The Curator / Aggregator
Knowledge Producers
Filters and structures information flow — databases and leaderboards
The Curator creates signal out of noise — not by producing original research, but by aggregating, filtering, and structuring what already exists. CoinMarketCap started as a spreadsheet. The value is in the database, the update discipline, and the trust built by consistent impartiality. Over time, curators can acquire the category they track.
How it earns
Advertising; API access fees for data; premium features. The data itself becomes the moat that enables acquisition (CMC → Binance $400M).
How it fails
Data manipulation post-acquisition (CMC favoring Binance volume after the acquisition). Paid rankings sold as objective. Benchmark gaming by the very providers the leaderboard is meant to evaluate.
Real examples across cycles
Linux / Open Source
- DistroWatch (Ladislav Bodnar — the distro leaderboard)
- Freshmeat (the OSS-project catalog)
- SourceForge (VA Linux's project directory)
Crypto
- CoinMarketCap (→ Binance $400M acquisition)
- CoinGecko
- DeFi Llama
AI
- Hugging Face Leaderboards
- Papers With Code
- LMSYS Chatbot Arena
People who play this role
Your first step
Create a spreadsheet list or database that doesn't exist yet in your niche.
Is this your role?
The assessment scores you against all 27 roles — free, no account needed.
Find your role — free