Tagger Raises $15 Million to Tap Into the Creator Economy

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Tagger Raises $15 Million to Tap Into the Creator Economy
Photo by Steve Gale on Unsplash

Many brands rely on influencers to stay relevant in online discourse, but finding the right public figure can be tricky.

That’s where Tagger comes in.

Though it started in 2015 by Peter Kennedy as a music discovery service, the Santa Monica-based startup has evolved into an influencer marketing platform that helps companies search for influencers to promote their services or products. Dave Dickman jumped on board as CEO in 2017.


That shift has apparently paid off: The 65-person company just raised $15 million in Series B funding from Five Elms Capital, a global investor in software businesses, they announced Wednesday. It counts companies like Bose, Tinder, and HBOMax as its clients.

“The number one trend was influencer marketing for 2022,” said Dickman. “So in terms of the broad ecosystem, we're very bullish on investments continuing to climb and grow there. So there's big opportunities at the enterprise level for brands to really require a platform to get the biggest bang for their buck.”

Tagger offers a suite of other features including an ambassador program, a digital wallet and an influencer verification process.

Tagger’s pitch is simple: It provides companies with the tools to plan campaigns and measure popularity.

Among the company’s most promising features is Sync, which allows brands to attract, vet and hire creators. Tagger Pay streamlines payments for influencers.

“If you find influencers that have audiences that have a propensity or market for your product or service, you’re going to get a great return on that investment,” Dickson said.

The money raised will be used to expedite Tagger’s global expansion and build up a big European presence as well as to propel its innovative product development forward, and increase its market share in the creator economy. That will be crucial as Tagger vies with competitors like GRIN and CreatorIQ.

Tagger has offices around the globe and recently expanded to Japan, S. Korea, Africa, Germany, Mexico, Latin America, and India.

“Our mission is to be that ubiquitous currency everybody’s using to transact in the space,” said Dickman. “We want to be thought leaders, we want to show everybody the way.”

Correction: An earlier version stated that the company evolved into an influencer marketing platform when Dave Dickman joined in 2017. Tagger has been in the influencer marketing space before he joined.

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LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec
LA Tech ‘Moves’:

“Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.

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Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Raises
Image by Joshua Letona

A local space robotics startup raised fresh funding to expand the flight model manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and increase employment, while a remote litigation platform raised more funding to continue growing its footprint in new markets across the country, develop service channels for its clients and continue expanding its tech team.

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Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Gitai Secures $30 Million in Funding to Continue Space Robotics Developments
\u200bPhoto: Gitai

Space robotics company Gitai raised a $30 million Series B extension this week, bringing the total value of the round to roughly $47 million.

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