Latest / Black Fridays: Business Growth for Entrepreneurs, Creators & Professionals / Struggling to Get Brand Deals? Here’s What You’re Doing Wrong - Ep. 169 w/ Bree Flemings (Jem Social)

Transcript

Struggling to Get Brand Deals? Here’s What You’re Doing Wrong - Ep. 169 w/ Bree Flemings (Jem Social) · Black Fridays: Business Growth for Entrepreneurs, Creators & Professionals

0:00
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't think people are influencers unless you are actually establishing an audience.
0:04
[SPEAKER_02]: A lot of people are throwing out this influencer term, but really they're just a creator.
0:08
[SPEAKER_02]: You might just create, but an influencer is building an audience.
0:11
[SPEAKER_02]: If you really want to eliminate an expense or need access to a resource, because again, as an influencer, you should be building an audience, right?
0:20
[SPEAKER_02]: So it doesn't mean that you need to be like a vent producer or a podcaster.
0:24
[SPEAKER_02]: But like, what are you really, what's the end goal here?
0:27
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't think a lot of people know.
0:29
[SPEAKER_02]: what their end goal is, and that's really the problem.
0:53
[SPEAKER_00]: work in professionals, creators, entrepreneurs, I need you out of tap the end.
0:56
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1:06
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1:12
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1:14
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1:17
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1:23
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1:26
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1:31
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1:32
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1:35
[SPEAKER_00]: Now let's go ahead and get back into the episode.
1:38
[SPEAKER_00]: What up, don't Black Friday's family.
1:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome back to another installment of the Black Friday's podcast.
1:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Before we get into today's episode and you need to hit that like button, subscribe, drop a comment, make sure that you send some links and videos to family friends and loved ones.
1:49
[SPEAKER_00]: So when we keep this thing going, now that I got that business out of the way, I got to introduce you to my guest today who is making sure that creators and creators like myself have a space and an ecosystem to get straight to the back.
2:02
[SPEAKER_00]: I got the CEO and founder of Jim Social, Ms.
2:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Briefly, Ms. in the building, how are you doing today?
2:07
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, I like the intro.
2:12
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm doing good.
2:13
[SPEAKER_02]: I just got here like an hour and a half ago So shout to the deep shout to the deep shout to the tray and then you coming in from Houston Houston age town age town
2:22
[SPEAKER_02]: For one, for me, I'm excited to see a black creator do his damn thing, but also like even down Amber, child of Amber, like just seeing creators really like y'all growing our own ecosystem, and have ownership of your IP.
2:35
[SPEAKER_02]: So even though it's like not y'all don't get the praise that y'all deserve, like at least you guys are taking on that ownership as in Houston is oversaturated, you know Miami, New York, like these other cities are oversaturated with creators.
2:48
[SPEAKER_02]: So
2:48
[SPEAKER_02]: that is the good thing is that y'all are able to take that step and really have that ownership and then empower other creatives to, you know, do something too.
2:56
[SPEAKER_02]: So that's a good thing.
2:58
[SPEAKER_00]: For sure.
2:58
[SPEAKER_00]: And you're the perfect person to be talking to, me being the creative myself, because you created a space, a digital space and an ecosystem for us to be able to figure out how we can't just streamline us, get an opportunity.
3:09
[SPEAKER_00]: So please, break down Jim social tool
3:13
[SPEAKER_02]: So, gem social is now a AI influencer marketing platform, and was started gem social was the fact that, when I was in Miami, I was a DJ, COVID happened.
3:24
[SPEAKER_02]: I lost half of my income in DJ bookings, but I was able to make up some of it by actually being a content creator, I did not know what I was doing, I did not know how to go out of brand deal.
3:35
[SPEAKER_02]: There was no platform that really helped people understand the idea of being booked for something in the next steps in that.
3:42
[SPEAKER_02]: And I think that's still a common issue with creators like deliverables deadlines, you know, understanding the scope.
3:48
[SPEAKER_02]: So I wanted to create a platform that allows creators to understand one.
3:52
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, you can get booked on here too.
3:54
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, you can also see what your suggested rate could be Or you can, you know, obviously bump up your pricing.
4:00
[SPEAKER_02]: You can market yourself.
4:01
[SPEAKER_02]: You can pitch brands now.
4:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Brans can pitch you.
4:04
[SPEAKER_02]: But it's just a whole ecosystem to allow creators to operate more freely and also have that.
4:10
[SPEAKER_02]: was a word like have the ability to really have accountability in a platform.
4:14
[SPEAKER_02]: That's where a lot of these platforms are missing when they get booked.
4:17
[SPEAKER_02]: So it was important for me to have something like that because I would want to go on a platform where I can find opportunities or even on the other side being a business owner, finding creators in my niche, you know, or finding creators that are already talking about pitching brands or finding out that creators are already talking about, you know, going to this restaurant or that restaurant because we have clients that we do influence
4:38
[SPEAKER_02]: We're a two-sided marketplace, creators as of a few days ago, they can pitch up to 30,000 brands now, so even like a podcast like yourself, if you're looking for certain kind of sponsorships on your podcast, you go on there and you can find ideal brands or you can request a brand and we'll go in and find those contacts because ultimately the biggest thing people miss out on or don't understand is either you need to reach out to influence the marketing manager, a partnership manager, PR manager, like you know, you have to go through that cycle of people,
5:08
[SPEAKER_02]: and we have taken that time in the last three months to find those contacts because they're already looking for y'all.
5:13
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, I'm saying it's just a matter of are you guys going to show up in their inbox the right way or not?
5:18
[SPEAKER_02]: So we've had that out invaded that just got released on Friday.
5:22
[SPEAKER_02]: But outside of that, on the brand side, they can come on, they can do the same thing and say, you know, let's say this coworker in space, let's say they're looking for lifestyle, creators, tech entrepreneurs,
5:31
[SPEAKER_02]: tech founders, et cetera, they can go on the platform, do their onboarding, and we will populate a list of ideal Detroit lifestyle creators, tech influencers, tech founders, et cetera, that they're looking for the pitch to come in this space, maybe for a day pass, maybe for a month pass, whatever, maybe, and give them access to the amenities and exchange for, you know, to be to promote the platform and or pay them to promote it, just depends on the creative relationships.
5:54
[SPEAKER_02]: So,
5:54
[SPEAKER_02]: that ecosystem is set up now.
5:56
[SPEAKER_02]: It's been pretty cool.
5:58
[SPEAKER_02]: We wrote out these new or features in September, and we've grown 40x since then.
6:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
6:03
[SPEAKER_00]: And for you, at the time when you, at the time of inception of the concept, why was it important for you to be able to create a space like that?
6:11
[SPEAKER_02]: It was important for me because I honestly did it, like most things, my back was against the wall.
6:17
[SPEAKER_02]: I had lost almost half my income in DJ gigs, so I ideally was looking for something else to allow myself to find more gigs.
6:24
[SPEAKER_02]: It was originally a creator's gig networking platform.
6:27
[SPEAKER_02]: The pivot happened literally, not even.
6:30
[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe now because it's, oh my gosh, time's fine by everywhere, but not even six months ago did we truly pivot into what it is today, but it was just a gig platform just because I wanted to find more gig opportunities, other creators wanted to find more gig opportunities, but now like now that we tested the market and really study what people are looking for in our ideal customers are looking for, it pivoted into more of that creative marketplace, and that's what it is today.
6:54
[SPEAKER_00]: very dope.
6:55
[SPEAKER_00]: So, I'll bring out a ton more questions for you, but before we get into those, I got introduced in my favorite part of Black Friday, which is free-stop Friday's.
7:12
[SPEAKER_00]: I know you say you should be one of the hottest DJs in Miami area so we're gonna need a free stuff from you I mean you can't fart enough.
7:18
[SPEAKER_02]: You just can't freestyle.
7:20
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know.
7:23
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to freestyle Like can I do some poetry or something?
7:26
[SPEAKER_00]: You can.
7:27
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, if you got a poem for sure Do I have a I'm a normal I don't have enough the time my head
7:34
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, I'm just not to say something like me can feel related.
