment to continuously improving the user experience, GigaStar has made the following notable updates:

• GigaStar Portfolio "By the Numbers" Section: This section of the “Portfolio Dashboard” gives users a snapshot of their portfolio’s performance at a glance to help inform and enhance their decision-making process.
• GigaStar Portfolio Dashboard Redesign: The Portfolio Dashboard has received a comprehensive redesign. This facelift includes several modifications to simplify navigation and enhance critical sections' readability while providing key data and information to Investors.
• Bar Chart View of Earnings on Mobile: This view now adopts a bar chart format, improving the accessibility of revenue-sharing distribution information, and allowing users to track their financial progress efficiently.
• New Drop Calculator for Creators: Creators considering listing a drop on GigaStar Market can see how much they could potentially raise using the new Drop Calculator. This tool allows them to calculate different hypothetical valuations based on select fundraising factors.
  
  
• Detailed “Drops & CRTs” Section: This section of the Portfolio Dashboard organizes the Channel Revenue Token (“CRT”) performance data by Drop, which streamlines navigation and facilitates easier access to view multiple CRTs that belong to one Drop all in one place.

Several high-impact enhancements are in the product pipeline, including: 

• GigaStar Market Investor Flow User Experience: Several enhancements are planned for the user experience on gigastarmarket.io to achieve a more intuitive and streamlined flow for Investors. 
• Transfer of Funds: This feature will allow Investors to transfer revenue received via ACH to a bank account.

GigaStar’s platform enhancements follow the news that it will be launching a $1M fund to award grants to YouTube Creators The company plans to launch its secondary market platform by the end of 2024.

With the Creator Economy expected to exceed $500 billion in 2024, an innovative funding mechanism is more important than ever. GigaStar Market, an SEC-registered funding portal, operating under Reg CF, has launched eight YouTube channel offerings so far, raising nearly $2M on the platform with over 12,000 Investor accounts. To learn more, visit gigastarmarket.io. 

About GigaStar

GigaStar fuels human creativity by bringing Creators and Investors together. GigaStar provides Creators with an intuitive platform to raise capital from Investors who gain exposure to the Creator Economy while joining a Creator's journey. Learn more at gigastar.io.

Creator Networks, Inc., (dba GigaStar) is the Parent Company of GigaStar Portal, LLC (dba GigaStar Market). GigaStar Market is an SEC-registered funding portal and a member of FINRA offering securities under Reg CF. Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve risks, including the risk of loss of the entire investment. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

April 9, 2024  |  View on PRNewswire

The $1M fund will provide capital injections to select YouTube creators beginning in Q2 2024.

CHICAGO, April 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- GigaStar, a startup bringing creators and Investors together, is launching a $1M YouTube Creator Fund to help accelerate the journey of YouTubers. The new fund will launch in the coming month to provide discretionary grants to established creators earning over $100k in annual YouTube revenue. 

The fund will contribute to GigaStar’s mission of fueling human creativity while it continues to serve creators who list on GigaStar Market, a crowdfunding platform where creators can raise capital from thousands of investors by monetizing potential future revenue. 

“This Fund is another way for us to support creators,” said GigaStar CEO, Hazem Dawani. “In addition to GigaStar Market, which allows creators to gain strategic investors and gives investors access to the $250B Creator Economy via revenue-sharing securities, which are uniquely represented by digital tokens, we will also award grants to select creators to help advance their goals.”

This news follows GigaStar’s recent announcement that it completed an additional $3M investment round to advance efforts to scale GigaStar Market (its current primary market platform), attain its broker-dealer registration, and develop its secondary market trading platform, which is targeted to launch by the end of 2024.  

GigaStar Market, an SEC-registered funding portal, operates under Reg CF and has launched 8 YouTube channel offerings, raising for Creators on the platform over $1.2M to date with over 12,000 investor accounts. Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve risks, including the risk of loss of the entire investment. 

Learn more at https://gigastarmarket.io. 

About GigaStar  

GigaStar fuels human creativity by bringing Creators and Investors together. GigaStar provides Creators with an intuitive platform to raise capital from investors who gain exposure to the Creator Economy while joining a Creator’s journey. Learn more at gigastar.io

Creator Networks, Inc., (dba GigaStar) is the Parent Company of GigaStar Portal, LLC (dba GigaStar Market). GigaStar Market is an SEC-registered funding portal and a member of FINRA offering securities under Reg CF. Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve risks, including the risk of loss of the entire investment. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Contact the GigaStar Partnerships Team:

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Press Inquiries:

Kristen Aikey
JMG Public Relations
212-206-1645 
kristen@jmgpr.com 

February 6, 2024  |  View on PRNewswire

The latest $3M funding round brings GigaStar’s total funding to $7.8M since May 2022, a notable achievement in a shifting VC environment.

