How Amber Venz Box turned her blog into a multibillion-dollar platform powering influencers
DALLAS — What began as a side hustle for a struggling fashion blogger has grown into a $2 billion company reshaping the digital marketing landscape. Amber Venz Box, 36, co-founder and president of LTK, pioneered affiliate linking for influencers—an innovation that birthed a new era in the creator economy.
In 2010, Box was an unpaid blogger promoting her personal shopping services when a Dallas Morning News feature backfired: Readers flocked to her site for style advice but bought clothes directly from retailers, leaving her with no income. “That was my ‘aha moment’—I needed to monetize the sales I was driving,” Box told CNBC Make It.
Teaming up with her now-husband, Baxter Box, she adapted affiliate linking technology for her blog. By 2011, they launched RewardStyle (now LTK), a platform connecting influencers with brands for commission-based partnerships. Today, LTK works with 250,000 creators and 7,000 retailers, generating over $2.7 billion in payouts—and creating 240 millionaires.
From Cereal at Dad’s to SoftBank Backing
Box bootstrapped the venture with just $1,000, coding the prototype on weekends. Early skepticism from luxury brands—who dismissed influencers as “not part of [their] marketing plan”—nearly derailed progress. But partnerships with e-tailers like Net-a-Porter proved the model’s viability.
Despite challenges, LTK’s 2021 $300 million funding round from SoftBank validated Box’s vision. “That’s when the industry arrived,” she said.
Advice for Entrepreneurs: ‘Move with Urgency’
Box urges aspiring founders to act fast: “If you have a real problem, others do too. Solve it now—speed and community decide who wins.”
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