7:36
[SPEAKER_02]: I used to prefer songs like this, but I'm not really good with free styling.
7:43
[SPEAKER_02]: But I could probably say something off my chest, like gratitude.
7:50
[SPEAKER_02]: I say like a letter to black woman founders.
7:53
[SPEAKER_02]: All right, talking.
7:54
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, just close my eyes.
7:55
[SPEAKER_02]: They're black woman founders.
7:57
[SPEAKER_02]: First of, first and foremost, please do not let the value of your company be the value of yourself.
8:05
[SPEAKER_02]: Do not let the value of what these investors say to you be the value of yourself.
8:09
[SPEAKER_02]: Do not let the downloads be the value of yourself.
8:12
[SPEAKER_02]: Do not let the statistics be the value of yourself.
8:14
[SPEAKER_02]: Your value is instilled in what you want to do.
8:16
[SPEAKER_02]: How you want to treat yourself, how you want to care for yourself, and just honestly how you want to represent yourself.
8:22
[SPEAKER_02]: As a black woman founder as an Afro Latino founder as well on top of that.
8:26
[SPEAKER_02]: This is a letter to y'all because it's black history month as we're recording this.
8:32
[SPEAKER_02]: In 2025, I burned myself out because I was allowing that to determine what my value was, but the most valuable thing that I have is just being who I am.
8:42
[SPEAKER_02]: So don't let the stats fool you, don't let the regulations fool you, don't let the investments fool you.
8:47
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm proud of me because I'm proud of what I've done in my life.
8:52
[SPEAKER_02]: Outside of gym, outside real estate, outside everything else, I'm just proud of me.
8:55
[SPEAKER_02]: Be proud of yourself, no matter what step of the way, in black men, I'm talking to you as well.
9:00
[SPEAKER_02]: outside of this because I have the same thing for you.
9:03
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, you can't take that lady to cheese cake factory by the way.
9:07
[SPEAKER_02]: But please don't let the value of what you're saying or doing for this woman to determine your value because people are going to find a way to make you unhappy to be honest.
9:16
[SPEAKER_02]: So that's my letter.
9:18
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't have a free style, but that was off the top.
9:20
[SPEAKER_00]: That's off the top.
9:21
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, that's off the top.
9:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Come on now.
9:22
[SPEAKER_00]: There we go.
9:23
[SPEAKER_00]: There you go.
9:23
[SPEAKER_02]: That's what I'm talking about.
9:25
[SPEAKER_00]: So if you on my I got I got a few rapid fire questions for you him all right, so most random job you ever had
9:33
[SPEAKER_02]: journeys and I quit in like four hours they said I couldn't go to Virginia Beach for my vacation like three weeks it was going to be like three weeks after but mind you applied for journeys and in like a may they hired me like a July 15th mind you like y'all had time to hire me I was going to go to Virginia Beach right before going back to school so like in like August and they were like well I don't know if that's going to be approved and you won't know for two weeks and I was like well that's fine I'm I'm
10:01
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to leave, but that's the most random job I had.
10:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Adjournies.
10:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
10:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Hey, you gave a discount on me.
10:07
[SPEAKER_02]: They gave me all of me $28 because I was going to pay like 750 an hour or something.
10:13
[SPEAKER_00]: What year is that?
10:13
[SPEAKER_00]: Because we got to add to interest.
10:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Right exactly.
10:16
[SPEAKER_02]: Hmm.
10:17
[SPEAKER_02]: These.
10:18
[SPEAKER_02]: But it was my, I was 16, so and I'm 29 now, so 13 years ago.
10:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Johnny's pay up.
10:26
[SPEAKER_02]: Pay up.
10:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Pay up.
10:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Not white, white, white.
10:29
[SPEAKER_00]: They're going to hit you for a brand deal.
10:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Watch.
10:31
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not going to work with them.
10:35
[SPEAKER_02]: They don't come on my platform.
10:38
[SPEAKER_02]: They would have rooted people ever.
10:41
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I don't know, but I
11:02
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, Rhode Island is the first, well, Rhode Island is a small state, then we're the second smallest, I would say that Delaware, people sleep on Delaware, looking back at it, even though I would never, I personally would never move back.
11:18
[SPEAKER_02]: I see why people would live in Delaware.
11:20
[SPEAKER_02]: It is 30 minutes from Jersey, well, not even 30 minutes from Jersey, like South Jersey, depending where you're going.
11:27
[SPEAKER_02]: It's about 45 minutes from Philly.
11:30
[SPEAKER_02]: It is also 45 minutes an hour depending where you're at in Baltimore and is an hour and a half from DC.
11:37
[SPEAKER_02]: So if you want to move to a tax free state, right?
11:40
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, also where people file their LLCs that say, but they're C-Corp, such one can file your LLC, where everyone do.
11:48
[SPEAKER_02]: But people do like to file their own business friendly state.
11:50
[SPEAKER_02]: Yep, it's a very business friendly state.
11:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Got you.
11:53
[SPEAKER_00]: And last but not least, what has been in your two experiences and you treat what has been your, if you have the name one, favorite experience or favorite thing that you got chance to see or do.
12:02
[SPEAKER_02]: the people though.
12:03
[SPEAKER_02]: The people are a super dope.
12:05
[SPEAKER_02]: There's actually some other, another woman from Miami that moves here, Jade.
12:09
[SPEAKER_02]: I got to try and catch up with her, but I see the creative CR, I see why creators are moving here for sure.
12:14
[SPEAKER_02]: I really enjoyed Black Tech Saturdays and shout to them, because they not only did they allow me to be on their platform and didn't even know me,
12:21
[SPEAKER_02]: But they believed to me so much that they end up sponsoring my Afro Tech event, you know, and it came in like last minute and I was so grateful because we would have actually been at a loss, you know, as most events are.
12:33
[SPEAKER_02]: And that turned us profitable just because they sponsored us.
12:37
[SPEAKER_02]: We, we were able to blow it away just the way we wanted to.
12:39
[SPEAKER_02]: We had, if not one of the the biggest events with Mingle amused and got to be the Afro Tech kickoff party.
12:47
[SPEAKER_02]: But it was just so nice
12:51
[SPEAKER_02]: but they came down and showed love and Houston.
12:53
[SPEAKER_02]: So I would say that was like my number one biggest moment that I've loved.
12:56
[SPEAKER_02]: So Detroit can get me up here any time because I've been to many cities, smoke on many conferences, many platforms, but to actually invest back into somebody else was like, wow, you really care.
13:07
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
13:08
[SPEAKER_00]: That's love.
13:09
[SPEAKER_00]: That's love.
13:09
[SPEAKER_00]: Shout out to BTS for sure.
13:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes.
13:11
[SPEAKER_00]: So, Bree, thank you for partaking and freestyle for our days, and we got a poem out of it, and we got to learn a little bit more about you.
13:17
[SPEAKER_02]: I've got to love letters, black little bit, black men.
13:22
[SPEAKER_00]: So, I want to ask you in terms of the route that you took, becoming a tech founder, and development, I don't know, nowadays, I think people may think it's more simple than actually is, but developing an app is definitely a process, and you have to be
13:37
[SPEAKER_00]: built a certain way just from conversations I've had with people in terms of making sure that the thing gets done and that actually turns into what is supposed to.
13:46
[SPEAKER_00]: So could you talk to us about why and app and then what has your journey been like so far?
13:51
[SPEAKER_02]: The reason I started with an app was because of the scalability of an app.
13:55
[SPEAKER_02]: Like
13:56
[SPEAKER_02]: The end accessibility.
13:57
[SPEAKER_02]: I now days people may be are more comfortable with constantly, you know, signing in through a browser and Google Chrome, but like there's nothing more Accessible to me than I have like something that's already down onto your phone You can get notifications on it like I was like, I'm building an app like I want to make sure that If a notification goes off or a deadline is coming up or any of those those things that push notification can come through It's just more
14:23
[SPEAKER_02]: accessible and usable.
14:24
[SPEAKER_02]: Now, I went to school for computer science, like before all the vibe coding and all this stuff came out which super happy that they did.
14:31
[SPEAKER_02]: It was hard.
