At just 29 years old, Lucy Guo has raised $40 million in a Series A round for Passes, her content monetization platform, following an initial $9 million investment.
The platform currently hosts around 900 creators and 500,000 fans, with top creators reportedly earning over $1 million annually. Passes’ marketers attribute this success to direct monetization, allowing creators to connect with fans and generate revenue through exclusive content.
It sounds impressive, but let’s be real — Passes is essentially another OnlyFans clone. The high earnings of top creators likely stem from this familiar model, which thrives on subscription-based, often risqué content.
Platforms following this path tend to follow a predictable cycle:
1. They secure hefty funding from venture capital firms.
2. They proclaim, “No NSFW content here—just wholesome topics like teddy bears, workouts, and magic tutorials.”
3. They swiftly ban all explicit material when pressure mounts, often from entities like the Boston Police Department, whose pension funds are tied to the investors and wary of controversy.
We’ve seen this playbook before with Tumblr, Patreon, and even OnlyFans itself. So, why do funds keep jumping in, only to see these platforms pivot under scrutiny? The answer is straightforward: the potential for a 5-6x return on investment in a short timeframe. The explosive growth of OnlyFans has set a lucrative precedent, enticing investors. Even a 10% stake can yield massive profits from adult content revenue, which can then be redirected to more “respectable” ventures.
However, Passes is now facing serious allegations. Reports claim the platform recruited minors to sell NSFW content, leading to accusations of child pornography distribution.
Company representatives have denied these claims, asserting that founder Lucy Guo never interacted with the plaintiffs and emphasizing Passes’ “brand-friendly” stance. In response, all suspicious accounts have been blocked — a move likely driven by the need to justify the $40 million invested exactly a year ago to their backers.
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This situation raises questions about the sustainability of Passes’ model. While the platform’s rapid rise mirrors past successes, its future hinges on navigating these controversies and maintaining investor confidence amid a well-trodden — and often rocky — path.
