Background 

Founded in 2020 during lockdown by 22-year-old entrepreneurs William Monange and Joel Morris, Fanvue set out to transform the creator economy with a platform that enables creators to monetise their work directly and sustainably. The duo faced the challenge of building a high-growth technology business while creating a culture capable of inspiring senior professionals and nurturing innovation at speed.

From its early “creator-first” stage to today’s AI-driven global platform, Fanvue’s growth has been extraordinary, expanding from 15 to 82 employees and increasing monthly turnover by 1,457% between 2023 and 2025. Yet the defining story of Fanvue is not its rapid rise but how its founders built a people-centric, purpose-led culture that fuels it.

Approach 

William and Joel’s philosophy is simple: share the vision, empower brilliant people and move fast with integrity. From day one they embedded five cultural pillars that define how Fanvue thinks, acts and grows: executing with excellence, taking ownership, delivering value fast, innovating aggressively and promoting honesty and transparency. This framework shapes every decision, from hiring to performance, communication and recognition.

Both founders remain deeply involved in day-to-day culture-building, personally joining every interview and hosting fortnightly All-Hands meetings where progress and setbacks are shared candidly. It’s unusual for a high growth organisation to give every member of their team full visibility over projections and challenges at granular level, but it’s been one of the key’s to Fanvue’s success.

Fanvue regularly host standup sessions where any member of the team is free to anonymously ask questions direct to the Founders to be addressed in front of the whole company, which has also fostered a productive culture of truth and transparency. While some business Founders choose to limit difficult dialogue on a company level, Fanvue thrives on it.

Fanvue’s hyper growth has been largely attributed to a safe and supportive culture whereby employees are encouraged to take bold bets, meaning that potentially business-defining moves can be tested, iterated and implemented at speed without excessive red tape and process. If it doesn’t work, no problem – “reassess, learn and go again”, say the Founders.

“At just 22, William Monange and Joel Morris built a culture of trust, agility and ownership that powered Fanvue from start-up to global leader in the AI creator economy”

Outcome

Fanvue is now the fastest-growing AI creator monetisation platform, with 8 million users worldwide. It was named a Sunday Times Best Place to Work (2024), scoring 92% confidence in management, 93% job empowerment and 91% employee pride.

Under William and Joel’s leadership, Fanvue has become not only a commercial success but also a model for how transparency, inclusion and empowerment can thrive in a high-growth tech environment. Their focus on purpose-driven leadership continues to inspire both their team and the wider creator economy.

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