Former Snap Employees Launch Trust: $9M Funding to Level Marketing

Trust Empowers Small Businesses with Digital Marketing Advantages

Trust aims to provide smaller companies with the same marketing benefits enjoyed by larger enterprises on digital and social media platforms. The company recently exited its beta phase, backed by $9 million in seed funding secured from Lerer Hippeau, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Upfront Ventures, and Upper90.

Origins and Founding Team

Founded in 2019 and based in Los Angeles, Trust was created by a team of five former employees of Snap. These founders previously held diverse roles within Snap’s revenue product strategy division.

While developing tools to facilitate marketing success for businesses, they consistently encountered feedback highlighting the advantages held by larger advertisers. These advantages included favorable payment terms, access to credit lines, and valuable data-driven insights.

Addressing the Imbalance in Digital Marketing

Trust was conceived to address this disparity. It functions as both a card program and a business community, designed to assist digital businesses in navigating the complexities of online marketing pricing structures.

The platform enables businesses to access incentives typically reserved for larger advertisers and make informed decisions regarding their marketing spend for maximum reach.

How Trust Delivers Value

Trust achieves this through several key features. Its card, developed in collaboration with Stripe, allows businesses to amplify their purchasing power by up to 20x.

Furthermore, it provides a 45-day payment window for marketing investments, as explained by CEO James Borow to TechCrunch. The platform’s community aspect fosters the sharing of marketing buy knowledge and data insights, traditionally accessible only to larger advertisers.

Users also benefit from receiving tailored news and updates regarding their specific marketing strategies directly within their dashboard.

Transparency and Collaborative Insights

“The major ad platforms operate as closed ecosystems, and many businesses lack visibility into their inner workings,” Borow stated. “Our customers collaborate to gain a clearer understanding of what’s happening within these platforms.”

Market Opportunity and Growth Potential

The continued expansion of e-commerce is driving increased investment in digital marketing, presenting a significant opportunity for Trust. U.S. e-commerce sales experienced a 39% growth in the first quarter.

Digital advertising expenditure is projected to rise by 25% this year, reaching $191 billion. Recent financial reports from Google, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter all demonstrate substantial year-over-year growth in advertising revenues, as noted by Borow.

Funding and Expansion Plans

The newly acquired funding will be allocated to expanding the company’s team. “With active customers already utilizing the platform, we prioritized accelerating our hiring process upon general release,” Borow added.

The company is launching beyond its beta phase with 25 businesses currently active and several hundred more on a waiting list.

Strategic Partnership with Verishop

Alongside the funding announcement, Trust revealed a strategic partnership with Verishop, a social shopping e-commerce platform. Verishop’s 3,500 merchants will receive prioritized access to the Trust card and community, according to Borow.

Investor Perspective

Andrea Hippeau, a partner at Lerer Hippeau, had prior experience with Borow through her investment in his previous advertising venture, Shift, which was acquired by Brand Networks in 2015.

Upon learning about Trust, Hippeau recognized its potential applicability to Lerer Hippeau’s portfolio, which includes numerous direct-to-consumer brands. She understood that marketing presented a significant challenge for these companies.

Addressing the "Black Box" of Digital Marketing

“While digital marketing is crucial for all brands, it often feels like a ‘black box’ – funds are invested without a clear understanding of the returns,” she explained. “We consistently hear from our portfolio companies that they face unfavorable credit terms despite substantial ad spending.

Trust recognizes the importance of marketing investments and provides terms that are financially advantageous.”