CHICAGO, Feb. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — GigaStar, a startup that fuels human creativity, has announced the completion of an additional $3M investment round. GigaStar provides YouTube Creators with a streamlined way to raise capital by monetizing potential future revenue.

The funding will enable the firm to accelerate efforts to scale GigaStar Market (its current primary market platform), attain its broker-dealer registration, and develop its secondary market, which is anticipated to launch by the end of 2024. Additionally, it will allow GigaStar to establish partnerships that will give Creators access to thousands of strategic investors in a regulated public offering process.

“YouTube Creators deserve access to funding and strategic investors, just as traditional entrepreneurs do. GigaStar Market is the only investment platform focused on providing accredited and non-accredited investors access to the fast-growing $250B Creator Economy via unique revenue-sharing securities,” said GigaStar CEO, Hazem Dawani. “Our ability to raise funding in this environment at a higher valuation than the previous round is another testimony of the validity of our business model and market potential.”

This latest investment round included participation from existing and new strategic investors. GigaStar investors currently include DV Crypto VC, Tomsic Holdings, Nameless Ventures, Belvedere Strategic Capital, and Metropolitan Capital Bank.

This news follows GigaStar’s recent announcement that ex-Robinhood serial entrepreneur Victor Glava was appointed Chief Technology Officer.

GigaStar Market, an SEC-registered funding portal, operates under Reg CF and has launched seven YouTube channel offerings so far, raising $1.2M+ on the platform with over 12,000 investor accounts.

About GigaStar

GigaStar fuels human creativity by empowering Creators and Investors to grow together. Through GigaStar Market, Creators monetize potential future revenue by accessing thousands of strategic Investors in a streamlined platform. Creators can build an army of promoters while Investors gain access to the Creator Economy to share YouTube revenue with Creators, enjoy an alternative investment, and join an exclusive club. Website: https://gigastar.io.

Creator Networks, Inc., (dba GigaStar) is the Parent Company of GigaStar Portal, LLC (dba GigaStar Market). GigaStar Market is an SEC-registered funding portal and a member of FINRA offering securities under Reg CF. Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve risks, including the risk of loss of the entire investment.

January 23, 2024  |  View on PRNewswire

Glava joins GigaStar with more than 15 years of expertise in leading engineering teams and building innovative, scalable financial technology products.

CHICAGO, Jan. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- GigaStar, a startup bringing YouTube Creators and Investors together, announced that financial technology veteran, Victor Glava, has joined the team as Chief Technology Officer.

Glava will lead GigaStar's engineering team to execute the company's technical vision and strategy and intensify efforts to scale the GigaStar Market platform, including the development of its secondary market, expected to launch in mid-2024.

Before joining GigaStar, Victor served as a technical leader within the Brokerage organization at Robinhood and was instrumental in many strategic initiatives within market data and crypto. Prior to Robinhood, Victor was co-founder and CTO of Cove Markets, a provider of crypto best execution trading software, later acquired by Robinhood. Victor also co-founded and served as CTO of OptionsCity Software, a financial technology firm and global leader for professional traders and risk managers.

"Victor is a seasoned technologist with a successful track record of building and scaling teams, processes, and technologies behind sophisticated financial technology," said Hazem Dawani, CEO of GigaStar. "Given his expertise, I am confident that Victor's leadership will accelerate the pace of innovation at GigaStar."

GigaStar Market, an SEC-registered funding portal, operates under Reg CF and has launched its first seven YouTube Creator offerings to date, raising $1.2M on the platform with over 12,000 investor accounts.

About GigaStar

GigaStar fuels human creativity by empowering Creators and Investors to grow together. Through GigaStar Market, Creators monetize future revenue by accessing thousands of strategic Investors in a streamlined and regulated public offering. Creators can build an army of promoters while Investors gain access to the Creator Economy to share YouTube revenue with Creators, enjoy an alternative investment, and join an exclusive club. Learn more at https://gigastar.io.

Creator Networks, Inc., (dba GigaStar) is the Parent Company of GigaStar Portal, LLC (dba GigaStar Market). GigaStar Market is an SEC-registered funding portal and a member of FINRA offering securities under Reg CF. Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve risks, including risk of loss.

