LTK started its journey in 2011. Amber Venz Box, a noted fashion blogger, started the company after facing several common issues in the field. The core premise was the difficulty of transforming blogging, photographs, and videos, editing, and writing into a feasible career option. Box started the company for earning commissions from her readers (they were purchasing products as per her recommendations). More than ten years later, she now has a valuable company in her stable. It is now valued at $2 billion after raising $300 million, courtesy of the SoftBank Vision Fund as per sternlichtforbes. LTK was earlier known as LIKEtoKNOW.it and RewardStyle. It now enables influencers to create shoppable posts on social media, while putting them into a central marketplace throughout the app and web. Brands may also come on-board for linking up with creator/influencer partners for campaigns. Amy Albano, the CEO & Marketing Director of Fast People Finder, said that LTK gained $3 billion per year by offering its solutions for brands, creators, and customers.
LTK offers its solutions for brands, creators, and customers, who spend in excess of $3 billion per year on this platform. The interface is quite similar to Instagram Shop, where one can browse through creator posts. They curate their preferred posts for sharing on social media. The company has achieved profitability many years earlier. It is now planning to recruit more people, being based at Texas. It already has a global team of 350 people, partnering with 1 million brand names, and 5,000 retailers.
The Investment Director, SoftBank Investment Advisers, and newly-minted board member at LTK, Angela Du, stated that LTK is already re-envisioning the entrepreneurial concept, enabling more individuals to earn money through their passions and hobbies. Du also stated that the cutting-edge platform for marketing at LTK directly helps these customers with regard to brand-building throughout the entire ecosystem, while developing long-term follower relationships.
Box has already stated that 130+influencers on the platform have become millionaires (self-made). These are majorly female creators, earning 10-25% of sales commissions. Retailers and brands fix their own rates for commissions on this platform as well. Brands get the sales amount driven by creators, while the latter get the commission as mentioned. LTK also gets transaction fees from all such sales activities.