We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kaitlin Walls. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kaitlin below.

Kaitlin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Being successful starts with believing in yourself and being willing to do things differently. You can’t be afraid to take risks or try new ideas, even if it means failing along the way. To me, failure isn’t the end – it’s just feedback that helps you learn faster and get closer to what works. I’ve learned this firsthand through building Curae – every setback has taught us something that made our platform stronger. Asking for help when you need it is so important, too. None of us are meant to figure it all out alone.

I also think success comes from being a dreamer and surrounding yourself with people who believe in you. Having that kind of support system keeps you grounded but also pushes you to keep going when things get tough. At the end of the day, it’s about vision, resilience, and community – that’s what’s gotten me through the toughest moments as a founder.

Kaitlin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Honestly, I’ve always loved the idea of bringing people together and making things feel easier and more fun. That’s really what inspired me to start Curae Social. I kept seeing creators and brands struggle to connect in ways that felt natural and meaningful – it always seemed way more complicated than it needed to be. The traditional influencer marketing space was fragmented, with creators spending hours pitching to brands that weren’t the right fit, and brands struggling to find authentic voices for their campaigns.

So I set out to build a platform that takes the stress out of influencer marketing and makes collaboration feel exciting again. We’ve streamlined the matching process so much that we cut campaign setup time in half, and we’re seeing much stronger ROI on partnerships that come through our platform compared to traditional outreach methods.

For me, Curae isn’t just a tool, it’s a community where creators and brands can actually support each other, grow, and feel like they’re part of something bigger. What makes Curae special is that we’re focused on people, not just processes. I’m proud that we’ve built a thriving community of creators and brands who have found real opportunities and know they’re not navigating everything alone. But what I’m most proud of is hearing from a creator who landed their first major brand partnership through our platform, or a small business owner who finally found their brand voice through working with the right influencer.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Being a startup means pivoting is basically part of the job description. When I first came up with the idea for Curae Social, the landscape looked really different – there weren’t nearly as many platforms out there, so our go-to-market strategy was too. Over time, we’ve listened closely to our users and learned what they actually need – not just more tools, but a simpler, more intuitive way to collaborate.

That insight led us to streamline the platform and focus on what really drives results and revenue for both brands and creators. By reducing the time it takes to set up and manage collaborations, we’ve enabled our users to take on more partnerships, essentially turning efficiency into increased earning potential and brand reach.

In the process, we uncovered an underserved need in the market: meaningful in-person connections between creators and brands. We realized that bringing creators and brands together face-to-face is just as powerful as connecting them online, but most platforms focus solely on digital collaboration. Now, a big part of our mission is creating those in-person opportunities – something that’s made our community even more connected, loyal, and engaged.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

For me, social media has definitely been the most effective strategy for growing our clientele. I focus heavily on building a consistent brand presence – curating our content so it’s instantly recognizable as Curae, whether that’s our visual style, the topics we cover, or how we engage with our community. That consistency has been key to staying top-of-mind when potential clients are ready to work with a platform like ours.

What’s really worked is being genuinely active in the conversations where our potential clients already are – not just posting, but actually engaging and adding value. I’ve found that when you show up consistently and authentically, opportunities naturally start coming to you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.curaesocial.com/
• Instagram: @curaesocial

Image Credits

Paige Morgan – https://www.paigemorganphotos.com/
Natalie Borton – https://lateauguststudio.com/