Live & Commerce: Why We’re Building It This Way (And What It Took to Get Here)

The Problem We Saw (Before We Built Anything)

When we started building our platform, one thing became clear very early:
Creators don’t leave platforms because of lack of reach.
They leave because effort doesn’t convert into income.

Most social platforms today are:

• Optimized for ads
• Optimized for attention
• Optimized for time spent

But creators don’t live on attention.
They live on earnings.

Live and commerce already exist in the market — but usually:

• On separate platforms
• Built for engagement, not income
• Designed to benefit the platform first, creators later

We didn’t want to add live and commerce.
We wanted to rebuild them around creator economics.

Our First Mistake: Moving Too Fast

Early on, we were excited.

• Growing users
• Strong engagement
• Creators asking for monetization

So we tried to move fast.

And that’s when we hit our first wall.

Live features are not just UI.
Commerce is not just checkout.

Behind the scenes, live and commerce demand:

• Real-time infrastructure
• Ultra-low latency
• Stable video delivery
• Transaction reliability
• Cost control at scale

You can’t build creator income on unstable systems.

If a live stream drops.
If a gift fails.
If a checkout lags.

Trust breaks — and creators never forget that.

So we slowed down.

The Hard Decision: Delay Monetization on Purpose

This was one of the hardest calls we made.
We intentionally delayed rolling out live monetization and commerce — even though users and creators were asking for it.

Why?

Because launching monetization too early can:

• Hurt engagement
• Break creator trust
• Lock in bad behavior patterns
• Create revenue that doesn’t scale

Instead, we focused on:

• Building our own real-time systems
• Optimizing infra cost vs performance
• Making live feel boring-reliable
• Ensuring commerce flows feel native, not forced

This phase wasn’t visible from outside.
But it defined everything.

How We’re Building Live (Differently)

We’re not treating live as “content”.
We’re treating live as an economic moment.

That means:

• Multi-host live, not single-creator isolation
• Real-time interaction, not passive viewing
• Earning events, not just streaming sessions

Live on our platform is designed so that:

• Creators earn early
• Earnings are frequent, not lottery-based
• Audience participation feels meaningful, not transactional

Small earnings matter more than viral peaks.
Consistency matters more than scale.

That insight changed everything.

How We’re Building Commerce (After Trust, Not Before)

Commerce only works when trust already exists.

So instead of starting with a marketplace, we’re starting with:

• Creator-led selling
• Live-driven discovery
• Native checkout flows

Commerce here is not about:

• Infinite catalogs
• Discounts
• Logistics complexity on day one

It’s about:

• Creators selling what they genuinely believe in
• Audiences buying because of connection
• Transactions feeling like support, not ads

Live builds trust.
Commerce scales it.

The Toughest Part Nobody Talks About: Cost

One of our biggest early lessons was brutal but necessary.

High engagement with uncontrolled infrastructure cost = slow death.

We faced moments where:

• User growth looked great
• Engagement was strong
• But infra costs were rising faster than comfort

That forced us to rethink everything:

• How we stream
• How we route calls
• How we store media
• How we scale progressively

Today, we’re obsessed with:

• Cost per live minute
• Cost per transaction
• Margin improvement with scale

Because creator income only works if the platform itself is sustainable.

Where We Are Now

Today:

• The core product is live
• Engagement is strong
• Creators are waiting — not asking — waiting for monetization

That’s the signal we care about.

We’re now entering the phase we built toward from day one:
Monetization activation.

Not rushed.
Not forced.
But ready.

Why This Matters

Live and commerce are not trends.
They’re the future default of social platforms.

But only if they’re built with:

• Respect for creators
• Discipline in execution
• Patience in sequencing

We’re not trying to be the fastest.
We’re trying to be the most durable.

Because if creators can earn — even a little — consistently, they stay.
They grow.
And the platform grows with them.

That’s the system we’re building.