Kelsey Davis is the founder of CLLCTVE, a creator hub that gives users the fastest way to create a portfolio online. The users are then able to use that information in that platform to connect with brands for different job opportunities.
Davis spoke with rolling out about her program and what people should know about funding.
What inspired you to create this program?
It came about when I was in college. By the end of my sophomore year at Syracuse, I was traveling the world producing content with really cool brands like Land Rover, Coca-Cola, Puma, and Conde Nast. I essentially realized as I’m not only starting to work with these organizations and starting to get more leadership roles and needing to find my own crews for different projects, there’s no LinkedIn type of mechanism that makes it easy to identify creative talent, and then to go through the whole kind of applicant tracking system, onboarding, hiring, and then payment processing for working with creators. It just creates a lot of stopgaps in the system and supply chain when you’re identifying creators. We know that creators are on TikTok, Instagram, etc., but it’s almost like, “Dang, when I need to find a photographer, or when I need to find a videographer, it’s so hard for me to do that.” We wanted to solve searchability when it comes to finding freelance talent on demand.
What are some key things that people need when creating a business?
More than passion, I think being able to identify a problem and create a validated hypothesis for your solution. I think that is integral when it comes to creating a business. Passion is the fuel that kind of gives you the energy, the motivation, and the curiosity to navigate that journey over time.
How should people think about funding?
I think the way that you should think about funding is based on what’s the type of company you are, what are your intrinsic motivations and goals as a founder, what sectors are you trying to grow in, and what are the different funding mechanisms. When you’re raising capital, or when you need capital to start a business, you can go the debt route, which is going out and taking out a loan, or you can go the route of equity, where you can say, “Hey, I’m gonna go raise capital [from] some private investors.” Even at that rate, that can look like a lot of different things.
You can go find some angel investors, look for some venture capitalists, and you can go kind of more of a philanthropic route. Look for grants and different funding that comes from that way, you can do that also in a governmental sector, depending on the type of company that you are, countries are naturally incentivized to want entrepreneurs to create businesses within certain verticals and sects, just for the literal evolution and future of the country.
