Tala founder is part of trio aiming to "to reshape influencer industry" with Retrograde AI launch

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jul 29, 2024

The influencer-entrepreneur behind UK activewear brand Tala is one of the trio who’ve raised an unspecified seven-figure sum to launch Retrograde — “a new AI AutoPilot aimed to support content creators with a world class 24/7 AI talent agent accessible to creators of any size, anywhere”.

Tala’s Grace Beverley has teamed up with Jake Browne, the Irishman who founded and sold Peblo (which provided invoice financing to content creators and talent agencies) and Gary Meehan, founder of AI-based travel planning tool Wheretoai.

We’re told that “by creating an Autopilot capable of managing brand sponsorships from end-to-end, Retrograde gives creators a viable alternative to talent management in response to the exponential growth of individual creators”.

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The product is an always-on AI agent “helping creators to manage inbox and deal-flow, negotiate and win brand deals and sponsorship, offer support to fulfil deliverables and execute administrative tasks efficiently”. 

Each creator has their own Autopilot dedicated to them, with a unique name, avatar and voice. It “interfaces with brands over email and provides easily digestible updates to creators through SMS & WhatsApp”.

The founders said that talent agencies “currently apply a one-size fits all model to content creators across the globe. This leaves a bank of creators underserved, as there are currently not enough talent agents to serve them. Retrograde breaks down barriers to make it possible for any creator to gain access to a world-class AI agent and service at an affordable cost, and it does so with a sustainable, profitable model.

“Content creators inherited the notion of talent management from the complicated world of Hollywood. A brand deal for most creators is a straightforward deal that doesn’t have the exotic intricacies that come with studio blockbusters. Creator’s face a fee of 20% of gross income to sign with a talent management agency. It’s a price up until today they have been willing to pay so they can shield themselves from awkward negotiations and solely focus on their craft and creativity”.

Browne, who’s CEO of Retrograde, said: “Having worked with creators for nearly a decade now, it was so important to me that we built this product in a hyper-accessible manner. Creators are busy people who have millions of followers trying to get their attention. Our AutoPilot meets them where they are, whether that’s iMessage, Whatsapp, Telegram, email or voice message, our AutoPilot will be there”.

And Beverley, who’s a content creator herself with over a million followers on Instagram and 600k+ subscribers on YouTube, said she got involved when Browne contacted her looking for feedback.

“As soon as I saw that early version of the AutoPilot in action, I knew I had to be involved. Conversations continued and I joined as a co-founder of the business,” she said.