New year-end data & exec hires mark an incredible year of growth for Cameo
2020 will go down in history as the most memorable year of our lives. From social justice and politics to climate change, a global pandemic and the wild new world of quarantine, we’ve learned, grown and accomplished so much together.
Amid all the mayhem, Cameo had a wild ride of its own. Business exploded, our charitable giving program ramped up, our workforce went remote (and we’re never going back!), and we brought on some big new names from leading tech and consumer brands — including Quibi and Hulu, LinkedIn, McDonald’s, Bustle Digital Group, Instagram, Hims & Hers, and Reddit — that will set us up for another powerhouse year in 2021.
Here are some of the highlights…
📈 2020 #Business
This year, we did approximately $100M in GMV, growing at a rate of over 4.5x YoY, with average order value increasing by ~25% to roughly $70. In May of 2020, we celebrated a company milestone — our millionth Cameo. And in 2020 alone, we fulfilled more Cameos than throughout our company’s 4-year history: roughly 1.3M total. With bookings growing by more than 350% YoY, the demand for Cameo has never been greater.
A few more numbers…
Talent: In 2020, we welcomed more than 10,000 new athletes, actors, comedians, musicians, artists, activists and personalities to Cameo, who together produced more than 30,000 hours of Cameo content. By the end of 2020, more than 150 Cameo talent were earning at least $100,000 per year.
Fans: In 2020, our customer base grew ~250% YoY, as we welcomed more fans to Cameo.
Mobile Growth: In 2020, we grew mobile app usage by more than 450%, celebrated more than 2M app downloads, and grew app-based order volume to almost 17% with our revamped iOS app — up from 2% last year.
New Business Lines: We began building C4B (Cameo for Business) into the multimillion dollar business it is today, growing at a rate of 900% YoY…without so much as a landing page until mid-December.
Cameo Cares: This year, we partnered with talent to raise awareness and donate $1M+ to worthy nonprofits and causes around the world — including GLAAD, Rock the Vote, NAACP, RED, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, Baby2Baby, Actors Fund, MusiCares, No Kid Hungry, Australian Fire Relief (WIRES), Restaurant Employee Relief Fund, and more — through our philanthropic program, Cameo Cares.
Global Connections: We made Cameo connections in 178 different countries in 2020, including 10 fulfilled Cameo requests from researchers based in Antarctica — meaning Cameos were delivered on every continent in the world.
🌐 Growing Remotely…Forever
On March 11th, just hours before the deadline to sign a 10-year lease for our new HQ in Chicago’s West Loop, Cameo leadership made the calculated decision to hold off. And after three successful months working as a fully distributed workforce, we made the decision permanent — allowing us to end our reliance on the traditional headquarters model, attract the best talent for Cameo, and shape the perfect team, regardless of their location.
- In 2020, we doubled Cameo’s employee base, growing the team by almost 100 people. By the end of Q1 2021, more than half of the company will have never worked in a Cameo office.
With that pivot, we were also able to meet our company wide OKR of “building a world-class leadership team.” Today, we’re thrilled to introduce the newest additions to Cameo’s executive team, who will help propel Cameo into our next stage of growth.
👥 Introducing our New Executives…
Rob Post, Chief Technology Officer (Tampa) — Rob joins us today as Cameo’s new Chief Technology Officer, where he will lead the tech and engineering org as we grow the business, build new experiences for fans and talent, and scale a tech team to help us accomplish Cameo’s ambitious mission. Joining us most recently from Quibi, where he served as CTO, and Hulu, where he spent more than 10 years in multiple roles, including 5 years as Vice President of Engineering, Rob’s experience building, growing and leading world-class tech organizations at global platforms makes him the perfect fit for Cameo in 2021.
Deb Schwartz, Chief Financial Officer (New York) — We’re also excited to introduce Deb Schwartz, who joined Cameo in October 2020 as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to Cameo, Deb served as CFO of Bustle Digital Group, where she helped navigate the acquisition of six brands including W Magazine, and helped double company revenues. Deb’s background in equity research, banking and finance/business positions at Goldman Sachs, Google, Credit Suisse and Groupon, gives her a breadth of experience spanning the marketplace, e-commerce, content and talent sectors that’s perfect for Cameo’s road ahead.
Melanie (Mel) Steinbach, Chief People Officer (Chicago) — Another huge win for Cameo, we’re thrilled to welcome Melanie Steinbach as Cameo’s first-ever Chief People Officer. In her role, she is responsible for human resources strategy and operations, recruitment, total rewards, organizational effectiveness, and culture initiatives as Cameo scales its rapidly growing, fully distributed workforce. She joined Cameo in December 2020 after three years at McDonald’s, where she served in multiple roles including Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer, McDonald’s USA.
Brian Frank, Chief Operating Officer (Bay Area) — Brian Frank joined us in September 2020 as Cameo’s Chief Operating Officer, overseeing talent relations, sales, strategic partnerships, and marketing. He previously led Global Operations at LinkedIn, where he was responsible for diverse sales, lead generation, advertising, channel and analytics teams, and helped grow revenues from $75 million to over $6 billion during a 10-year period. We’re grateful to have such an experienced operator at the helm as we scale in 2021.
👥 👥 Plus More Senior Leaders…
Cameo’s revamped C-Suite is also joined by an all-star lineup of new senior leaders, including Emily Boschwitz, Senior Vice President of Marketing (formerly of direct-to-consumer health and wellness company Hims & Hers); Disha Gupta, Vice President of Operations, Strategy & Analytics (formerly of LinkedIn); Geoff Dowd, Vice President of Design (formerly of TuneIn and Google); Mike Hondorp, Head of Business Marketing and Brand Partnerships (formerly of Whalar and Instagram); and Allie Mack, Director of Communications (formerly of Reddit).
🎆 Cue the Fireworks
2020 has been a historic year for Cameo — and for the broader creator economy. With more than 50 million people already considered creators, the creator economy went mainstream in 2020…and it’s only poised to grow.
Cameo is carving a unique path in the creator space, as a marketplace on a mission to enable the most personalized and authentic fan connections on earth. And with recognition this year as Best Product in Forbes’ 2020 Social Media Awards, ranked #1 on The Information’s TI50 Most Promising Startups, among Fast Company’s 50 Most Innovative Companies, Inc.’s Best In Business 2020, and Business Insider’s Top 100 Startups of 2020, we’re just getting started.
Stay tuned to Cameo’s new blog for updates, and please join us (WE’RE HIRING)!