August 22, 2023  |  View on PRNewswire

GigaStar's model, which lowers the barriers of entry for individuals to invest in the Creator Economy, draws attention from institutional investors seeking alpha uncorrelated to the S&P

GigaStar, a startup bringing YouTube Creators and Fans together as partners through its next-generation marketplace, has received interest from Ananke Capital as an investor looking to gain institutional exposure to the Creator Economy.

Through GigaStar Market, an SEC registered funding portal, which operates a crowdfunding platform under Reg CF, YouTube Creators can transform Fans into strategic investors by offering them a percentage of their YouTube channel's potential future revenue. Investors should familiarize themselves with the risks of loss, including liquidity risks, and the potential loss of their investment.

GigaStar Market has launched five YouTube Creator offerings to date, raising $1.1M+ on the platform with 10,000+ investors, and a sixth offering in the pipeline. Ananke Capital's Singularity Fund I has decided to allocate $100K to invest in YouTube Creators on the GigaStar Market platform, with interest in trading in GigaStar's secondary market. The secondary market is currently expected to launch in June of 2024.

"GigaStar is creating a new investment category by securitizing future revenue within the Creator Economy", said GigaStar CEO, Hazem Dawani. "Looking forward, we anticipate that more institutions like Ananke Capital will recognize the portfolio potential of YouTube channels as investable assets. GigaStar Market is the only regulated platform that can offer these assets today."

"Ananke was searching for a modern, highly scalable, and accessible way to invest in the Creator Economy. GigaStar is currently the only institutional-grade technology that achieves this goal.", said Tim Gorham, Principal of Ananke Capital. "GigaStar Market offers income-generating investment assets with low correlation to traditional equity markets, adding diversification to our strategy. This technology is exactly what our fund was looking for."

About GigaStar

GigaStar fuels human creativity by bringing YouTube Creators and Fans together as partners in revenue-sharing securities. Fans can invest in YouTube Creators to support their channel's future, unlock special perks, and share in the Creator's journey. GigaStar leverages blockchain technology to give Creators streamlined access to funding, a new way to innovate Fan engagement, and the potential to bolster channel growth by transforming thousands of their fans into an army of promoters. Learn more at https://gigastar.io and join the GigaStar Discord at https://discord.gg/gigastar. Explore GigaStar Market at https://gigastarmarket.io/.

About Ananke

Ananke Capital was founded on July 4th, 2021 by Principal Tim Gorham, an executive with fifteen years of professional experience focusing on volatility trading and market making. With the investment objective of achieving meaningful returns with the lowest volatility possible, Ananke Capital primarily focuses on Digital Assets and utilizes an Edge Based, 3rd Generation, Volatility Trading System with exceptionally low internal costs. For more information about Ananke Capital email info@anankecap.com.

Creator Networks, Inc.(dba GigaStar). GigaStar is the Parent Company of GigaStar Portal, LLC (dba GigaStar Market), an SEC registered funding portal member of FINRA, and GigaStar Technologies LLC, offering blockchain and smart contract solutions via GigaStar Portfolio. Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve a high degree of risk, including the risk of loss of your entire investment. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Media Contact:
Sarah McNabb
smcnabb@gigastar.io

April 28, 2023  |  View on PRNewswire

The channel drop, which sold out in an hour, successfully closed on April 27th, validating demand for bringing Creators and Fans together as partners.

GigaStar, a startup bringing Creators and Fans together as partners, announced that its first YouTube Creator’s securitized revenue share offering on GigaStar Market has successfully closed, validating its business model.

With his channel drop opening on April 6, YouTube Creator Brian Kim, owner of the channel ClearValue Tax, offered 10% of his channel’s future revenue to his Fans, digitally represented by 2,500 Channel Revenue Tokens (CRTs).

The drop sold out in an hour, meeting 100% of its $60,000 target raise and resulting in over 7,700 new GigaStar Market accounts. An investor waitlist of an additional 500% of the target had accumulated by the offering close date.

“I’m excited to share my journey and my channel’s future with my Fans, and their support has boosted my motivation,” said Brian Kim. “GigaStar made a win-win partnership with my Fans a reality, and I’m already seeing increased engagement across my channel.”

“The success of Brian’s drop underscores our mission to fuel human creativity” said GigaStar CEO, Hazem Dawani. “Our business hypothesis that Fans want to invest in Creators and help them grow their channels has been validated. We’re as committed as ever to empowering Creator Economy entrepreneurs.”

Learn about GigaStar Market at https://gigastarmarket.io/. 

