FameBit

FameBit emerged in 2013 as a self-service marketplace designed to connect brands with social media content creators, primarily on YouTube. The company was founded by David Kierzkowski and Agnes Kozera, who identified a gap in the market based on their own entrepreneurial experiences. Kozera, while running a subscription box service, found it challenging to connect with smaller and mid-sized influencers at scale. Kierzkowski had previously co-founded the digital marketing platform TapClicks. Their joint venture, FameBit, was created to streamline the process of discovering and collaborating with influencers for branded content campaigns.

The platform operated on a straightforward business model, enabling brands to post campaign proposals for free, with budgets starting as low as $100. Creators could then submit proposals to these campaigns, setting their own prices. FameBit facilitated the entire workflow, from negotiation and content approval to payment processing. Revenue was generated by taking a 10% commission from the creator's fee and a separate 10% fee from the brand upon a successful collaboration. The business catered to a wide range of clients, from small businesses and startups to major brands like Adidas, Canon, and Sony.

FameBit's trajectory included acceptance into the 500 Startups accelerator in February 2014 and raising $1.5 million in seed funding from investors including Science Inc. and 500 Startups. This early support fueled its growth, and by 2016, the platform had facilitated over 25,000 branded videos, accumulating an estimated 2 billion minutes of watch time. This success attracted the attention of Google, which acquired FameBit in October 2016 for a reported $36 million. The acquisition was a strategic move by Google to integrate a self-service branded content solution into its YouTube division, aiming to increase revenue opportunities for creators and offer advertisers a streamlined way to engage in influencer marketing.

Following the acquisition, FameBit initially continued to operate as a standalone platform. However, in 2020, the company shifted its focus, shutting down the self-service marketplace to concentrate on a full-service, managed model. This change was driven by the fact that the vast majority of creator payouts were coming from the managed service. Subsequently, FameBit was rebranded as YouTube BrandConnect, which now functions as YouTube's in-house service for connecting brands with creators for managed branded content campaigns. After the acquisition, founders Kierzkowski and Kozera went on to launch Podcorn, a marketplace for podcast sponsorships.

Keywords: FameBit, YouTube BrandConnect, influencer marketing platform, branded content, creator marketplace, David Kierzkowski, Agnes Kozera, Google acquisition, YouTube creators, content creator monetization, social media advertising, self-service ad platform, influencer collaboration, video marketing, creator economy, brand sponsorships, digital advertising, YouTube marketing, 500 Startups, content marketing