Want to make a few extra dollars for watching advertisements? A California fintech company is using technology from Winston-Salem company Fluree to do just that.
Based in Santa Monica, fintech company Fabric is developing a new category of data rewards in the form of cashback for consumers by merging e-commerce and banking into one app. Fabric removes “middlemen” companies, like Facebook or Google, that collect consumer data and sell it to advertisers without the express permission of the consumer.
With Fluree’s technology, consumers can control and monetize their personal data. Fabric uses Fluree’s technology to verify that its users are real people, providing transparency, trust and identity fraud protection for both consumers and advertisers.
“Fabric is an example of exactly the type of use case we envisioned when we founded Fluree,” said Brian Platz, CEO and co-founder. “We are looking to create a world where people can control their own data and use it as they wish.”
The partnership is the latest move for the TBJ 2023 Startup to Watch as it rapidly expands. In September, Fluree completed its first-ever acquisition of ZettaLabs and, in December, raised its largest amount to-date with over $8 million in equity.
Fluree does a lot of work with verifiable credentials, which Platz believes has the potential to affect several industries from financial services to health care. Platz told TBJ in January that the company now works with several education institutions on student credentials such as digital degrees or transcripts and has previously worked with the U.S. Department of Education.
“With Fluree’s trusted ledger database, Fabric has built a business that seamlessly helps to improve the relationship between regular people and the brands appealing to them,” Platz added. “Fluree seeks to work with disruptive organizations looking to build new applications and services that make data more sovereign and business models more equitable.”
Consumers who sign up with Fabric receive payment from brands in exchange for sharing data and providing feedback. They can earn cashback by watching advertisements, racking up dollars on a Fabric-provided debit card.
Fabric targets users who are looking for a side hustle to supplement their income, such as social-media users, full-time parents, millennials and members of Generation Z. Fabric intends to widen its audience to those younger than 18 who receive verifiable permission from parents.
Fabric’s dual-sided ad marketplace provides benefits to both the consumer and the advertiser. While cryptographically protecting the identities of consumers, Fluree’s blockchain data ensures that advertisers know their consumers are real and allows consumers to sell their personal data to advertisers that they chose.
“Fluree’s unique data management platform unlocks new opportunities for startups like Fabric that are disrupting traditional business models,” said Paul Taylor, CEO and founder of Fabric. “Fluree’s technology enables Fabric to operate in a fraud-free environment, making us a perfect example of a startup that can disrupt the status quo of middleman-intensive industries.”
