Nick, Steven, and Sam

are building all-in-one tools for the creator economy.

About Norby

Norby is Hubspot for the creator economy, simplifying a creator’s tech stack and giving them a top-down view of their community. While many of the big social platforms have begun adding monetization tools for creators, the one thing they won’t do is help creators manage followers off their platforms. Norby operates in the gap between what the platforms will build and what creators need. Their customer is typically working across 5 or more platforms and faces the challenge of delivering a consistent brand. Norby aggregates data around the consumer, not the platform, so creators can follow their audience, segment them, then use those insights to drive conversion and strengthen connections with their community.

Why Now

More than 50M people identify as creators, a trend the pandemic has only accelerated. With 37% of surveyed adults expressing more interest in working for themselves post pandemic; and over 50% of surveyed kids saying they want to become an online creator, it’s clear that this is a high-growth market. Creators today are looking beyond sponsorship to premium content, merchandise, books/ebooks, podcasts, and newsletters, along with services such as fan engagement, coaching, consulting, and speaking engagements. Norby is growing with them, enabling them to cross-promote and diversify their presence across many channels to minimize platform risk.

Founders
Image from BBG Ventures site

Nick Gerard

Co-Founder & CEO

Nick is a lifelong creator and builder as well as a former Microsoft software engineer and PM. He holds degrees in Music, Computer Science, and Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, where he also launched his first startup while still a student. Prior to co-founding Norby, he consulted for numerous early-stage companies and helped launch a viral online community at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Image from BBG Ventures site

Sam Safer Valentine

Co-Founder & COO

An operator, marketer, and community builder at heart, Sam has worked for heritage brands like the V&A and The Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as startups like Bulletin and legacy brands like NY NOW. Prior to co-founding Norby, she ran her own sales and marketing agency, Narratives, working to scale dozens of DTC brands and retailers. She holds a BA in Art History from Bard College as well as Master's degrees from the London College of Fashion and Royal College of Art.

Image from BBG Ventures site

Steven Layne

Co-Founder & CTO

Steven is a former AT&T and Adobe software engineer, a GEM Fellowship recipient, and an entrepreneur with a passion for advocacy, ethics, and mentorship. Before dropping out to join a startup, Steven received a full scholarship for his Master’s in Computer Science from UIUC, where his research focused on ethics and fairness testing in machine learning. He holds a BS in Computer Science from Northwestern University.

Norby in the news
TechCrunch
Norby raises $3.8M for an all-in-one creator marketing platform
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