We exist to give creators financial and creative freedom by helping them build thriving, successful businesses around their art, providing them with ownership and control of their artistic expression and audiences, and ultimately ushering in a new era of creativity.
The achievement of our mission creates space for diverse creators and perspectives to thrive which we believe is important to both reflect and shape our world. The more we live, build and advance our mission, the more we can positively impact our world.
When creators win, we win.
Build with Craft We sign our name to every deliverable.
Having diverse, inclusive, high performing teams that match the creators we serve allows us to expand our thinking and ultimately create greater impact. This means we need to change the total addressable market to sustain diverse representation in our field. This is a tall order. But the work we do cumulatively (including our social impact work) will move us in this direction over time.
Make it Happen We don’t quit, we learn and deliver.
Win together We grow as individuals, we win as a team.
Nothing is possible at Patreon without its people. Here’s how these Black employees are making magic in the creator economy and charting the course of their careers.
synergies.
Black magic is recognizing our worth and all we have to offer. It’s letting ourselves shine even when the world says we can’t win, being and living all parts of ourselves, rather than just the adjectives society defaults to for us.
It was a combination of things. I was impressed by everyone I met and the work the company was doing to bring about the second renaissance. I loved the opportunity to support multiple teams as an engineering manager, and I was sold on the level of transparency from Jack Conte (founder and CEO) and other executives.
To me, it means the magic of the community to lift each other up, persevere, overcome, and shine against all of the odds.
I try not to take the work for granted – pausing to hear creator stories and revisiting how I can make a bigger difference.
I’m keen to find the next generation of talent to fully realize Patreon’s long-term mission. That same passion for helping individuals and companies succeed is motivating me to pursue angel investing and venture capital in the future.
Data Scientist
I’ve always been interested in entrepreneurship, and I loved the idea of making the arts a viable career choice for people who aren’t wealthy.
The people are extremely transparent, and genuinely interested in hearing other people’s ideas and perspectives.
I’ve rarely worked in an org that has as much of an eye for
I stay true to my magic at work by letting my voice and perspectives be heard, doing my best work, and not letting fear keep me from asking the hard questions or pushing back when it feels warranted.
I hope to eventually lead a data practice in a mission-led or social impact organization.
Loren is a data scientist at Patreon, and primarily supports improvements to and development of our product.
Patreon – more so than any other startup I’ve worked – lives its mission. The direct impact of our work on creators we serve is woven into the stories we share internally and what we choose to celebrate. Every day we see firsthand the impact of our work on the creators we serve.
Rainieri has spent the last decade developing software at startups of different sizes, including his own. He enjoys the challenges that come with transforming ideas into working products and scaling. Early in his career, he worked as an intellectual property attorney at IBM after earning his JD/ MBA from the University of Minnesota. Prior to that, he worked at NASA while earning his computer engineering degree from Georgia Tech.
Before joining Patreon, Loren worked at CityBase and the New York Times. She earned her Masters degree in Computational Analytics and Public Policy from the University of Chicago, where she was a research assistant at the Center for Data Science and Public policy working to mitigate bias in algorithmic decision-making. Loren is passionate about equitable access and civic tech, and is a former Coding it Forward fellow.
and achievement that comes to life in ways seen and unseen. It refuses to be dulled by resource or circumstance. It’s meant to always shine through.
I stay anchored to my WHY and my FAITH.
I wanted to be a part of the movement to empower the second Renaissance of creativity by supporting the incredible teammates who power the creators.
The people. Patreon is filled with incredible humans who embody the best of ethos, pathos and logos in all of the best ways. Our values: Put Creators First, Build With Craft, Make it Happen and Win Together truly embody the culture and teammates who bring these values to life every day.
It speaks to a common spirit of joy, resilience, innovation, craft
More, more, more!
As Chief People Officer at Patreon, Tiffany Stevenson believes that culture is a VERB and not a noun. Tiffany’s goal is to build healthy, thriving, high performing communities inside and out. Formerly Chief Talent & Inclusion Officer, Global Head of Communities at Box, Tiffany led several HR centers of excellence including: org/ talent development, learning, diversity & inclusion along with communities and Box.org. Prior to Box, Tiffany served for 12 years at Sephora USA Inc. (LVMH), where she led the talent and org development functions and launched the D&I practice for the Americas region. Tiffany currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, along with the Advisory Board for Hitch Works.
