Happs
3 known investors
Happs is a community-driven live video platform that lets independent creators broadcast simultaneously across multiple social channels.
Also known as Happs · Happs.TV
Investors · 3
Also in the syndicate · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Happs is a live video platform for independent creators, operating from Los Angeles. Its core capability is simultaneous cross-platform broadcasting: while streaming on Happs, a creator can produce and share the same live content to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Twitch and other social channels rather than creating separate content for each network. The company also positions itself as the first livestreaming platform that lets creators on different platforms collaborate on a single broadcast — for example, a YouTube creator teaming with a Twitch streamer — and share the resulting stream with each participant's own audience.
Beyond streaming tools, Happs has built community and monetization layers intended to serve as a "homebase" for creators: features for networking, collaborating and co-producing with other creators, plus direct payments, monthly sponsorships/subscriptions and broadcast awards that allow creators to earn without first meeting follower or engagement thresholds. The creator community spans musicians, journalists, crafters and other creatives.
An earlier phase of the company focused on live news production and distribution, using a global network of independent journalists who livestreamed from the company's mobile app. Story ideas were sourced and developed through a "virtual newsroom" — initially run on Slack and later moved toward a bespoke product — where community contributors pitched stories that Happs producers selected and developed into live broadcasts.
Founding story
Happs was founded by Mark Goldman, David Neuman and Drew Shepard, former media and technology executives from CNN, Walt Disney, 20th Century FOX and Reserve. Mark Goldman serves as CEO.
Business model
Happs provides free professional-grade streaming and simulcasting tools to creators and operates a direct-to-creator payment system alongside monthly sponsorships and subscriptions, positioning the platform as the place where creators build audience and earn money.
Sources describe monetization flowing to creators via direct payment, monthly subscriptions/sponsorships and broadcast awards; the company's own take or pricing is not stated.
Traction
By June 2021 Happs said its creators had reached more than 25 million viewers. Lead investor Bullpen Capital cited creator retention, particularly minutes streamed per active streamer, and said creators triple their streaming hours using Happs' tools.
Latest developments
In June 2021 Happs announced a $4.7 million post-seed round led by Bullpen Capital, with Bullpen partner Ann Lai joining the board of directors.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Happs positions itself within the creator economy as differentiated from algorithm-driven platforms, claiming to be the only platform combining cross-channel live sharing, direct community engagement and monetization in one place.
Co-founder Drew Shepard describes the company's emphasis on the creator and on connections between creators and their supporting communities — fostering collective success rather than using algorithms to increase competition among creators for viewer attention — alongside the cross-platform collaborative simulcasting capability.
Technology
The platform enables a single live broadcast to be produced and distributed simultaneously to multiple social channels, supports multi-creator collaborative broadcasts across platforms, and includes community, profile and payment features. An earlier mobile app allowed contributors to livestream instantly, supported by a virtual-newsroom workflow for pitching, voting on and developing stories, with producer tools to surface, flag and track promising pitches.
Go-to-market
Happs acquires creators by offering free streaming tools and a collaboration-oriented community, emphasizing cross-platform reach and immediate monetization rather than follower-count gating; community education and onboarding materials were developed to bring contributors onto the platform.
Independent live video creators — including musicians, journalists, crafters and other creatives — and, in the company's earlier phase, independent and freelance journalists contributing live news.
Geography
Headquartered in Los Angeles, with a distributed contributor community including journalists and community leaders based outside the United States (e.g., Iraq and the Dominican Republic).
History
Between mid-2019 and early 2020 the company operated as an early-stage venture focused on live news, running a virtual newsroom on Slack for a network of independent journalist contributors and working on a purpose-built replacement product. By 2021 it had broadened into a community-driven live video platform for independent creators of all types, raising a $4.7 million post-seed round in June 2021 that brought total funding to $6.2 million.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 2
launches, deals, and filingsHapps announced a $4.7 million post-seed funding round led by Bullpen Capital, with participation from Crosslink, Goodwater and Corazon (which led the seed round), plus Rob Hayes of First Round Capital and former Instagram head of growth Bangaly Kaba. The round brought total funding to $6.2 million.
$4.7M source ↗
Ann Lai, partner at Bullpen Capital, joined the Happs board of directors in conjunction with leading the post-seed financing.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Happ's Place - Abouthappsplace.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Happs do?
- Happs is a community-driven live video platform that lets independent creators broadcast simultaneously across multiple social channels.
- Who are Happs's investors?
- Happs's investors include Bullpen Capital.