Whop.com
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | E-commerce Social commerce |
| Founded | 2021 in Brooklyn, New York |
| Founders | Steven Schwartz Cameron Zoub Jack Sharkey |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Steven Schwartz (CEO) Jack Sharkey (CTO) |
| Products | Whop platform |
| Services | Digital goods marketplace Payment processing Creator economy tools Community and subscription management |
| Website | whop |
Whop, Inc. is an American social commerce platform and online marketplace that enables creators, influencers, and small businesses to sell digital products, memberships, communities, and software directly to consumers.[1][2] It is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.[3][4]
History
[edit]Whop was founded in March 2021 by Steven Schwartz and Cameron Zoub, who had met as middle school-age teenagers in a Facebook group dedicated to sneaker reselling, and by software developer Jack Sharkey.[5][3] As teenagers, Schwartz and Zoub had written sneaker bots used to purchase limited-edition footwear, later launching an IT agency and several other ventures before conceiving of Whop as a marketplace for digital goods.[5][3] Schwartz, who studied at New York University's Stern School of Business and interned at Accenture in Singapore, graduated in 2021, the same year Whop was launched.[6][5]
In July 2023, Whop raised US$17 million in a Series A funding round led by Insight Partners, with participation from Peter Thiel, The Chainsmokers, Kevin O'Leary, Justin Mateen, Justin Kan, James Harden, and others.[1][7] In June 2024, Whop raised US$50 million in a Series B round led by Bain Capital Ventures at a valuation of US$800 million.[8]
In February 2026, Tether invested US$200 million in Whop at a valuation of US$1.6 billion.[9][10]
Platform
[edit]Whop operates an online marketplace that allows sellers to build customized storefronts, also called "whops", for selling digital products, online courses, software subscriptions, private online communities, and other access-based memberships.[1][3]
Its Whop's Content Rewards feature has been used by the music industry for its marketing campaigns known as clipping, in which paid editors are hired to circulate short-form videos of an artist's music across social media. Campaigns include Mumford & Sons, Brandi Carlile, and John Summit.[10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Wiggers, Kyle (July 20, 2023). "Whop, an online marketplace for digital goods, raises $17M". TechCrunch.
- ↑ "Whop Inc – Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.
- 1 2 3 4 Callahan, Michael (February 3, 2024). "Inside Whop, the $300 million Gen Z marketplace for selling your expertise". Fast Company.
- ↑ Bradley, Sydney (21 July 2023). "Read the Notion pitch document e-commerce startup Whop used to raise its $17 million Series A". Business Insider.
- 1 2 3 Shrikant, Aditi (August 14, 2023). "These 2 friends started a sneaker side hustle at age 13—now their company brings in more than $354,000 a month". CNBC.
- ↑ Pringle, Eleanor (June 9, 2024). "How Gen Z grad Steven Schwartz built $250 million marketplace for digital entrepreneurs". Fortune.
- ↑ Bradley, Sydney (21 July 2023). "Read the Notion pitch document e-commerce startup Whop used to raise its $17 million Series A". Business Insider. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
- ↑ Perry, Alex (26 March 2025). "Startup Whop Reaps Revenue Gains from Influencer Storefronts". The Information. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
- ↑ Burleigh, Emma. "The Gen Z cofounder of $1.6 billion Whop says his platform has minted over 650 millionaires—he wants to make work fun and money worries obsolete".
- 1 2 Horowitz, Steven J. (March 26, 2026). "What Is 'Clipping,' the Viral Marketing Strategy That's Taking Over the Music Biz?". Variety.