Sway Group’s influencer network can now take advantage of Lumanu’s payments platform, including EarlyPay, to bring payments peace of mind and streamline business operations
Lumanu announced it has partnered with Sway Group to ease the burden of the business backend for influencers, increasingly essential as the creator economy continues to flourish. Founded over ten years ago, Sway Group’s network includes over 30,000 authenticated creators. They are widely considered leaders and experts in the space and now Lumanu will provide the agency’s influencer network of creators easy access to Lumanu’s payments platform, where creators can send invoices and receive payments for brand collaborations instantly.
As social media companies continue to roll out new channels for creation and collaboration, creators and brands alike need simple solutions that remove the pain points commonly experienced on the business backend of a collaboration.
“I am often surprised by how many hours I have to spend each month chasing down payments for my job,” said content creator Kelly Towart. “I am so happy to see companies like Sway Group and Lumanu working together to make sure day-to-day business operations run smoothly for the creators that are working with them.”
Just last week, Lumanu announced a $12M series A to fuel further development of tools that simplify business operations for creators. The round was led by Origin Ventures, an early investor in Cameo and Grubhub. Earlier this year, the company unveiled its enhanced business enablement platform, allowing creators to better manage, protect and scale their businesses – a key feature of this roll out was the payments solution. For years, Sway Group has used Lumanu to automate another common creator transaction pain point, the granting of ad permissions. By layering payments onto the existing Lumanu offering, the two companies hope to raise awareness for the importance of simple business solutions that let creators focus on what they do best…create.
“Over the last five years, we’ve seen a dramatic shift in the way brands and influencers collaborate – from campaign concept to payment. As brands embrace influencers as a true marketing channel, the business backend becomes more complex,” said Tiffany Romero, President, Influencer Management at Sway Group. “Creators today need the tools to manage their business as any entrepreneur would. Lumanu has been a natural partner for us, and adding the payments solution into our Lumanu offering gives us the ability to let our influencers do their job and lifts the burden of compensation from their shoulders.”
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“While the creator economy is thriving on the surface, the business transaction processes on the backend are broken, causing inefficiencies and stress for all involved,” said Chris Raniere, SVP of strategic partnerships at Lumanu. “Working with partners like Sway, Lumanu is attacking these problems with the creator at the center. This is ultimately what leads to long-lasting relationships and successful collaborations for both brands and creators alike. Brands that ignore the change or try to force the status quo are going to be left behind.”
