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The creator economy has spawned a new generation of startups, from influencer marketing companies to new social media experiences.
These startups have attracted the attention and funding of influential venture capitalists and angel investors over the past few years, giving rise to several unicorns in the space, including linkedin bio service Linktree (valued at $1.3 billion in 2022) and affiliate marketing platform LTK (valued at $2 billion in late 2021).
check out 14 VCs investing in innovative startups focused on creator economy and influencers
Despite weathering fluctuating economic tides and a cooling in investment across the industry, some startups in the space are still raising capital.
In 2023, multiple startups announced seven-figure seed rounds, including Web3-inspired social network Seam Social, which raised $2.5 million in December. Last year also saw several later-stage funding rounds, including digital goods e-commerce marketplace Whop announcing a $17 million Series A in July. Creator finance startup Karat raised a $70 million Series B in June, but the company subsequently implemented layoffs in October, proving that large VC rounds are no guarantee of stability.
here The 16 most highly funded creator economy startups in 2023.
So how does a creator economy startup secure investment? Often it starts with a pitch deck.
Lumanu, a finance startup focused on creators, uses simpler pitch decks that are more of a “conversation guide,” co-founder and CEO Tony Tran told BI.
“My presentations are always why, what, how, and why now,” Tran said. (You can read the full presentation here.)
Skye, a career coaching startup, had different pitch decks depending on the type of investor or fund they were pitching to.
“We had two versions for different funds,” says Jessica Wolf, CEO and co-founder of Skye. “If we knew the fund was pre-seed focused and founder-focused, we used one deck. But if we knew they were more numbers-focused, we used a different deck.”
Every startup has a different approach.
Some companies, like Throne , have done away with pitch decks altogether, opting for emails or Notion docs.
read Email Template Creator – Uses Economic Startup Throne To secure seed investment.
BI spoke to founders who have pitched their startups to investors about their process, and they analyzed the pitch decks they used to secure millions of dollars in funding.
Check out the pitch decks that helped 34 creator-focused startups raise millions of dollars.
Note: Pitch decks are categorized by investment stage and round size.
Series A
- Restream, an Amazon-owned livestreaming service that offers an alternative to platforms like Twitch: $50 million in Series A (page 14)
- ShopMy, an affiliate platform that enables creators to earn commissions through shoppable landing pages: $26.5 million Series A (page 23)
- Creator Marketing Platform Pearpop: $18M Series A (Page 18)
- Social Audio Startup Spoon Radio: $17M Series A (Page 15)
- Kyra, a content studio, talent management company and influencer marketing platform: $15 million Series A (page 20)
- Allstar, a startup that helps gamers become social media creators: $12 million in Series A (page 6)
- Lumanu, a business solutions platform for creators: $12 million Series A (page 8)
- Hype, a platform for in-biography links and other creator monetization tools: $10M Series A (page 13)
- Catch+Release, a startup that helps creators and everyday social media users license their content to brands: $8.8 million Series A (page 12)
- Gamer-focused music startup Slip.stream: $7.5 million Series A (page 13)
- Esports startup Brag House raises $5 million in Series A (page 24)
seed
- Generative AI startup that creates game art and assets Scenario: Seed funding of $6 million (8 pages)
- Online course development startup Authoritive: $5 million in seed funding (page 11)
- Dharma, a travel startup for creators and brands: $4.7 million in pre-Series A (page 17)
- AI-powered community management platform Glystn: $4M seed funding (15 pages)
- Augmented reality startup Anima: $3 million (15 pages)
- Grandstand, a sports startup that partners with athlete creators: $2.75 million
- Seam Social, a new Web3 social media platform: $2.5 million (10 pages)
- YouTuber Moria Elizabeth’s digital art platform Spark: $2.5 million in seed funding (9 pages)
- Insense, a startup that provides low-cost advertising to e-commerce brands: $2.5 million pre-Series A (page 9)
- Podcast Subscription Startup Supercast: $2M in Seed Funding (page 20)
- Music Data and Measurement Company Chartmetric: $2M in Seed Funding (page 46)
- Music Marketing Startup Ultimate Playlist: $2M Funding Round (Page 9)
- Music distribution and discovery platform Magroove: $1.6 million in seed funding (page 21)
- Stagetime, a professional networking startup for performing artists: $1.5 million in seed funding (13 pages)
- Jubilee Media, a content studio looking to expand beyond YouTube and TikTok: Over $1.1M in seed funding (page 12)