About GigaStar

GigaStar fuels human creativity by bringing YouTube Creators and Fans together as partners in revenue sharing securities. Fans can invest in YouTube Creators to support their channel’s future, unlock special perks, and share in the Creator's journey. GigaStar leverages blockchain technology to give Creators streamlined access to funding, a new way to innovate Fan engagement, and the potential to bolster channel growth by transforming thousands of their fans into an army of promoters. Learn more at https://gigastar.io and join the GigaStar Discord at https://discord.gg/gigastar.

Creator Networks, Inc.(dba GigaStar). GigaStar is the Parent Company of GigaStar Portal, LLC (dba GigaStar Market), an SEC registered funding portal member of FINRA, and GigaStar Technologies LLC, offering blockchain and smart contract solutions via GigaStar Portfolio. 

Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve a high degree of risk, including the risk of loss of your entire investment. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

April 12, 2023 | View on PR Newswire

GigaStar's unique revenue sharing model empowers YouTube Creators to monetize future revenue, partner with Fans, and transform Fans into an army of promoters.

CHICAGO, April 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GigaStar, a startup bringing Creators and Fans together as partners, announced that its next-generation marketplace launched on April 6th in beta, offering YouTube Creators streamlined access to Fan funding, innovative Fan engagement, and potential long-term royalties.

Through Regulation Crowdfunding, YouTube Creators can list a revenue share offering to Fans on GigaStar Market. Creators can offer Fans a percentage of their YouTube channel's potential future revenue, in addition to special perks, transforming thousands of their Fans into strategic investors. Investors should familiarize themselves with the risks of loss, including liquidity risks, and the potential loss of their investment.

By leveraging blockchain technology, GigaStar has streamlined a traditionally complex process whereby YouTube Creators can monetize their future revenue through revenue share securities, which are digitally represented by Channel Revenue Tokens (CRTs).

"We're empowering a new generation of Creator Economy entrepreneurs to engage Fans as active participants in their journey," said GigaStar CEO, Hazem Dawani. "We are thrilled to validate the market demand and prove the hypothesis of our business model; Fans are eager to invest in Creators and share their success."

GigaStar is the parent company of GigaStar Market, a recently approved member of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and registered as a Funding Portal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

This news arrives on the heels of GigaStar's March announcement of a $4.8 million seed round which included DV Crypto VC, Tomsic Holdings, Nameless Ventures, and Belvedere Strategic Capital.

Visit GigaStar Market at https://gigastarmarket.io.

About GigaStar

GigaStar fuels human creativity by bringing YouTube Creators and Fans together as partners in revenue sharing securities. Fans can invest in YouTube Creators to support their channel's future, unlock special perks, and share in the Creator's journey. GigaStar leverages blockchain technology to give Creators streamlined access to funding, a new way to innovate Fan engagement, and the potential to bolster channel growth by transforming thousands of their fans into an army of promoters. Learn more at https://gigastar.io and join the GigaStar Discord at https://discord.gg/gigastar.

Creator Networks, Inc.(dba GigaStar). GigaStar is the Parent Company of GigaStar Portal, LLC (dba GigaStar Market), an SEC registered funding portal member of FINRA, and GigaStar Technologies LLC, offering blockchain and smart contract solutions via GigaStar Portfolio.

Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve a high degree of risk, including the risk of loss of your entire investment. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

March 16, 2023 | View on PR Newswire

CHICAGO, IL -- GigaStar, a startup on a mission to fuel human creativity by empowering creators and fans to grow as partners in shared success, announced today that it has completed a $4.8M Seed funding round, which includes the conversion of a SAFE funding round raised in 2022.

GigaStar gives creators streamlined access to fan funding, innovative fan engagement, and potential long-term royalties by leveraging blockchain technology; YouTube creators can monetize their future capital by offering fans rights to a percentage of their channel’s potential future revenue, represented by Channel Revenue Tokens (CRTs). 

Through Regulation Crowdfunding offerings listed by GigaStar Market, fans can invest in a creator’s journey via revenue sharing securities to partner in their success and unlock perks. Investors can review the terms, features, and risks of loss on the creator’s respective offering page.

Participants in this funding round include DV Crypto VC, Tomsic Holdings, Nameless Ventures, and Belvedere Strategic Capital.

GigaStar investor Jared Vegosen, Co-Founder of DV Group LLC, comments: “GigaStar is set to empower a new Web3 generation of YouTube creators to finance their ambitions, and do what they love – all while transforming their fans into an army of promoters. We’re excited to support GigaStar in its journey to disrupt the creator economy.”

