#StartupsEverywhere Profile: Monica Merrill, Founder and CEO, FlipperSplash
This profile is part of #StartupsEverywhere, an ongoing series highlighting startup leaders in ecosystems across the country. This interview has been edited for length, content, and clarity.
Helping Small Businesses Make a Splash
With an entrepreneurial background and experience with influencer-based marketing, Monica Merrill—the Founder and CEO of FlipperSplash—created a platform where small businesses can partner with large or small influencers to effectively market their products and services to a wider audience. We recently spoke with Monica to learn more about FlipperSplash, how brands have been affected by the pandemic, and the goals of the startup moving forward.
What in your background made you interested in launching FlipperSplash and becoming an entrepreneur?
I was one of the members of the seven-person startup team of Salesforce, which taught me a lot about starting a tech company as well as using a Customer Relationship Management Platform. When I left Salesforce, I invented a product for children called Little Looster. Once it was time to bring that product to market, I had to prove demand before any stores would carry it. In 2010, the way of doing that was to work with mom-bloggers. It was pre-Instagram and people were not talking about influencer marketing, but I knew that if one mom liked it, there was a good chance of her telling her friends about it, and so on.
In an effort to discover and connect with these mom-bloggers, I came to the quick realization that it would be unscalable and was too time-consuming to make it worth my efforts in the slow manner that I was using. I would Google "mom-blogger, potty-training, toddler, etc." and I would include a city and state. This did not deliver me the information that I needed. Sure, I could get a list of mom-bloggers in San Francisco, but I had no idea if they reviewed products or even had a child that was potty-training. This discovery process took hours! One by one, I would go to the blog and start researching the family, the products they liked, and the engagement on their reviews. It is similar to the direct messaging that small businesses do on social media, in the hopes of building a relationship with someone that will post about their product or service. Once I found a mom-blogger (influencer) that agreed to work with me, I would send out the Looster and wait. Did they receive it? When and where would they be posting about it? I had no ability to control my own messaging, posts, content, or branding. This was infuriating and so time consuming!
I needed a platform that would allow me to discover, connect, and then manage my relationship with each "Influencer" that I was working with. I needed to track the relationship in terms of when they got the product, on what platform their review would post, and when it would be online. I needed a master-calendar that would manage all of the posts that were due. I also wanted to capture the content so I could share it on my platforms. I needed a unique CRM for my small business.
In 2013 I sold Little Looster to Summer Infant and began my mission to create a self-managed platform all small businesses could afford. I wanted to allow businesses to discover “Splashers” (micro-Influencers) and connect with them to build lasting relationships—saving money and time.
Tell us a bit about FlipperSplash and the work that you’re doing. How does the FlipperSplash App help small businesses and social influencers collaborate?
FlipperSplash is an Android/iOS app that is a marketing agency in the palm of a small business owner's hand. For a minimal cost, a small business owner or assigned administrator can create a “gig” (private or public), determine the parameters of their needs (ie: geo-location, gender, age range, occupation, # of followers, etc.) and get perfectly matched with a Splasher that fits their needs.
A local bakery may want a soccer mom with <1k followers to come in and get a dozen muffins to share on the field at Saturday morning's game, with a discount code for all the other moms. The requirements of the gig may be that she posts images on Instagram of her on the field sharing the muffins and the code for her followers, so they can get into the bakery and make purchases, thereby supporting the small and local businesses that they love. We promote product-trade between our brands and Splashers. It creates a more genuine experience and helps to take a Splasher from the light connection of an Influencer to a true Brand Advocate and Ambassador.
A direct-to-consumer candle company may want seven Splashers to post everyday next week about their new line of scents. But how do they find them and manage them without FlipperSplash? The time that it takes to make one new relationship helps keep the more than 30 million U.S. small businesses out of the Influencer marketing arena. I am here to change that!
How has FlipperSplash—and the brands and influencers that use the app—been affected by the coronavirus pandemic?
We have heard from many small businesses that their supply chains have been affected and they are unable to get their products in a timely manner. This is a very stressful time, and marketing seems to fall by the wayside more often than not. But I think small business owners are seeing the benefits of content on social media and are coming to the realization that their customers are on their phones! That is one of the reasons that FlipperSplash has seen an increase in users. We are the most reasonably priced option (with the most self-management functions) for small business owners that understand the value of content, social presence, and sales.
What makes Northeast Florida’s entrepreneurial community so unique?
There is a growing, vibrant community of people from foodies to techies and all things in between. Small businesses truly understand the value, and are eager to find people that will advocate for them.
The Northeast Florida restaurant-scene has changed 100-fold in the last 10 years since I've been here. Those incredible changes have brought people that want to try new things and are anxious to see how they can help their beloved local retailers stay in business. Entrepreneurs in this area have lots of local business owners to lean on for advice, mentoring, and suggestions. It's that ‘Southern Charm’ that is helping entrepreneurs meet the unique demands that fit the market.
What are some of the startup issues and concerns that you believe should receive more attention from local, state, and federal policymakers?
As a small business owner, it would be great if we didn't have to hire a lawyer every time we turned around. From the initial Sunbiz licenses you have to receive from the state of Florida, to the annual reporting and filing fees and compliance packages. The legal fees associated with these filings are in addition to the actual state/government fee. For example, the corporation filing fee is $150/yr, registered agent fee is $100/yr and the legal fee is an additional $380/yr. If the filing system was easier for small business owners to complete without a legal team, it would save us so much money.
What is your goal for FlipperSplash moving forward?
I would love to grow our user-base (through highly targeted marketing campaigns) to start hiring more employees. We are basically a company that created a platform for people to help the companies that they love make a splash. If people and businesses don't know we exist, then we won't grow. If every business in the world wants to have people talking about them and helping them create a buzz by growing their community of happy users, then the sky's the limit for FlipperSplash.
All of the information in this profile was accurate at the date and time of publication.
Engine works to ensure that policymakers look for insight from the startup ecosystem when they are considering programs and legislation that affect entrepreneurs. Together, our voice is louder and more effective. Many of our lawmakers do not have first-hand experience with the country's thriving startup ecosystem, so it’s our job to amplify that perspective. To nominate a person, company, or organization to be featured in our #StartupsEverywhere series, email edward@engine.is.
