Popular Pays Raises $3M to Connect Brands and Social Media Stars
Popular Pays—a company that connects social media superstars with brands—sounds like a startup destined for Silicon Valley. But with a focus on revenue and growing smartly, Popular Pays has taken a uniquely Chicago-style approach to its business.
Popular Pays, which launched in 2013 by CEO Corbett Drummey, helps social media influencers and content creators earn money by working with brands on ad campaigns. The startup, a graduate of Y Combinator in 2015, has grown to 24 employees and was break even in Q4 last year, Drummey said.
But to help make more long-term decisions, Popular Pays decided to raise some outside capital. On Monday the startup announced it has raised a $5.2 million Series A, which included $3 million in new funding led by GoAhead VC with participation from Pallasite Ventures and Hyde Park Angels, in addition to $2 million it raised after graduating YC.
Popular Pays expects to
add another dozen employees this year and remain break even throughout 2017, Drummy said.
“I guess that’s very Chicago of us. If we moved out to the Bay Area, we’d just be focused on losing more money,” Drummy joked.
“Chicago has a large amount of advertisers,” Drummy said. “A lot of our sales comes from agencies and brands in Chicago.”
While a startup working with social media influencers would seem better suited for the coasts, Popular Pays says Chicago's proximity to ad agencies and big brands,
plus the cost of living, has made it the ideal headquarters.
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