“GigaStar has streamlined a traditionally complex process to support entrepreneurs in the creator economy,” said GigaStar investor and entrepreneur Rick Tomsic, manager of Tomsic Holdings. “YouTube creators will be able to issue their own private revenue share offerings. This is what the democratization of the creator economy looks like and we believe in GigaStar’s value creation model.”

Funding will support the development of GigaStar’s flagship solutions: GigaStar Market, GigaStar Portfolio, and its planned secondary market platform. The company anticipates a soft launch in March, followed by a full-scale go-to-market in Q2 2023. GigaStar is the parent company of GigaStar Market, a member of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and registered as a Funding Portal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

GigaStar’s founding members include serial entrepreneurs who previously built trading technology firms, AI platforms, and YouTube creator agencies, and collectively operate with 50+ years of financial technology and creator agency experience.

To learn more, visit GigaStar’s website at https://gigastar.io 

About GigaStar

GigaStar fuels human creativity by bringing YouTube Creators and Fans together as partners in revenue sharing securities. Fans can invest in YouTube Creators to support their channel's future, unlock special perks, and share in the Creator's journey. GigaStar leverages blockchain technology to give Creators streamlined access to funding, a new way to innovate Fan engagement, and the potential to bolster channel growth by transforming thousands of their fans into an army of promoters. Learn more at https://gigastar.io and join the GigaStar Discord at https://discord.gg/gigastar.

Creator Networks, Inc.(dba GigaStar). GigaStar is the Parent Company of GigaStar Portal, LLC (dba GigaStar Market), an SEC registered funding portal member of FINRA, and GigaStar Technologies LLC, offering blockchain and smart contract solutions via GigaStar Portfolio.

Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve a high degree of risk, including the risk of loss of your entire investment. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

September 9, 2024 | Read the full interview on Pulse 2.0

July 8, 2024  |  View on Net Influencer

In a fusion of fintech and the creator economy, Chicago-based GigaStar is redefining how YouTube creators access capital. Co-founded by Hazem Dawani, a seasoned fintech entrepreneur, this innovative platform leverages blockchain technology to offer a unique crowdfunding solution. GigaStar enables creators to raise funds by sharing future revenue with investors while maintaining complete control of their channels and intellectual property (IP). With $2.5 million already raised for creators and over $150,000 distributed to investors, GigaStar is quickly gaining traction in the digital content marketplace. Hazem and his team are at the forefront of a new era in creator financing that treats content creators as the entrepreneurs they indeed are.

"Creators are essentially entrepreneurs who build their companies as their channels and build their businesses," he explains. "They tend to lack sources and options to fund their enterprises and ambitions." Hazem brings a wealth of experience from the fintech world to this venture, conceived by his colleague and co-founder Mohammed Asfour, who has over 15 years of experience in the YouTube space. 

GigaStar: Empowering Creators Through Innovative Crowdfunding

GigaStar’s core mission is "to empower creators with access to crowdfunding and provide investors with unique revenue-sharing assets." Hazem emphasizes the company’s unique approach: "We found a solution regulated by the U.S. financial industry that allows YouTube creators to leverage their thousands of subscribers and followers through crowdfunding."

What distinguishes GigaStar is its creator-centric model. "Creators do not lose control of their YouTube channel [or] give up IP," Hazem states. "It allows them to get the funding they need to build their businesses." He believes this regulated approach enables creators to maintain creative freedom while accessing necessary capital.

Since its launch, GigaStar has demonstrated significant traction. "We've already raised over $2.5 million for creators on the platform," Hazem reports. We have already distributed over $150,000 of YouTube revenue to the investors. We have over 16,000 investor accounts on the platform."

The company's innovative approach simplifies the complex process of regulated fundraising for creators. Hazem explains, "We ensure that it's an easy process for the creators, even though they are essentially issuing revenue-sharing securities on the platform to the investors."

GigaStar's tech leverages blockchain to manage revenue distribution at scale. "We provide the investors with a guaranteed way to receive monthly YouTube revenue and facilitate the whole process for both [them] and the creators," Hazem states.

The platform has already produced notable success stories. One example is The Shluv Family, an entertainment channel that raised over $50,000 to hire an editor and increase production. As a result, according to Hazem, they "substantially increased the engagement, viewership, and revenue of the channel."

In another case, ClearValue Tax raised $1 million from over 1,100 investors in a matter of days by offering 20% of their future YouTube revenue. Hazem sees this as evidence of "how much demand there is, how much desire there is from the fans and investors to be part of the creator economy."

