Sure the latest initiatives from the Teslas, Apples and Googles of the industry tend to dominate the tech news space — and with good reason. Still, the tech titans aren’t the only ones bringing innovation to the sector.
In an effort to highlight up-and-coming tech companies, Built In launched The Future 5 across seven major U.S. tech hubs. Each quarter, we will feature five early-stage tech companies, nonprofits or entrepreneurs in each of these hubs who just might be working on the next big thing. Read our round-up of NYC’s rising startups from last quarter here.
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The supersonic rise of TikTok, Twitch and other creator platforms has democratized the road to fame. Creators with the right personality and content mix can attract loyal fans who value their opinions and product recommendations, which has made influencer marketing a $16.4 billion industry.
Zurp, a NYC fintech startup founded in 2022, is on the cusp of launching a credit card that would allow superfans to deepen their relationship with their favorite creators without changing their spending habits or purchasing any additional products.
Every time a fan swipes their Zurp credit card, their favorite creator will receive a percentage of the purchase, similar to a cashback credit card. In return, creators will provide Zurp users with the type of access that is invaluable to a superfan. One creator, a top TikTok personality, wants to take a fan to the YouTube Streamy Awards and have the fan appear in her videos. In another example, an e-sports team plans to send its fans to tournaments and let them join team scrimmages. Musicians have agreed to call Zurp users on FaceTime or offer backstage passes.
The affinity card space hasn’t been disrupted in years and we discovered a really interesting new side of the market.”
“The magic of Zurp is that it’s a win/win for both the creator and their fans,” Zurp co-founder and co-CEO Troy Osinoff told Built In. “The affinity card space hasn’t been disrupted in years and we discovered a really interesting new side of the market.”
The Zurp credit card also provides creators with anonymized data about their fans’ spending habits. If a creator can see that their fans are loyal customers at a certain restaurant or retailer, they could share that information with the restaurant or retailer to negotiate a sponsorship deal. Creators could also use that information to inform any products or brands they might launch in the future.
“This is all really insightful data that creators have never been privy to before and they’re very excited about,” Osinoff said.
Zurp’s three co-founders are no strangers to the creator economy. Osinoff, along with co-founder Michael Lisovetsky, ran influencer campaigns for large brands through JUICE, their digital marketing agency. Osinoff and Lisovetsky have also helped pop star Halsey, television personality La La Anthony and YouTuber MrBeast launch e-commerce brands through Peachy, their e-commerce consultancy. Zurp co-founder Ashish Pandhi also brings a depth of knowledge about creator platforms as the former CTO of Bettr Social.
Zurp, which has raised $5 million in pre-seed funding, plans to launch its credit card this quarter with five yet-to-be-announced creators that collectively boast more than 250 million followers, according to Zurp. More than 60 creators, including athletes and record labels, have expressed interest in joining Zurp’s network, Osinoff said.
