Fanbase Leads The Way For Social Media Ownership After Exceeding $12.7M In Crowdfunding

In 2024, Fanbase raised $10 million of its equity crowdfunding goal, resulting in Hayes being the first Black man to raise this amount in a seed round.

In order to guarantee Black creators receive the compensation they deserve for their influence, Atlanta-based social media startup Fanbase is checking off milestones by raising over $12.7 million in its growing $17 million equity crowdfunding campaign.

In an Instagram post, founder Isaac Hayes III celebrated the move as “a part of a larger mission to democratize ownership in the social media space.” “Instead of relying on traditional venture capital, Fanbase is opening the door for everyday people to invest in the next generation of social apps,” the caption reads.

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A post shared by Isaac Hayes III (@isaachayes3)

Hayes and his Fanbase group are already used to reaching historic milestones. In 2024, according to AfroTech, the startup raised $10 million of its equity crowdfunding goal, resulting in Hayes, son of the iconic soul singer Isaac Hayes, being the first Black man to raise this amount in a seed round via StartEngine under Regulation Crowdfunding. The founder says it’s all in the plan. “We have a plan, and we’re going to be able to scale and build the business in real time without having to stop and start and stop and start,” Hayes said.

“This is a scale-up opportunity because there are so many things that people want out of Fanbase, and I myself do not like to not be able to deliver on what I want to give to the community.”

And he’s giving the public a chance to get in on history. In an effort to give everyone a chance to add “investor” to their resume, Fanbase is offering a chance to invest in the company at as little as $3.99. In addition to the opportunity to add to its fundraising journey, investors can become a part of the social media app’s community of invested users and creators sharing in the platform’s success. “I think we have a real metric to understand the value of Black culture,” the startup founder said.

“Like what Black culture converts to in dollars. We have to understand that Black culture is actually our ‘vibranium,’ our asset. We are so creative, and we shouldn’t just be giving it away for free.”

He gives credit to the love of Black culture and understanding of the importance of Black economic collaboration for Fanbase’s success. He remembers the moment he met some of the app’s first fans — Justin Dawkins, Jewel Burks, and Barry Givens — founders of Collab Capital, who Hayes first met at another staple of Black collaboration, The Gathering Spot. He then celebrated Angela Benton, Monique Idlett, and Dawn Dixon, who taught him the art of crowdfunding and how to invest, as Dixon is the first Black woman to raise a million dollars in equity crowdfunding for her company.

He labeled them as his “mentors” in an interview with Rolling Out and touched on their partnership as a reflection on what the community can do. “So the Black community directly helped me raise capital,” he mentioned in the interview.

“That’s why I always tell people how to raise capital and do the same thing—I always pay it forward.”