Why Influencer Marketing Firms Are For Sale

Earlier today, I published a story about a flurry of acquisitions hitting creator economy startups. Some of these deals are wiping out investors or returning very little cash. For instance, when Patreon bought Moment earlier this month, the livestreaming events startup was running low on funds. The deal won’t return much to Moment investors, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal. Moment had raised more than $12 million from Forerunner Ventures and others. 

Not all of the sales are so desperate. Take the wave of acquisitions of influencer marketing firms, companies that focus on matching creators and advertisers for sponsorship deals. These tend to be profitable and bootstrapped. At least 15 such companies have been acquired so far this year, according to The Information’s Creator Economy Database, making up a sizable chunk of the 35 completed or pending sales of creator-related companies overall.