14:34
[SPEAKER_02]: It was super hard, but I was willing to do the hard things to make sure that my customers and users were able to access this more excessively than just using a web app.
14:45
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, nowadays,
14:46
[SPEAKER_02]: If I started today, I would start with a web app.
14:50
[SPEAKER_02]: I did the opposite way, started with a mobile app.
14:53
[SPEAKER_02]: I wish I would have started with that web app.
14:55
[SPEAKER_00]: Tell us what differences.
14:56
[SPEAKER_02]: A web app is something you would access on your browser, Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox, etc.
15:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Like, that's how you're accessing the app.
15:05
[SPEAKER_02]: That is still how you can access the app if you have an Android because we're not going in.
15:09
[SPEAKER_02]: And we've decided we're not going to invest in deploying to Android anytime soon.
15:14
[SPEAKER_02]: But as a mobile app is something that you go to the app store,
15:18
[SPEAKER_02]: You download it.
15:19
[SPEAKER_02]: It is literally like synced into your phone and you can just click on the icon and you can still use it.
15:24
[SPEAKER_02]: But it's also such a synced to your phone if you choose to allow people or allow us app developers to share notification to your phone.
15:32
[SPEAKER_02]: It is easier to connect with your users in my opinion.
15:36
[SPEAKER_02]: So that is why I started with the mobile app.
15:41
[SPEAKER_02]: Personally, but nowadays you could do a lot more things with a web app and it's a lot less friction You don't have to submit to the app store, you know with a web app because as soon as you finish the thing is like that's it That's done and the app store now is it takes so much less time because they know that they know that they have that competitive edge where
16:03
[SPEAKER_02]: a browser can simply just allow you to deploy a change real quick, but on a mobile app, you have to submit it, you have to, you know, they can reject you.
16:12
[SPEAKER_02]: And if you get rejected, now the mobile app is not up to par with the web app.
16:18
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, I'm saying to top it off on the mobile app, Apple will take 30% of your revenue.
16:25
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, so that's something you got factor in.
16:27
[SPEAKER_02]: So Patreon had rolls out something at some point saying, you know, to the customers that
16:32
[SPEAKER_02]: We are still going to have our mobile app, but we're going to have to upcharge, you know, 30, 35% of the memberships if you guys subscribe through the mobile app.
16:42
[SPEAKER_02]: If not, if you want to keep you all saying pricing, then just go to the website.
16:47
[SPEAKER_02]: and actually pay for the subscription there.
16:50
[SPEAKER_02]: So Apple's watching all these things, right?
16:53
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, they're watching all these things.
16:55
[SPEAKER_02]: They're trying to roll out new programs.
16:56
[SPEAKER_02]: I think that they already have a program where it founders aren't making one million that you can apply for that.
17:01
[SPEAKER_02]: And you know, not get that 30% taken out, which I think is dope.
17:05
[SPEAKER_02]: But it is just so much harder to maintain a mobile app, so much harder.
17:09
[SPEAKER_02]: Nowadays, there's loveable, basic 66, wrap-let, clawed, you know, there's so many different ways that you can build both.
17:16
[SPEAKER_02]: A mobile app or a web app, but if you aren't,
17:20
[SPEAKER_02]: If you don't have the education on the mobile app, I would say Starwood Web app for sure.
17:24
[SPEAKER_02]: You can build something in the weekend nowadays.
17:26
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm building another app, people don't know that.
17:28
[SPEAKER_02]: You know what I'm saying?
17:29
[SPEAKER_02]: Where gem social is going to be a portfolio of social apps at some point.
17:32
[SPEAKER_02]: So I see, just from how I'm building that, no developer, no nothing, just doing this one on my own because you can.
17:42
[SPEAKER_02]: You should be able to take that time to learn how to build your own app and because you'll get the most education building it yourself and learning things and these tools are telling you what's wrong, like what's wrong with this or you need to connect to the server, you need to go get this API like never did we have that, never did we have that and it's but it's not discounting the computer scientists and stuff but it's still like there's never been a time where especially people that look like us can even have an app and ownership and tech.
18:11
[SPEAKER_00]: And before I forget, who is Jim and why are they social?
18:14
[SPEAKER_00]: Why do you name a Jim social?
18:15
[SPEAKER_02]: So I caught a Jim social because I did want it to be a social app originally.
18:19
[SPEAKER_02]: Like, you know, it was a creator's gig networks.
18:22
[SPEAKER_02]: I want to people to be social.
18:23
[SPEAKER_02]: We are a social platform.
18:25
[SPEAKER_02]: We do have, we are a community-based platform.
18:27
[SPEAKER_02]: We do like to bring creators together a lot.
18:29
[SPEAKER_02]: Creators and brands together a lot.
18:31
[SPEAKER_02]: We've had 12 events last year alone.
18:33
[SPEAKER_02]: literally bringing creative brands and even investors to dinners, to networking events, to conferences, to kickoff events, et cetera.
18:41
[SPEAKER_02]: So it is a very social part, but jam originally was going to be with a G, but it was already taken, but like they also just because the whole point of the goal of jam was to teach people and put them on game.
18:53
[SPEAKER_02]: So you know how we say, you know, like when you hear some real good, it's like
18:59
[SPEAKER_02]: And so we wanted the social part and I just couldn't jam just would escape my brain.
19:03
[SPEAKER_02]: It was like something I kept dreaming about.
19:05
[SPEAKER_02]: And I was like, jam social.
19:07
[SPEAKER_02]: It really didn't leave us just jam.
19:08
[SPEAKER_02]: Even if you go on to the app store and put in jam social.
19:11
[SPEAKER_02]: It says jam and then it says turn content to cash, you know, but it is a gem social got you.
19:18
[SPEAKER_00]: So could you now break down the experience for folks who download gem social.
19:23
[SPEAKER_00]: The sound of content creator.
19:25
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm ready to get some opportunities.
19:27
[SPEAKER_00]: I download the app.
19:28
[SPEAKER_02]: What should I expect right boom.
19:29
[SPEAKER_02]: So.
19:30
[SPEAKER_02]: Very simple, you can download it or you can go on the web browser and sign up as a creator.
19:36
[SPEAKER_02]: You would onboard your information, so like, you know, which is your niche, what your, you know, your goal, like how many brand deals you're trying to land, et cetera, because we want to actually customize your experience to make sure that we're hitting your goals to be honest.
19:47
[SPEAKER_02]: Once you do that, you have two options you can sign for free, so creators can't sign, there is a free option.
19:52
[SPEAKER_02]: But if you want to pitch brands, like if you want access to those contacts, which is way cheaper to just use our platform, then you can actually access 30,000 brand contacts and you could fill to them by niche, so like tech, food, business, wellness, home, etc.
20:09
[SPEAKER_02]: Like we have a bunch of subjects that you can really or categories I would say.
20:14
[SPEAKER_02]: that you can select from.
20:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Now, the dope report is because we know how timely it takes to pitch people, that's where the AI comes in.
20:21
[SPEAKER_02]: So because we already got your onboarded information, all the way down like your portfolio, media kit, et cetera, then we take all that and tailor your pitch to these brands.
20:29
[SPEAKER_02]: And you can select different subject lines, you know, if you want to be direct, foam, professional, exciting, et cetera.
20:35
[SPEAKER_02]: All those things are embedded into the platform.
20:38
[SPEAKER_02]: And you can loop in your Gmail account and you can pitch directly through the platform.
20:43
[SPEAKER_02]: And that's for us a contractor.
20:44
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
20:45
[SPEAKER_00]: And so, and then there's another side to it if you are a business and then let's say you're looking for these people to work with, what does that side look like?
20:53
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
20:53
[SPEAKER_02]: So when they sign up for them, same thing, like they'll still onboard, they will put in their niche, they'll put in their budget as well and how many creators that they're looking for on a monthly basis.
21:04
[SPEAKER_02]: And then once they're putting that stuff, they get the same thing, they get there's a free option and then there's the actual paid option.
21:10
[SPEAKER_02]: On the paid option, if they want to access all these creators, then they need to sign up for either the $49 month plan for startups or the $99 month plan for just local businesses or enterprise businesses, etc.