Raiford (she/her) Chief of Staff, Operations & Marketing
Two things: size and area of focus. Patreon was at a size that allowed me to stretch my knowledge and reach by taking on a growing team. As for our area of focus, my mom is an artist, and I was incredibly inspired by our mission of funding the creative class. Working here means that every day I’m exposed to the great talents of our employees and creators.
Creativity! It’s empowering to work somewhere where 100% of the people here are passionate about building and creating. I have never worked somewhere where I can come into the office at 8am and see a CEO playing guitar for folks or having an All Hands meeting closed out by our Senior VP of Finance performing on the drums.
Twinkle, twinkle, baby! It’s hard to put Black magic into words,
but it just gives me the internal fire of celebration for myself and everybody Black who is out here putting amazing energy into the world. Just a little extra oomph because nobody celebrates us like us.
I try to be honest with my peers and give myself some grace! Not knowing something or being overwhelmed is just a sign I need to take a step back before stepping forward. Resetting with myself and my boss often helps.
In the distant, but visible future, I see myself running a small creative business. At present, I’m just soaking in as many learnings that I can. Working at Patreon has afforded me a wealth of insight and experiences, and I’m trying to stay present and move from good to great at everything that excites me.
Angela Raiford is a support leader turned Chief of Staff, currently working within the Operations and Marketing teams at Patreon. She thrives on challenges involving building high-performing teams, working cross-functionally, and improving employee engagement (including with distributed teams.) When not working, Angela’s hobbies include crafting, puzzles, and bar trivia.
How do you stay true to yourself at work?
What are you envisioning for your career in the future?Angela
The core mission of funding the creative class. Throughout my career, I have had opportunities to hear the stories of creators who have been forced to choose between fully pursuing their dream, or instead needing to put
I have always had a passion for working with creatives, and a curiosity for social tech. Patreon’s marriage of the two was very appealing. The cherry on top was being able to elevate voices that drive pop culture, and having an impact on the reach of these influential figures.
The magic of the culture is the understanding that many diverse perspectives and voices contribute to the greater success of the platform –creators and employees. The culture here understands the importance and responsibility to cultivate that diversity. Being able to elevate the voices of creators at Patreon makes going to work every day feel less like work and more like pursuing a passion project.
them aside to earn a living wage. It shouldn’t have to be that way. Through membership, Patreon fills an incredibly important gap in the creator space by letting creators focus on their passions, and get paid in the process.
Patreon is one of the most thoughtful companies that I’ve ever worked for, hand down. That thoughtfulness extends into how we approach our policies, content moderation, and our creator support. Being creatorfirst isn’t a slogan at Patreon, it’s more like a mantra. Every day we ask ourselves, “are we serving creators to the best of our capacity, and what else can we do to make their lives better?”
Black magic to me is embracing that black culture in many ways drives THE culture. Blackness is not a monolith, and it means appreciating that our magic comes from the individuality born of a shared experience.
I’m a strong believer that our livelihood as a people is dependent on creativity. I’ve always been passionate about connecting with creators / talent on a human level and giving them the space and flexibility to bring the best versions of themselves to their content. I thrive on challenging creators to build an authentic and intimate connection with their biggest fans while also allowing themselves room to take care of
Oh now you’re asking for the secret sauce! Black magic to me is a combination of foresight, context, humor, charm, and perspective, layered on top of a foundation of resiliency. It’s the thing that has let me bounce back from lows, and also enjoy (and sometimes go a little over the top ) the highs.
Lately I’ve been on a broader operational track. I just took over the Payment Operations and Communications teams. I’m excited to help Patreon build out these departments at the company, in addition to our policy and advocacy team. In a few years, I’d consider going
to lead operations at a space startup.
