By Riley Kaminer
Influencer marketing is broken. Brands pour millions into campaigns with little idea whether their investment is paying off. Influencers, on the other hand, often struggle to prove their worth, relying on outdated metrics and sporadic payments.
For years, this murky ecosystem has left both sides frustrated and disconnected. Roee Zelcer, now the CEO of creator marketing platform Humanz’s U.S. operations, is determined to change that.
A boomerang story, Zelcer grew up splitting his time between Broward and Israel. After spending his career scaling operations at giants like TikTok and Google, he’s back in South Florida, on a mission to fix what he calls “the inefficiencies” of the influencer marketing world. “There’s a real lack of data, and brands have no clear way of knowing whether an influencer is delivering results, let alone if they’re paying the right price,” Zelcer told Refresh Miami.
Launched in Israel in 2017, Humanz has rapidly gained traction across Europe, Latin America, South Africa, and the Middle East. The platform works with over 300,000 content creators globally, facilitating more than 15 million collaborations and contributing to nearly $500 million in sales. Now, as the influencer marketing industry balloons into a $250 billion space, Humanz is setting its sights on the U.S. market, quietly launching here earlier this year.
What makes Humanz stand out is its ability to track and measure the direct impact influencers have on sales. Using a pixel installed on a brand’s website, Humanz can follow every customer interaction from initial click to final purchase.
“We solve the measurement problem,” Zelcer explained. “Brands can see exactly how influencers are driving sales, even if it happens a week later.” This level of transparency allows brands to make informed decisions about which influencers are worth partnering with – and for how much.
Currently, Humanz has about 3,000 U.S.-based influencers registered on the platform and 20 brands, including heavyweights like Google, L’Oréal, P&G, McDonald’s, and Unilever. Humanz provides these brands with a full suite of tools, including a talent discovery hub, management suite, and campaign builder, all with real-time insights into return on investment (ROI). For influencers, the platform offers audience insights, performance data, and the ability to find collaborators.
Humanz also provides influencers with real-time data about their performance through a dedicated app. This new level of visibility empowers influencers to negotiate higher fees and build long-term partnerships with brands. “For the first time, influencers can see how their efforts translate into sales and use that data to drive higher fees for their work,” Zelcer said.
Humanz’s strategy for the U.S. market also includes a unique partnership with Valeria Lipovetsky, a top influencer and the company’s new chief creator officer. Lipovetsky, who has over 6.5 million followers across multiple platforms, played a key role in developing new features for Humanz, including a revamped campaign discovery feed and an upcoming payment tool that ensures influencers are paid within three business days of completing a campaign. “Payment uncertainty has been a huge issue for influencers, and we’re fixing that,” Zelcer explained.
The decision to base Humanz’s U.S. operations in Miami wasn’t just about personal ties to the area, though returning to South Florida does feel like a homecoming for Zelcer. He chose Miami because of its growing status as a hub for tech, startups, and, importantly, creators.
“The city has become a focal point for both tech investors and influencer talent,” Zelcer explained. “It made perfect sense to set up our headquarters here.” And Humanz is in good company, with other creator economy startups such as Passes, Influur, and mavn. Miami is also the home of OnlyFans founder Leonid Radvinsky, and our city has the highest per capita number of models.
Humanz has raised $17 million in funding so far, with support from investors like Yuval Tal, founder of payment company Payoneer. The platform charges brands a 10% commission on influencer payments.
With plans to launch the fast-payment tool in the next few months and grow aggressively by hiring more sales and marketing talent in both Miami and New York, Zelcer’s goal is clear: to position Humanz as the go-to platform for transparent, results-driven influencer campaigns.
“We’re building a platform that’s designed by creators, for creators,” asserted Zelcer. “We’re excited for creators to see the value we can bring them.”
Photo at top of post: Humanz CEO Roee Zelcer and Chief Creator Officer Valeria Lipovetsky
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