Yancey Strickler

Yancey Strickler is a writer and entrepreneur recognized for his contributions to the creative economy and crowdfunding. Strickler began his career as a music critic, writing for Pitchfork, Spin, and Village Voice, before focusing on building platforms that support artists and makers. Alongside Perry Chen and Charles Adler, Strickler co-founded Kickstarter, an online platform that transformed the funding landscape for creative projects and startups. As cofounder and CEO, he played a key role in pioneering crowdfunding, enabling creators to raise more than $8 billion for their projects. Notable projects launched on Kickstarter include Cards Against Humanity, Oculus Rift, several Academy Award-winning films, and works by Spike Lee, Neil Young, and Marina Abramovic.

During his leadership at Kickstarter, Strickler guided the company through its transition to a Public Benefit Corporation, aligning its mission with values beyond financial profit. He has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader, included in Vanity Fair's New Establishment, and listed among Fast Company's Most Creative People. Strickler also received a Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award from the Tribeca Film Festival and has been profiled in Wired, Financial Times, The New York Times, New York Magazine, Forbes, and Vox.

After his tenure at Kickstarter, Strickler focused on writing and developing new frameworks for creative communities. His book "This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World" introduced Bentoism, a decision-making framework that expands self-interest into four dimensions: Now Me, Future Me, Now Us, and Future Us. As a cultural theorist, Strickler published the essay "The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet," which explored the shift toward private, non-indexed online spaces such as group chats, podcasts, and newsletters. He later expanded this work into the book "The Dark Forest Anthology of the Internet," collaborating with writers including Venkatesh Rao, Maggie Appleton, and Joshua Citarella as part of the Dark Forest Collective.

Strickler continued his entrepreneurial work by cofounding Metalabel, a platform that enables creative professionals to release and sell work collaboratively. He also introduced Artist Corporations, or A-Corps, a corporate structure designed to help artists and creative groups establish legal entities, access funding and health insurance, and create equity and ownership in their practices. Strickler co-hosts the podcast "New Creative Era" with Joshua Citarella, discussing creative careers, artistic economics, and internet culture. He has spoken at institutions and events including Museum of Modern Art, Tribeca and Sundance Film Festivals, Web Summit, SXSW, Walker Art Center, Stanford, Columbia University, and NYU, establishing himself as a leading voice on creativity, values, and the future of the internet.