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- Idea Of The Day - You Can Cash In On Creators Ditching Cash And Build This Equity Deal Tool
Idea Of The Day - You Can Cash In On Creators Ditching Cash And Build This Equity Deal Tool
GM. This is Needs to Exist (aka NTE), dropping a startup idea to help creators turn influence into equity.
3,950 startup ideas on NTE Pro and growing for only $99
Idea collecting dust? NTE Zero to One helps you turn it into something real.
Check out all the past newsletters here
Here’s what we’ve got for you today.
Daily Idea - Turn Influence Equity
Creator Equity Rewind

Own What You Promote, Finally

Inspired by the Startup Ideas Podcast
Ready to build this MVP? NTE Zero to One can help.
The One Liner
Turn brand deals into startup equity.
The 140 character tweet (or X) version
Creators are getting smarter. Why take just cash when you can get upside? This tool helps you negotiate equity alongside your sponsorships.
The Longer Story Version
The Problem
Cash is nice. Ownership is better.
Right now, when a startup pays a creator for a sponsorship, it’s a transaction. But when the money stops, so does the relationship. That’s short-term thinking for both sides.
Meanwhile, creators are launching VC funds, advising startups, and still taking flat-fee brand deals like it’s 2017.
But here’s the truth: creators drive demand. A well-placed mention can 10x a startup’s MRR. So why aren’t they earning like investors?
Because there’s no infrastructure. No easy way to track equity offers, paper deals, or price the value of an audience. So creators default to flat fees, and startups miss out on true believers.
The Solution
A tool that helps creators negotiate, track, and earn startup equity without needing a lawyer or a fund.
Here’s what it does:
Deal Structuring: You input your audience metrics, niche, and platform. The tool suggests equity terms based on startup stage and reach.
Legal-lite: It uses modular SAFE or advisor templates, pre-filled with terms that protect both sides. No lawyers required (but integrates with AngelList or Clerky if you want ‘em).
Portfolio Tracker: Once you’ve got skin in the game, you need to track it. You’ll see vesting, dilution, valuation like a mini Carta for creators.
It’s like AngelList meets ConvertKit meets CoPilot… but built for creator equity deals.
How We’d Build It
Stage 1 — Solo Hacker Build
Stage 2 — Creator Stack
Back Office: Use Pulley APIs to model equity terms + dilution.
Negotiation Layer: Plug into Spellbook (GPT for contracts) to give creators smart suggestions mid-negotiation.
CRM-style GTM: Launch with 5 creators who’ve already done equity deals (e.g. Alexis Ren, Codie Sanchez, Sahil Bloom). Use case studies as your GTM.
Stage 3 — Scaled Platform
Equity Marketplace: Startups post deal terms, creators apply to promote. Like Cameo meets AngelList.
Tokenize Upside: Let creators fractionalize their portfolio into shares for fans (think $CREATOR equity funds).
B2B SaaS: Charge startups to manage and distribute their “creator cap table.”
Why It Needs to Exist
The next generation of creators isn’t just building audiences and they’re building portfolios.
This platform gives them the tools to stop being walking billboards and start being equity partners.
For startups, it’s a no-brainer. Cash + conviction > cash alone.
For creators, it’s long-term wealth instead of one-time paychecks.
Influence is capital. It’s time we treated it that way.
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Got an idea in limbo?
NTE Zero to One is your unblock button.
For stuck builders, big brains, and half-baked geniuses who just need a push.
What you get for $49:
30 minutes of focused fire
A plug-and-play MVP plan
A quote if you want us to build it (fast)
50% off Pro, or totally free if we ship it
No fluff. No course. Just momentum.
“How It Could’ve Gone” — Creator Equity, If It Existed Sooner

Alright, let’s test this idea in the wild, not with another pitch, but with real stories, alternate endings, and a little bit of emotional damage.
Here’s the format:
We sit down with creators who’ve done dozens of brand deals.
We walk through one deal that paid them maybe $5K.
Then we ask:
What if this platform had existed?
Would you have asked for equity?
What would you have said on that Zoom call?
Would the startup have said yes?
Would it have been worth it?
They answer.
We run the alt timeline.
We hit pause to react, judge, debate.
It’s not a pitch.
It’s not a theory.
It’s a real-time stress test of the product idea from the people who would actually use it.
Here’s why it works:
You get feedback disguised as storytelling.
If creators say “Hell no, I’d never take equity,” that’s signal.
If they say “Wait, that would’ve 10x’d my earnings,” that’s even louder signal.You find where the friction is.
Is it legal stuff?
Is it trust?
Is it valuation confusion?
Is it just laziness?
Real creators will tell you what’s in their head — not what’s in a survey form.
You collect the edge cases and weird edge logic.
“I’d only take equity if I love the product.”
“If they don’t offer both cash + equity, I pass.”
“I’ve been burned before, so now I charge up front.”
All gold for product, positioning, and objections.
Bonus: You also get startup-side feedback.
Bring on founders and ask:
Would you give equity to this creator?
What % would feel fair?
Would a tool that helps with this make you say yes faster?
You’ll learn if this thing helps close deals or just makes things messier.
End goal?
Forget surveys.
Forget interviews.
This is narrative-driven validation with receipts, reactions, and regret.
It’s founder-market fit meets “Black Mirror.”
If the feedback is “meh,” you’ll know.
If the feedback is “I need this yesterday,” you’ll really know.
And if nothing else?
You just made banger content.
Let’s run it.
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