Node App, the brainchild of former social media agency manager Armin Faraji and ex-Google UX designer Mackenzie Dérival, is giving influencer marketing a high-tech upgrade.

Armin identified inefficiencies in influencer marketing, which led to the creation of Node. 

“The full workflow of finding influencers, collaborating with them, managing deliverables, and paying them afterward was very clunky and inefficient,” Armin says.

Mackenzie joined forces with Armin in late 2018. Their collaboration began with running influencer campaigns, serving as their minimum viable product. 

“I saw that everybody shared a lot of weird patterns of behaviors,” Mackenzie explains. “We could visualize this thing, which led to conceptualizing Node.”

This AI-powered platform has grown from zero to 2,000 business clients in four years, focusing on the often-overlooked micro-influencer market.

“We have a lot of gifting campaigns that influencers can do if they’re smaller creators,” Armin says. “Brands are willing to do gifting campaigns with micro-influencers. For that reason, influencers could get some of the first campaigns on Node.”

Node’s secret sauce? A matchmaking algorithm that pairs vetted influencers with brands, slashing campaign turnaround times to mere days. The platform has become a launchpad for emerging creators, offering opportunities to those with as few as 2,000 followers.

With Dulcedo Group’s recent acquisition of Node, Armin and Mackenzie are poised to take their innovation to new heights. 

The two co-founders reveal the strategic thinking behind the acquisition, their plans to change the industry via AI, and the invaluable lessons they’ve learned as tech entrepreneurs in the creator economy.

Behind the Dulcedo Group Acquisition

Armin and Mackenzie cite industry consolidation and the need for strategic partnerships as key factors in their decision to sell Node to Montreal-based Dulcedo Group.

“We realized that with the amount of competition that’s essentially come up over the past few years of us operating Node, we’re at a disadvantage because our competitors are much bigger and have larger cash reserves,” Armin explains.

Mackenzie adds, “The higher we’re going regarding, the bigger brands we’re trying to get. We’ve realized that they all worked with agencies. So that means it got a little bit challenging when it came to going upmarket.”

_{Node & Dulcedo Founders: Armin Faraji, Karim Sebti, Mackenzie Derival, Kevin Cheng}

The acquisition comes amid a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the creator economy. Dulcedo Group emerged as the ideal partner due to its established presence in the influencer marketing industry and financial stability.

“Dulcedo had much to bring to the table when it comes to experience and knowledge and connections, specifically within the creator economy,” Armin notes. “There’s a natural fit because they already know our market. They’re also working in the same space. And I think together we can build a much bigger business.”

AI Integration Drives Future Growth

Node’s AI capabilities are expected to be crucial in differentiating Dulcedo Group from competitors. 

Mackenzie highlights the potential for AI to change the industry: “AI is a big differentiator because when you look at all of the tools in the space, they were all built anywhere between 2015 and 2019; many of these tools are just systems of records, B2B SaaS tools. They don’t leverage AI; they’re just CRM software.”

Integrating AI into Node’s platform is expected to streamline operations and enhance user experience. 

Armin elaborates, “In our current version of Node, you don’t know there’s any AI because it’s happening in the backend when it’s matching you with the brand. But there’ll be opportunities to make the AI a little more part of the user experience.”

This technological edge, combined with Dulcedo’s industry connections, positions the newly merged entity to capitalize on emerging industry trends.

“We’re going to be seeing an era where these agencies are essentially going to become the tech companies,” Mackenzie predicts. “They have the capital, they have the big brands, they have the relationships, and now they can just bring in tech.”

Streamlining Influencer Marketing Workflow

Node App’s acquisition addresses key industry challenges, particularly in influencer selection and campaign optimization.

Mackenzie highlights the potential impact: “When it comes to AI, it’s really about providing a partner for an agent and an account manager to work with influencers to run a campaign.” 

He stresses the importance of streamlining the influencer casting process, which currently involves sifting through vast databases of creators.

“Is there a way to take all of the data from past campaigns and then find a way to inform future campaigns out of it?” Mackenzie posits. The goal is to synthesize data from previous campaigns, brand performance, and social listening tools to help marketing managers identify the most suitable creators for each campaign.

The merger also brings operational synergies that could enhance Node’s performance. 

“We have a larger range of potential users to assess and learn from because they’re dealing with agents, have different types of creators, and work with many different brands,” Armin says.

This broader perspective will inform Node’s product roadmap and accelerate development. “Leaning on a larger company gives you a little more ability to focus and flexibly test things,” Armin adds.

Startup Wisdom

In the wake of Node’s acquisition, Armin and Mackenzie offer valuable advice to tech startups seeking funding or partnerships in influencer marketing.

Armin points out the importance of strategic fundraising: “Raise money only if you need it. You don’t realize the implications at the moment, but they’re pretty severe in that it could affect your prospect of even being able to exit.”

Node’s success in securing a favorable exit was partly due to its conservative approach to funding. 

“We didn’t raise too much money, and we raised money from investors, which gave us a lot of flexibility,” Armin explains. This strategy resulted in a clean cap table and minimal governance hurdles during acquisition.

Mackenzie adds a different perspective, encouraging founders to look beyond perceived market saturation: “Sometimes, because there are so many creator economy startups, you might be getting the advice that the space is crowded. But the creator economy is so large that many opportunities exist.”

He advises entrepreneurs to “pick a niche that’s not being exploited and then try to add value in that niche.” 

Armin concurs, noting the diversity within the industry: “The hypothesis you have around a lifestyle influencer is not always going to be consistent with an e-sports streamer or a Twitch streamer.”

As for Node, the startup plans to explore new segments within the creator economy under Dulcedo’s umbrella. 

Mackenzie mentions expanding into YouTube and Twitch, areas he sees as underserved by existing tools. Armin highlights the potential in serving talent agents, describing it as “a pretty undeveloped and not very mature market.”