Method · August 2026
The customer, the hole, the graph.
Micro-creators with 1k–50k followers already make $50–$200 posts. They find that work in DMs, in Discord, or not at all. Brands who want authentic reach either overpay one macro or hire a coordinator to wrangle a spreadsheet of micros.
GRIN and Aspire sell the coordinator a $11k–$100k/year cockpit. Collabstr and #paid sell a directory and leave the DMs to you. The hole is the work after “I found someone”: brief, draft, FTC, revise, post, pay.
Dozen owns that work. The brand writes a paragraph. After assemble, the campaign sits in funding until Stripe Checkout records the budget on the platform — accept stays idle until then. The creator taps accept; that node stays open until 60% of the swarm accepts or the brand explicitly refills from the bench. After review, post is a second real node. Twelve agent nodes with explicit verifiers keep humans out unless confidence is low or policy fails closed.
Why a dozen, not one
One $8k creator is a spike. Twelve $90 posts in the same city is a rumor — more surfaces, more comments that look like neighbors, more chance the product shows up in a real kitchen. The Edward Sturm instinct is right; the product is a marketplace that actually runs the swarm.
The graph the model does not own
The model writes briefs and captions. Verifiers own the gates. A failed verifier is a stop, not a suggestion.
01 · brand
Intake
passed
Budget ≥ $200, niche + platform present
Budget ≥ $200, niche + platform present
02 · ops
Safety gate
passed
Fail-closed banned verticals
Fail-closed banned verticals
03 · ops
Assemble swarm
passed
6–16 micros, fee math, fake-risk cap
6–16 micros, fee math, fake-risk cap
04 · creator
Offer
passed
Rate band + brand escrow funded
Rate band + brand escrow funded
05 · creator
Accept
running
≥60% accept or bench refill
Waiting for ≥60% accept or an explicit bench refill.
06 · creator
Draft
idle
FTC disclosure + must-says
FTC disclosure + must-says
07 · ops
Verify
idle
Fail-closed caption policy
Fail-closed caption policy
08 · ops
Revise
idle
≤2 loops, then escalate
≤2 loops, then escalate
09 · brand
Batch review
idle
Brand sees only the batch
Brand sees only the batch
10 · creator
Post
idle
Live URL + disclosure still present
Live URL + disclosure still present
11 · ops
Measure
idle
ER not anomalous vs baseline
ER not anomalous vs baseline
12 · ops
Pay
idle
Escrow funded + posted + no dispute
Escrow funded + posted + no dispute
Edges intake→safety · safety→assemble · assemble→offer · offer→accept* · accept→draft · draft→verify · verify→revise · revise→review · review→post · post→measure · measure→pay
01 · brand
Intake
Budget ≥ $200, niche + platform present
02 · ops
Safety gate
Fail-closed banned verticals
03 · ops
Assemble swarm
6–16 micros, fee math, fake-risk cap
04 · creator
Offer
Rate band + brand escrow funded
05 · creator
Accept
≥60% accept or bench refill
06 · creator
Draft
FTC disclosure + must-says
07 · ops
Verify
Fail-closed caption policy
08 · ops
Revise
≤2 loops, then escalate
09 · brand
Batch review
Brand sees only the batch
10 · creator
Post
Live URL + disclosure still present
11 · ops
Measure
ER not anomalous vs baseline
12 · ops
Pay
Escrow funded + posted + no dispute
Matching, in the open
- Pool is 1k–50k only. Fake-risk ≥ 0.70% is rejected before score.
- Score is niche overlap, platform fit, engagement rate, city, and a fake-risk penalty. Priority members get a rank bump, not a quality waiver.
- Purse is budget minus the 18% (or 15%) take. Offers stay inside each creator’s rate band. Target swarm is 6–16. Accept does not open until the brand escrow is funded.
Why 18% and $5
18% is cheaper than a coordinator and more honest than a $40k SaaS seat. It drops to 15% on priority or on $2,500+ campaigns so volume is rewarded. $5 priority is a ranking fee a creator recoups on the first paid post — enough to filter tire-kickers, not enough to feel like a second job.
Run a swarm