Reign Maker Group Buys Creator Talent Management Company Hyphen HQ

EXCLUSIVE: Creator economy holding company Reign Maker Group has acquired a majority stake in fledgling talent management company Hyphen HQ.

The investment comes as Hyphen, which was incorporated in April, launches HyphenShare, a profit-sharing and options program that gives creators and talent managers a financial stake in the agency. Jonathan Chanti and Brad Morros founded Reign Maker to buy into creator economy companies.

Victoria Bachan and Alicia Rose co-founded Hyphen as a talent business for the creator economy. They claim that unlike traditional talent management businesses, Hyphen aligns the incentives of creatives, managers and the agency itself.

“This generation of creators didn’t wait for permission,” said Bachan, CEO of Hyphen. “They built their own audiences, their own platforms, and their own businesses from scratch. That deserves more than a management fee.

The people at the center of the value creation should own a piece of what they are building. Hyphen brings that same logic to the creator economy and the new entertainment industry. This isn’t a revision of the old model. It’s a replacement.”

The company plans to rep creators in the beauty, fashion, lifestyle, parenthood, fitness and wellness, sports, finance, culture and emerging categories, with announcements expected this year.

“I didn’t want to start just another influencer/creator agency – I wanted to build something that actually solves a problem Victoria and I – and our friends, colleagues and talent – face year after year,” said Hyphen COO Rose. “Poaching of agencies’ talent and employees is the industry’s most expensive – and often personally upsetting – open secret, and it keeps happening because people don’t feel ownership over what they’re building.

“You can’t non-compete your way out of that. Hyphen’s answer is ownership. There is more than enough to go around. We’re not here to lock people out of rooms, we’re here to build bigger ones.”

New York-based Reign Maker, meanwhile, invests in creator economy and founder-led businesses. Its portfolio includes influencer marketing company The Now, boutique talent firm YouKnowWho, Kernel Management, North House Talent, Reign Maker Talent and The Creator Rep. Institute. It also has a strategic pact with Paradigm.

“Hyphen represents exactly the kind of forward-thinking, Creator-first company we look to invest in and partner with,” said Jonathan Chanti, co-founder and CEO of Reign Maker. “Victoria and Alicia have built something truly differentiated at a time when creators are demanding more ownership, transparency, and alignment from the businesses they work with.

“Hyphen redefines what an agency relationship can be. One rooted in shared ownership, shared success, and a genuine commitment to the people driving this industry forward. We’re proud to make this investment and support the next phase of the company’s growth through our infrastructure, leadership, and shared resources.”

Bachan has worked at the likes of creator brand Nonipup, Wasserman, Whalar Group’s Sixteenth, Authentic Talent and Literary Management, Manor & Company, Sony Music Entertainment and CAA, while Rose is also a creator industry veteran.