James Jones' father was an engineer. He was a musician and preacher, performing in churches along the East Coast.
Jones, an entertainment lawyer, often worries about managing the money her father collects from church performances, and artists and influencers often complain about the same thing. I realized that.
“We also recognize that creators lack ownership over their creative assets, take out loans or mortgages, or generally create opportunities to build generational wealth for themselves and their families. They often complained about how painful it was,” Jones told TechCrunch.
Jones said the pandemic has presented a new set of challenges for creators, many of whom are trying to figure out how to make money from home and what to do next.
His solution was Bump, a platform that helps creators manage and grow their businesses. He launched the service in his 2020 with Anton Koyalov, who currently serves as CTO. Bump on Tuesday announced a $3 million seed round with investments from ImpactX, Capitalize, and Serac Ventures.
Bump aims to help creators manage their finances.
Bump allows creators to track their income and market value, helping them negotiate better deals and see how much they owe partners. In 2022, Bump partnered with Mastercard to launch his Bump Creator Credit Card. This credit card has no monthly fees or hidden fees, and you can get it without a credit check. Bump also partners with banking institutions and has direct deposit accounts that allow creators to earn interest on cash placed in money market accounts.
Jones said his company's fundraising efforts were brutal. He said Bump faces a number of factors beyond its control, including a bear market and a lack of investor appetite for creator economy companies. “We took criticism after criticism from investors and lived to keep fighting,” he said. “We weren't afraid to ask for investment, and we weren't afraid to be ghosted, judged, or told no.”
Bump closed its seed round in about six months with other investors including Heirloom Ventures, H/L Ventures, and Mana Venture. The company has so far raised $3.5 million from existing investors including Snap Inc. and Sixty8 Capital.
“The creator economy is one of the most important trends in the future of work,” Oliver Libby, managing partner at H/L Ventures, told TechCrunch. “Financial infrastructure, financial training, products and support for this growing population is virtually non-existent, and many are underrepresented and underbanked.”
Bump plans to use the latest funding to expand and improve its infrastructure.
Although Jones didn't always want to be a founder, building a company like Bump has always been Jones' passion. “I've always had a strong desire to solve the world's problems,” he said. He loved talking to people, listening to their stories, and dissecting the details that could help make them “healthier, wealthier, happier,” he said.
“I can’t say I always wanted to be a founder, but I think my natural inclinations and characteristics pushed me toward it,” he said. “And through the good times and the bad, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”