21:23
[SPEAKER_02]: Another option is our managed services where we can do the influence of marketing for them, where we select creators for them, come at what they influence the marketing plan and content strategy.
21:32
[SPEAKER_02]: And we'll take that on for them.
21:33
[SPEAKER_02]: So there's three different options.
21:35
[SPEAKER_02]: If it's a standard option where people just want to come on Find creators and book them through the platform.
21:40
[SPEAKER_02]: They can do down our paid options and same thing.
21:42
[SPEAKER_02]: They can they can break it down by niche So let's walk through another use case like the restaurant I went to took away.
21:48
[SPEAKER_02]: Let's say that they're looking for Detroit foodies, you know
21:50
[SPEAKER_02]: Or even someone like Amber, you know, a lifestyle creator, you know, and content creator like that's covering things to do and Detroit and that's social in the city for people listening exactly social in the city so if someone wants to book someone like her right they could go on the platform and book someone like her they can either send her an offer or they can ask for her right, you know, and if Amber is if was accepted on the platform.
22:12
[SPEAKER_02]: There is a marketplace fee because what we do is the brand will pay it so it's already in the escrow and then they'll get a deadline to do two things.
22:23
[SPEAKER_02]: If it's UGC then they just submit the content and then you know make sure it's up to parts of what they agreed on.
22:29
[SPEAKER_02]: If it's influenced marketing or influenced her partnership where they got a post once a post and it goes live and everything's all fine then they get paid out within two days.
22:38
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay and that's it.
22:39
[SPEAKER_00]: very dope.
22:40
[SPEAKER_00]: So helping people get to those bags.
22:42
[SPEAKER_02]: So we're connecting the partnerships, but we also are keeping the accountability there because I've been burned on both sides.
22:47
[SPEAKER_02]: I've been burned as a creator where I did something for somebody and they didn't pay up.
22:52
[SPEAKER_02]: And I've already posted, I've already, you know, that I ever got them clicks, I already got them conversions.
22:57
[SPEAKER_02]: And so sorry, we meant to submit that payment, you know, but like just bullshit.
23:01
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, I'm so sorry.
23:02
[SPEAKER_00]: I had to take everything down.
23:04
[SPEAKER_02]: I kind of urgently do the editing and do this as this, so that's why I had set up the escrow system for the bookings and then I've been on the other side where to be honest, I've book creators and they just didn't deliver and I paid up front and it's like I'm getting something you know what I was expecting in two weeks, you know, two months later and now it's like I got to get a little nasty and get on PayPal or wherever it may be and just get my refund and never work with you again.
23:28
[SPEAKER_02]: And it has not just creators.
23:31
[SPEAKER_02]: I have been to me when I first was building the app even when the developer, like paying someone off, you know, outside of marketplaces, which is why I honestly just kept using marketplaces.
23:40
[SPEAKER_02]: I still use marketplaces for some parts of my apps, you know, like upwork for my virtual systems stuff because if you do not deliver, you do not get paid.
23:48
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, you know, that is just simple.
23:50
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't care how people feel about it.
23:52
[SPEAKER_02]: It is it is just the safest route.
23:55
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, so some people some brands actually do have creators that they work with and they just use our platform for that.
24:00
[SPEAKER_02]: They're not even necessarily looking for new ones.
24:02
[SPEAKER_02]: There's ambassador programs out here for multiple brands that they're like, we're just using this because we want to make sure that they deliver.
24:10
[SPEAKER_02]: We don't and what we'll do.
24:12
[SPEAKER_02]: is well-custom, Taylor is a solution for them.
24:14
[SPEAKER_02]: So maybe they're like, hey, look, it would be super expensive if we pay for a marketplace fee.
24:19
[SPEAKER_02]: We can manage it and do this as in this.
24:21
[SPEAKER_02]: That said, we'll just say, OK, what we'll do is we'll license this to for you.
24:24
[SPEAKER_02]: We'll take away the transaction fees.
24:27
[SPEAKER_02]: And we'll just license this for you for this amount of money.
24:29
[SPEAKER_02]: So that is becoming a big thing where ambassador programs are coming to us and saying like they either can manage it or we can manage it But if they manage it and they just want literally just a solution But they want to manage a bunch of creators then and then we're like well, how many creators am I up to you expect because we need to calculate that missed marketplace fee and then we'll create it for them So yeah
24:49
[SPEAKER_00]: got you and what do you have any success stories and that you can share that people have leveraged the platform and been able to to land some great opportunities.
24:59
[SPEAKER_02]: There's been a couple.
25:00
[SPEAKER_02]: There's been a lot of of dope stories, but recently something that I've seen on the platform that I really was excited about was this event producer leveraged the platform.
25:12
[SPEAKER_02]: She used to work for L'Oreal and she ended up going on her own star her own creator's
25:17
[SPEAKER_02]: and she leveraged a platform by looking fashion influencers for the markets and those fashion influencers were getting like a payout for each ticket and stuff like that but they just wanted to be there because it was one of the hottest markets in New York and Houston in New Orleans, et cetera.
25:32
[SPEAKER_02]: So, she was able to spend maybe $1,000 towards influencers, you know, very nano influencers like smaller creators, and also used affiliate marketing with them too.
25:44
[SPEAKER_02]: And she sold out all of her events, all of her vendors, you know, were already booked like, honestly, after two weeks of launch.
25:50
[SPEAKER_02]: Both days were sold out like she's profit.
25:53
[SPEAKER_02]: She's profiting at at least 20 to 25 k per event That's not including sponsors that come on behind that and she has about like 10, you know, career markets, you know, a year now So this is grossing anywhere from like 200 to 200 in like 60 k a year This girl's 24 years old
26:11
[SPEAKER_02]: but she's leveraging influence and marketing for that.
26:14
[SPEAKER_02]: And then what she does is she'll take the best performing content like for the people that are actually posting about it.
26:20
[SPEAKER_02]: She'll ask them for the content users' rights and pay them whatever that may be.
26:24
[SPEAKER_02]: And she'll run ads behind that.
26:25
[SPEAKER_02]: And she's thought like, she says she only runs like, honestly, like, 20 bucks a week on these ads.
26:31
[SPEAKER_02]: to sell some more tickets, right?
26:32
[SPEAKER_02]: So to me, it's really dope because, and total, like, she might not be breaking more than, you know, like, $1,500 and marketing each single event.
26:41
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, outside of the cost of, like, the venue and all this other stuff, but then the market is so hot that sometimes the venues just want to give a good discount because they want all that density of people to come in and see it.
26:52
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, so that's another thing.
26:54
[SPEAKER_02]: So she's doing a really good job.
26:56
[SPEAKER_02]: Shout to Olivia.
26:57
[SPEAKER_02]: Another one is social-fest conference.
27:00
[SPEAKER_02]: We did their influence in marketing services for them in exchange to be a sponsor.
27:04
[SPEAKER_02]: It's one of the best social media conferences in the St. Texas is in South Texas.
27:11
[SPEAKER_02]: But what was dope is that we had booked influencers for them in before even before the conference even even happened they had drove over 500,000 impressions with small creators in Mission Texas, Rio Grande Valley, some areas of Mexico.
27:24
[SPEAKER_02]: Dallas and Houston like we only focused on Texas influencers nano influencers up to micro influencers So we're still talking smaller creators, right?
27:32
[SPEAKER_02]: They didn't break the bank too much because this was like an inception They just wanted to really see like if this is you know if this concept is really going to work out They sold out they had over 20 20 sponsors in general
27:45
[SPEAKER_02]: and they were profitable on top of that and they also got a lot of leads because they're really a marketing agency that threw a conference.
27:51
[SPEAKER_02]: So just being behind that as a marketing agency throwing a social media marketing conference and all these founders and brands are a part of it on top of the sponsorships.
28:02
[SPEAKER_02]: They also were able to leverage that to have new clients in their business.
28:06
[SPEAKER_02]: So that was like such a dope play.
28:08
[SPEAKER_02]: But the influencers that ended up coming
28:13
[SPEAKER_02]: There's the pre-event content, of course, right?
28:16
[SPEAKER_02]: And then there's the live content, and then there's the post-event content.
