Creator-Focused Crypto Startup Rally Raises $50 Million, Names Former Patreon Exec Bremner Morris CEO

Rally, the crypto startup that enables creators to launch their own digital currencies — which can be used as collectibles or by influencers to vend exclusive content, access to communities, or event tickets — has announced today a slew of hires and an approved restructuring plan amid its ongoing push toward total decentralization.

The Rally community has approved the appointment of former Patreon exec Bremner Morris (pictured above) to the CEO role, while also naming Carol Chen VP of Engineering, Chris Fortier VP of Product, Stephanie Pereira as VP of creator success, and Johnny Tong as head of finance.

Chen arrives at Rally from Pandora, where she led led the engineering team for platform ads and content ingestion, while Fortier formerly led product for music at Twitch. Pereira previously served as a senior leader at Kickstarter, while Tong was formerly the director and head of treasury at Peet’s Coffee.

The new crew joins execs from YouTube and Twitch that Rally onboarded in March.

The hires arrive after the Rally community also voted to raise $50 million through a token sale that was conducted by a community-appointed agent, with the funds set to reside in a community-controlled treasury. The treasury houses $108 million to date, following a $57 million raise in April, with funds being allocated to building out the broader Rally ecosystem, the company said.

To this end, a newly-approved proposal will see Rally divide into five separate entities. This includes a venture studio called SuperLayer Labs that will fund and accelerate separate projects that also exist on the same crypto protocol as Rally’s creator tokens. SuperLayer will be led by Rally’s co-founders, Kevin Chou (who formerly served as CEO) and Mahesh Vellanki — both of whom will continue to serve Rally in an advisory capacity.

The company is also establishing a still-unnamed, creator-focused entity to build Rally’s presence in Asia. The other entities include: a Delaware corporation that will continue to carry the Rally name, a non-profit based in Switzerland, and a decentralized autonomous organization (DOA).

Morris, who formerly served as Patreon’s global go-to-market and revenue, actually joined Rally earlier this year to lead go-to-market initiatives. Last quarter, the company says, he oversaw Rally’s visual brand launch and website, assembled executive team members, and forged a partnership with UTA to encourage repped talent to launch their own digital currencies.

“I believe that creators should be fairly valued for their contributions, and Rally has one of the clearest use cases in crypto, with a vibrant ecosystem that’s already making a real positive impact,” Morris said in a statement. “The Rally team is looking forward to driving the next phase of creator and community empowerment through social tokens and NFTs.”