Bigly Is Raising $1.3M to Power the Future of AI-Driven Edutainment
The Thesis
Modern learners don’t want lectures — they want micro, mobile, creator-led education that fits how they already consume content: fast, visual, and on-demand.
Bigly is building the first AI-native edutainment platform for the Creator Economy
, enabling small-to-mid-sized influencers to monetize bite-sized expertise through structured, gamified learning content. It’s designed to be creator-first, frictionless, and monetization-optimized.
Led by a 3x exited founder (18x ROI on his last company), Bigly is combining AI tooling, viral onboarding loops, and short-form UX into a platform that feels more like TikTok than Coursera — but generates real revenue for everyday creators.
The Market Gap
There are over 2 million small-to-mid-sized Creators in the U.S. alone — and most of them struggle to earn income beyond brand deals and unstable ad revenue.
They create short-form content daily across TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram — yet have no scalable way to monetize knowledge or teach.
Existing EdTech platforms like Udemy, MasterClass, or Coursera are built for institutions and long-form courses — not mobile-native creators with 30K–500K followers and no production teams.
Bigly fills the gap: it’s simple to use, AI-powered, and built to help them earn real money from what they already know.
Early Traction
$21,000 revenue from a lean MVP test over 6 weeks
2.8x ROAS from early paid acquisition
3–5% conversion from Creator audiences (vs. 1.2% model baseline)
Engine tested to add 40–60 creators/day via outreach — with scalable capacity to reach 1,000/day as systems mature
Paying users report strong satisfaction and viral word-of-mouth
Why now?
IA has unlocked solo content creation — what once needed a team now needs a laptop and a voice
Creators are fleeing ads and brand deals for direct-to-fan monetization
There’s growing fatigue with centralized platforms — and strong demand for tools that empower ownership and recurring income
Consumer willingness to pay for niche, trusted content is at an all-time high — especially in self-growth, wellness, and soft skills
Bigly is perfectly timed to capitalize on this behavioral and technological shift
Product & Solution
Bigly is an AI-powered, mobile-first learning platform where creators can publish structured, monetized micro-content — no course-building headaches, no code, no overhead.
Feeds feel like TikTok — swipeable, short, visual
Creators earn from micro-subscriptions, tips, and upsells
AI helps script, format, and personalize content
Native CRM and referral tools track who invited who — and who earns from it
Market Opportunity
$1.1T global TAM across content subscriptions ($928B) + online learning ($241B)
Bigly’s wedge: 2M+ underserved U.S. Creators with 30K–500K followers
Referencing OnlyFans, avg. Creator makes ~$180/month. If just 10% of Bigly’s wedge earns at that level, that’s a $432M ARR opportunity
Broader upside includes global EdTech, digital coaching, and short-form learning markets — all fast-growing and Gen Z-native
What Makes It Defensible?
IA has unlocked solo content creation — what once needed a team now needs a laptop and a voice
Creators are fleeing ads and brand deals for direct-to-fan monetization
There’s growing fatigue with centralized platforms — and strong demand for tools that empower ownership and recurring income
Consumer willingness to pay for niche, trusted content is at an all-time high — especially in self-growth, wellness, and soft skills
Bigly is perfectly timed to capitalize on this behavioral and technological shift
Business Model & Metrics
Bigly earns by taking a 20% cut of all creator revenue
Revenue streams: micro-subscriptions, content upsells, tips
Avg. MRR per paying user: $48
CAC: ~$2 per subscriber (driven by viral and referral loops)
Gross margin target: 85–90%
Creator earnings potential: Up to $8K/month per 50K followers
The Team
Ivan Lukin — CEO & Founder
3x VC-backed exits (18x ROI on largest)
Deep background in EdTech + youth learning nonprofits across CIS
Bootstrapped Bigly using prior exit capital (97% ownership)
Slava Penkin— CTO
ex-senior engineer at major CIS telecom
Tony Tretyakov — CMO
Former Head of Digital, Raiffeisen Bank Russia