Trend raises $3 million to arrange “simple, contract-free” branded content deals

Trend, a branded content marketplace that says it offers “simple contract-free fixed pricing” deals for companies to hook up with creators, has raised $3 million in pre-seed funding from investors including Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition initiative.

Ramon Berrios, who co-founded the Miami-based company in 2017 and is its CEO, told The Hollywood Reporter Trend works with upward of 1,000 brands, including Amazon, and has “produced over 100,000 pieces of content.”

From those deals, Trend has paid out over $1 million to creators, Berrios said. Trend’s website says its content deals start at $100 per project.

The $3 million round was led by venture capital firm Flybridge. It included participation from the aforementioned Black Ambition, as well as Kevin Lin (co-founder of Twitch), Kun Gao

(co-founder of Crunchyroll), Holly Liu (co-founder of Kabam), Patrick Lee (co-founder of Rotten Tomatoes), and Techstars Ventures.

Berrios told THR most of the funds will go toward “expand[ing] into new industry verticals and reach[ing] even more businesses.”

“This will allow us to further our mission of becoming the world’s largest creative studio, without ever having to be contained to a single studio space,” he said.

In a statement, Williams said he chose to invest in Trend because “[t]hey are enabling a whole new set of creators to harness the power of what makes them unique and allowing brands to tap into that magic and gather content from around the world, all while working through a single community and platform.”