Steven Bartlett Becomes Co-Owner Of Stan To Back Creator Founders
John Hu and Steven Bartlett
Steven Bartlett is no stranger to backing the next wave of disruptors, but his latest move is more than an investment. The entrepreneur and host of The Diary of a CEO is joining Stan, the creator commerce platform, as a co-owner to help build what he sees as “the future of entrepreneurship, one Creator-entrepreneur at a time.” As Stan crosses $30 million in annual recurring revenue and $300 million in gross merchandise value, Bartlett’s hands-on involvement signals a growing belief that the middle-class creator is the business story of the decade.
Bartlett, whose personal capital and FlightStory Fund are both behind the deal, explained that “this is not a passive investment. I will be taking an active role in the business as a co-owner,” positioning himself not only as a strategic partner to the executive team but also as a direct contributor to the success of creators on the platform. He added that his involvement would include sharing business insights, helping shape product strategy and offering exclusive opportunities to Stan’s user base. “I am invested in Stan creators,” he said plainly.
Betting Big on the Creator Middle Class
Stan has grown to more than 70,000 users in just three years, a trajectory that founder and CEO John Hu attributes to obsessive focus on creators who are building real, sustainable businesses without massive teams, investors or platforms.
According to Bartlett, Stan stands out because “it removes friction. It gives creators a streamlined way to monetise, engage their audience and scale all from a single link.” He added that most creators trying to scale spend too much time juggling disconnected tools, and that the most successful ones “treat their brand like a business from day one,” focusing on systems, automation and leveraging their unique skills rather than spreading themselves thin.
Hu agreed. “The creators succeeding on Stan aren’t just influencers. They’re educators, coaches, spiritual mentors, even lawyers,” he said. “They’re building lean businesses with high-leverage digital products, courses, communities and services.” Hu added that the company’s edge is cultural as much as technological. “This isn’t just a business. We’re building for ourselves and our peers. The bar is higher because we care more.”
Aligning Purpose With Product
For Bartlett, the appeal of Stan was not only its traction but also its mission. “Having navigated my own journey and built businesses from the ground up, I totally get the ambition of every creator looking to work for themselves,” he said. “Stan is the easiest and most affordable way to get started as a creator entrepreneur.”
Bartlett said that his connection with Hu was grounded in shared experience. “My relationship with John is built on a shared experience. Both being self-made entrepreneurs who rose from disadvantaged backgrounds, we are united in our commitment to paying it forward by actively championing Stan creators.”
That alignment is core to the company’s direction. Hu added that Stan was originally created to solve a problem he faced himself while growing a content business on TikTok and YouTube. “There wasn’t a single product that let you launch and monetize easily,” he said. “So we built it.”
An Operator at the Table
Since joining the company, Bartlett has been hands-on in product strategy and team discussions, particularly around AI. “He’s been texting us constantly about AI,” said Hu. “It’s like having a board member in your group chat.”
Vitalii Dodonov, Stan’s co-founder and CTO, added that many of the company’s current experiments with artificial intelligence emerged from conversations with Bartlett. “A lot of the ideas sparked from Steven sharing what he’s seeing across the industry,” he said. “We’re building something to help creators figure out what to launch and how, faster and more clearly.”
Bartlett sees this next phase as a shift in the industry. “The investment will be used to further enhance the Stan experience,” he said. “We’re building a platform that supports creators at every stage, especially those just getting started.”
A Strategic Fit for FlightStory
The investment also aligns with Bartlett’s broader vision through FlightStory Fund, which backs growth-stage startups challenging conventional business models. “The fund is dedicated to supporting disruptive founders with funding, guidance, and a network that fuels their growth,” he explained. “Stan aligns perfectly with that thesis.”
Bartlett emphasized that Stan is not a one-off bet on the creator space, but a central piece of a longer-term commitment to entrepreneur-first infrastructure. “We invest in missions that challenge the status quo,” he said, adding that Stan represents “exactly the kind of company we want to scale.”
Advice for the Next Generation
Asked how he would build a creator business today if starting from scratch, Bartlett didn’t hesitate. “I’d find a niche with a proven engaged and loyal audience. I’d post daily content to build my community and I’d use the most efficient and affordable tools to monetize as quickly as possible.” He said Stan would be part of that toolkit, especially for creators who need clarity, speed and access to mentorship.
Bartlett also spoke candidly about the biggest mistakes he sees creators make. “They try to do everything themselves, and they burn out,” he said. “Time is the one thing you can’t scale without. Stan gives them that time back.”
Redefining Entrepreneurial Infrastructure
While much of the attention in the creator economy has gone to celebrity influencers and big-name platforms, Bartlett and Hu are betting on the opposite: small, focused, independent creators building real businesses. As Hu put it, “Stan was built on the belief that anyone should have the opportunity to make a living working for themselves.” For Dodonov, the motivation went even deeper. “The foundational desire to be free… is the most core pursuit that I had,” he said.
With Bartlett now embedded in the company’s leadership and strategy, Stan is positioned as the backbone of a new class of digital entrepreneurship. This partnership brings together two builders with shared backgrounds and a common belief: that anyone with a skill or story should have the tools to work for themselves.
Selected clips taken from my in-depth interview with John Hu about the investment, featured on The Business of Creators podcast.