Fanvue Founders Named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2026

Fanvue cofounders William Monange, Harry Fitzgerald, and Joel Morris have been named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2026 list for Media & Marketing, following a defining period of rapid scaling and product evolution.

But the recognition goes far beyond company growth—it speaks to a broader shift in how creator businesses are built, monetized, and scaled.

What Earned Fanvue’s Cofounders a Spot on Forbes 30 Under 30

Making the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list involves months of research, thousands of candidates, and extensive evaluations. As Forbes editors Zoya Hasan and Alexandra York explained, the process is intentionally rigorous:

Monange, Fitzgerald, and Morris fit that profile quickly. In just over 2 years, they scaled Fanvue to 17 million users, 325,000 creators, $100M+ in annual recurring revenue, and a team of 117 employees.‍

But selection goes beyond growth metrics. The final decision includes evaluation from industry leaders who assess each company’s future direction. As Hasan and York noted:

Fanvue’s cofounders were already building toward the future—developing AI-powered tools for creators like Cardi B and Swiss footballer Alisha Lehmann to monetize their fan relationships at scale. The platform later became one of Europe’s fastest-growing companies and announced a $22 million funding round earlier this year.‍

As York put it, this year’s class is “shaping the future of media and marketing”—a description that reflects Fanvue’s cofounders' place within it.

Fanvue’s Cofounders Bet on a Different Future for Creators

When Monange, Fitzgerald, and Morris started building Fanvue, most creators were still trapped in a cycle of chasing visibility. Income depended heavily on sponsorships, viral reach, high-volume posting, and constantly feeding algorithms that could shift overnight.

As a result, more creators started looking for something social platforms simply couldn’t provide:

• More stable income that didn’t disappear when sponsorships or views dropped
• Direct access to audiences without relying on unpredictable algorithms
• Stronger fan relationships beyond buried comments and DMs
• Sustainable businesses that could grow without nonstop posting or viral spikes

These frustrations led the cofounders to see that a different direction was needed. They believed creators were moving toward more direct monetization models built around subscriptions, fan communities, and long-term audience connection. Even though the category was still far from proven, they built for it anyway.

Fanvue introduced tools built around the operational side of creator businesses:

• Subscriptions and pay-to-view content to create more predictable income beyond inconsistent sponsorship deals.
• Direct messaging, AI-assisted communication, and automated engagement tools to help creators stay connected to fans without spending every hour in their inboxes.
• Checkout links, audience management systems, and customizable monetization features to give creators more control over how they earn, interact, and grow their communities.
• AI-powered tools that helped creators streamline content workflows, manage fan engagement, and scale their businesses more efficiently.

Over time, Fanvue rose—not just as “another subscription platform” but as infrastructure that helps creators manage monetization, engagement, and fan relationships at scale.‍

And the platform is still evolving. When considering Fanvue’s growth and the Forbes recognition, William Monange wrote:

The Next Era of Creator Growth Depends on Scalable Fan Connection

As the creator economy evolves, social media platforms are becoming discovery engines rather than where sustainable creator businesses are built. TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube help creators get seen, but most of the monetization now happens through direct-to-fan platforms like Fanvue.

This shift is changing the nature of creator work entirely. Growth no longer means getting more views; it means managing more conversations, expectations, requests for access, and pressure to stay constantly available.

It also creates a new tension for creators. Growing an audience became easier than maintaining closeness with it. The bigger creators become, the harder it is to:

• Stay responsive and connected to fans
• Make loyal audiences feel seen and valued consistently
• Balance ongoing engagement with creating content
• Maintain meaningful interaction without burning out 

At the same time, monetization itself is becoming more relationship-driven. Fans aren’t just paying for content anymore. They’re paying for access, interaction, exclusivity, and emotional connection—all things that quickly become difficult to sustain at scale.

That’s where Fanvue’s AI tools are becoming part of the infrastructure behind creator businesses. They don’t exist to replace creators, but to help them stay present as audience demands grow:‍

• AI Messaging helps creators manage high volumes of fan interaction while keeping conversations responsive and personalized.
• AI Voice Calls & Voice Notes allow fans to experience more direct, one-to-one interaction without creators needing to be available around the clock.
• AI Analytics helps creators identify which interactions drive retention, engagement, and recurring revenue, so they can double down on what works.

Today, nearly half a million Fanvue members already use creator AI tools. That’s the direction the creator economy itself is moving toward: scalable fan relationships enabled by AI-supported operations and systems that allow creators to grow without losing the closeness their audiences pay for.‍

In many ways, the Forbes recognition reflects how central that shift is to the future of creator businesses.

The Shift Fanvue Is Building For

The creator economy is still early in its transition, but the direction is becoming clear. Creators are no longer just producing content—they’re building businesses, and AI is becoming part of the operational layer supporting that growth. As Joel Morris put it, “We’re building the AI infrastructure that will define how creators earn in the next decade.”‍

The Forbes recognition arrived at a moment when AI, creator monetization, and fan connection are becoming increasingly intertwined. And for Harry Fitzgerald, the opportunity ahead still feels massive. In his words: “We’re only just getting started.”