Parade founder Cami Tellez taps UTA exec to scale her 'post-follower' Agency. Ed Victori, former vp strategy & business operations at United Talent Agency, joined Devotion as COO. 3 hours ago Social media has moved past the follower count, but influencer marketing has not. With her new venture, Cami Tellez is trying to change that. Tellez, the 29-year-old marketing guru who in 2019 cofounded the Gen Z underwear brand Parade, launched Devotion earlier this year with the aim of building a creator marketing platform for the post-follower era. Her cofounder and CEO, Jon Kroopf, joined the firm following stints at TikTok and CreatorIQ. On Friday, following a year of rapid growth, the company brought Ed Victori aboard as its first chief operating officer to accelerate those efforts, Tellez told ADWEEK. Victori joins the startup from United Talent Agency, which he joined through its acquisition of JUV Consulting, where he was COO and helped lead the sale. Mark Stenberg is ADWEEK's senior media reporter. Recommended videos

Cami Tellez, founder of the now-defunct undergarments brand Parade, has launched Devotion, an AI-powered influencer marketing platform, alongside former TikTok executive Jon Kroopf. The company has raised $4 million in funding led by Basecase and Will Ventures. Devotion automates creator discovery, management and content workflows for large brands, using AI to analyse posts, provide brand fit scores and manage payments whilst maintaining human oversight. Tellez argues that brands must work with thousands of creators monthly rather than a handful of macro-influencers to succeed in today's algorithm-driven social media landscape. The platform spent last year in beta, already securing over 10 clients and reaching seven figures in revenue. The funding will be used to hire engineers and brand operators to expand Devotion's technology capabilities.