Hummingbirds: $1M for Local Creator Connections
We are excited to announce the growth and evolution of Hummingbirds. Thank you to our amazing community of customers, hummingbirds, and champions for getting us to where we are today. Learn more from our latest press release below.
Des Moines, Iowa (January 10, 2023) Hummingbirds, an online platform that connects businesses with hyper-local content creators, is pleased to announce it has raised over $1 million in funding. The round was led by Chicago-based venture capital firm M25 with participation by Next Level Ventures, InnoVentures Iowa, ISA Ventures, Mango Seed Investments and a handful of prominent angel investors.
“This pitch got my heart rate up, not only is there a large, ripe-for-disruption market that Hummingbirds co-founders Emily Steele and Charise Flynn have built the perfect product for, they've created a team with exactly what we look for. Emily has incredible experience with alternative marketing for local and regional brands, and Charise is a best-in-class operator for high-growth startups,” said Victor Gutwein M25’s Managing Director.
Unlike the majority of influencer platforms, Hummingbirds is exclusively focused on building a community of social media enthusiasts who have influence and can drive behavior in their own city. An annual subscription allows for businesses to create unlimited campaigns with local content creators that helps to drive awareness, engagement and generate more in revenue.
"It is a testament to the momentum of Hummingbirds that we were able to close this round at a record pace, in a tough capital raising environment, with world class investors,” said Charise Flynn, Hummingbirds co-founder and COO. “This new funding will be used to bring on critical sales hires, increase the platform's functionality, and build out marketing agency partnerships,” added Flynn.
Hummingbirds is providing a solution that leverages the power of word of mouth marketing. The place-based nature of the platform makes it valuable for brands with a physical footprint because the hummingbirds’ network is predominantly local in nature. When a hummingbird makes an Instagram post about the latest restaurant opening, their friends and followers can take immediate action and visit that restaurant.
“Our mission is to help local communities thrive by connecting businesses and organizations with a people-powered marketing solution that drives relevancy and revenue, keeps dollars inside communities, builds long-term business success and creates meaning and purpose for content creators and social media enthusiasts,” says Emily Steele, co-founder and CEO of Hummingbirds.
Want to learn more?
Book a demo call with our team to learn about the product. Sign up as a hummingbird if you are a social media enthusiast and want to support the brands in your city and beyond. Share this blog post with small businesses or content creators in cities across the US.
