Top 5 Best Influencer Investors

The Creator Investor Shift

The tides are turning in the creator economy with creators stepping into the spotlight as investors, outshining traditional VCs backing creator startups. Influencers such as Alix Earle and Kat Stickler have made headlines in 2024 as investors in their favorite brands, a business relationship that goes beyond the typical brand partnership or ambassadorship. Earle and Stickler’s investments in Poppi and Stur, respectively, aren’t the first to distinguish content creators as trustworthy investors. Back in 2021, top influencers including Logan Paul, Chantel Jeffries, and Sway House Creators invested towards Lolli’s $10M Series A funding round. With creators playing growing roles in the investment industry, join The Influencer Marketing Factory as we explore why influencers make great investors, the benefits and risks of creator investors, and the types of investment opportunities for creators.

Why Influencers Make Great Investors

Authentic Storytelling with Influencers

Source: marlow

Influencers play a tremendous role in the authentic storytelling and community-building of brands across social media. Companies like Marlow, a female-founded U.K. menstrual brand, are tapping into influencers to support their growth financially as investors and connect with a wider audience of engaged users online. “For so long, the brands that dominated shelves were the ones with the biggest ad budgets,” Marlow CEO Nadia Ladak shared in an interview with Forbes. “But now, with creators as investors, we can connect with consumers more authentically. They’re not just funding us but helping us tell our story.”

Creators’ Unique Market Influence

Influencers have the power to drive the informed purchasing decisions of their fans. By building close connections with their followers, influencers have the greatest insights into their niche interests, content preferences, and consumer needs. According to Marisa Hodgdon, Co-Founder of Sidelines VC, such influence makes creators powerful brand ambassadors. Hodgdon told Forbes, “Creators aren’t just building audiences anymore—they’re shaping industries.” One of the most powerful assets an influencer can provide is their platform, and brands are starting to recognize how that power positively translates with creators as investors.

Private equity firms like Newcastle Network are leveraging creators as investors for up-and-coming DTC brands. Vickie Segar, Newcastle Network partner, is one of many innovative leaders in this niche industry tapping into creators. “You shouldn’t just have investors who are finance people sitting at the table making decisions on where to invest millions and millions of dollars,” Segar told Business Insider. “You should actually have people who understand consumer products in a different way.”

Market Research with Creators

Market research goes hand-in-hand with market influence for creator investors. Creators can act as a positive bridge between brands and their target audiences with the added benefit of real-time consumer feedback. Comments sections and tools like Instagram’s Broadcast channels have become instrumental communication and community-building methods for creators to discuss upcoming content, product reviews, etc. Brands can lean into these relationships with creator investors to humanize their brand while redefining their strategies. As Segar explains, “We use [influencers] to decide what products we should invest in. We will give them products, we will get their opinions, we will then have them post about the product, and we will see how it performs.”

Top 5 Best Influencer Investors

1. Alix Earle

Who is Alix Earle?: Alix Earle is a Miami-based lifestyle influencer known for her viral get ready with me videos, hilarious vlogs, and relatable skincare content.

What has Alix Earle invested in?: Alix Earle’s most recent investment is in Poppi, a prebiotic soda brand that has taken over social media with its delicious better-for-you beverages. Earle invested in Poppi in May 2024 and has yet to announce any other brand investments.

2. Kat Stickler

Who is Kat Stickler?: Kat Stickler is a comedy and lifestyle creator known for her funny skits with her daughter. Kat Stickler also shares down-to-earth, chatty content in videos on her YouTube channel.

What has Kat Stickler invested in?: Kat Stickler is best known for her investment in Stur Drinks, a natural water enhancer brand. Stickler joined Stur as a proud co-owner and investor back in June 2023 to support its brand awareness and accelerate its growth with the power of social media.

3. Logan Paul

Who is Logan Paul?: Logan Paul is a YouTuber known for his viral boxing and challenge content, hosting the Impaulsive Podcast, and co-founding the sensational PRIME beverage brand.

What has Logan Paul invested in?: Logan Paul is an experienced influencer investor with his portfolio including companies like Lolli, Metaphysic, Whatnot, Goldin Auctions, and Heaps, his earliest investment dating back to 2015. With over a decade of investment experience, Paul is equipped to make strategic moves in 2025.

4. MrBeast aka Jimmy Donaldson

Who is MrBeast?: MrBeast is the most-followed YouTuber to date with millions of viewers every upload. MrBeast recently debuted his Beast Games Amazon Prime Series, and he is best known for his unmatched production for his challenge videos.

What has MrBeast invested in?: One of MrBeast’s most recent investments is in ViewStats, a video analytics platform he co-founded. MrBeast’s portfolio also includes companies like Creative Juice, MetaWars, and Pearpop.

5. The D’Amelio Family

Who is the D’Amelio Family?: The D’Amelio Family began their social media stardom thanks to the viral dancing content of TikToker Charli D’Amelio. Now, the D’Amelio Family has several businesses including Be Happy Snacks and venture capital fund, ​​444 Capital.

