By Maddie Hill

After exploring our beginnings and surviving our lowest moments, it's time to celebrate the highs that transformed Gumroad's trajectory. While the venture-backed rocket ship didn't materialize as planned, something more meaningful did.

The early years of Gumroad were filled with rapid growth and excitement. There was a belief that if we just kept pushing forward, kept refining the product, and kept bringing on more users, we could build something that would change the landscape of online commerce for creators.

As we've covered, there were a lot of low points, especially in the early days.

And just when it seemed Gumroad might remain in perpetual survival mode, an unexpected email arrived that completely shifted our future. In late 2017,our lead investor, KPCB, sent an email that said: “We’d like to sell our ownership back to Gumroad for $1.” They no longer wanted to deal with the operational hassle of appointing a new board member.

At first, this email was a gut-punch.

But overnight, our financial obligations dropped from $16.5M to $2.5M. Suddenly, there was a future where Gumroad could be truly independent. This abrupt change literally saved us.

Since then, we’ve focused entirely on serving our creators. We’re no longer chasing hypergrowth. Instead, we’re focused on making Gumroad the best product possible for the people who use it.

And in many ways, we have.

Over the years, the platform has helped creators earn hundreds of millions of dollars, turning passion projects into full-time careers.

In 2019 we hosted a series of dinners to say thanks and get to know some of the people committed to Gumroad; those who had stuck through some of the growing pains that came with building a new platform. It was rewarding to hear their experiences and feedback, and since then, we’ve tried to listen to the needs of creators and adapted the product to fit.

We’ve also started to publicize our financials, giving other founders insight into what it looks like to run a profitable, independent software company. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Instead of being turned off by our relatively small size, creators have become even more loyal.

These were moments that felt like major wins. Not to mention the features that made an immediate impact and seeing creators thrive on the platform and hearing their stories of success.

As I've explored Gumroad's history for this series, what's struck me most is how the company's biggest triumphs came not from chasing investor expectations, but from truly listening to creators and building what they needed.

Some of the most notable things we’ve done to support creators:

Enabled even more creators in over 160 countries to sell their products.
Implemented abandoned cart emails, leading to a 1% increase in creator sales
Added new products types such as Coffee, Calls, and Commissions
Enabled creator collaborations, helping partners generate substantial joint sales
Introduced product bundles, which boosted average order value by 15%
Became a merchant of record—all tax obligations so creators can focus on creating
Moved our remote-first team to in-person offices, helping us quickly iterate and improve our products
And even more recently, built gum.new to simplify the creation process

And the iteration never stops. Our journey has taught us that meaningful growth comes from staying close to our community and building what truly matters to them. Next week, I'll share Gumroad's vision for the future, including our plan to open source the platform and give creators an even deeper stake in the tools that power their livelihoods.

A trip down Gumroad: The road ahead

💥Open-source, Hackathon, and Gumroad's 14th Birthday—oh my!

Creator Spotlight: Álvaro Trigo | How I Turned a Side Project Into a Profitable Business with Gumroad

Creator Spotlight: Brian Hahn | 10 Years to $1 Million in the Most Boring Niche in the World

🚀 Gumroad’s 14th Birthday Giveaway! 🎉

See all posts from Gumroad