Hype

Hype (formerly known as Pico) is a marketing and payments platform aimed at content creators and media companies. When the company first began, it targeted journalists by helping them monetize their blogs, before subsequently shifting its focus toward link-in-bio tools.

Hype offers ready-to-use customizable “Hype Kits” to content creators to help them monetize their online following. The features offered in its Hype Kits include drag-and-drop mobile website builders, CRM tools, and integrations with newsletter tools such as Mailchimp and ConvertKit. Hype Kits also include plugins that allow content creators to establish paywalls on websites.

Among Hype’s other services is Hype’s Monetization App, which lets creators connect their own Stripe accounts to create custom membership plans, and Hype’s Design Pro App, which lets creators build multiple Hype Pages to suit different target audiences. The platform also introduced pre-designed and customizable web pages for creators in February 2023.

Hype levies a processing fee of 5% for subscription and pass payments as well as a 2% fee for tips and donations. Hype’s Design Pro App is priced at USD 9 per month, while Hype’s Website Pro App, which lets entrepreneurs add Hype to any custom website, varies based on the number of contacts the creator collects in Hype.

Key customers and partnerships

Its key customers include The Colorado Sun, Defector Media, and The Generalist.

As of April 2023, creators earned ~USD 30 million in revenue, with over four million email and phone contacts acquired through the platform.

Funding and financials

In April 2023, Hype announced its USD 10 million in Series A funding led by King River Capital. As of April 2023, the company noted that it incurred losses and aimed to reach profitability by mid-2024.