28:21
[SPEAKER_02]: They drove 2.5 million impressions in two days.
28:23
[SPEAKER_00]: Wow.
28:26
[SPEAKER_02]: 2.5 million presions for a tool that costs $99 a month.
28:32
[SPEAKER_02]: So even we had to start looking at this tool like, are we charging in there?
28:35
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, now obviously it's not $99 a month for us to manage the influence of this stuff.
28:40
[SPEAKER_02]: But what we wanted to do was, we wanted to start.
28:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Is there another tier you could go to?
28:44
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, yeah, there's another tier.
28:45
[SPEAKER_02]: And we were able to see the value of that tier.
28:48
[SPEAKER_02]: So now we're in conversations with like DreamCon.
28:50
[SPEAKER_02]: Awesome tech week.
28:52
[SPEAKER_02]: OK, see tech week, DC start up week.
28:56
[SPEAKER_02]: Like, we have all these great conversations with the people because we see the value of ambassadors.
29:01
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, like to have them ambassadors, you know, be your creator operating system for your for not necessarily for sales, but it can be leveraged because if you are driving 500,000 plus impressions for a new conference, you know, then imagine when you're coming back, people are already excited.
29:19
[SPEAKER_02]: It was already new in mission texts.
29:21
[SPEAKER_02]: Nobody knows what mission
29:23
[SPEAKER_02]: you know now they do now that the Rio Grande Valley was put on the map and now those creators there are even more inspired than ever but they were smart for even having it in an untapped area you know in an untapped market in South Texas so Mexicans are coming up too you know saying so we got the Americans and we got Mexicans there yeah
29:41
[SPEAKER_02]: That was super dope even for me because I also showed me the value of it, of me being a black tech founder, I'm not a black only founder.
29:51
[SPEAKER_02]: And I think a lot of people get that misconstrued sometimes because they'll see a black founder and be like, oh, well, you know, like, this is this and this.
29:58
[SPEAKER_02]: But it's like, my customers are not only black, you know what I'm saying?
30:02
[SPEAKER_02]: And I even want to tell my publicist, I said, I don't want my app to only,
30:07
[SPEAKER_02]: be bought by black owned businesses, you know, I want my app to be bought by brands that respect and want to work with creators and for creators that also respect and want to work with the brands that they dream to work with or at least they're looking like like I love bioma, I have good skin.
30:25
[SPEAKER_02]: I used Bioma.
30:27
[SPEAKER_02]: I always say I would love to work with Bioma, but if there was something else similar to Bioma, I would work with them too.
30:32
[SPEAKER_02]: Because I like skin care, you know, I like skin care, I like tech and AI, like those are my main things that I talk about.
30:41
[SPEAKER_02]: So if I can honestly continue working with those people which I do, this is my first year actually going back into
30:47
[SPEAKER_02]: intentional content creating and actually leveraging my platform as another pipeline revenue for my personal brand right which is why I started the podcast.
30:56
[SPEAKER_02]: I started the podcast a month ago we've had 10 deals you know so it's like but this it works it works you know what is in bound or outbound it works but I is positioning you know so I I'm big on that but this allowed me to step out on not just on a faith but actually you know
31:13
[SPEAKER_02]: see how other people outside of my race really like my platform not just people support me because I'm a black founder you know yeah and talking to me about being able to so I'm intrigued by you said the podcast is not that old but you've been able to get 10 deals talking to me about those deals I'm I'm from all years yes so I have started rolling out pre promotional content for the podcast
31:36
[SPEAKER_02]: in December.
31:37
[SPEAKER_02]: I took two weeks off from just everything I was doing and just focused on the podcast.
31:42
[SPEAKER_02]: Start rolling out some pre-promotional content and I would say by the six video, not episode, video, because I was positioning, right?
31:53
[SPEAKER_02]: I focused on that AI stuff, you know, AI marketing community, like those are my pillars of my podcast.
31:59
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
31:59
[SPEAKER_02]: So, guess who's all reaching out to me in my inbox?
32:03
[SPEAKER_02]: AI companies, you know, there's AI's for AI companies, for making ads, you know, AI companies for market research.
32:09
[SPEAKER_02]: Everything marketing related, like the marketing apps that are powered by AI are reaching out to me.
32:17
[SPEAKER_02]: And I thought that was dope because it's positioning, you know, down to what's in your bio, down to what's in your podcast bio, down to like all of those things and then what's you're saying, right?
32:28
[SPEAKER_02]: I only focus on those things and I don't care if I don't get a lot of views.
32:32
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't get a lot of views on my podcast.
32:34
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm still learning the whole YouTube, you know, all that stuff like I commend y'all for being consistent, you know what I'm saying?
32:40
[SPEAKER_02]: Like genuinely, but
32:42
[SPEAKER_02]: position myself, damn good.
32:45
[SPEAKER_02]: And that's what's gotten us 10.
32:46
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, I would say over 10 inquiries.
32:48
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm still filtering through who I think would be a good fit for the podcast versus like TikTok Instagram, all those things.
32:55
[SPEAKER_02]: So we're we're go we have two active deals right now that we push forward.
32:59
[SPEAKER_02]: The rest of them were still like let's see if it's a good fit or a negotiation because of course because it is lower views though and it's new.
33:07
[SPEAKER_02]: They see like the value only in the
33:11
[SPEAKER_02]: That's BS at the end of the day, but it's exactly like it's like you guys want content to run with my, you know, run my face with my ads and I'm not just a podcast there.
33:21
[SPEAKER_02]: I have a whole different IP.
33:23
[SPEAKER_02]: So my name and likeness cannot just be sold for a hundred dollars.
33:25
[SPEAKER_02]: So sorry, sorry, you know, I'm saying.
33:28
[SPEAKER_02]: So I, I understand everybody's side because I own a whole creator marketplace.
33:34
[SPEAKER_02]: I get it, you know, but
33:36
[SPEAKER_02]: In the same side, I also understand some people's budgets.
33:39
[SPEAKER_02]: So I also look for other ways to, you know, if let's say this AI platform helps gem, right?
33:45
[SPEAKER_02]: Or let's say that this AI platform has access to a lot of, you know, like for example, because this AI marketing platform for something else is not related to gem.
33:54
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, well, can you guys all send out, you know, top tools, you know, for new founders and your emails and feature gem.
34:02
[SPEAKER_02]: Like there's different ways.
34:04
[SPEAKER_02]: I want creators to learn how to sell.
34:07
[SPEAKER_02]: I want because people sometimes get so offended that, oh, they're only trying to charge me or make, uh, have me make a hundred twenty dollars per video.
34:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Make the deal work for you.
34:17
[SPEAKER_02]: Make the deal work for you.
34:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
34:18
[SPEAKER_02]: Like, you don't do, no, you look up do some research, like,
34:22
[SPEAKER_02]: It just like do some research, you know, let's say this company just raise, you know, series A or something.
34:29
[SPEAKER_02]: They got some money for marketing, right?
34:31
[SPEAKER_02]: They got money for partnerships, like see how they can get you into South by Southwest or something, you know, because they don't know what you want.
34:40
[SPEAKER_02]: Even my platform doesn't know what you want, you know, I'm saying like there's a suggested rain, you got your prices, whatever, but like you have to establish your own value.
34:49
[SPEAKER_02]: So like maybe that I don't they don't have the cash to give me all this money right now for five videos, but maybe I need the tool, shit.
34:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe it's eliminating me paying for instantly AI, you know what I'm saying or clawed or whatever maybe if it's eliminating the cost of my business or my personal life too, right?
35:08
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, then there might be some value for value like I'll get this cash and I'm also eliminating this bill that might cost me 2,000 a year, right?
35:18
[SPEAKER_02]: And I might have access to a conference or something.
35:21
[SPEAKER_02]: It's just
35:22
[SPEAKER_02]: Do your research.
35:23
[SPEAKER_02]: So that's why I take my time with the deals where I'm like, we'll get back to you in the next, you know, seven to ten days.
35:28
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
35:28
[SPEAKER_02]: I'll have my assistant go and look at look up some stuff and we'll go back and forth and then now I'm about to make a deal with this AI ad company because we're starting to run ads and we are spending
35:40
[SPEAKER_02]: We're spending money, you know, thousands of dollars right now because we're literally trying to invest so much money to get a good ROI.
