Isaac Hayes III’s Fanbase has reached a new funding milestone.
According to a press release, the social media app has raised $4.5 million in equity crowdfunding — bringing its total to $10 million in funding. The release also details that this marks Fanbase’s third seed round to allow the public to invest.
“Equity crowdfunding is our way of inviting the Fanbase community to own a piece of the platform they believe in,” Hayes shared in a statement, per the press release. “We’re not just building a product; we’re growing a community-driven ecosystem where every voice, every creator, and every supporter shares in our collective success.”
The recent equity crowdfunding raise is set to go toward Fanbase’s goals of improving its user experience, creator tools, and platform features. In addition, the startup will work on its marketing expansion thanks to the new funds.
In Hayes’ funding announcement via LinkedIn, he shared that people can invest in his company on StartEngine. The minimum investment limit is $245, at the time of this writing.
As previously reported by AFROTECH, in 2020 Hayes became the second Black man to raise $1 million on StartEngine. The outpouring of support continues to reinforce why Fanbase was created in the first place. It was launched with a mission to help creators, especially Black creators, fully monetize all of their content, which is everything from long-form content to photos.
“The fact that the African American community owns part of this company and Black culture contributes so much to social media, makes this the perfect marriage between our capital and our talent at the same time,” Hayes told AFROTECH in a previous interview. “This is how the platform will continue to lift others as it climbs. I, as well as FanBase, will continue to keep in mind the community that helps it become the app that it will become.”
Ngozi Nwanji is a Nigerian-American journalist, writer, and content creator from and based in Silver Spring, Maryland with a passion for storytelling, media representation, and music. Along with writing for AfroTech, she’s the founder of her own entertainment website, Z’s P.O.V — a platform for underrated music and Black creatives.