Meet Claudia Raupach | Co Founder of SWAI

We had the good fortune of connecting with Claudia Raupach and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Claudia, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Hi, my name is Claudia, I am the co founder of Swai, a Berlin based user generated content marketing agency and influencer management. In my early 20s, I worked for creative studios and corporates within marketing and advertising industry to gain experience and grow my network. Once I got in touch with the creator industry some years ago I realized how much fun I have working with creative talents from all around the world. Some years later I met my co founder and we decided to give it a shot and build our own creator business in order to help creators grow their businesses and monetize their creative work.

Alright, so let’s jump right in! The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there a person, group, organization, book, etc that you want to dedicate your shoutout to? Who else deserves a little credit and recognition in your story?

There are people in my life that I absolutely couldn’t have missed on this journey, among them my supportive partner, my co founder and my family. Our business is rooted in the creator economy, so a very big inspiration for me are certainly all the creators that put themselves out there every day and work so hard on their dreams.

Nevertheless, I believe that the mindset work of finding your own business has to be done in the privacy of your own soul and that was – at least for me – the hardest part. I had all the resources even years before I found my own business: a stable network, good career, financial resources but the mindset was not there yet. It was a matter of time for me and replaying the idea again and again until it eventually became reality.

Please tell us more about your business. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today business-wise. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

Me and my co founder Olivia started Swai last year. Swai is a user generated content marketing agency that will soon turn into a UGC creator platform to help smaller scale creators professionalize and monetize their creator businesses. Our mission is to connect brands and creators to work together on inspiring and highly converting content and ad campaigns. We also run an influencer management agency as part of Swai. What sets us apart from other creator businesses? We have a clear focus on smaller scale creators, because small is the new big. 🙂 Smaller creators have highly engaged communities and are a powerful marketing tool in helping brands to reach their target audiences in an authentic way.

Biggest lesson I learned along the way: In the beginning of building your own business, better move fast! If you take too much time to think about your next move, you might end up not doing it. Try and look at whatever you are doing in the very beginning as a test.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d head out of the city and might spend half a day in Malibu beach before heading over to Venice to grab some drinks by the ocean side at Fig Tree. L.A.’s nightlife is incomparable to anything I’ve experienced before, so I wouldn’t miss out on this. Sunday morning, I’d certainly bring them to Republique Café on La Brea Ave for some simple but incredible good French Toasts before we would dive into the city’s gallery scene. I might end the day again by the water, watching the sun down in Santa Monica by the pier.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Awww, I love this question. My initial thought: I wanted to quote Snoop Dogg here: “I wanna thank me!”, not because I believe I’m a genius at all (or we all are geniuses) BUT because I truly believe that the mindset work of finding your own business has to be done in the privacy of your own heart and that was – at least for me – the hardest part. I had all the resources even years before In found my own business, meaning a stable network, good carreer, financial resources but the mindset was not there yet. It was a matter of time for me and replaying the idea that I wanted more again and again in my head and heart till it becomes reality. But certainly there are people that I absolutely couldn’t have missed on this journey. Big Shout Out to Amirpasha Mobini Tehrani, Tehran born and Berlin based machine learning engineer & AI specialist, who inspired me all along to break out of the known, put myself out there and stand up for what I want as well as my co founder Oliva Dumnicka that inspires me since the day we met with her special fearless energy. Our business is rooted in the creator economy, so lastly all the creators that put themselves out there every day and work so hard on their dreams are my inspiration.

Website: https://www.claudiaraupach.de

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claudiaraupach_/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-raupach/

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