As the influencer economy grows, startups like PassionFroot, Agentio, and One Impression, as well as social platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, are building marketplaces that connect brands and creators.
Miami-based startup Influur leverages two unique aspects of the platform: fast response times from creators and financial tools to ensure on-time payments.
The company is developing a suite of tools to help brands better track their campaigns. The company is also considering introducing new financial products for creators, such as loans, debit cards, and credit cards.
To support these efforts, Influur has raised $10 million in Series A funding from Point72 Ventures and HTwenty Capital, bringing total funding to more than $15 million. Angel investors include Sofia Vergara and Thalia.
Ishan Sinha, Partner at Point72, said the platform will help creators become better entrepreneurs.
“Creators are good at creating content. But they may not be business-savvy entrepreneurs. So if there's a place for the money to live, they can get paid quickly and analyze the results. It’s powerful to see that,” he said.
Influur was founded in 2021 by four Latina founders. CEO Alessandra Angelini worked as a producer at CNN before founding the company. Chief Influencer Officer Fefi Oliveira has worked in the entertainment industry including Nickelodeon and Telemundo and has over 9 million followers across her social media accounts. Chief Commercial Officer Paula Coleman also worked as a producer at CNN. and Valeria Angelini, chief product officer who previously worked as a data analyst at FedEx.
Before launching Influur, Angelini asked Oliveira, whom she met in college, why creators weren't responding to CNN's inquiries. Oliveira explained that influencers receive thousands of messages on Instagram and email, making it difficult to manage them all.
To address this issue, Angelini envisioned using tools for influencer marketing, like Google AdSense, to manage brands' spending in that space.
Marketplace and community
Once onboarded, creators can connect all their social media accounts, view pricing for their marketing efforts, and list past brand collaborations. The startup's founders said the platform currently hosts more than 40,000 creators with varying numbers of followers.
Creators can apply to open brand campaigns that match the criteria. You can also opt for “gift collaborations” where you receive branded products in exchange for content. Regarding brands, it is also possible to approach carefully selected creators individually and collaborate with them.
This platform allows creators to get suggestions and tips from and learn from other experienced creators. To keep interactions relevant, the platform limits posts to creators with more than 2,000 followers.
Angelini said many marketplaces scrape web data to list influencers, which often results in low response rates. She said influencers typically respond to brand requests on Influur within 24 hours.
Influur also offers a $30/month premium subscription for creators. This gives you one-click access to a media kit with details on pricing, past campaigns, social, and engagement rates. You'll also have access to experiences where you can create content and exclusive webinars from popular creators.
Oliveira, a longtime creator, said one of the main problems is that brands ask for payment after the work is completed. To solve this problem, Influur asks brands to pay money upfront, holds that money in escrow, and transfers it to creators' wallets when all campaign deliverables ship.
“Influencers often take 60 to 120 days from posting their final product to receiving compensation. We solve that problem with our wallet and instant payment features,” Oliveira said. .
Creators can wait 30 days to receive a payment or pay Influur a 15% fee to withdraw their money immediately. Currently, the company supports payments in 12 countries, including the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. The startup said 20% of creators pay its fees to get faster payouts.
In the future, the startup plans to launch a series of financial tools for creators, including virtual accounts, short-term loans, credit cards, and debit cards. “Influencers want Influur to be their bank. We plan to launch new financial products so influencers don't just earn money, they save and spend it. It's part of how we do that,” Angelini said.
Point72's Sinha said the fund's hard work has shown that creators want financial stability and startups are building the right tools to achieve it.
Brand insights
With the Series A funding, Influur is working on adding insights for influencer campaigns along with financial tools. The company is also building a predictive engine to help companies predict how their campaigns will perform for specific creators.
The company is expanding its team across four locations: San Francisco, Miami, Mexico, and Argentina.
In addition to charging creators a 15% instant payment fee and premium subscriptions, Influur also charges a 20-25% service fee on all transactions from brands. The company had some profitable months last year, but it will be a while before Influur turns a profit, as it aims to become overall cash flow positive by 2026.
The startup believes it has an edge over other marketplaces thanks to its financial tools, insights engine, and having popular creators as co-founders.
Image credit: Influur
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