The classic model of the influencer economy is simple: a brand pays, the creator posts, the campaign ends. Cat Goetze, known online as CatGPT and followed by over 1.4 million people across Instagram and TikTok for her artificial intelligence content, chose a different relationship. She acquired a stake in Smooth Media and joined the management company as a strategic adviser.
Axios describes Goetze as the company's first outside shareholder, which represents more than 70 creators and has grown so far without institutional capital. The deal is noteworthy because it turns an audience from advertising space into negotiating capital.
A post pays once, an equity stake can pay for years
Top creators have begun to realize that distribution is an economic asset. If their presence can increase a company's value, accepting only a flat fee means handing over all future upside to the brand.
Equity, on the other hand, aligns incentives: the creator has an interest in contributing to the company's growth and shares in any value created. Naturally, they also take on the risk that the stake ends up worthless.
From influencer to operator
Goetze is not just stepping in as a promotional face. The adviser role points to an involvement in strategy, while her new initiative Cat Labs aims to extend her personal brand into entrepreneurial ventures.
It is an increasingly common trajectory. Communities are leveraged to launch products, events, companies, and investments. In this model, content is the start of the value chain, not the end product.
The creator economy enters the ownership phase
The first generation monetized through platform ads; the second through sponsorships; the current one is pursuing ownership. MrBeast builds companies, while other creators launch funds, brands, or production studios. Equity is the logical consequence of this maturation.
Not all creators have enough bargaining power to secure it, and not all equity stakes turn out to be good investments. But the direction is clear: a segment of the influencer economy is moving past simply selling attention and starting to demand ownership of the assets that this attention helps build.