Technology: The Backbone of GigaStar's Innovation

At the core of GigaStar's platform lies a sophisticated technological infrastructure that enables seamless crowdfunding and revenue distribution. Hazem emphasizes the critical role of technology in handling high-volume investor traffic and simplifying the investment process.

"Technology is a big part of what we do," Hazem states. "Conducting a crowdfunding offering can be intense when thousands of investors come to your platform." To address this, GigaStar has developed robust systems that can handle significant traffic while maintaining an easy-to-use interface for investors.

For creators, the company has automated many onboarding functions, streamlining the listing process on the platform while still providing creators with a white-glove concierge-style onboarding experience. This includes contract production, offering page creation, and marketing guidance.

A key technological innovation is GigaStar's use of blockchain for revenue distribution. Hazem explains, "We spend a lot of time on the blockchain... to distribute the YouTube revenue when it comes in from YouTube to thousands of investors, smart contracts are leveraged." This system allows for efficient, scalable revenue distribution.

The platform also features GigaStar Portfolio, a comprehensive tool for investors to track their investments and monitor channel performance. "These features bring investors back time and again to invest in more creators and channels," Hazem notes.

GigaStar is exploring the potential of AI to enhance its services. The CEO anticipates that as the platform scales to "millions of investors and thousands of creators," AI could play a crucial role in identifying patterns and adapting to various needs.

Creator-Brand Relationships in the Digital Age

While GigaStar primarily focuses on empowering creators through crowdfunding, Hazem acknowledges the platform's indirect impact on creator-brand collaborations. "We don't stand between the creators and the brands they work with," he explains. "Creators who work with us keep all brand and sponsorship revenue and only offer a portion of their channel's future YouTube AdSense revenue." The Chicago-based entrepreneur notes that by providing financial support, GigaStar may indirectly enable creators to dedicate more time to brand partnerships and sponsorships.

Hazem emphasizes the shifting media space and its implications for brand engagement. "People are turning to YouTube instead of more traditional TV these days," he observes. "For brands to reach their audiences, especially younger audiences, they have to look at content creators as a way to access them."

According to Hazem, the power of influencers in this new ecosystem is significant. "It's amazing to see the amount of dedication people have to these creators," he says. This loyalty translates into tangible results for brands. As Hazem affirms, "Influencers can and do greatly influence their audiences to adjust certain behavior or buy certain products."

Tokenizing Talent: The Next Frontier in Creator Finance

Hazem sees significant shifts in the creator economy. He notes the emergence of various funding solutions for creators. Still, the industry veteran reiterates GigaStar's unique approach: "We're trying to solve a funding solution that aligns the creators' careers 100% with their investors, on a long-term vision."

A major trend Hazem identifies is the securitization and tokenization of YouTube revenue. He explains its potential, "YouTube received over $30 billion in ad revenue last year. And they give 50% of that to the content creators." Hazem advises creators to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset: "I would encourage creators to think as entrepreneurs and business-minded people.” He notes a growing trend of creators viewing their channels as businesses, developing holistic strategies encompassing brand deals, product creation, and multi-platform presence.

For marketers, Hazem hints at the power of influencer partnerships. "It's fascinating to see how much strength messages by influencers have," he observes, highlighting the effectiveness of influencer-driven campaigns.

As for GigaStar’s role in the industry’s future, Hazem sees his company as part of a wave creating transparency and value in creator revenue streams. He anticipates more solutions emerging that leverage predictable revenue streams, allowing creators to access funding and grow their businesses more effectively.

GigaStar connects YouTube creators and fans through revenue-sharing securities. It allows fans to invest in and support creators’ channels using blockchain technology to streamline funding, enhance fan engagement, and transform fans into promoters. To learn more, visit gigastar.io. 

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Creator Networks, Inc.(dba GigaStar). GigaStar is the Parent Company of GigaStar Portal, LLC (dba GigaStar Market), an SEC registered funding portal member of FINRA, and GigaStar Technologies LLC, offering blockchain and smart contract solutions via GigaStar Portfolio. Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve a high degree of risk, including the risk of loss of your entire investment. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

May 24, 2024  |  View on CityBiz

Today we share a Q&A from Hazem Dawani, Chief Executive Officer at GigaStar.

GigaStar fuels human creativity by bringing Creators and Investors together. GigaStar provides Creators with an intuitive platform to raise capital from investors who gain exposure to the Creator Economy while joining a Creator’s journey. The company also recently announced plans to launch a $1M YouTube Creator Fund to help accelerate the journey of YouTubers.

