Influence Weekly

In this July episode, hosts Ceci Carloni and Nii Ahene break down three stories that capture the creator economy's maturation—from institutional capital entering the space to brands cracking creator performance marketing to Forbes confirming the industry has officially crossed the billion-dollar threshold: 💰 CAA Bets $250M on Creator-Led Media : Creative Artists Agency and Integrated Media C...

CYLNDR Studios is a Los Angeles-based creative and production studio that operates at the intersection of strategy, design, filmmaking, and influencer marketing. The company serves brands looking to move beyond transactional creator partnerships by embedding creators into the creative process from the brief stage, treating influencer work as a craft discipline rather than a content assembly line....

Waypoint Partners is a specialist M&A advisory firm supporting high-growth businesses at the intersection of creativity, technology, and intellectual capital. With over $2 billion in completed deal value across 40 transactions, the firm advises founders, buyers, and investors navigating critical strategic moments across creator economy, marketing, entertainment, and talent businesses—including...

Pop. Store is an agentic AI commerce platform built for creators, combining a social-first storefront where creators can sell digital products, bookings, and affiliate deals with an AI operating system that runs key business tasks autonomously. The platform serves creators of all sizes—from aspiring entrepreneurs to established talent—and is the title sponsor of VidCon Anaheim 2026, where it is la...

In this June episode, hosts Ceci Carloni and Nii Ahene break down three stories that reveal how brands are thinking about creator investment—and where the line is between genuine cultural impact and expensive noise: 🎨 Lenovo's Creator Odyssey: When a Campaign Becomes IP : Two years, three chapters, fifty million views. Lenovo and agency Portal A built a creator program around a simple but po...

CESD Talent Agency is one of the leading talent representation firms operating across both Hollywood and the creator economy, with offices in Los Angeles and New York. The company's digital department represents content creators across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and podcasts, applying traditional Hollywood representation principles to building sustainable creator careers. Ceci chats with Edd...

Superfiliate is a creator-led growth platform helping thousands of D2C brands run and scale creator partnerships across Shopify, Meta, and TikTok Shop. The platform provides unified affiliate and creator management, automated gifting workflows, creator storefronts, discovery tools, and performance visibility—consolidating what used to require 12 different tools into one system. Ceci chats with And...

Underscore Talent is a premier creator economy management company representing diverse talent across creators, comedians, athletes, and thought leaders. The company's division, Shorthand Studios, provides editorial services, editing, digital strategy consulting, and production support to help creators build sustainable businesses across social platforms, CTV, paywalls, and original content de...

Verbatim is a boutique marketing agency that helps SMBs and startups grow through influencer marketing and speaker sourcing, specializing in SaaS and eCommerce brands. The agency focuses on helping businesses tell compelling stories that drive measurable results rather than just creating content for visibility. Ceci chats with Brianna Doe, Head of Influencer Marketing and Founder at Verbatim, to h...

In this May episode, hosts Ceci Carloni and Nii Ahene unpack three stories revealing how brands are rethinking creator program structure, compensation models, and platform commerce strategies: 🎯 Does "Make It Cool First, Scale Second" Actually Work? : A Net Influencer roundtable asked industry professionals whether brands need a macro creator to anchor credibility before scaling through...

Sounds Profitable is a media property covering strategic and tactical changes in the podcasting business through newsletters, podcasts, and industry research. The company produces educational content, conducts quarterly research series, and provides advisory services to keep companies informed on the state of podcasting. Bryan Barletta also serves as President of Podcast Movement, the world's...

Spotter is a platform that provides creators with capital, community, and AI-powered tools to accelerate growth. The company has deployed over $940 million to YouTube creators for reinvestment and operates a premium catalog generating 88 billion monthly watch-time minutes, offering brands a scaled media solution that's transparent and brand-safe. Ceci chats with Christian Liquigan, Director o...

Creator Revolution is a talent management and advisory firm that helps top creators scale businesses through strategic partnerships and long-term monetization while helping companies unlock creators as a core growth channel. Founded by Monica Khan, the firm operates at the intersection of creator management, platform strategy, and corporate advisory, including work with McKinsey & Company. Cec...

