CreatorWorks, Inc. — Platform Build Story

ℹ︎For confidentiality, company names, project names, and system images have been replaced with pseudonyms and mockups.

Built in-house from scratch, a platform underpinning the creator economy.

CircleStage is a SaaS platform that lets creators launch and run paid online salons. It delivers live streaming, exclusive videos, community posts, monthly billing, and revenue sharing in one no-development, all-in-one package.

"Millions of yen for app development," "scattered streaming tools," "manual payout handling" — the launch story of a new platform built in-house from scratch in 10 months to remove the entry barriers for individual creators.

See the build story Try the demo See overview

Salons launched

1,200+

Monthly retention

92%

Total sign-ups

150k+

Build time

10 months

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CLIENT

About the client

"CreatorWorks," a company powering the creator economy.

CreatorWorks, Inc. is a company dedicated to building spaces where individual creators and influencers can "connect directly with fans and earn revenue continuously."

Traditionally you had to assemble a dedicated app, streaming tools, payments, and payout management separately — entering the market demanded high cost and specialized know-how. Making this something anyone could start was the starting point of the business.

1,200+

Salons launched

150k+

Total members

Nationwide

Coverage area

BUSINESS FLOW

STEP 1

Salon launch

Owners open a paid salon and set pricing in minutes

STEP 2

Members join

Fans join and pay via monthly subscription

STEP 3

Streaming & interaction

Engage fans with live, video, and exclusive posts

STEP 4

Revenue sharing

Auto-tally revenue and pay out to owner accounts

CHALLENGE

Design challenges to solve

Framing creators' entry barriers as four design challenges.

The cost of building a dedicated app

If an individual builds a streaming appMillions of yen, several months. Make it development-free, and anyone can start.

Scattered streaming tools

When live, video, and posts are split across services, operations get complicated.One platform is where it all must converge.

Complexity of the member experience

Complex join-and-watch flows increase drop-off.Just a smartphone — a self-contained experience is the requirement.

The burden of billing and payout management

Manual monthly billing, revenue tallying, and payouts can't scale.Automation is essential.

ARCHITECTURE

The architecture we built together

Four domains, built in-house from scratch.

Together with CreatorWorks, we integrated the streaming, content, billing, and operations domains into a single platform.

EXECUTION

months

person-months

Domain ①

Live streaming

Challenge

Building low-latency two-way live in-house is hard

Solution

Embed a real-time streaming engine

A stable live experience even with thousands watching at once

Domain ②

Videos & posts

Challenge

Managing exclusive videos/posts and member access is cumbersome

Solution

Members-only content platform

Centrally manage a video library + post feed

Domain ③

Subscription billing

Challenge

Managing monthly billing, renewals, and cancellations is complex

Solution

Automate subscription payments

Automate everything from sign-up to renewal and cancellation

Domain ④

Revenue sharing & operations

Challenge

Revenue tallying, payouts, and salon review are manual

Solution

Automate revenue sharing and operations

Auto-tally revenue and pay out to accounts, all managed in one operations CMS

Frontend

Vue.js

Backend

Node.js

TypeScript

Socket.IO

Infra & Streaming

AWS

MySQL

PayPalAgora

IMPACT

The value the platform creates

Toward a platform where creators can monetize with no development.

A platform you can launch with no development

Individual creators can open a paid salon in minutes.

End-to-end from streaming to billing

Live, video, posts, and billing all complete on one platform.

Recurring billing for stable revenue

92% monthly retention. Fan loyalty sustains revenue.

Operations automation

Automate revenue tallying, payouts, and review to support scaling.

STAKEHOLDER

Salon owner

Creator

Typically

App development requires heavy investment

With CircleStage

Launch and run instantly, no development

Remove entry barriers and enable monetization

STAKEHOLDER

Fan members

End user

Typically

Watch-and-join flows are scattered and complex

With CircleStage

Stream and interact entirely from a single smartphone

An experience that brings you closer to your faves

STAKEHOLDER

Operations

Platform operator

Typically

Manual review and payout management hits a ceiling

With CircleStage

Automate review and revenue sharing, managed centrally

Scalable to 1,200+ salons

Built in-house from scratch, a platform underpinning the creator economy.

"CreatorWorks," a company powering the creator economy.

Framing creators' entry barriers as four design challenges.

Four domains, built in-house from scratch.

Toward a platform where creators can monetize with no development.

Experience three perspectives in a working demo.