In today’s Q&A, Hazem highlights the unique marketplace his company serves and the opportunities that it empowers for the creator economy.

Q: GigaStar serves a unique marketplace, could you share more about your company’s role in helping YouTube creators as micro-entrepreneurs to gain capital?

Hazem: GigaStar brings YouTube Creators and Investors together. YouTube Creators deserve access to funding and strategic investors, just as traditional entrepreneurs do.

GigaStar Market is our SEC-registered crowdfunding platform. It’s where YouTubers can list a percentage of their channel’s future revenue in a public revenue-share offering. Creators can raise capital from a database of thousands of strategic Investors who essentially become an army of promoters with skin in the game.

On the other hand, Investors gain access to the fast-growing $250B+ Creator Economy to share YouTube revenue with Creators. During a channel drop, Investors can buy Channel Revenue Tokens (or CRTs), which digitally represent a percentage of the Creator’s future revenue.

GigaStar Market is the only investment platform that provides accredited and non-accredited investors access to the fast-growing Creator Economy through these unique revenue-sharing securities.

When the YouTube channel’s revenue grows, Creators and Investors have the potential to earn more, becoming partners in a shared journey.

Q: How did your company begin and could you share more about the leadership team guiding its growth?

Hazem: GigaStar started in 2022 and we launched our first drop in mid-2023. Today, we have raised over $2.2M for Creators, added over 14,000 investor accounts, and distributed over $150,000 of YouTube revenue to the investors. Our technology and business model have been validated, and we have enhanced our ability to scale and accelerate the onboarding of Creators.

GigaStar is at the crossroads of FinTech and the Creator Economy.  Our co-founders and leadership team members have an entrepreneurial background in both financial technology and the YouTube space.

I’ve built and successfully led VC exits for two FinTech companies in Chicago and New York; GigaStar is my third company. The GigaStar model was conceived by my co-founder, who spent 15 years in the Creator Economy and built one of the largest YouTube Partner agencies in the Middle East and North Africa. We also have several fintech veterans helping to lead our growing dream team.

As a market opportunity, we’ve identified that a new generation of entrepreneurs (YouTube Creators) need more access to capital, ways to innovate engagement, and new long-term revenue streams.

We are democratizing the Creator Economy to help YouTube Creators finance their ambitions, partner with Investors, and do what they love.

Q: How do investors become involved in supporting YouTube creators on your platform and why do many consider investing on GigaStar to differentiate their portfolio?

Hazem: When Creators list a drop (or offering) on GigaStar Market they offer a percentage (usually between 10%-40%) of their YouTube channel’s future revenue to Investors.

GigaStar alerts an existing database of investors (currently over 13K) when a Drop is live. Creators are encouraged to invite their fans to participate and join their journey.

During the drop, Investors (aged 18 or older) can buy Channel Revenue Tokens (or CRTs), which digitally represent a percentage of the revenue-sharing security.

GigaStar Market is the only investment platform that provides Investors access to the fast-growing Creator Economy through these unique revenue-sharing securities. The Creator Economy has been growing over 30% on average year-over-year for the past 10 years.

As an alternative to traditional equity investments, these securities may help Investors diversify their portfolios.

To provide value all GigaStar Market Investors have access to GigaStar Portfolio, an environment where they can track and monitor all investment performance and channels’ revenues.

Q: What challenges have you faced? How is this crowdfunding space evolving?

Hazem: Our biggest challenge early on was to simplify a complex process of listing and selling securities and make it cost-efficient to be able to scale it and offer it to the Creator, and lower the barriers of entry.

Another challenge we experienced early on was highlighting our value proposition’s Web3 and crypto aspects. Many Creators we spoke with expressed apprehension around anything Web3-related, and it immediately became clear that we needed to let the benefits take center stage and focus less on the specific blockchain mechanisms that make it possible.

GigaStar continues to collect Creator and Investor feedback to evolve GigaStar Market and GigaStar Portfolio, including adding traditional offramp capabilities to our product roadmap.

Q: How is GigaStar transforming the marketplace for investors and creators as it relates to financial opportunities?

Hazem: We’ve talked with many Creators who have been unhappy with certain funding models that have put them in positions where they could potentially lose control or rights to their channels or content. For example, if they fail to pay on a Creator loan for which their channel is the collateral.

GigaStar does not issue loans, nor does licensing of back-catalogs. Rather, GigaStar enables Creators to monetize future YouTube channel revenue while maintaining full control over their content and channels…and keeping all of their brand deals and sponsorship revenue.

