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Comment by alephnan | Hacker News Reader

Personal plug, I'm exploring a "microinfluencer" (1k-1000k followers) management platform, initially focused on the fashion industry in NYC. This article is somewhat encouraging, actually.

Per HN's policy of commenting substantively, I will say these influencer deals are amateurish and lacking paperwork.

Currently an engineer at Big4, and exploring the seed/angel investment landscape. I'd love to get in touch to get advice and pick your brain on how to do further market research.

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> I'm exploring a "microinfluencer" (1k-1000k followers) management platform, initially focused on the fashion industry in NYC.

So a management company that recruits hopeful influencers and skims the top of their take-home pay? No, thanks.

I'm sure plenty will be fine on their own.

It works both ways though. A few days ago on /r/smallbusiness, someone was complaining that he gave away a lot of product and money to "influencers" and didn't get a penny in return. The responses were overwhelmingly telling him that he can't just hand out stuff, he has to tell them what to do with it, where to show it off, how many times to do that, etc.

A platform that provided a more structured agreement between the influencers and their clients would go a long way to fixing this, and would help both parties. It's perfectly reasonable to take a fee for doing that.

Yes, it would skin the top off their take-home Venmo payments that is currently lacking in legal paperwork.

In addition, they wouldn’t have to orchestrate these deals over direct message and email exchanges.

This criticism is akin to saying Stripe or Visa or any broker platform not adding value. It’s a fallacy of smaller pie slice in a larger pie. These are economic activities not being pursued because of barriers to entry for brands, and the overhead of orchestrating many smaller influencers versus 1 legitimate big contract with a more established influencer.

And yes, they would get 30% less, because they have to pay taxes now.

Exactly what legal paperwork does some tool who does stupid yoga poses with a free t-shirt need?

I lived in Seattle for half my life, and I see where this question stems from.

It’s unbelievable to people in the Northwest that people in NYC, London, and other fashion hubs spend $1K on an article of clothing. This is the norm, not the exception here. Brands like Supreme barely want to sell their $600 t-shirt to paying customers, much less give them away.

Point being, it’s a strawman to compare the target demographic of free tech swag to up-and-coming models getting free designer clothing. Still, it seems the fashion industry is adverse to paperwork and the formality. They’d love it if they didn’t have to deal with paperwork, and can get a tax incentive to give out more (which can potentially be abused, but that’s a separate discussion).

> it’s a strawman to compare the target demographic of free tech swag to up-and-coming models getting free designer clothing

Au contraire! I was actually specifically referring to some jokingly overpriced Balenciaga or Supreme shirt, almost certainly purchased by someone who is somehow shocked (shocked!) that they can't afford rent.

EDIT: Ah I see the confusion. When I said "free t-shirt," I meant, "t-shirt given to the influencer to promote for free," not "free tech t-shirt usually worn to a gym."

Sure. But the Balenciaga or Supreme shirt is a good point. This in some ways supports the hypothesis that people buy brands based on social influence. Value on the West Coast tend to coincide with utility, but this isn't the case with these fashion brands. Balenciaga revenue broke over a billion in revenue, and Supreme has been rumored to be a unicorn.

On the back of this article, I thought the "influencer-incubator" model may be worth a look, however I vaguely disagree with the entire "industry" on a macro-moral level, so let the thought pass.

On the back of all of the comments here, I'd be wary of instagram's power over your business model.

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20190621-chinas-influencer-...

I think this is a smart lifestyle business with potential for some scaling. That term is a little misleading, as I recall a "lifestyle business" being a business that sells everyday brands. I guess it's the new term for "side business".

If your business model works you will have absolutely zero trouble getting investments, right? Likewise, shouldn’t doing market research already be one of your core competencies for this business to succeed?

Why the hate? OP's looking for people to help them grow. No reason for you to assume they can't get there with the right help.

Initial product development.

I presume you're aware of the heavy competition you're going up against? tribeco and the like

I'm focused specifically on fashion for this reason. It's cronyism, for lack of a better word. The fashion industry is still very insular, and averse to change, especially streamlining their processes. This is true for smaller to medium sized brand, whereas the LVMH conglomerate are enterprise enough. To me, this isn't so much an engineering problem, but a sales problem, and educating the brands the benefits. Engineers are always looking for ways to improve logistical processes, but creative people leading fashion brands do not prioritize this.

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