Bounty raises $4.7M Seed Round to help TikTokers Make Money

Bounty raises $4.7M Seed Round to help TikTokers Make Money

Bounty, an online service that is currently in beta, is designed for everyday TikTok users — not just professional creators — who want to earn money by reviewing brands’ products. It recently announced closing a $4.7 million seed round led by early-stage consumer tech VC firm M13. The Miami-based company was founded in 2021 by Abe Wolke.

To sign up, customers must be 18 years of age or older with a TikTok account can use Bounty. The users enter their phone number on the Bounty website and are sent a list of instructions. Users first buy an eligible product from one of the partnered brands. After the order is processed and delivered, the customer will receive a special link via text to accept the “Bounty” so they can get paid when they post their video review to TikTok. The creator uploads content with the brand tagged and #bounty in the caption. Bounty will then detect the post and lets the customer know it’s being tracked. The videos also have to be appropriately tagged as “sponsored” per FTC guidelines. Bounty notes. Aside from earning money from views, the creator also gets paid when the brand reuses their video in other ways.

During beta tests, Bounty worked with around 14,000 creators. The company reports its top creators made around $3,000 per month but didn’t share specifics as to how many videos they posted or what an average user would earn. The startup is poised to publicly launch its service to a wider audience in the weeks ahead. For the time being, Bounty will only work with TikTok users, but it plans to expand to Instagram Reels in the next 12 months. YouTube Shorts and other video platforms will be considered farther down the road.

Brands pay Bounty a monthly fee, which varies based on platform usage, but starts at $99 a month. The startup is tapping into brands’ growing interest in working with smaller creators. The funding will be used to onboard brands from the company’s waitlist of 750+ brands. At present, Bounty works with 30 brands, including Jones Road Beauty, BlendJet, Olipop and Doe Lashes.