Lumanu partners with Sway to fix cracks in the creator economy 

The internet has forever changed the world and our ways of life. In the early 1990s when computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. Who would have thought back then that the internet would account for 30 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) and $25.6 trillion of global e-commerce?

A generation ago, the idea of running your own business online was nonexistent. Most people were stuck in their traditional factory and office jobs. Today, we now have a creator economy that consists of people performing their dream job online. The creator economy gives people a chance to specialize in their passion.

Over time, this creator economy seems to be a perfect utopia where brands and creators collaborate flawlessly and without friction. This may be a reality for a select group of creator-brand relationships, but for the vast majority, creators and brands don’t know how to work well with each other.

However, substantial problems exist around payments and invoicing, contracts, copyright protections, and more. It’s for this reason that Lumanu, a business platform for creators is on a mission to simplify the business of creator/brand collaborations.

Today, Lumanu announced it has partnered with influencer marketing agency Sway Group to ease the burden of the business backend for influencers, increasingly essential as the creator economy continues to flourish. Fresh off its $12M Series A round fundraise last week, Lumanu will provide Sway’s influencer network of over 30,000 creators easy access to Lumanu’s payments platform, where creators can now send invoices and receive payments for brand collaborations instantly.

Founded over ten years ago, Sway Group’s network includes over 30,000 authenticated creators. They are widely considered leaders and experts in the space and now Lumanu will provide the agency’s influencer network of creators easy access to Lumanu’s payments platform, where creators can send invoices and receive payments for brand collaborations instantly.

Earlier this year, the company unveiled its enhanced business enablement platform, allowing creators to better manage, protect and scale their businesses – a key feature of this rollout was the payments solution. For years, Sway Group has used Lumanu to automate another common creator transaction pain point, the granting of ad permissions. By layering payments onto the existing Lumanu offering, the two companies hope to raise awareness for the importance of simple business solutions that let creators focus on what they do best…create.

“Over the last five years, we’ve seen a dramatic shift in the way brands and influencers collaborate – from campaign concept to payment. As brands embrace influencers as a true marketing channel, the business backend becomes more complex,” said Tiffany Romero, President, Influencer Management at Sway Group. “Creators today need the tools to manage their business as any entrepreneur would. Lumanu has been a natural partner for us, and adding the payments solution into our Lumanu offering gives us the ability to let our influencers do their job and lifts the burden of compensation from their shoulders.”

Founded in 2017 by Nhan Nguyen, Paul Johnson, and Tony Tran, Lumanu makes it fast and easy for professional creators to send invoices to brand partners. With Lumanu’s technology, creators and freelancers can send and receive payment instantly, manage, protect, and grow their business, and benefit from a community that’s built to support them at every step of their journey.

“While the creator economy is thriving on the surface, the business transaction processes on the backend are broken, causing inefficiencies and stress for all involved,” said Chris Raniere, SVP of strategic partnerships at Lumanu. “Working with partners like Sway, Lumanu is attacking these problems with the creator at the center. This is ultimately what leads to long-lasting relationships and successful collaborations for both brands and creators alike. Brands that ignore the change or try to force the status quo are going to be left behind.”