Sanil Chawla recalls the numerous meetings he had with artists during his college years. These creatives were all seeking sustainable economic infrastructure that would help them grow without drowning in paperwork, filings, and tracking down receipts.
Chawla believed he had a solution and launched a music monetization platform in 2020. Amid the pandemic, he pivoted the company into what it is now: Slingshot, a platform that helps creatives find tools to manage their operational needs. It even offers its own corporate card to further centralize financial transactions on its platform.
“Too many talented creators today are forced to spend countless hours navigating the complex financial and business challenges of being self-employed,” Chawla told Truth Voices. “Our goal is to leverage technology to dramatically simplify those tasks, empowering creatives to focus on what they love.”
On Monday, the company announced a $2.2 million pre-seed round with participation from Dorm Room Fund, 1916 Enterprises, Key Partners Group, and angel investor Vincent Francouer, former head of web and mobile at Blizzard.
Slingshot emerged in the wake of the booming $250 billion creator economy. Unlike other companies, it differentiates itself by centralizing its features and data, offering automated bookkeeping linked to its business card. It also collaborates with banks to facilitate financial transactions, allowing creatives to manage funds, make transfers, and send payments. Its primary banking-as-a-service partner for customer accounts is Stripe through its Treasury and Issuing programs.
It offers other features like letting creatives save a percentage of their revenue and providing benefits such as healthcare and retirement plans. It acts as an HR department and handles legal filings and tax paperwork. Chawla, now 24, mentioned it took four years to raise the pre-seed round since the company secured funding in batches. Smaller angel investments were made in 2020 before pivoting to the current version in 2023.
Slingshot initially provided legal and financial infrastructure to musicians to help them grow without a record label while still retaining a bulk share of their royalties. With that initial concept, it raised $50,000 and then another $1.2 million to develop it further. However, in late 2022, the company shifted focus based on customers’ demands for a financial product, leading to an additional $1 million in funding, bringing it to its current state.
Looking forward, Slingshot has ambitious plans. It aims to raise more funds in the upcoming year, leveraging the $2.2 million pre-seed round to enhance its features. This includes developing an AI assistant to revolutionize how creatives manage their operations. Chawla believes that better tools and infrastructure for the creative economy can foster more creativity and diverse artistic expression. “We’re still early in the journey, but I’m inspired by the impact we’ve had so far and all the potential ahead to do so much more,” he said.
