# SelfMade

> SelfMade is a New York-based AI creative company behind Skipper, a creative intelligence platform that scrapes customer reviews, Reddit threads, Amazon feedback and social comments to build audience personas and generate on-brand performance ads at scale. Originally founded in 2015 as an Instagram commerce app, the company pivoted through agency work before rebuilding around AI-driven creative production for e-commerce and direct-to-consumer brands.

- **Founded:** 2015
- **Headquarters:** New York, United States
- **Founders:** Brian Schechter (Founder (2015))
- **Team size:** Reported at roughly 670 in third-party data (likely includes network/contractors); core team is far smaller
- **Products:** Skipper, AI Persona Research, Performance Creative Production, Full-Service Media Buying
- **Notable:** Survived multiple pivots since 2015 - from Instagram commerce app to agency to AI creative platform, Rebuilt the company around AI creative intelligence after revenue collapsed to ~$3M in 2023, Launched Skipper in beta in 2024 with ~25 live scrapers across major review and social platforms

## Products & services

- **Skipper** — An AI-powered creative intelligence platform that runs roughly 25 scrapers across Reddit, Amazon, TikTok, X, Facebook and brand websites, tags customer reviews by persona, angle and emotional trigger, and generates on-brand static ads. Includes competitive intelligence via Meta's ad library, canvas-style editing and brief export.
- **AI Persona Research** — Automated dissection of customer reviews and social conversation into brand-specific personas and audience insights that inform creative angles.
- **Performance Creative Production** — Data-driven static and UGC-supported ad creative produced for paid social and e-commerce campaigns, with rapid turnaround and creative iteration.
- **Full-Service Media Buying** — Top-tier offering combining AI creative and UGC with managed paid advertising and media buying.

## Achievements

- Survived multiple pivots since 2015 - from Instagram commerce app to agency to AI creative platform
- Rebuilt the company around AI creative intelligence after revenue collapsed to ~$3M in 2023
- Launched Skipper in beta in 2024 with ~25 live scrapers across major review and social platforms
- Built creative tooling aligned to Meta's Andromeda shift, which raised required creative volume from ~5 to 10-20 formats

## Latest updates

- **2024** — Rolled out Skipper, its AI creative intelligence platform, in beta with scrapers, persona tagging, on-brand ad generation and Meta ad-library competitive intelligence.
- **2023** — Will Sartorius became CEO and pivoted the company toward AI-driven creative after a failed acquisition and revenue decline.

## Links

- Website: https://selfmade.co
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/selfmademe
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/selfmade

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/selfmade
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-18