What has the D’Amelio Family invested in?: The D’Amelio family has invested in several female-founded companies including Incredible Health, Yumi, PairEyewear, and Yardzen. Other investments include Gemini and Hero Bread.

Benefits of Creator Investments

Diversifying Revenue Streams for Influencers

Creators are actively looking into new revenue streams in 2025 from creating their own businesses to investing in some of their most-loved brands. Investing in companies gives creators the benefit of a new passive income stream while managing their influence over key brands they support. “As [creators] start to mature in business, they want to get out of the grind of posting brands,” Creative Artists Agency executive Tobin Jaramillo told Passionfruit. “They want to start building their own thing that can live beyond and diversify their business.”

Reducing Risk with Private Equity

Source: Iwoca

Creators turning to private equity over venture capital opportunities have the upper hand in reduced risk with greater control. In an interview with Business Insider, Chris Casgar, managing partner at Newcastle, distinguished the difference between the two investment styles. “A typical venture investment is often a minority investment with very little control over the business,” Casgar explained. “In the case of private equity, where we’re maybe investing larger amounts, taking more meaningful ownership positions, and in some cases, owning the brands outright, we can make decisions on behalf of the whole company or advise in a fairly substantial way about the decisions that a company makes.”

Supporting Diversity Through Creator Investments

With creators entering the investment space, indie brands and diverse founders can amplify their underrepresented voices and businesses. For instance, female creators are taking their financial strategy to the next level by investing in women-led companies and directing their followers towards more inclusive initiatives. Alyssa Arnold, co-founder of Pearl Influential, discussed with Forbes how creators play an instrumental role in the democratization of capital for women, people of color, and other marginalized groups. “I realized the key was empowering more women to invest in women-led ventures who understood the problems they were trying to solve,” shared Arnold. “By partnering with influencer agencies, we educated creators about venture investing and connected them with opportunities where their expertise and values could make a real impact.”

Types of Investment Opportunities for Creators

Challenges for Creator Investors

Legal and Ethical Considerations

Investing in companies introduces a new field of legal and ethical considerations for creators beyond the FTC. Traditionally, creators participating in brand ambassadorships, paid partnerships, and other related monetization opportunities must comply with FTC regulations such as clearly disclosing the paid or gifted nature of their content. Creators investing in companies must similarly disclose any investment partnership or equity stakes in their content to avoid misleading their audience.

Additionally, creators must follow Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. The SEC has its own guidelines as to what can and cannot be discussed in creators’ promotional content, particularly if the company of interest is actively raising funds. It is advised that creators connect with legal teams and creator equity experts like Tyler Chou to ensure that their content satisfactorily adheres to legal regulations and maintains a proper ethical standard. Check out The Influencer Marketing Factory’s Ultimate Creator Guide for some of Tyler Chou’s best creator equity insights and legal tips.

Understanding Risk

Although private equity deals are generally less risky compared to venture capital, creators must still analyze the potential risks with any investment. Creators entering private equity deals are encouraged to carefully evaluate a potential company’s financial history, market health, and value alignment. Moreover, creators should research the possible systematic and unsystematic risks, the latter of which is specifically related to company or industry hazards, regarding a potential investment. Investopedia previously shared some examples of unsystematic risk, including, “a change in management, a product recall, a regulatory change that could drive down company sales, and a new competitor in the marketplace with the potential to take away market share from a company.” Maintaining a positive reputation sis essential for creators, so making mindful and informed investment decisions is crucial for long-term financial success.

Balancing Personal Branding

Source: ThoughtLeaders

If a certain company doesn’t resonate with a creator’s content, lifestyle, or interests, it poses the risk of appearing unauthentic and out of the ordinary to the creator’s audience. Creators like Alix Earle act as role models for the future of influencers and investors. Alix Earle shared a TikTok video in May 2024 discussing her amazing relationship with Poppi, a beverage company which she began partnering with during her college days. Poppi exclusively hosted Earle and her closest friends for Coachella 2024 in a themed house they coined “Coachearlea,” showcasing their genuine creator-brand relationship. Rather than working with several soda brands or beverage companies, in general, Earle told her fans that she wanted to commit to the one she loved most and announced that she was officially an investor in Poppi. Earle’s thoughtful approach to her Poppi investment not only solidified her influence in the creator economy but also aided in setting and maintaining a standard for how creators can strategically align their personal brand with investment opportunities to build lasting trust with their loyal audience.

Redefining Influence: The Future of the Creator Economy

As influencers continue to embrace their power as investors, they are redefining the meaning of influence in the creator economy. Beyond investments, creators are taking on roles as creative directors and lead ambassadors among other influential roles at companies because brands understand their unique value. Creators offer companies the benefits of humanizing their brand while providing data-backed insights and niche market research, all of which are the building blocks of sound brand strategy, ultimately translating to financial success and a return on investment for creators. By understanding the potential risks of different investment styles, strategically negotiating equity deals, and tapping into user feedback, creators can make the best investment decisions possible while promoting their personal brand and securing their reputation. This dual role as investors and brand visionaries positions creators to not only shape the future of businesses but also solidify their legacy in the evolving creator economy.