35:48
[SPEAKER_02]: We're spending a lot of money on, you know, creators and UGC and testing content.
35:52
[SPEAKER_02]: And if there's an app that can help eliminate a lot of that.
35:56
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
35:57
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, my little, my little $200, my work, plus the fact that I'm eliminating some that might cost me 6,000 a year on top of that, but they don't know how much that cost for me.
36:08
[SPEAKER_02]: So that's why I'm like, you know, people got to stop getting their pennies in about some times when they see a lowball because that's when you can negotiate.
36:16
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, people have done that even with some of my clients, like this one girl got a free
36:22
[SPEAKER_02]: And she could shoot and she could shoot one podcast a month and she got a paid stipend You know I'm saying but even though the payout is not a whole lot the value was there because she's like wait This place has a podcast studio.
36:35
[SPEAKER_02]: She could have events here.
36:37
[SPEAKER_02]: She started.
36:37
[SPEAKER_02]: She goes to have her workshops there But if she would have just been mad that the co-working space only could afford like maybe like 150 for a pot for one post then that's
36:48
[SPEAKER_02]: she wouldn't have even noticed that holy crap.
36:51
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't even have to spend so much money on a podcast that could cost $500, you know, between the equipment, right, you won't more than that.
37:00
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, I'm saying, but like renting the equipment, renting the space, the editor, all that stuff.
37:05
[SPEAKER_02]: So it's like if brands and creators really learn how to work together, they will both win.
37:11
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, even if you're a small creator or a small business, you just got to get funky with it.
37:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes, you know, so yeah, so now I got to ask you how to breathe get to the back.
37:22
[SPEAKER_00]: So I know that you create your own content and you are developing your personal brand in addition to developing gym social and whatever other business and everything that you have going on.
37:30
[SPEAKER_00]: But what is your, if you could break down your path to monetization?
37:35
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so the creator partnerships is new for sure.
37:39
[SPEAKER_02]: So that's a new one for me.
37:41
[SPEAKER_02]: So I'll start doing it and come or I actually start doing it and come report, but I'm going to be doing more income reports on that side, my own four properties as well.
37:49
[SPEAKER_02]: My goal is to pay them off faster and it's better.
37:52
[SPEAKER_02]: But that's another way that I make money from rental income.
37:56
[SPEAKER_02]: I also do consulting so I don't pay myself through through gym at all.
38:00
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't take any pay.
38:01
[SPEAKER_02]: I pay the people that work for gym and then I take the profitable, you know, like that the profits and reinvestance into the platform So if we have like a 12k month and our expenses are only $6,000 that will the 6,000 is going right back into the company Like I don't pay myself at all.
38:16
[SPEAKER_02]: I make just enough money
38:18
[SPEAKER_02]: doing what I do now.
38:20
[SPEAKER_02]: I also consult.
38:20
[SPEAKER_02]: So that's always been a really good money for me.
38:23
[SPEAKER_02]: I've consulted a lot of BDB brands across multiple different industries project management AI now marketing and I would like to get more into AI consulting site because that's a whole bag like with the workflows.
38:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
38:34
[SPEAKER_02]: But I still do that.
38:35
[SPEAKER_00]: And we say AI consultant, you mean like developing either an AI duplicate of you or like a chat bot or something like that with your information.
38:43
[SPEAKER_02]: So everything is always around project management.
38:46
[SPEAKER_02]: And now a days I actually just got my PMP, but now a project management professional.
38:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, got you.
38:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
38:53
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
38:53
[SPEAKER_02]: So that's like the like one of the best certifications in honesty in the world.
38:59
[SPEAKER_02]: Especially if you want to be a project manager.
39:01
[SPEAKER_02]: But as far as the AI side, it's how you can optimize your processes and you can save money.
39:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Got you.
39:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
39:09
[SPEAKER_02]: And also with these B2B companies, it's not even just internally, but it's also how can you add AI into your product.
39:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Because at how much money can that save your customers as well?
39:19
[SPEAKER_02]: Because if...
39:20
[SPEAKER_02]: It takes me, let's say, you know, let's say it takes an influencer marketer 20 hours a week, just to update spreadsheets, you know, about these creators, their data that, you know, when they post all that, if that takes 20 hours, but it only takes one hour on one hour, we go and jump.
39:36
[SPEAKER_02]: Depending on how much they're making like let's say influencer marketer gets paid 50 an hour or something well $1,000 a week has now been saved From our tool right but because we are allowing AI to do a lot of these things too So if I'm also teaching companies how to add AI into their product features and
39:55
[SPEAKER_02]: or into their own businesses as well, then that's good money.
39:59
[SPEAKER_02]: Outside of that, the biggest thing is just being able to optimize their processes enough to hit their greater goal in their greater KPI.
40:06
[SPEAKER_02]: And that's what a lot of project managers do.
40:08
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, so when we're delivering things in sprints and, you know, in these certain, you know, timeframes that we agree to with a team of consultants or a team of developers or whatever may be, then it's because we need a deliberate value.
40:20
[SPEAKER_02]: That's the whole point, like delivering value each and every time.
40:23
[SPEAKER_02]: And most of the time, I work with a product manager on that.
40:26
[SPEAKER_02]: So I'm a PM consultant.
40:27
[SPEAKER_02]: I've been doing that for over 10 years and I have to just kept that bag going.
40:31
[SPEAKER_00]: In terms of the creator economy, with you having opportunities to create on your own and also building this platform that creators can benefit from, what's some of the top things that creators get wrong in their approach to try to monetize whatever it is that they're doing.
40:53
[SPEAKER_02]: What we was just talking about the brand collaborations and sometimes either taking too small video, you know, like honestly taking too small of a deal because I can understand now some creators are just starting out might be their first few deals, you know, they could be a small creator or whatever may be and there's some big creators that just never took a deal before they don't know how to structure it so.
41:12
[SPEAKER_02]: 100% that and that's something that we want to eliminate more even in our messaging like you know like something that shows like you know this might be too small like here's what we suggest and that's where we can you know train our AI model to help them add so that's one area that I can definitely still see a big problem and another thing is the pitching you know we took our time building this tool because what we did is we analyzed some other creators pitches in general that they did in the past and
41:38
[SPEAKER_02]: I can easily look at a pitch and be like, well, yeah, no, this isn't going to work.
41:43
[SPEAKER_02]: But also, sometimes it's down to just their portfolio, which is the number one important thing, how you structure your portfolio.
41:49
[SPEAKER_02]: Like, if you are a creator and you have a UGC portfolio,
41:56
[SPEAKER_02]: and then you're pitching a brand for an influencer partnership, but let's say you only have like 500 followers, but you're trying to charge them thousands of dollars, they're gonna laugh at that, because are you a UGC creator or are you an influencer?
42:11
[SPEAKER_02]: Are you building community online?
42:13
[SPEAKER_02]: Are you building a solid audience online that can trust you?
42:15
[SPEAKER_02]: That's the whole point of creator partnerships, right?
42:19
[SPEAKER_02]: Especially on the influence of marketing side, but sometimes people don't know what they're talking about.
42:23
[SPEAKER_02]: They'll put UGC creator in there, but they're really looking for an influencer partnership.
42:26
[SPEAKER_02]: You're not an influencer, you are just an Instagram user, you're just a TikTok user.
42:32
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't think people are influencers unless you are actually establishing an audience.
42:36
[SPEAKER_02]: A lot of people are throwing out this influencer term, but really they're just a creator.
42:40
[SPEAKER_02]: You might just create, but an influencer is building an audience.
42:43
[SPEAKER_02]: If you really want to eliminate an expense or need access to a resource, because again, as an influencer, you should be building an audience.
42:52
[SPEAKER_02]: Right, so it doesn't mean that you need to be like a vent producer or a podcaster, but like what are you really?
42:58
[SPEAKER_02]: What's the end goal here?
42:59
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't think a lot of people know what their end goal is and and that's really the problem What is your end goal here because There's for example GLP one is a big thing.
