Social commerce platform Flip has launched a creator fund to distribute up to $100 million in equity value to participating creators over approximately five years. The program, which began on January 20, promises to allocate up to $1 million daily during its first 30 days of operation.

Individual grants range from $6,000 to $100,000, based on creator engagement levels. The highest grant awarded thus far is $100,000 to creator Lucas Shaw (@emyludesigns), according to the company’s live leaderboard.

Eligibility Requirements and Application Process

Creators must meet specific criteria to qualify for the program. Requirements include either maintaining 4,000 followers and posting 10 videos with approximately 3,000 views each within the past 30 days on Flip or having at least 20,000 followers on other platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube.

The company reviews applications and makes grant decisions within 48 to 72 hours. Flip President Eddie Vivas told TechCrunch that nearly 10,000 influencers had applied within the program’s first 72 hours, with 22% of applications coming from macro influencers.

Platform Growth and Future Plans

Flip reports significant recent growth, with 580,000 new downloads in January 2024, according to app store intelligence provider Appfigures. The platform has accumulated 7.8 million worldwide downloads across the App Store and Google Play Store. The app currently attracts approximately 250,000 new users daily, with users spending an average of 35 minutes on the platform daily.

The company plans to introduce new social features, including polls, group chats, and reposting capabilities. Vivas noted for TechCrunch that acquisition is not a priority, stating, “We don’t currently see an acquisition as an interesting outcome for our company. Our goal is to take the company public one day.”

Payments to creators will be distributed in cash either at the five-year mark or upon a company sale. Flip, which launched in 2021 and is valued at $1.1 billion, has raised $236 million to date.

Competition Heats Up

As TikTok Shop faces legal barriers in the United States, rivals such as Flip and WhatNot have been on the move. The latter recently secured $265 million in funding, pushing its valuation to $4.97 billion to disrupt the social commerce market.