The creator talent juggernaut Digital Brand Architects is expanding its empire, part of a wave of M&A in the influencer space.
DBA is acquiring a boutique talent-management company, V1sion Ventures, founded by the content creator Alina Benun, Business Insider can exclusively report. The companies declined to disclose the terms of the deal.
M&A activity has been picking up in the creator space over the last few years as companies like Publicis Groupe and Accenture have snapped up influencer marketing platforms and creator agencies, including Captiv8 and Whalar. US influencer marketing spend is expected to cross $12 billion this year, while social-media creator revenue will exceed $20 billion, according to EMARKETER, Business Insider's sister company.
Benun set up V1sion Ventures in 2022. Her thesis was that there was a gap in the market for creator management, particularly in helping influencers diversify their revenue streams and build their own businesses. V1sion Ventures grew it into a seven-figure business in its first year, the company said.
V1sion Ventures' roster includes a mix of creators such as Instagram storyteller and lifestyle creator Leigh Soriano, music artist Chelsea Jordan, and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun. Its talent will come under DBA's management after the deal. Benun will join the company along with her team of three talent managers and two other staff members.
"Our team has spent years helping exceptional talent grow meaningful businesses, and being part of DBA allows us to scale that growth," Benun said in a statement.
DBA, which was acquired by United Talent Agency (UTA) in 2019, has been acquisitive in the past. In 2022, it bought the golf marketing and digital talent management company, Digital Golf Collective.
The company said it was bringing on V1sion Ventures to invest in creator entrepreneurship and to help creators build brands and businesses outside of social media. (In 2015, DBA launched Digital Brand Products, a separate company focused on helping influencers sell merchandise and develop their own brands.)
"From the beginning, DBA has believed that creators are entrepreneurs who deserve partners that can help them build enduring businesses," DBA's CEO Raina Penchansky said in a statement. "Alina and the V1sion Ventures team have built an impressive company rooted in those values."
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Dan is a correspondent at Business Insider covering TikTok, YouTube, and the business of social media.He writes about how creators earn a living from social apps, the inner workings of companies like TikTok, and the many ways that social media is impacting Hollywood and other industries like e-commerce, sports, music, and news.He previously wrote about marketing and entrepreneurship at Ad Age and Inc. Magazine. He was a McGraw Scholar in business journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and a graduate of Middlebury College. Disclosure: Dan previously worked at the ad tech company, The Trade Desk, where he was granted stock as part of his compensation.
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