43:11
[SPEAKER_05]: I I too am getting that needle Okay, but
43:20
[SPEAKER_02]: If someone's end goal is to show their weight loss journey, right?
43:25
[SPEAKER_02]: That is a very popular thing, especially with women.
43:29
[SPEAKER_02]: If you're showing your weight loss journey and you're pitching GLP1 brands, that makes sense.
43:34
[SPEAKER_02]: Especially if you're a really a bigger person like that, your Matt hasn't lose a certain amount of weight, right?
43:39
[SPEAKER_02]: So the right person who did down our platform and ended up getting a GLP1 brand and that GLP1 brand paid them.
43:46
[SPEAKER_02]: 7k a month for five months because they were they were looking for a long-term partnership They were looking for a certain amount of videos.
43:53
[SPEAKER_02]: I think it was like I think it was like 10 videos a month Which is very doable right because you you could do so many different things You could you know outside of just like a day in the life You could show you know you go into the gym what you need what you need to eat but you need to talk talk about what the girl is I'm looking for you know what do you eat when you are on a GLP one, you know
44:13
[SPEAKER_02]: how to not be nauseous, you know, side effects.
44:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Like there are so many different things that you can do.
44:18
[SPEAKER_02]: And a brand should be given a campaign brief anyways, but even better if you do your research too.
44:24
[SPEAKER_02]: I love working with creators when we give them a campaign brief, but they take it as that further, you know?
44:28
[SPEAKER_02]: So, because that makes the partnership go even longer, right?
44:32
[SPEAKER_02]: So,
44:33
[SPEAKER_02]: I would say that people need to understand their greater goal because, like, to just be an influencer is not enough.
44:39
[SPEAKER_02]: We got enough people calling themselves influencer.
44:41
[SPEAKER_02]: What are you really trying to do with your audience?
44:44
[SPEAKER_02]: How are you trying to penetrate the audience?
44:46
[SPEAKER_02]: Because then, even a lot of people are now creating a turn brands.
44:50
[SPEAKER_02]: A lot of creators are seeking ownership.
44:55
[SPEAKER_02]: You don't want to just always wait to get a brand deal.
44:58
[SPEAKER_02]: You want ownership, own something, that could be your own,
45:02
[SPEAKER_02]: podcast that could be your own streetwear or, you know, jewelry or something of this sort for me.
45:08
[SPEAKER_02]: It was app.
45:08
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm a creator turn founder.
45:10
[SPEAKER_02]: I was DJ turn tech founder, you know, I'm saying, but because I want to ownership around something and my happened to be in creator economy, but it's like, what problem are you really solving?
45:20
[SPEAKER_02]: Because those are the creators that are really doing well.
45:22
[SPEAKER_02]: I follow a creator that does so damn good designs, because I'm not a
45:32
[SPEAKER_02]: follow other creators to get tips on because when I'm using levelable, then I kind of take some of the tips that they talk about and how to build a really good UI UX or onboarding experience and I'll leverage what they're saying and use that on levelable.
45:45
[SPEAKER_02]: So they have me.
45:46
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm the audience.
45:47
[SPEAKER_02]: The person that might be really good at developing products, but not developing a good user experience, right?
45:53
[SPEAKER_02]: So
45:54
[SPEAKER_02]: Our user experience has grown so much because of the certain creators I'm following, right?
45:58
[SPEAKER_02]: But I would easily pay for their ebook or easily pay for their course or their event that they have if it's local or I don't even fly to Aliano or Houston or wherever, Detroit, I don't care, I'll go anywhere to learn something valuable.
46:12
[SPEAKER_02]: That's because they built an audience, but more anything building an audience often is coming from solving a problem.
46:19
[SPEAKER_02]: So if you're a creator looking at
46:24
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, home, your hand, when I say this, you need to be solving problems.
46:29
[SPEAKER_02]: You need to start thinking like that.
46:31
[SPEAKER_02]: What problem am I going to solve?
46:32
[SPEAKER_02]: And how am I going to build a story around it?
46:35
[SPEAKER_02]: Be the director of the problem.
46:37
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, that's the real DPS, the director of the problem.
46:40
[SPEAKER_02]: Build a story around it.
46:42
[SPEAKER_02]: And
46:43
[SPEAKER_02]: That's when you can start creating that kind of content, but if it's just always the you know I'm seeing I still see these like cap cut 10 plates of like the girl is going to get the goddamn Machia go drop the damn machia.
46:53
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't care about the machia no more like I want to see something real Like anything else
47:03
[SPEAKER_00]: So, Brie, could you tell us what is on the horizon for yourself, what's on the horizon for Jim Social?
47:08
[SPEAKER_00]: I know you will be rolling out some new updates and features, so talk to us about what's in the crystal ball for.
47:14
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes.
47:14
[SPEAKER_02]: So, we have a, we're rolling out on the creative program.
47:18
[SPEAKER_02]: Essentially, we are going to give out free accounts to creators to allow them to really be beta testers, like, and actively
47:24
[SPEAKER_02]: Give us feedback because this year we do not want to spend any product development money on something that people don't want You know, I can honestly say the mistake that I made when I built jam was that I was building to only solve my problem
47:40
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't have the same problem, though, as everybody else.
47:42
[SPEAKER_02]: My great is different, my strategy is different.
47:46
[SPEAKER_02]: I cannot assume people think like me, so I wasn't solving the bigger problem, and so we pivoted to what it is today.
47:53
[SPEAKER_02]: And that genuinely took going around, I went pitching in Miami, Houston, Austin, like so many different cities, Detroit.
48:01
[SPEAKER_02]: I did a lot of market research.
48:03
[SPEAKER_02]: for months and talk to people that would be ideal customers.
48:07
[SPEAKER_02]: And that's how I was able to build what the brand side looks like.
48:11
[SPEAKER_02]: A lot of successful companies have affiliate program.
48:14
[SPEAKER_02]: We was just talking about Riverside, right?
48:16
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm actually affiliate of Riverside.
48:18
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
48:18
[SPEAKER_02]: So it's all them.
48:19
[SPEAKER_02]: A good amount of their income is made up from affiliate programs.
48:24
[SPEAKER_02]: And we actually are actively looking for YouTubers, specifically because we know when we start our podcast and stuff
48:32
[SPEAKER_02]: It's very hard to monetize, you know that right away.
48:35
[SPEAKER_02]: But a good one of monetize, as a YouTuber, is through affiliate marketing, you know, having those affiliate links in your bio.
48:43
[SPEAKER_02]: So we just want to be another affiliate link and people's bio.
48:45
[SPEAKER_02]: That's where we're looking to do.
48:47
[SPEAKER_02]: And we'll pay them.
48:49
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, I think the agreement is going to be like 30 bucks a month recurring revenue for each converted customer, which will be great because, cool, if you got those 10 customers, you got 300 bucks a month, just just from being an affiliate, right?
49:02
[SPEAKER_02]: And then what we'll do is we'll start with a small, well, we'll start with small creators first and we'll get them a small incentive, then we'll have like these different tiers.
49:11
[SPEAKER_02]: So if they cross
49:12
[SPEAKER_02]: 10 customers, then we'll start paying them $35 a month, and they'll go up to $40, because that'll be almost half of what the cost is for the membership, like for the brand memberships.
49:24
[SPEAKER_02]: Another thing would be, is when we're looking for those podcasters, because what's if we're going to look for podcasters to be honest, they're talking about stuff like what you're talking about too, so maybe we want to work on a brand deal for you.
49:35
[SPEAKER_02]: But ultimately, we're going to look for
49:39
[SPEAKER_02]: Talking about marketing tech AI, all those stuff because typically you guys are attracting founders in order to be or attracting decision makers So anyone who's attaching who's attracting decision makers on YouTube?
49:52
[SPEAKER_02]: We want to find those people and we want to work with them and we actually think To be honest that we'll probably see a higher ROI on our you know really on ambassador's program
50:02
[SPEAKER_02]: Then just the standard creative partnerships, but we want to mix it up because the creative partnerships would be good for our awareness and for the establishment authority But ultimately We definitely want to get those links in and and make sure that that's don't go and good and make sure that it's a good ROI Because we got pay for it already the platform to host the affiliate marketing like in those links and getting the pay out and all that stuff So
50:24
[SPEAKER_02]: we're exploring those right now, but yeah, like having those ambassador programs are really beneficial as a tech company that has a SaaS, you know, as a software service.
