Founded by Google AdMob and Yahoo alumni, Glycine is a tool for content creators that enables them to engage with followers, gather insights and read/answer comments from multiple social media platforms all in one place. The startup announced the public launch of its web application and $4 million in seed funding.
The seed round was led by Eniac Ventures, Hannah Gray VC and Future Perfect Ventures. Glystn also has angel support from Michael Spiegelman, vice president of content and commercial product innovation at Netflix, and Craig Sherman, managing director at Meritech.
“We really believe that Glystn and their multi-platform creator analytics are building the infrastructure and platform to address the next phase of growth, customer acquisition, brand awareness and authenticity over the next few years,” Jessica Peltz-Zatulove, Co Partner Hannah Gray told TechCrunch.
Dubbed a “community engagement engine,” Glystn uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to scan and categorize thousands of comments and threads from Discord and YouTube, allowing influencers to learn what’s trending in their communities . Users can access insights and analytics such as top news, repeat participants, and trending snippets or videos.
Notably, influencers can reply to subscribers individually and in bulk, sending customized replies to multiple followers commenting on the same topic.
However, co-founder and CEO Ethan Fassett told us, “We don’t allow creators to simply send messages to their entire community with a mass direct reply…which keeps the message aimed at the relevant recipient.”
Creators can also invite fans to join their Discord, initiate polls, and more.
Image credits: Glycine
Currently, the platform only integrates with Discord and YouTube — at least for now. However, the company plans to add others soon, explained Fassett, who previously worked at Yahoo as a senior product manager. Fassett declined to say which social media platforms were planned to be added.
If the platform manages to combine most of the popular platforms like Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, we can consider it a relevant tool for creators. Influencers are increasingly relying on multiple social media channels to engage with their audience and earn adequate income. YouTube ad revenue — down 2.6% year-over-year — may not be enough for full-time creators to comfortably make a living. YouTube recently lowered the requirements for its YouTube Partner Program, allowing smaller creators (500 subscribers or more) access to monetization tools.
The most recent funding will go toward the product, which will eventually feature a tiered subscription model for individual creators, large creators (over 1 million followers), and brands. Glystn currently offers users a free trial.
Glystn, founded in 2021 by Fassett and co-founder Michael Rowehl, former technical director of Google AdMob, has more than 20 pilot partners, including Louis Weiss, steve mold, Emperor Lemon, Raphael tooPodcast Junkies, RollingLive Studios and Fox Sports, among others.
Weisz, a YouTuber with nearly 730,000 subscribers and over 4,000 Discord members, spoke to TechCrunch about Glystn, expressing the connection he’s had with his followers since using the platform. From a brand perspective, Weisz also mentioned how helpful Glystn is for sponsors, helping them better understand their target audience and which products they will respond to.
“The biggest time saver is being able to easily see what your audience is talking about at a glance,” Weisz said. “(Glystn) is a way to understand your audience in real time, rather than just making assumptions based on the videos they click on.”
Updated 6/15/23 11:30AM ET to correct the posting date (posted today) and remove the statement that the total amount raised was $4.75 million.
