14 VCs investing in innovative startups focused on the creator economy and influencers
- In spite of a slowdown, creator-economy startups are still raising millions of dollars.
- From Karat to Spill, venture capitalists are betting on creator-focused companies in 2023.
- Insider is highlighting 14 VC firms that are backing startups in the space right now.
The “creator economy” was a fiery buzzword that emerged about three years ago from the thriving influencer-marketing and social-media industries.
According to Crunchbase data, the space had raised approximately $939 million in venture capital by 2021.
“There was a big push to figure out how to serve all these independent, small creators.” MaC Venture Capital cofounder and managing partner Marlon Nichols stated. “How do we create not only communities for them, but also productivity tools for them?”
However, the creator economy, like many other industries that have suffered from turbulent economic shifts, has seen fewer dollars flying around in recent months.
“A lot of those companies didn’t do so well,” Nichols told Insider, adding that many were overly focused on solving a single industry pain point. “And as a result, we saw some consolidation in the space.”
More than 20 startups were acquired in 2022, but there were only a few newly minted unicorn startups during the same year.
Still, creator-economy startups aren’t giving up — and the most successful are thriving.
Many startups raised funds in 2023, ranging from pre-seed to larger later-stage rounds. Karat, a creator-focused credit-card company, announced in July that it had raised $70 million. According to the company, Karat raised a $40 million Series B led by venture firm SignalFire, as well as a $30 million debt financing to support creator-led businesses.
Other startups that have raised funds this year include Hashtag Pay Me, an influencer pay transparency platform, Whop, a digital goods marketplace, and Hype, a link-in-bio startup.
“The solutions that remain relevant, as well as the newcomers in the space, must address both the creators and the consumers,” Nichols explained.
In 2023, who are the venture capitalists backing these startups?
Insider is highlighting over a dozen venture capital firms, as well as their partners who specialize in creator-focused startups, that are investing in the next generation of creator-economy companies. Insider compiled this list based on our reporting and the nominations we received. We took into account factors such as their relative focus, the number of investments in the space, and the impact on the creator industry as a whole.
