I've recently started following a certain chess player's Facebook gaming stream which got me thinking about what we are willing to support online.
As he plays he discusses different tactics and entertains viewers with his natural charisma. He's also an above-average chess player which obviously requires skill and A LOT of practice. This is true of most people who make money off streams. They have entertaining personalities and they've put in the work to be successful, so I'm not trying to discourage supporting these people at all. But I have noticed that streaming platforms like Facebook, Twitch, YouTube and Onlyfans seem to focus exclusively on gaming and adult entertainment, while musicians benefit in their own way and some artists are beginning to make use of it successfully, I have yet to see anything for people trying to open a business or develop a product.
While crowdfunding for ideas do exist, they tend to focus on rewards or equity. Meaning that you either get something in return for your donation, or you gain equity in the business by pledging money towards it. This makes sense, as crowdfunding platforms aren't as intimate as streaming platforms. People want to see a return on their "investments". Whereas when they donate towards a live video, they are rewarding the streamer for what they are busy doing. The top three crowdfunding platforms, Kickstarter, Indiegogo and GoFundMe all work on reward systems, while platforms like Patreon also offer extra/exclusive content to subscribers. There are no donation based platforms for businesses.
So my idea is to create a platform where people could watch others work towards their dreams/goals and support them if they choose to do so. While I don't think this would be applicable to all industries, I could imagine some vocations/industries might be viable to watch if presented correctly.
Watching someone design logos, code, build something or organize events could potentially be entertaining, provided the host presents it well. I imagine niche industries like clockmaking, baking, florsitry or game designing could be very interesting.
Would this be entertaining enough to justify donations?
Would people be interested in streaming their work?
"On average, expert streamers can make between $3,000 to $5,000 each month playing around 40 hours a week. That specific number doesn’t include ad revenue, which averages about $250 every 100 subscribers." A fraction of that would be a great income supplement for anyone trying to launch their own business. As long as it can be entertaining enough it could be a great way to help support small businesses and entrepreneurs.