Gamma, the ideal service for generating guides, lead magnets, presentations, and virtually anything needed by an edu-creator, has successfully raised $68 million at a staggering valuation of $2.1 billion, officially making it a unicorn.
Crucially, the company is profitable, generating an impressive $100 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) with a lean team of just 50 people. According to the founder, one of the key drivers behind this phenomenal growth was an early and strategic investment in content creators.
Here are his core insights on scaling from $0 to $50 million ARR, particularly regarding influencer marketing:
The Creator-First Playbook for Growth
1. Go Big or Go Home on Budget and Commitment
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Most startups fail at influencer marketing because they start with too small a budget, select too narrow a circle of creators, and give up too early. Influencer marketing is not a quick fix; it's a strategic channel that requires commitment.
2. Test Massively and Commit to the Long-Term
To truly understand what formats and creators work, you need to test on a large scale. The recommendation is to allocate $10–$20k per month for a minimum of six months. This sustained investment is necessary to gather enough data and allow winning formats to emerge.
3. New TikTok Accounts Yield High Reach
For TikTok specifically, the founder suggests launching creators with new accounts. Fresh profiles often achieve the same initial reach as established ones. Furthermore, new creators lack the "ballast" of old, mixed content and their established personal brands, which allows the product's message to shine through more clearly.
4. Scale Success by Empowering Creators
Once you identify success, you must scale it systematically. The advice is to collect 20-30 winning content formats and then turn your top-performing creators into internal coaches. This leverages their expertise to effectively scale successful ideas across your broader creator network.
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5. Ban the Script
This is arguably the most crucial rule: absolutely no scripts for videos. The moment a script is introduced, the video transforms from authentic content into an obvious advertisement, which immediately leads to low viewership and poor performance. Creators must be given the freedom to deliver the message in their own voice.
By making creators a core part of their growth engine and avoiding common pitfalls, Gamma managed to achieve remarkable ARR and a billion-dollar valuation with exceptional capital efficiency.
