Notes on building creator apps.
Essays on paywalls, retention, release QA, and running an app for an audience instead of just shipping one.
Monetization
YouTube creators: membership tiers vs. your own app
Turning off YouTube memberships erases every perk and cancels every payment instantly. Here's how to run a membership and an app side by side instead.
·5 min read
Build & Launch
TikTok creators building a paid app: what's different from Instagram
TikTok creators face a 1,000-follower link-in-bio gate Instagram doesn't have. Here's what actually changes when a TikTok creator builds a subscription app.
·4 min read
Money & Legal
Business bank account vs. personal: when creators actually need to split
Running subscription revenue through a personal account feels fine until a court, an accountant, or an audit needs to untangle it. Here's when creators should actually split the two.
·5 min read
Monetization
The contract terms creators need before their first brand deal
Unclear usage rights, exclusivity, and payment terms cause most brand-deal friction. Here's what to check in a sponsorship contract before you sign.
·5 min read
Teardowns
Doppler's team settings page, measured to the pixel
We rebuilt Doppler's team settings screen until 97.69% of pixels matched the original, and wrote down everything we had to understand to get there — an eleven-value grey ramp, a radius ladder tied to element size, and an accent color used exactly four times.
·9 min read
Money & Legal
How creators should pay themselves and set aside taxes
Subscription revenue isn't personal income until you move it. Here's how creators should pay themselves and set aside 25-30% for taxes before it's spent.
·5 min read
Money & Legal
Do creators need an LLC before selling subscriptions?
Most creators don't need an LLC to launch a paid app, but the math changes fast once monthly revenue crosses $5,000. Here's when to actually form one.
·5 min read
Monetization
Where creator income actually came from in 2026, by the numbers
Brand deals fell from 91% to 59% of creator revenue since 2021. Here's where the rest of the money is actually coming from now, with sourced 2026 data.
·4 min read
Monetization
Coaching and 1:1 calls vs. a scalable subscription product
1:1 coaching has a real hourly ceiling. Here's the math on when a creator's time-for-money model stops scaling and a subscription product starts.
·5 min read
Monetization
Affiliate marketing vs. owning your own monetization
Affiliate marketing is the fastest-growing slice of creator income, but 57% of affiliates still earn under $10,000 a year. Here's the ceiling nobody mentions.
·4 min read