The takeover of Twitter by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in October 2022 caused an exodus of many notables on Black Twitter. But there were very few alternative social media platforms for them to find a new home. Spill, a new Black-owned platform, is hoping to become the Twitter alternative. 

Two former Twitter employees launched the new app in hopes of luring in Black Twitter. Twitter’s former global head of social and editorial, Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell, and DeVaris Brown, a former product manager lead at Twitter, decided to create Spill, a social media app that understands Black culture.

Now, the founders say they have secured $2.7 million in funding.

Here are three things to know.

1. Spill funding announcement

The company, ironically, went to Twitter to announce their big funding news.

“Big News: We’ve raised $2.75M in pre-seed funding co-led by @MaCVentureCap & @KaporCenter @TheRealFreada @mkapor, with additional funding by #SunsetVentures,” the account @SpillMob announced.

The new tech company has raised a total of $2.8M in funding over 1 round. This was a Pre-Seed round raised on Jan 30, 2023. MaC Venture Capital and Sunset Ventures are the most recent Spill investors, Crunch Base reported.

Another @SpillMob posting gave a sneak peek at the new platform.

"Prioritizes trust & safety" is what really stands out to me! As a former law enforcement analyst, I am happy to hear this! Nearly everyone has a digital footprint, but it is imperative that customer information remains secure and is not easily accessible to local/fed entities.

— Hitch Hemingway (@HemingwayHitch) February 5, 2023

3. Spill to fill a void

According to Nielsen, in 2018, in the U.S., approximately 28 percent of Twitter’s 67 million users were Black people (double this segment’s 14 percent share of the total population), and 40 percent of African Americans are on Twitter.

Spill is a social media application that enables users to have real-time conversations and host in-app chat events virtually and IRL.

https://twitter.com/SpillMob/status/1620142845830254597?s=20&t=qXiYS0Hre2CAkETnhvmszQ

3. Spill’s users to be compensated

Spill opened its waitlist in December 2022, and since then, it has generated 60,000 registrations, according to TechCrunch.

The platform promises a feed where users can “create, comment, amplify or share a random thought, called a ‘Spill,'” per the company’s website.

Users can also join in-app chat events with friends virtually or in person through a feature called “tea parties.”

One of the main draws is that content creators will be compensated. When posts go viral, users will automatically receive financial compensation. Payment will be in the form of U.S. dollars since the company is not a web3 company.

Spill founders Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell (L) and DeVaris Brown (R) (Photo: Spill website, https://www.spill-app.com/team)