January 2020 - October 2021: Pre-Seed Funding From Barclays to launch "Alcamy"
Kaeya, our Founder, moved to Silicon Valley and raised a small pre-seed round led by the Barclays Female Innovators Lab to create Alcamy—a payment processor allowing shoppers to split payments between cash and Instagram posts (read more).
November 2021 - December 2023: Pivoting To "Swaypay" and a closing $4.2M seed round
In November 2021, our founder raised $4.2M to launch Swaypay, a cash-back app where users earned rewards for posting UGC about their purchases on TikTok.
Challenges That Shaped SwayID:
1. Superuser Nightmares: A viral TikTok post backfired—damage control cost more than the campaign’s ROI.
2. Brand Reputation Risks: A Fortune 500 CMO told our founder, “One misleading post can erase years of credibility.”
3. Impending TikTok Ban: Enough said…
4. Investor Trouble: In October 2023, our investors declared the company “irreparably damaged” and recommended shutting it down.
January 2024 - December 2024: The Pivot to SwayID
In early 2024, with the rise of deceptive deepfakes and AI avatar ads, we pivoted to a compliance solution to address the growing legal red tape surrounding UGC and influencer marketing.
The Lucky Lightning Strike:On August 14, 2024, the FTC announced its landmark ban on fake reviews and testimonials:
🚨 $43,792 fines per non-compliant influencer post or UGC ad.
🚨 Unanimous bipartisan vote.
🚨 FTC Chair: “Violators are officially on notice.”
By then, we were already deep into our pivot, with revitalized investor support and discussions with key regulatory leaders to refine our product.
How SwayID Supports Brands:
✅ Automated UGC Risk Checker
✅ Dedicated (HUMAN) Compliance Support
✅ Audit-Ready Documentation Vault
We're excited to keep sharing our progress, learnings, and meet our community members in person!