Tiffany Kelly, the founder and CEO of content monetization startup Curastory, has resigned from her role and appointed Dave Dickman, former CEO of influencer marketing platform Tagger, as her successor. This leadership change comes as a direct result of a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which accused Curastory of overstating revenue and misrepresenting client numbers to investors.
According to documents reviewed by TechCrunch, the SEC's investigation led to a settlement agreement that specifically bars Kelly for ten years from serving on the board of directors or as an executive at any company involved in fundraising. Kelly also agreed to pay a fine as part of the settlement. She accepted these stipulations without admitting to or denying the allegations.
"Stepping aside was truly the only decision that I could make just to keep the company alive and thriving," Kelly told TechCrunch.
While Kelly will remain a major shareholder and advisor, she expressed relief that fundraising and financial responsibilities are now off her plate. She founded Curastory in 2021 as a platform to help content creators monetize their videos, growing to approximately 400,000 creators. The platform enables advertisers to purchase in-video ads, track metrics, and offers features like video editing. To date, Curastory has raised around $3 million from investors including LightSpeed’s Scout Fund, Feld Ventures, and Mindspring Capital, and has participated in accelerator programs like Techstars and AMEX Ventures’ SPARK Program.
New Leadership and Future Vision
Kelly, who stated she did not know what triggered the SEC investigation, received a subpoena in June and a violations notice in January. Despite the challenging circumstances, she was able to select her successor, finding Dickman through an executive recruiter. She sought someone who was ethical, wouldn't strip the company for quick cash, and understood the technology.
"Early-stage companies have all kinds of challenges across the board. In the end, it happened. It's been resolved," Dickman told TechCrunch.
Dickman, who has decades of experience in the creator space and with early-stage startups, sees himself and Kelly as complementary forces. He describes Kelly as analytical and product-focused, while he prefers a broader leadership role. "I feel like we're a good combo and complementary to drive this forward," he added.
Under Dickman's leadership, Curastory has already begun new fundraising efforts, international expansion plans, and product updates. Kelly noted that Dickman's fundraising deck quickly reached a VC fund, leading to positive engagement—an experience she admitted was "eye-opening," referring to the common challenges women, especially Black women, face in venture fundraising.
Expansion and Product Innovation
Curastory plans to expand into Canada, Australia, and the UK soon. The company is also developing new features to target creators on additional platforms like Spotify video and integrate AI into its advertising technology for more agentic capabilities. Its current video enablement tools support platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook Watch.
Furthermore, Curastory aims to introduce a more enhanced attribution model for advertisers, potentially eliminating the need for influencer promo codes. "Those are the immediate, near-term product, sales, globalization things," Kelly stated.
Reflecting on her journey, Kelly shared with TechCrunch that "being a founder and CEO is one of the most humbling and rewarding experiences I think anyone can have." She hopes to share her lessons and experiences, particularly with women and people of color, to support future entrepreneurs.
