Creators have built an economy that one new study puts at $217 billion, largely on their own money. Now a new Los Angeles company wants to help the founders behind creator-economy startups find the people who can fund them. Duets Network, Inc., launched by media startup leader Cristina Pimentel and venture capital veteran Caitlin Glazebrook, aims to connect startups in sports, entertainment, and the creator economy with investors, experts, and resources, all in one place.
The pitch seems simple enough. Duets connects pre-seed and seed-stage startups with investors whose interests match, offers discounted perks and tools to help founders scale, and runs a consulting business with hands-on advice. An “intelligence layer” gives startups business feedback and tech-stack recommendations. Founders join without giving up equity or committing to a fixed accelerator program, and universities and nonprofits get a free “Ideator” tier for aspiring entrepreneurs. Investors get a paid subscription for introductions to vetted startups and detailed company information, and both sides stay anonymous until an investor chooses to engage. The company is also building an expert network for booking strategic sessions and a talent network for hiring, and plans member events around NBA All-Star Weekend and the Super Bowl, plus a curated dinner series.
The founders say the idea came from watching good businesses struggle to find help. Pimentel, the CEO, says that at Universal Music Group she kept meeting founders “with promising businesses who didn’t know where to turn for help.” Glazebrook, the chief business officer, spent time at Andreessen Horowitz fielding pitches that weren’t right for the fund, and says angels and emerging fund managers face the same problem with far less bandwidth. Duets, she says, is meant to act as an extension of their teams.
Why does the creator economy need a matchmaker? Because the money isn’t flowing evenly, and it never has. A 2025 Visa report found that 68 percent of surveyed creators see themselves as small business owners, yet 86 percent fund operations with personal money and only 19 percent use business credit or debit cards. Just 28 percent have accessed specialized creator funding, such as platform funds or creator loans, while 47 percent rely on friends or family. CreatorIQ’s survey of more than 5,000 creators found that 67 percent earned under $10,000 last year. Creators are running businesses without the access to capital most founders take for granted.
That doesn’t mean capital isn’t getting involved with the creator economy. It’s just starting at the top. CAA launched a $250 million venture to acquire creator-led businesses, Live Nation started Creator Nation, and Spotter advances money to creators against the value of content they’ve already made. When Architect Capital took a stake in OnlyFans, it cited creators’ limited access to traditional banking products as a reason for investing. But most creators aren’t big enough to sell to an acquirer, and many need something more basic than a deal: a bank.
That’s where traditional finance has fallen short. The SBA only recently clarified that qualifying creators fall under a motion picture and video industry code for its lending programs, which sorts out classification rather than guaranteeing loans. And SBA rules also bar businesses that earn more than a minimal share of revenue from sexual content, so many adult creators are likely excluded no matter how they classify themselves. A recent Office of the Comptroller of the Currency debanking report on nine major banks never mentioned the adult industry, even though a preliminary version named it among sectors facing discrimination. While fintech companies like Stripe, Mercury, and Karat are targeting creators, it’s unclear whether they serve adult creators at all.
Duets doesn’t fix any of that. It isn’t a lender or a bank, and it focuses on startups at the pre-seed and seed stage, so it won’t help a solo creator get a business account. Its announcement also doesn’t say how many investors or startups have joined, or whether founders in adult-adjacent businesses are welcome. What it addresses is the earlier problem: knowing who to ask for money, and getting in front of them without a connection. That is a real problem, especially for creator-founders without a venture network.
The founding of Duets is also a sign of where the industry is heading. Creators are being treated as entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs need infrastructure: investors, advisers, talent, and banks. Duets is a bet that matchmaking is the piece that’s missing. If a founder can finally find the right investor, but still can’t get a bank account, how far does that get them?