Clutch, A Black Women-Founded Digital Marketing Startup That’s Backed By Precursor Ventures, Gets Acquired

This Black women-founded company has accepted an acquisition deal four years after its founding.

Clutch, a digital marketing marketplace co-founded by Madison Long and Simone May that connects creators to businesses looking for content creation, was acquired by Plaiced, a self-serve platform for advertisers, TechCrunch reports.

“The creator economy is growing rapidly, we knew to remain competitive and really be able to take over market share, an acquisition would be the strongest next step,” Long explained, according to TechCrunch.

The outlet details that when Long met Plaiced CEO Kaaveh Shoamanesh in May 2024, the idea of his company acquiring Clutch started brewing.

Multiple factors came into play to sign off on the deal: Long was on her own, helming Clutch after May’s departure in June 2023, and trying to keep up with the times of the creator industry with generative AI coming into play, TechCrunch reported. So, joining forces with Plaiced was the right fit for Long.

“The deciding factor to sell was finding the right partner who could take us further,” she said.

Moreover, she believes that Plaiced actively works to pay creators “what they deserve and not compromising on this.”

While Long feels that Clutch is in the right hands, the acquisition transition is still challenging.

“Nothing can fully prepare you for your first exit,” said Long. “I’d been working on Clutch for five years, and three years full-time. Hired over a dozen people, raised $2 million, and yet, this was definitely one of the hardest chapters of our company’s journey so far.”

As for Plaiced, Shoamanesh is looking forward to scaling its creator network.

“It also offers more monetization opportunities for creators leveraging our existing network of online communities,” Shoamanesh said.

Although Clutch has been acquired, Long is set to remain as an advisor for around 18 months, per the outlet. Additionally, she plans to ensure that collaborations before the acquisition won’t be affected. The acquisition amount was not disclosed to the outlet.