old social media posts

Wei and Kim aren’t the first founders to see a business opportunity in the gap between traditional institutions and a rising class of new digital entrepreneurs. Brex, the startup that offers charge cards for other startups, got started in 2017, after its cofounders saw how people who couldn’t get business credit were paying for startup expenses on ... See more

Karat’s founders hope to do something similar with their card. Like Brex, Karat doesn’t require a personal guarantee. And like Brex, Karat hopes that it can turn its underserved market into a gold mine.

Donnelly, like many of the creators who make their living on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch, has long felt shunned by institutions that don’t understand that his lifestyle is also his business. That makes him the target market for Karat, a new startup offering financial services to the influencer set.

The influencer market will be, by some estimates, worth close to $15 billion in just a few years, with hundreds of thousands of people earning sizable income from viral videos and social posts. By Karat’s own count, there are over a million professional full-time creators globally who earn at least $80,000 a year—but many of them have trouble acces... See more