TLDR; 50/50 split with someone who already has 30K engaged followers and a lot of potential, they will continuously create multiple forms of content and represent the brand as much as possible. Or I keep 100% ownership and offer large affiliate commissions to various other (often larger) accounts.
I'm part of a passionate global niche that has been lacking well designed streetwear, most is boring, unoriginal, and overly feminine (great for some people, not for most in the niche).
So I made some of my own designs and built a Shopify store, showed some people, a few really loved the designs and store, including an established influencer in the niche.
They offered to enter a 50/50 partnership with me. I handle the operations, products, and designs. They handle the marketing.
They currently have about 30K followers, normally get around 50K views on a reel, with a few recent ones hitting over a million views. They have been growing well over the last year, and their audience is really engaged. I see a lot of potential in them and they're well connected to other large accounts in the niche.
Their plan is to create some collaboration videos between their personal page and the brands page to drive their followers to the brand. Plus they will create faceless videos just for the brand, to establish it's own identity. They will be wearing the brand on most of their videos on their personal brand. And last, they will act as a salesman, seeking to sell large orders to businesses with physical locations within our niche and attending large social events representing the brand.
This all sounds great, I'm fine with handling all the backend work, like I would be doing anyway. It would be huge to have someone dedicated to growing the brand like this.
But on the other hand, there are many other influencers in this niche, including much larger accounts. I could offer them large affiliate commissions, pay them out well for each sale, but maintain 100% ownership of the brand. I can also create my own content, though not nearly as fast or well as the potential partner.
Another concern I have, is tying the brand's identity to this particular influencer. They seem to be a great person, but what if they get into some controversy or just say something on their personal page that alienates a lot of potential customers?
What would you do?
50/50 ownership split with influencer as cofounder/marketer/sales vs keep 100% ownership but offer large affiliate commissions to other influencers?
byu/falafelsatchel inEntrepreneur
Posted by falafelsatchel
1 Comment
50/50 sounds attractive because it solves distribution fast, but it’s also the hardest thing to undo later. the real question isn’t followers, it’s dependency. with a cofounder, your growth is tied to one person. with affiliates, you spread that risk across multiple creators. also 30k followers is good but not irreplaceable, what’s rare is someone who will consistently execute, not just post when it’s exciting. a middle ground usually works better, start with a strong affiliate or rev share deal and see if they actually deliver over time, you can always upgrade that into equity later, but going 50/50 upfront is a one-way door.
ownership is easy to give away, very hard to get back.