OWM is a platform building infrastructure to help creators move from brand deals into equity and ownership. The company standardized the influence-for-equity agreement, created creator stock option pools, and built systems that let founders, operators, and creators partner on attention-first businesses with real upside. Ceci chats with Jeff Frommer, Founder and CEO of OWM, to hear his perspective...

In this Q2 kickoff episode, hosts Ceci Carloni and Nii Ahene unpack three stories that reveal how brands are scaling creator programs—and where the industry still falls short: 📱 **Samsung Goes All In**: The Galaxy S26 Ultra launch brought 140 creators from 35 countries to San Francisco for a three-day summit with structured content tracks (camera, gaming, sound), live streams hitting 17 million v...

Later is a leading influencer marketing and social platform that helps brands identify creators and launch campaigns backed by data-driven intelligence. The company serves both B2C and B2B companies looking to build scalable creator programs with measurable ROI. Ceci chats with Scott Sutton, CEO at Later, to hear his perspective on three critical issues: why B2B companies stayed on the sidelines o...

Amaze is an integrated commerce platform that helps creators and brands turn content moments into revenue streams. The company provides tools for product launches, audience insights, and monetization infrastructure that enable creators to build businesses around their audiences rather than relying solely on brand deals. Ceci chats with Danielle Pederson, CMO at Amaze, to hear her perspective on th...

QYOU Media is a global creator marketing and media company that helps brands design creator-led campaigns reaching audiences across social platforms. The company works with major brands, studios, and entertainment companies to execute strategies that blend creator partnerships with media amplification and distribution. Ceci chats with Glenn Ginsburg, President of QYOU Media, to hear his perspectiv...

Beacons is an all-in-one platform that helps creators manage their businesses—from link-in-bio storefronts and audience monetization to brand partnerships and creator tools. The company was built for creators first, and now focuses on connecting brands with creators who drive measurable impact. Ceci chats with Sabrina Haschak, Head of Partnerships at Beacons, to hear her perspective on three criti...

Net Influencer is a trade publication and intelligence platform covering the creator economy, publishing daily content and roundtable research drawn from hundreds of industry professionals and executives. Its roundtable series aggregates frontline perspectives on the strategies, tools, and challenges shaping influencer marketing. Ceci Carloni sits down with Nii Ahene, founder of Net Influencer, to...

In our fourth guest episode, host Ceci Carloni sits down with Greg Glenday, CEO of Acast, for an in-depth conversation about why 2026 is the year podcasting finally becomes mainstream—and what brands are still getting wrong about discovery, measurement, and showing up authentically in audio. 🎙️ The Meritocracy of Podcasting : Unlike traditional media where gatekeepers decide what content reaches a...

In this infrastructure-focused episode, hosts Ceci Carloni and Nii Ahene unpack three stories built from original Net Influencer research and platform updates that reveal where the creator economy's operational foundations need to evolve: 🏗️ What 2026 Needs: Build Things That Last : Net Influencer surveyed 92 industry professionals asking what the creator economy needs more of this year. The...

In our third guest episode, host Ceci Carloni sits down with David Abbey, co-founder and CEO of Endlss, to explore what happens when you actually listen to what brands need—and rebuild your entire platform around those insights. 🔄 The Pivot That Changed Everything : David shares the story of building Trend, a social marketplace designed to solve multi-brand checkout friction, only to discover cre...

In this 2026 kickoff episode, hosts Ceci Carloni and Nii Ahene tackle three stories, two of which were built from original Net Influencer research that reveal where the real gaps and opportunities exist in the creator economy: 🤝 Trust Isn't Declining—It's Just Misunderstood : A Harvard Business Review piece challenges the narrative that influencer trust is eroding, arguing that authenti...

In our second guest episode, host Ceci Carloni sits down with George Mani, Chief Growth Officer at ehko.ai, for a provocative conversation about how creators are becoming the new media companies—and why traditional media's resistance to change is creating the opportunity of a generation. 📺 The Death of Traditional Media : George shares his journey from finance to media, witnessing firsthand...