Interview: Hewan Abebe and 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

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.

What do you envision for your career in the future?

I’m excited to continue to do the work I do now – working with creators and building systems that help 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.

What’s the magic you’re witnessing through Pull Up?

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-it-forward to the community by participating in educational content or experiences. I think 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 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.