Clutch
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
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Sections to complete：02 · 05
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Clutch was a Houston-based digital marketing marketplace founded in 2020 by Madison Long and Simone May, two Black women founders, to democratize side-gig success by connecting student creators with businesses seeking content creation and marketing services. The platform hosted hundreds of creators and worked with more than 70 brands, including Hearst Media.
02 / FAILURE REASONS
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03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Madison Long and Simone May founded Clutch to connect creators with businesses looking for marketing and content creation services.
- Pre-seed round
Clutch closed a $1.2 million pre-seed round led by Precursor Ventures in August 2022, with Capital Factory and HearstLab participating.
- Restructuring
The company restructured in June 2023 with layoffs to prioritize profitability, which it reached; co-founder Simone May stepped down as CTO, leaving Madison Long as CEO.
- Acquired by Plaiced
Plaiced, a self-serve platform for advertisers led by CEO Kaaveh Shoamanesh, acquired Clutch in July 2024 for undisclosed terms; Long stayed on as an advisor for at least 18 months.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
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Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN / AFTERMATH
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