Introducing Throne’s Newest Venture: Happy Wishlist
Throne, known for its gifting platform that allows fans to give items to their favorite creators from their wishlist, is taking its services beyond the digital realm with the launch of Happy Wishlist. This new gifting portal is designed specifically for family and friends, offering a more personal way to exchange gifts for special occasions. But the most intriguing aspect of this announcement is the fact that Throne decided to take on the bootstrapped route after returning the funding it had previously raised from investors.
Throne Origins
The idea for Throne first came about in 2021 when co-founders Patrice Becker and Leonhard Soenke, who had previously worked together on the calendar management app Meeter (later acquired by Bardeen), noticed a gap in the market for content creators to safely receive physical gifts from their fans. There was no solution on the market for content creators to safely receive physical gifts,
said Becker in an interview with TechCrunch. The core issue is creator privacy: the address of the creator cannot be revealed to the fan and thus we act as a firewall between creators and their fans.
Throne allows creators to curate a wishlist from various sources on the web, and fans can then easily gift items from that list without revealing any personal information to either party. Additionally, the platform also offers the option for creators to turn a wishlist item into a crowdfunded gift.
Despite facing some challenges, such as a security bug that exposed creators’ private addresses, Throne has continued to grow in popularity, with over 400,000 creators now on the platform. And although Twitch is currently the most prominent platform for the company, Throne is expanding its reach through other products such as Throne Storefront (a link-in-bio product for brands) and Throne Exchange (a virtual Secret Santa system).
A New Path for Throne
Last year, Throne made a significant decision to return the $830,000 it had raised from investors earlier that year through a SAFE note (a fundraising method for early-stage startups). Despite surpassing $1 million in purchases in gifts for a month, the company decided to turn towards profitability instead of pursuing further investment. Eventually, in the summer of 2023, the company realized that the market it is addressing might not lead to a venture-backed outcome,
explained Becker. We kept on developing our team as lean and efficiently as possible, allowing us to move very fast and with very little management overhead. We were at a rate of mid-7 figures in revenue and profitable when we decided to fully pay back our investors.
This decision ultimately led to the creation of Happy Wishlist, as the founders saw potential in expanding their wishlist-based gifting concept to a more personal setting. With this new service, friends can order items from a wishlist and have them delivered to their own address, making it easier to give physical gifts to loved ones at events or parties. And since Throne is not involved in the fulfillment process for these orders, the company plans to generate revenue through affiliate links and partnerships with brand partners.
Throne: From Funding to Profiting
For Throne, this marks a significant shift from the traditional startup model of continuously seeking funding to a focus on generating revenue. The company is aiming to make Happy Wishlist a ‘multi-million’ revenue product within the next year,
revealed Becker. With this new approach, Throne is proving that it is possible for a startup to thrive without relying on investment, and instead, wants to make money.
As Throne continues to evolve and expand its services, it is clear that the company’s dedication to its core values of privacy and creator-fan relationships remains unwavering. With Happy Wishlist, it’s taking those values to the next level, providing a unique and personal gifting experience for friends and family. And who knows, perhaps this will be just the beginning of a new venture for Throne in the world of thoughtful gift-giving.
