While working at Instagram, I had a front-row seat to how creators power modern marketing. Yet the people creating the value had the least leverage. Onlure was born to rewrite that equation.
What I Witnessed Firsthand
At Instagram, I watched the creator economy grow exponentially. But as it scaled, I noticed something disturbing: micro and nano creators were being systematically overlooked, even though they often drove the most authentic engagement and real conversions.
Big brands chased follower counts. Agencies pushed for celebrity partnerships. Meanwhile, a local food blogger with 5,000 engaged followers could drive more foot traffic to a restaurant than an influencer with 500K disengaged followers.
The tools existed to help mega-influencers. The infrastructure supported brand deals with celebrities. But for the creator with 8,000 followers who genuinely loved their neighborhood coffee shop? There was nothing.
The creator economy should work for everyone, not just the top 1%.
The Attribution Crisis
The deeper problem was attribution. Brands couldn't track which creators actually drove results. A coffee shop would pay an influencer $500 for a post, see some new faces that week, and have no idea if those customers came from the influencer's Instagram Story, a Google search, a friend's recommendation, or just walking by.
Without data, brands defaulted to the easiest metric: follower count. And that meant micro-creators, no matter how effective, kept getting passed over. I knew this was wrong. I knew there had to be a better way.
Building Onlure
Onlure was born from a simple belief: creators deserve a platform built for them, not against them.
I left Meta in November 2025 and built the entire V1 solo in under 4 months. Payments, OAuth, AI search, booking automation, creator and brand onboarding. Every line of code written with one question in mind: does this help creators succeed?
Why Toronto First
I'm building Onlure in Toronto because I know these neighborhoods. I've eaten at these restaurants. I've worked out at these gyms. I've gotten coffee at these cafes.
Toronto has an incredible creator community that's been underserved for too long. Local food bloggers, fitness enthusiasts, fashion influencers, coffee lovers. These people genuinely care about their neighborhoods. They want to support local businesses.
They just need a platform that values their contributions.
I knew the creator economy was broken from the inside. I left to fix it from the outside.
The Vision
Five years from now, I want Onlure to be the default way local businesses connect with creators. Not through awkward DMs. Not through expensive agencies. Through a transparent marketplace where businesses see exactly which creators drive results, creators get paid fairly for their actual influence, and great local businesses get the visibility they deserve.
If you're a business owner who wants marketing that actually works, get started today. If you're a creator who's tired of being overlooked, join us.
Let's build a creator economy that's transparent, fair, and actually works.
From Reed College to Onlure
Founder & CEO of Onlure. Former Instagram (Meta) engineer. Passionate about building technology that empowers creators and local businesses.