Laurent Crenshaw is the Director of Policy for Patreon. At Patreon he is leading the company’s policy and advocacy, communications, and payment operations teams. Prior to joining Patreon, Laurent served in senior public policy roles at Eaze and Yelp and worked in the House of Representatives for over 11 years focusing on technology policy issues, particularly in the areas of intellectual property, telecommunications, and internet law.
their health and wellness. I envision my career path to continue on the mission of finding a symbiotic relationship between creativity, professional success, and mental health advocacy.
Driven by the promise of a world where creativity flourishes, Diona joined the creator partnerships team at Patreon to help elevate creators’ voices and grow their businesses. Drawing from a career at the intersection of entertainment and hospitality, Diona uses her keen sense of the power of human connection to help creators deepen their relationships with fans while building their brand and increasing exposure. In her role, she focuses on uplifting creator voices — particularly diverse talent — and helping them build unique businesses, all while employing tools that give them more independence and ownership of their work and worlds they’re building.
Pull Up is an incubator and creative community built to connect and amplify creators of color and catalyze their creative independence. Pull Up offers workshops, community programs, and a dedicated Discord server, as well as capital, consultation, and creative partnership for select creators. Here’s how it has supported powerful creators.
“I create sculpting & painting videos for my Patreon. With the help of the Pull Up community, I launched a two-month-long intensive art course, which offers more in-depth step-by-step tutorials on creating a sculpture from beginning to finish. Working with Pull Up helped me understand more about building a connection with my patrons and making the content they love.”
“Pull Up helped us put together a community survey to help understand what more our Patreon community wanted from us. With that understanding our creativity came pouring out! We launched a new podcast with their help in production, and put together a show specifically catered to the results of the community survey. Our first season reached the top of the Apple podcast anime charts.”
“We are excited to be a part of Pull Up, powered by Patreon’s Creator Success team, who continue to be a champion for HOORAE on and off the platform. We share a core set of values in empowering creators of color with access and resources, so I’m thrilled my team and I get to be on this journey with the other creators in the initiative.”
So you started Pull Up at Patreon. Tell me a bit about how that project came to be.
I started out at Patreon as a Partner Manager, where
I got to work with some of the most successful creators on the platform. I wanted to see more of us up at the top. That’s how the Pull Up initiative was born.
Patreon is focused on building for the creator economy, and creators of color are without a doubt the drivers of culture. So I started to dream about how we could create an ecosystem that supports this community in a meaningful way and allows creators to learn and grow together. Pull
Up provides content, capital, and community to help enable growth and creative independence for creators, a direct reflection of the value Patreon brings to the creator economy. Pull Up is also an extension of my experience as a creator. I’m a singer and songwriter, and before Patreon, I was navigating my own creative journey. I know first-hand the challenges creators face. We have to wear literally every hat possible: marketer, accountant, operations [laughes]. Knowing that pain firsthand, I just want to equip others with the tools to succeed.
– working with creators and building systems that helps them grow. I don’t want to lose the creator in me either, so as I move through this journey, I want to preserve my craft in music, too.
it’s powerful that we’ve created a generative ecosystem, where creators are pulling each other up too. We’re building a world where we can be celebrated and help each other grow. I’m inspired by the power this work holds.
I’m excited to continue to do the work I do now
What’s special about Patreon’s Pull Up initiative is that we service creators of every size. For creators who might be earlier in stage, we have community offerings where they can learn and grow from one another. For more established creators, we have an incubator where we work with them on a high-touch project basis to accelerate their business. And we ask everyone to pay-itforward to the community by participating in educational content or experiences. I think
I’m a creator and tech leader deeply committed to empowering creators to achieve their goals.
Currently, I am Senior Manager, Creator Initiatives at Patreon and lead Pull Up, an incubator and community dedicated to the growth and success of creators of color. My work has been featured in Essence, Adweek, Essence, TheGrio, and other major outlets.
What do you envision for your career in the future?
What’s the magic you’re witnessing through Pull Up?
Patreon has commited to investing and elevating creators of color. Meet the creator behind the operation and her vision for these drivers of culture.
Hewan Abebe (she/her) Senior Manager, Creator Initiatives
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Rainieri Ventura, Senior Engineering Manager
