She Raised $13M to Build a 80,000 Creator Network with Emily Steele, Founder of Hummingbirds

She started with a Google doc and a local Facebook group, and today Emily Steele has built Hummingbirds into a network of more than 80,000 creators across 78 cities, raised $13 million in venture funding, and launched a way to trace a creator’s recommendation all the way to a receipt verified purchase. As the founder of Hummingbirds, Emily is here to break down how she scaled word of mouth marketing into a measurable growth channel for brands like Graza, Recess and Goodles.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why she raised $13M in stages and how she did it by pitching 100 investors when only 2 to 3% of VC dollars go to female founders
• Why brands are investing in everyday creators with as few as 2,000 followers to drive sales at retail
• How Hummingbirds connects a creator’s post to a receipt verified purchase
• What it takes to get hundreds of creators moving product at stores like Target
• Why the sales hire that felt too early and too expensive turned out to be her best decision
• What to know before bringing on a co-founder, and why she gave hers half the company

Tune in to hear how one founder built the infrastructure behind word of mouth marketing, on her own terms, on her own timeline, and without ever compromising on what she believed in.

To learn more about Hummingbirds:
https://www.instagram.com/hummingbirdshq
www.hummingbirds.com

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