I had the idea for Starfish during COVID-19 lockdowns while I was pursuing my degree at the University of Miami. Like many people at that time, I started drop-shipping products to try to make some extra money, and when I hired e-commerce coaches to help improve my sales, they all told me one thing: “Use influencer marketing.” So, being a small, unestablished business without the capital to employ an influencer agency, I began reaching out to influencers directly on social media, offering them money to market my products. Most of the time I wouldn’t even get a response, but in the event that I did, the influencers would often name their price, ask for payment through a third-party service like Venmo or CashApp, and then, once I had paid, block my account without posting my ad.
Finally, tired of getting scammed again and again, I went to the App Store in search of a centralized marketplace where a small business like mine could easily and securely hire an influencer to advertise my product… and I found nothing. Furthermore, searches on my computer yielded technically abstruse platforms that were almost always protected by steep paywalled subscriptions that I would have to buy before I could even begin hiring influencers to market my products. There had to be a better way.
So, I founded Starfish, an influencer marketing platform that provides a transparent, navigable marketplace that simplifies the process for businesses to advertise with influencers. Our escrow service assures that advertisers will only pay for deliverables if they are completed to their satisfaction, and there is no paywall to prevent advertisers from hiring influencers immediately. Just make an account and you’re in.
Starfish doesn’t only provide influencer marketing solutions for businesses. We also provide influencers who are struggling to monetize their social media presence the opportunity to expand their reach and sell more ads on their profiles. There are so many accounts with anywhere from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of followers on social media who, until now, have not been able to monetize their reach. With Starfish, influencers have the opportunity to find new opportunities from diverse advertisers. Furthermore, influencers will not see an opportunity unless the advertiser has already put an offer in escrow, so they can focus all of their time on opportunities with clear payment terms. All influencers have to do to start making money on Starfish is create a profile.
Currently, we are finishing development on our app, which we expect to release very soon. In the meantime, we are still connecting brands and influencers directly. If you are a business, an influencer, or just interested in hearing more, you can schedule a meeting with us below, and we would love to tell you about how you can turn influence into income with Starfish.