# Yancey Strickler

> Yancey Strickler is an American writer and entrepreneur, cofounder and former CEO of Kickstarter, and cofounder of The Creative Independent, Metalabel, and DFOS. His books and essays examine creativity, self-interest, and online life. As the initial executive director of the Artist Corporations Foundation, he has worked on legal structures intended to support artist ownership, including Colorado’s 2026 artist-company law.

- **Role:** Executive Director at Artist Corporations Foundation; cofounder of DFOS
- **Organizations:** Kickstarter, The Creative Independent, Metalabel, DFOS, Artist Corporations Foundation, Dark Forest Collective, The Bento Society, eMusic Selects
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** English and Literary and Cultural Studies (double major), College of William & Mary
- **Known for:** Cofounded Kickstarter and served as CEO from 2014 to 2017., Helped establish Kickstarter’s public benefit corporation structure in 2015., Cofounded The Creative Independent, launched in 2016.

## Career timeline

- **2000** — Graduated from William & Mary, then moved to New York and worked as a music journalist.
- **2008** — Helped create eMusic Selects, promoting unsigned and underexposed artists.
- **2009** — Cofounded Kickstarter with Perry Chen and Charles Adler; the site launched April 28.
- **2014** — Became Kickstarter CEO on January 1.
- **2015** — Helped convert Kickstarter to a public benefit corporation.
- **2016** — The Creative Independent, which he cofounded, launched September 26.
- **2017** — Stepped down as Kickstarter CEO.
- **2019** — Published This Could Be Our Future and The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet; introduced Bentoism in the book.
- **2021** — Cofounded Metalabel.
- **2024** — Collaborated on The Dark Forest Anthology of the Internet.
- **2025** — Presented Artist Corporations at TED in April; the Artist Corporations Foundation was established later that year.
- **2026** — Advocated for Colorado’s artist-company legislation, signed June 2; current projects include DFOS.

## Achievements

- Cofounded Kickstarter and served as CEO from 2014 to 2017.
- Helped establish Kickstarter’s public benefit corporation structure in 2015.
- Cofounded The Creative Independent, launched in 2016.
- Authored This Could Be Our Future (2019) and developed Bentoism.
- Published The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet (2019) and collaborated on its 2024 anthology.
- Cofounded Metalabel to support shared creative releases.
- Testified in support of Colorado’s 2026 artist-company law as a representative of the Artist Corporations Foundation.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Said Colorado’s first A-Corp filings are expected in July 2027 and described work toward legislation in additional states.
- **2026-08** — Published a review of collaborative projects from 2021 through 2026.
- **2026-06** — Colorado’s artist-company bill was signed June 2; Strickler published an account of the campaign and drafting process.
- **2026-01** — The Artist Corporations Foundation annual letter named him initial executive director and Lena Imamura initial managing director.

## Links

- Website: https://www.ystrickler.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yancey-strickler-486b4557/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/ystrickler
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ystrickler/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/yancey-strickler
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21