James Jones’ father was an engineer. He was also a musician and preacher, performing in churches along the East Coast.
Jones, an entertainment lawyer, noted that his father often worried about keeping track of the money he raised while performing at church, and that artists and influencers often complained about the same things.
“Creators also often complained about the lack of ownership of their creative assets and how painful it was to get loans, mortgages, or generally create generational wealth opportunities for themselves and their families,” Jones told TechCrunch.
Jones said the pandemic posed a new set of challenges for creators: Many of them were at home trying to figure out how they would make money and what to do next.
His solution was Bulk, a platform that helps creators manage and grow their businesses. It launched it in 2020 with Anton Kovalyov, who now serves as CTO. On Tuesday, Bump announced a $3 million seed round, with investments from ImpactX, Capitalize, and Serac Ventures.
Bump seeks to help creators manage their finances. Image credits: Snap Inc. / Courtesy of James Jones
Bump allows creators to track income and market value, which can help them negotiate better deals and see how much money partners owe them. In 2022, Bump launched the Bump Creator credit card in partnership with Mastercard, which offers no monthly or hidden fees and can be purchased without a credit check. Bump also works with a banking institution and has direct deposit accounts that allow creators to earn interest on cash placed in their money market account.
Jones said fundraising for his company was brutal. Bump was facing numerous factors that he simply couldn’t control, including a bear market and a lack of investor appetite for creative economy companies. “We received one no after another from investors and we lived to keep fighting,” he said. “We weren’t afraid to ask for investment and we weren’t afraid of being tricked, judged or told no.”
Bump closed its seed round in about six months, with other investors including Heirloom Ventures, H/L Ventures, and Mana Ventures. It has raised $3.5 million to date, with existing investors including Snap Inc. and Sixty8 Capital.
“The creator economy is one of the most important trends in the future of work,” Oliver Libby, managing partner at H/L Ventures, told TechCrunch. “There is virtually no financial infrastructure, no financial training, products or help for this growing population, many of them underrepresented and unbanked.”
Bump will use the latest fundraising to help it expand and refine its infrastructure.
Creating a company like Bump has always been Jones’ passion, although he didn’t always want to be one of the founders. “I always had a burning desire to solve the world’s problems,” he said. He liked talking to people, listening to what they said and analyzing details that could help them become “healthier, richer or happier.”
“I can’t say that I always wanted to be a founder, but I do believe that my natural tendencies and characteristics have pushed me to be one,” he said. “And despite the ups and downs, I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
