A Miami startup that connects celebrities and online influencers with brands has won the backing of actress Sofia Vergara, music entrepreneur Tommy Mottola and more.
Influur raised $5 million in a seed funding round supported by an array of celebrity investors and New York venture capital firm Point72 Ventures. The funding will fuel the platform's growth in the U.S. and Latin America.
CEO and co-founder Alessandra Angelina said Influur makes it easier for businesses and influencers to collaborate and produce content. The app can help influencers communicate with clients and facilitate payments. Businesses, meanwhile, have access to a new pool of influencers that they can decide to accept, reject or negotiate with.
That process can remove communication struggles common between influencers and brands in the content creation space.
"We created a streamlined solution built from the influencer perspective," said Angelina, a former CNN journalist. "This makes Influur the first platform where influencers feel they belong in a professional space."
Latin World Entertainment CEO Luis Balaguer, Mexican-American pop star Thalia and music producer Lex Borrero are also among the startup's celebrity investors.
Angelina co-founded Influur with Chief Product Officer and data analyst Valeria Angelini; COO and Emmy-nominated journalist Paula Coleman; and Chief Influencer Officer Fefi Oliveira, an actress who starred in the Nickelodeon television show Club 57.
With influencer marketing, a business can pay celebrities and people with large online followings to endorse their brands with recommendations or product placements. The idea is that consumers are more likely to trust products touted by their friends, family or someone they admire, rather than a corporation.
Influur is headquartered in Brickell and has 18 full-time employees. Hard Rock Cafe, Paramount Latin America and Warner Music Latina are among the brands using the app.
Mottola, a famed producer known for signing iconic artists like Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Gloria Estefan, said Influur is solving a major problem for businesses by enabling them to connect with the right influencer.
"It will be completely disruptive to the way companies and influencers will be able to work and communicate together," he said.
For more stories like this one, sign up for Miami Inno newsletters from the South Florida Business Journal and the American Inno network.
