Steven Bartlett Gets 8-Figure Investment To Build The “Disney Of The Creator Economy”
Entrepreneur Steven Bartlett’s company Steven.com, which houses his creator media assets and ventures, has closed an eight-figure funding round to build the “Disney of the creator economy.”
The round, reportedly the largest of its kind for a creator holding company in Europe, was led by Slow Ventures and Apeiron Investment Group and puts his company’s valuation at $425 million.
Bartlett, best known as the host of The Diary of a CEO podcast and a former Dragons’ Den investor, shared the news on X (formerly Twitter).
Building the Platform for the Next Creator Era
Founded in 2023, Steven.com brings together Bartlett’s media, tech, and investment ventures under one umbrella. The company operates across two main divisions: creator media, which includes his podcast and other intellectual property, and creator ventures, which spans e-commerce, investments, and infrastructure tools.
Among the assets under Steven.com are FlightStory, a media company focused on building creator brands, and FlightFund, its venture capital arm. The business has also launched FlightCast, a podcast hosting and analytics platform designed for video-first creators.
With over 100 full-time employees and offices in London, New York, and Los Angeles, Steven.com is scaling rapidly. It is positioning itself to capitalize on the projected growth of the creator economy, which is expected to surpass $500 billion globally by 2030.
The Creator as Franchise
Bartlett has long argued that creators are poised to become the media empires of the future. While companies like Disney built their success around fictional characters such as Mickey Mouse, Bartlett notes, “In our world, the IP is not a fictional character. The Creator is the new franchise.”
Unlike traditional content studios, Steven.com is structured as a full-stack ecosystem: creating content, launching products, investing in companies, and developing technology tailored for creators.
Read: Bank Of England CFO, Steven Bartlett, And Emma Grede Among Most Influential Black Brits
An 8-figure investment round
The new funding will drive international expansion and further development of creator-first tools and ventures. Bartlett’s model is intentionally designed to keep control in the hands of creators, rather than external platforms or investors. Bartlett still owns over 90% of the company.
“At Slow Ventures, we’ve long believed that creators are the next great entrepreneurs — and Steven Bartlett is a first-rate example,” said Megan Lightcap, Partner at Slow Ventures.
“[Barlett] and his world class management team are building the infrastructure to transform individual creators into institutional-grade businesses,” Christian Angermayer of Apeiron Investment Group added. “We are backing the company that will define the creator economy by proving that the individual, properly capitalised and supported, can build empires that rival the entertainment conglomerates of the last century.”
Image credit: Steven Bartlett
