Too Long; Didn't Read
China has an entire industry of influencer incubators who work end-to-end to turn individuals into big businesses. The Hangzhou-based incubator Ruhan Holdings, which manages about 50 influencers, surpassed $158M GMV in 2017. The recipe involves a combination of Weibo for growing social media, Taobao for e-commerce, and a network of local manufacturers. The next few years will be about influencers bypassing 3rd party brands/retailers entirely, spurred by new platforms that let influencers take charge of their own monetization.