Split the Money, Not the Headache: Our Take on Payments

Hey everyone, We're super excited to share our story and what's coming next at Creem. Grab a coffee, get comfy, and let us take you on a journey—from our wild beginnings to our big plans for making global payments a breeze for everyone.

How It All Began: Two Friends, One Big Dream

Alec and I go back a long way—way before Creem was even a twinkle in our eyes. We first met while building ChangeInvest.com, a crypto brokerage aimed at everyday people. Picture this: two friends, countless late nights, and a shared passion for shaking up the world of finance. That startup hit 150K active traders at its peak and earned us a reputation as the biggest crypto exchange in the Baltics. It was crazy, exhilarating, and the perfect launchpad for our future adventures.

Even after taking different paths, the spark for building something amazing together never faded. We both came from a background steeped in Fintech, Payments, and Banking. The idea of "programmable money" is actually what got us into crypto in the first place - money that could be as flexible and dynamic as the world around it. This concept of breaking down borders and unlocking new ways to collaborate financially became our driving mission, one that we've carried with us from our crypto days straight into what we're building at Creem.

At our core, we've always been passionate about solving coordination challenges. We firmly believe that many of humanity's most complex problems can be addressed through better coordination mechanisms and properly aligned incentives. This philosophy has guided us from day one and continues to shape everything we build at Creem.

The first step towards our future.

As we watched the entrepreneurial landscape evolve—particularly how AI tools have dramatically lowered the barrier to building products—we recognized a critical gap. The infrastructure needed to align incentives within distributed teams and facilitate partnerships between small founder groups simply wasn't there. Today's founders can build faster than ever, but they're still hamstrung by outdated financial systems that weren't designed for the fluid, borderless nature of modern collaboration. This realization became the catalyst for our most ambitious vision yet, a full fledge Financial OS for small and distributed teams.

Fast forward to today, and it became clear that realizing our vision required a strong foundation first. That's where Creem comes in as you see it now. We recognized that to truly empower small, distributed teams, we needed to solve a fundamental problem first: enabling them to receive payments globally with minimal friction. Our Merchant of Record service wasn't just another product—it was a critical foundation that we had to build before anything else. By democratizing access to sophisticated financial tools to everyone, we've created the necessary infrastructure upon which we can now build our bigger vision. This initial offering is just the beginning, laying the groundwork for the more ambitious coordination tools we're developing next.

We knew that our first step toward this vision was to make global payments easier for everyone. So we built Creem to simplify the payment process, allowing anyone, anywhere to accept payments without wrestling with complex tax rules or compliance issues.

What's Next: The all in one Financial OS for small and distributed teams.

We're just getting started, and we're thrilled to share some of our upcoming projects that will take Creem to the next level. Our vision?

To supercharge the coordination capabilities of small, distributed teams by making financial workflows as simple as dragging and dropping files.

Revenue Splits: Share the Love (and the Money!)

Imagine if splitting revenue was as simple as clicking a button. Our next big push is all about automating revenue splits, so you never have to worry about manually dividing the money. Here's what that looks like:

• For Bootstrapped SaaS Founders:
  Launching a startup with friends or co-founders can be tricky without a formal business structure. Revenue splits allow you to kick off your project swiftly, distributing earnings automatically so you can focus on building something great.
• For Bigger Companies:
  Even large teams can benefit from our approach. By funneling a percentage of each product's revenue into a bonus vault, teams can collect rewards throughout the year, which are then distributed at the end of the year as a bonus or team reward, all transparently!
• For Partnerships:
  Imagine collaborating with other creators without the bureaucratic hassle. When that YouTuber approaches you to create a spin-off targeting their specific audience, you can set up the partnership in minutes. Eliminating complicated financial operations or complex cross-border agreements. Simply define the split, set the terms, and let our system handle the rest automatically.
• For Agencies:
  Imagine a web design agency working with a promising new e-commerce startup. The agency owner recognizes the startup's potential but knows they're operating on a tight budget. Instead of charging their full $15,000 fee upfront, they offer a hybrid model: $7,500 upfront plus a 3% revenue share for the next 2 years. This arrangement aligns incentives beautifully

And obviously, the use cases don't stop there! If we tried to cover all the potential applications of our revenue splitting technology, we'd be here all day. The beauty of creating flexible financial infrastructure is that our users will discover creative ways to use it that we haven't even imagined yet. That's what excites us the most - building tools that empower others to solve problems in ways unique to their specific needs and circumstances.

Virtual IBANs, accounts and More Cool Financial use cases.

We're also cooking up some exciting features like virtual IBANs and virtual accounts for 2026. These tools are going to open up even more possibilities, especially for creative professionals and digital content creators.

• For Musicians and Bands:
  Imagine being a Spotify artist with a band, and automatically splitting your streaming revenue among all the members. just smooth, fair sharing.
• For Collaborative YouTube Channels:
  If you run a channel with a co-creator and an editor, our system can automatically divvy up ad revenue as soon as it hits your account. It makes collaboration simple and stress-free.

Dreaming Big: Our Vision for a Revenue Share Marketplace

We're not stopping at just payments and revenue splits. Our eyes are set on an even bigger prize—a revenue share marketplace. Picture a platform where you can:

• Sell a Percentage of Your Revenue:
  Instead of selling your entire startup, imagine selling just 10% of your revenue to bring in the capital you need. This model could revolutionize how bootstrapped startups get funded.
• Find Talent and Collaborate:
  Need a designer, a partner for your YouTube channel, or even capital to break into a new market? You could post your project stats and propose a revenue share arrangement. For example, "I'm looking for a designer for 3% of my revenue over the next two years." This not only reduces upfront costs but also aligns incentives perfectly.
• Open New Doors for Innovation:
  By allowing capital to flow into bootstrapped startups through revenue shares, we're creating a whole new ecosystem for growth and collaboration. It's about democratizing finance and giving every entrepreneur a fair shot at success.

Bringing It All Together: A Future of Coordination and Trust

At Creem, we believe that the secret to success in today's fast-paced world is coordination. With our innovative tools, we're helping small, distributed teams work together more efficiently than ever before. While building this future, there are a few core values that guide all our decisions:

• Transparency:
  • We believe in building in public. We regularly share our decision-making process, prioritize features based on community feedback, and invite users to help shape our roadmap. Your voice directly influences where we're heading next.
• Accessibility:
  • Financial tools should be available to everyone, not just large corporations or developed markets. We're creating solutions that anyone can use, regardless of their location or size. Democratizing access is always something we will strive for.
• Collaboration:
  • At our core, we believe that when coordination barriers are removed, true innovation thrives, creating a world where creative ideas can flourish without being held back by adversarial mentality.

Let's Build the Future Together

The journey ahead is full of challenges, but also limitless opportunities. We're pouring our hearts, souls, and countless hours into turning our vision into reality.

Whether you're a SaaS founder tired of financial headaches, a content creator looking for a fair way to split revenue, a marketeer looking to partner with cool tools, or an investor eager to support groundbreaking ideas, there's a place for you at Creem. We're building more than just a platform—we're building a community, and a future where financial coordination is as natural as breathing.

Thank you for being a part of our journey. We can't wait to share more updates, hear your feedback, and grow together. The road ahead is bright, and we're so glad to have you with us as we shape the future of finance.

Cheers to a future of collaboration, innovation, and endless possibilities!

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❤️ With love - Creem Team ❤️