Worth

Turning Customers into Marketers

Company Information

Website:

http://www.worthnetwork.io

Sector:

Advertising, Sales & Marketing

Location:

Los Angeles, CA

Worth is a digital advertising solution for brands.

Simply put, it enables companies to use social media content to convert customers into marketers. Companies can supply their customers with content, which they can post on social media to recommend products and services to their friends and family.

It’s an idea based on a simple yet hard truth many brands have to realize: most consumers hate ads.

As of 2019, the digital advertising market was valued at $140 billion. And brands spend time and money creating ads with the help of marketing teams and ad agencies.

But consumers, particularly those who use social media platforms, don’t want to see ads. They just want to see what their friends and family members are up to.

That’s why Worth created a software platform that enables brands to identify top consumers and convert them into marketing resources.

Here’s how the process works:

In a nutshell, brands provide the content, and customers create “stories” on platforms like Facebook and Instagram that feature this content.

Businesses use Worth to upload photos of their content (for example, a restaurant might upload pictures of a new dish it’s selling). Then they select the number of stories they want to see featuring their content.

Worth takes care of the rest. Its proprietary search engine identifies top customers and arranges for them to use this content to market to their followers. And once their content is being advertised, businesses can track engagement rates and growth using Worth’s dashboard.

Content creators/customers, meanwhile, work with Worth to visit and/or recommend businesses. Using the content provided, customers can create Instagram stories showcasing the product or service, and enhance each post with music, captions, or digital stickers.

Customers can choose the brands they want to promote and post content in about a minute. As a reward, they receive 50% of the money the brand spends (typically paid through PayPal or in the form of an Amazon gift card), while Worth retains the remaining 50%.

Worth is initially targeting businesses in the restaurant industry. These businesses typically have content that attracts attention and views on social media.

Since launching in July 2020, Worth has signed up 8,000 creators who have completed more than 15,000 posts. These posts have received a combined 3.7 million views.

The company is growing fast. It achieved 500% quarterly revenue growth between Q3 2020 and Q4 2020. And its impact is already being noticed by businesses who are using its platform.

Edward Chung, CEO of Silverlake Ramen, said, “Our Silverlake Atlanta location had a slow start in the first four weeks. We started using Worth on the fifth week and our Atlanta location revenue went up 75% in one week.”

Charles Hung, co-owner of EMC Seafood, said, “We went from 2,485 total engagements on our social media to 150,000+ from our customers’ friends and family within a month of using Worth.”

Worth has technology partnerships with Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, and PayPal. It’s also raised $500,000 from angel and professional investors. Notable investors include The Ventures Korea, Electric Ventures, and Strikers Ventures.

With funds raised, Worth will hire a Vice President of Sales and additional software developers, as well as increase its marketing budget.

Team Background

Eric Oliver - Head of Sales

Eric joined Worth after spending nearly two years as a sales executive with Toast, a software company providing a point-of-sale system for restaurants. During his time there, the company grew to a valuation of $3 billion, and today is valued at nearly $5 billion.

Before that, Eric was an account executive with the Los Angeles Times, a daily newspaper. He studied at the University of Michigan.

Patrick Kim - Co-Founder

Prior to starting Worth, Patrick worked for the Worldwide Asset eXchange, a crypto-related video game and entertainment network.

Before that, he was Chief Creative Officer with Oomba, a software development startup. He held this role after founding 9th Hole, a technology startup focused on sports.

Earlier, he worked at the MIT Media Lab, a research department affiliated with the university.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Product Design from Rhode Island School of Design and studied Management at MIT.

Aditya Mitra - Co-Founder

Aditya has experience in the startup industry. Prior to starting Worth, he was an executive and analyst with Lead Angels, a financial consulting business focused on early-stage companies.

He studied at the Narsee Monte Institute of Management Studies.

Yash Agarwal - Chief Technology Officer

In addition to his role with Worth, Yash is a co-founder of Nurture Labs, a company helping entrepreneurs scale their business ideas.

Prior to that, he was a technology lead with LoglQids, an India-based company focused on early education technology. Before that, he was a software engineer with Sugar Labs, another “e-learning” technology company.

Earlier in his career, Yash was a design engineer with AUV-IITB, a maritime robotics company. Before that, he was a product development engineer with Gloob Decor, a design company focused on home and office furniture.

He earned a degree in Materials Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology.

Co-Investors

Striker Ventures

A venture capital firm focused on providing capital and resources to early-stage companies.

TheVentures

A venture fund based on South Korea that makes seed investments in Korean startups.

Raising
$1.07 million
Committed
$391.822K (37%)
Current Valuation
$6.5 million Cap / 0% Discount
Min. Investment
$100
Deal Type
Title III
(For all investors)
Offering Type
SAFE
Finance History
  • $95K
    2020-11-01
    Unknown
  • $150K
    2019-08-01
    Unknown
Notable Investors
  • Striker Ventures
  • TheVentures
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