Noise raises $5.5M to turn everyday users into paid creators

Founded by Diego Kafie, Stu Feldt, and Nic Weber, the startup emerged from their previous venture, Playbite, where they successfully scaled user acquisition by training non-professional gamers to produce social media content. This grassroots approach allows brands to bypass the high costs of hiring established influencers, instead managing campaigns across thousands of creators simultaneously. The platform now hosts 1.5 million creators, with top performers earning over six figures annually.

Capital Midwest, M25, and Grishin Robotics led the latest funding round, bringing the company’s total capital raised to $7.2 million. The investment will fuel product development and new hiring initiatives, including the rollout of an "Organic-to-Ads" program. This feature allows brands to repurpose user-generated videos into paid advertisements on platforms like Meta and TikTok. Although the model shifts away from high-cost celebrity partnerships, Kafie maintains that the platform empowers individuals who would otherwise struggle to break into the competitive creator economy. New users begin with training modules, gradually unlocking higher-paying campaigns as they refine their production skills.