It's new eCommerce MasterPlan Episode Day!
Time to wrap your ears around our latest interview.
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Guest = Liat Karpel Gurwicz, DeviantArt
Liat Karpel Gurwicz is the Chief Revenue Officer at DeviantArt. A digital art marketplace and community. Founded in 2000 they pivoted completely to the marketplace model in 2023, and in 2025 had over 265,000 buyers spending £23million via their platform.
What are we talking about?
How DeviantArt Turned a 26-Year-Old Community Into a £23m Marketplace
In this episode, Liat shares how DeviantArt is turning its huge community of artists and art lovers into a thriving creator economy, while keeping the community at the heart of the business. She also reveals how they approach monetisation, global expansion and AI without losing sight of their core values.
Hit PLAY to hear:
🎨 How DeviantArt turned a huge community into a thriving marketplace
💰 Why DeviantArt removed programmatic ads to put creators first
📈 The “stairway to growth” helping creators unlock new revenue streams
🔄 Why 55%+ of first-time buyers return to the same creator
🌍 How DeviantArt is tackling global growth through localisation
🤖 DeviantArt’s practical approach to AI-generated art
Listen Now:
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You can also find the notes and listen on the website, just click here for this week's new episode.
Key timestamps to dive straight in:
[04:37] Balancing community and eCommerce
[08:22] Supporting creators with new sales options
[10:44] Supporting Artists on DeviantArt
[15:27] Community growth and creator tools
[18:47] Expanding localization efforts
[23:44] AI art policies and user options
[26:43] Listen to Liat’s Top Tips!
[36:17] Episode sponsored by DeviantArt. Find out more here >>> https://www.deviantart.com/
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