Vancouver-based Later (formerly Latergramme) has been acquired by American influencer marketing software provider Mavrck.
Mavrck used part of a recent $135 million strategic investment round to fund the deal. The capital came from Summit Partners and represents a follow-on to the equity investor’s $120 million investment to Mavrck in December.
“Creators add tremendous value to brands, but the ability to measure that value remains a challenge.”
– Lyle Stevens
Later will continue to operate as a standalone product and business unit as it works with Mavrck to solve creator measurement and monetization.
Co-founded in 2013 by Cindy Chen, Ian MacKinnon, Roger Patterson, and Matt Smith, Later offers a platform designed to streamline brands and companies’ social media strategy. Since its inception, Later has grown from a simple Instagram tool to a product suite with visual scheduling, media management, marketing, and analytics.
Later claims that almost seven million creators and small business owners use its social media tools to visually plan and schedule social content, drive traffic, and increase their sales. Brands that use Later’s platform include Hippeas, Patagonia, S’well, USA Today, Mr. Porter, and The Wall Street Journal.
The global influencer marketing platform market size is anticipated to reach 84.89 billion USD by 2028, according to Research and Markets.
“Creators add tremendous value to brands, but the ability to measure that value remains a challenge—creating tension between brands and the creators with whom they collaborate,” said Lyle Stevens, co-founder and CEO of Mavrck. “Incorporating Later’s social insights into the Mavrck platform will help brands search for creators based on historic traffic generated by Later’s link-in-bio solution and, in turn, help drive a better brand fit.”
Stevens will lead a new senior leadership team comprising leaders from both Mavrck and Later. Patterson will oversee the Later business unit as president and join the board of directors; Smith Anderson, Mavrck’s chief customer officer, will become president of Mavrck’s enterprise-focused business unit; and Robin de Pelham, Later’s vice president of people and places, is joining as chief people officer.
Also joining the management team is MacKinnon, who is also Later’s chief technology officer; and Sean Naegeli, Mavrck’s co-founder and chief creator officer.
Founded in 2014, Boston and Denver-based Mavrck provides an influencer marketing platform used by marketers to discover and collaborate with influencers, advocates, referrers, and loyalists to create trusted content and insights.
Mavrck noted that since 2020, the average brand spending on its platform has increased by 114 percent, an indicator to the accelerating growth of the influencer marketing industry.
RELATED: #paid secures $18.9 million CAD Series B round to capitalize on the exploding creator economy
Later is part of the growing number of Canadian companies tapping into the creator marketing industry. Other players in the space include Toronto-headquartered #Paid, which closed an $18.9 million CAD Series B round last year, and Vancouver startup Quantum Pigeon that raised $7.54 million in seed funding in August.
Featured image by Eric Wong courtesy of Mavrck and Later
CORRECTION: This article previously incorrectly stated that Sean Naegeli was a co-founder of Later. This has been updated to note he is a co-founder of Mavrck.