50:34
[SPEAKER_02]: So that is something that I'm really excited, but you know, scared, because it's like we did it before and didn't work because of our business model.
50:41
[SPEAKER_02]: Now, our business model makes sense.
50:43
[SPEAKER_02]: Like we're charging enough from a subscription where creators can make good, recurring money,
50:48
[SPEAKER_02]: But we're not going to go for the creators that are on Instagram and TikTok right away for these affiliates because we're not going for them at all for that affiliate side.
50:57
[SPEAKER_02]: It just makes sense for YouTube because all you gotta do is just, you don't have to do anything crazy.
51:02
[SPEAKER_02]: All you gotta do is they're looking at your bio.
51:04
[SPEAKER_02]: That takes nothing, you know, we just need to make sure it's an alignment because, of course, they shouldn't be promoting something that they don't talk about or makes it doesn't make sense to them.
51:14
[SPEAKER_02]: But if it's a podcast that's talking about how to grow your business, well, we're another tool.
51:18
[SPEAKER_02]: We're another tool that helps people grow their brand and business.
51:21
[SPEAKER_02]: So that makes sense, but what we'll do is we'll pay for a slide in there on their own.
51:29
[SPEAKER_02]: what's called podcast or even their long-term content.
51:32
[SPEAKER_02]: That's what I pay for incentive.
51:34
[SPEAKER_02]: But as far as just adding a link to the bio, like most of the time they're not getting paid by these top brands, they're just signing up because they know the ill convert.
51:43
[SPEAKER_02]: So we want to make sure that we establish that trust with them.
51:46
[SPEAKER_02]: So we're going to go for that.
51:47
[SPEAKER_02]: So right now I have my intern and my assistant,
51:51
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm looking for like 1,000 YouTubers that fit our ICP.
51:54
[SPEAKER_02]: So they literally have to go through like this playbook in this checklist to see like, okay, do they talk about this and this?
52:00
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, good, they pass that.
52:02
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, do they, you know, have this and this?
52:04
[SPEAKER_02]: Cause we don't even care if they don't even have like 500 subscribers.
52:08
[SPEAKER_02]: Like the whole point is actually to go for the creators that aren't monetized right now.
52:12
[SPEAKER_02]: Because this will be a good way for them to get monetized.
52:15
[SPEAKER_02]: So we'll go for that group first.
52:16
[SPEAKER_02]: and test it out and then we'll give them a playbook on how they could be a successful ambassador.
52:21
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, so that's, that's something we want to roll out by, honestly, March, mid-March.
52:26
[SPEAKER_02]: And see how that goes all the way through June because we, we might take some money from our ads and just start putting some more money into this more intentionally than just running ads.
52:38
[SPEAKER_02]: We, I always tell businesses, don't just leverage one marketing lever, like really test it out, like test out different things, you know, because
52:45
[SPEAKER_02]: You never know what's going to work, but once you see it, then it's like, okay, now I'm looking more energy towards that.
52:50
[SPEAKER_02]: And we haven't, people don't shy away from talking about us.
52:54
[SPEAKER_02]: Like, people do like, we still have people who promote their like gem profiles or just have gem in their bio, like that we didn't ask for.
53:02
[SPEAKER_02]: And it's like, people are really like solid with the brand.
53:05
[SPEAKER_02]: So, we're going to go then first, but we have over 578 people who apply to be ambassador.
53:11
[SPEAKER_02]: So, don't be excited to see like, you know, how that goes.
53:14
[SPEAKER_00]: So, Bree, we're going to people tap in if they want to become a ambassador, they want to follow your journey, they want to work with you, they're going to platform, what's all the socials, the links, except for sure.
53:23
[SPEAKER_02]: So, Y'all can find me on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, my space, all that.
53:30
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm Bree Fleming, so be our EE, Fleming's FLEM.
53:34
[SPEAKER_02]: INGS and then as far as my platform, we're jammed out social, so JEM dot social, and gem social app directly on, honestly, everything, everything's gem social app as far as the brand, but if you do want to be ambassador or you do want to test out the new pitch tool where you can pitch over 30,000 brands, just hollett me on Instagram.
53:57
[SPEAKER_02]: and I'll send you a form to fill out.
53:59
[SPEAKER_02]: But, and if you're a brand that's like, you know, I do want to book more influencers, but I, you know, I want to see how this platform works.
54:06
[SPEAKER_02]: If you want to give us feedback, then we can totally work out something so you can try out the tool.
54:10
[SPEAKER_02]: We also have free trials for brands.
54:13
[SPEAKER_02]: So you can try out for seven days and see if you like it and keep it or...
54:16
[SPEAKER_02]: You know or just give us you know some free back and maybe we'll just extend it for a month like My biggest thing is anybody who has a business, especially consumer facing where they know creators is gonna be helpful They belong on jam like point blank period creators should be in your mix There wasn't not one moment that I didn't talk about creators today because we because we conclude myself are the forefront of what people are looking for people are looking for Recommendations and looking for humans to talk about it.
54:43
[SPEAKER_02]: So you know, you need to work with creators
54:45
[SPEAKER_02]: Mm-hmm.
54:47
[SPEAKER_00]: That's what it's all about.
54:47
[SPEAKER_02]: It is.
54:48
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, that's what I'm here.
54:51
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, Bree, we really appreciate the work that you're doing with Jim Social, especially me, myself being a creative and being able to have these opportunities and going and trying to hunt on on your own can be cumbersome, so being able to have a platform that kind of brokers, those opportunities, I think, is our creators.
55:08
[SPEAKER_02]: So what kind of brand would you want to work with seeing that you are in your six year podcast thing?
55:13
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it would be, it would be, it would be, it would be something, yeah, something like that.
55:16
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, what kind of, what would you look for as a creator?
55:19
[SPEAKER_00]: So for me, I think because I'm a techie, I'm being able to tap in with a lot of those tech brands, so microphone companies, video camera equipment, sure, yeah, Holly Land, like, you know, all the people's who stuff I actually use sound core.
55:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, these are, these are brands that I would love to be able to tap in with.
55:38
[SPEAKER_00]: and then also because my platform is focused on black owned businesses that are out there doing a thing or love to be able to partner in and or a business focus.
55:48
[SPEAKER_00]: So platforms, let's say like a masterclass or something like that, that things that align with what we're talking about here.
55:55
[SPEAKER_02]: Good to know.
55:56
[SPEAKER_02]: We'll have to get your, get you on a platform and see if we can get you those deals.
56:00
[SPEAKER_02]: That's, that's dope.
56:01
[SPEAKER_00]: I signed up.
56:02
[SPEAKER_00]: I got the, uh, the profile.
56:04
[SPEAKER_00]: So, yeah.
56:04
[SPEAKER_02]: That's, that's dope.
56:05
[SPEAKER_02]: That's always lovely because podcast is a big thing.
56:08
[SPEAKER_02]: So, exactly.
56:09
[SPEAKER_00]: That's good to know.
56:09
[SPEAKER_00]: Exactly.
56:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Good feedback.
56:11
[SPEAKER_02]: Feedback y'all.
56:12
[SPEAKER_02]: Understand what people want.
56:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Gosh, you man.
56:16
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you.
56:17
[SPEAKER_02]: And thanks for having me on here.
56:18
[SPEAKER_02]: That was a joy.
56:19
[SPEAKER_02]: I feel like y'all always welcome me with with open arms.
56:23
[SPEAKER_02]: So, it's good to be back.
56:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and you'll be back more times.
56:26
[SPEAKER_00]: I will also on the future.
56:27
[SPEAKER_02]: I know I will be back more times So we'll up the tap in the sea where you at will your journey.
56:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.
56:32
[SPEAKER_00]: And everybody watch it.
56:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Listen.
56:34
[SPEAKER_00]: We're gonna tap in with y'all soon.
56:35
[SPEAKER_00]: Peace.
56:36
[SPEAKER_02]: Peace.