TheRight.Fit, a startup helping connect brands and agencies with creative talent, has raised $750,000 in seed funding from AirTree Ventures to help further develop its platform and expand its reach in the industry.
Founded by CEO Taryn Williams and Aurelien Labonne late last year, theright.fit essentially looks to help brands and talent bypass the traditional agency model; it wants to help models, actors, photographers, make up artists, stylists, and other industry professionals display their portfolios and market themselves to brands, and in turn lets brands search for, book, and pay models and other talent themselves.
Since launch last December, the startup reports it has over 3,000 individuals on board while more than 1,000 brands and agencies have also signed on, the likes of Ogilvy, Channel 10, Universal Music, and General Pants among them.
Williams said, “Airtree Ventures have partnered with many of Australia’s leading marketplace businesses and have the expertise to help us grow rapidly. Working with them will allow us to ensure we are developing the best possible team for our Australian and New York offices as well as maximise other opportunities.”
AirTree cofounder Craig Blair added that the firm is excited to be partnering with Williams, whom it regards “as one of the best founders in the startup community.” A former model herself, Williams founded WINK Models back in 2007, an agency whose primary aim is to facilitate positive working conditions for talent, including being paid within seven days of working a job.
“She has deep experience in the industry which still operates in a very traditional way when it comes to finding skilled professionals – there is huge scope for disruption and growth. TheRight.Fit has already shown strong organic growth via word of mouth marketing, which we take as a great sign of a strong product that people really want,” Blair said.
Williams has been able to straddle the line between tradition and disruption; after all, though it does some things differently, WINK Models is essentially a traditional modelling agency. However, rather than having TheRight.Fit bypass agencies altogether, Williams believes agencies and the startup can work side by side, with TheRight.Fit simply giving customers on both sides more choice and control and simpler ways of working.
“TheRight.Fit is the future for the advertising and media industry to find skilled professionals, especially at short notice. It puts the control back into the user’s hands,” she said.
With a solid Australian user base built up and Labonne based in New York, expansion into the US and later into Asia is on the cards.
Image: Taryn Williams and Craig Blair. Source: Supplied.
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