When an Investor participates in a GigaStar Market offering, they are not purchasing YouTube channel rights – but rather the rights to a percentage of the YouTube channel’s future revenue. Creators never lose control. We want to keep it that way.

Additionally, GigaStar has a secondary market planned for 2024. Once live, and if active, will provide additional long-term opportunities for both Creators and Investors.

Q: How does blockchain play a role in how GigaStar operates and how has that technology differentiated GigaStar to better serve the creators and investors?

Hazem: Issuers who successfully list and close an offering on GigaStar Market automatically distribute YouTube revenue to thousands of investors monthly. GigaStar Technologies is the technology facilitator that makes this possible by setting up and managing the individual Issuers’ smart contracts on the Polygon blockchain.

We want to shape a future where investors in the Creator Economy benefit from decentralized efficiencies and reduced-cost opportunities.

We strive to have blockchain efficiencies enhance Creator-Investor relationships and lower the barriers to entry for Investors to participate in the Creator Economy.

Q: What advice do you have for creators, as the next generation of entrepreneurs, to fund their dreams and further grow the marketplace of the future?

Hazem: We encourage this new generation of Creators to think like entrepreneurs – to envision how strategic capital crowdfunded by thousands of channel investors (who may be eager to share and support their content) could support their purpose – their “why”.

Even successful YouTube channels need money. Whether they can use funds to support their longevity as a Creator, hire a team, pay off debt, buy a house, acquire other IP, plan for retirement, or just take some future risk off the table, GigaStar is here as a long-term partner to Creators.

Creators can learn more by visiting https://gigastar.io.

Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve a high degree of risk, including the risk of loss of your entire investment. There is no guarantee of the performance of any company, channel, or investment. Past performance is not a guarantee of future success.

March 18, 2024  |  GigaStar Market mentioned in Jim Louderback's "Inside the Creator Economy" Newsletter.

January 3, 2024  |  GigaStar CEO Hazem Dawani is featured in the "Talents of the Week" section. | Read the post on Specter Monitor

December 1, 2023  |  Read the article on SMARTECH Daily

November 27, 2023 |  Read the article on Business Insider

September 13, 2023  |  Hear the full interview on Women of Video

August 26, 2023  |  Read the full interview on Net Influencer

March 10, 2023 | View on GigaBlog

GigaStar is pleased to announce that its smart contract security audit has successfully been completed by Runtime Verification, Inc., a top-tier technology firm providing cutting-edge formal verification tools and services for aerospace, automotive, and the blockchain, whose growing list of clients includes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Algorand, Dapp Labs, Tezos Foundation, Cardano Foundation, and Ethereum Foundation.

Runtime Verification Inc. conducted an end-to-end blockchain audit and verification of GigaStar’s Polygon Network Smart Contracts, a component of the startup’s blockchain-based funds distribution process via USDC (stablecoin). 

A smart contract audit is necessary for crypto security because smart contracts run on the public blockchain where any user can interact and see their assets. Blockchain audits are critical for identifying security flaws and vulnerabilities in code.

GigaStar’s Chief Technology Officer, Jason Aubrey, comments, “Working with the security experts at Runtime Verification to review GigaStar's EVM-compatible blockchain code was a positive experience. Through collaboration, we were able to implement solutions to both known and previously unknown issues.  As indicated in their final report, all identified issues have been resolved.  We believe this smart contract audit was an important step in the due diligence process to ensure a positive experience for Fans who want to invest in YouTube Creators.”

GigaStar Portal LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of GigaStar, recently obtained FINRA membership as a funding portal and is registered with the SEC. Learn more and sign up for GigaStar’s updates at https://gigastar.io.

About GigaStar

GigaStar fuels human creativity by bringing YouTube Creators and Fans together as partners in revenue sharing securities. Fans can invest in YouTube Creators to support their channel's future, unlock special perks, and share in the Creator's journey. GigaStar leverages blockchain technology to give Creators streamlined access to funding, a new way to innovate Fan engagement, and the potential to bolster channel growth by transforming thousands of their fans into an army of promoters. Learn more at https://gigastar.io and join the GigaStar Discord at https://discord.gg/gigastar.

Creator Networks, Inc.(dba GigaStar). GigaStar is the Parent Company of GigaStar Portal, LLC (dba GigaStar Market), an SEC registered funding portal member of FINRA, and GigaStar Technologies LLC, offering blockchain and smart contract solutions via GigaStar Portfolio.

Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve a high degree of risk, including the risk of loss of your entire investment. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.