Month: November 2025

• Visa is partnering with startup Karat Financial to launch AI-powered financial tools for creators.
• They target emerging creators, offering advice and automated payment solutions.
• The effort also includes an AI agent that can assist in evaluating brand deal offers.

Credit card giant Visa is deepening its relationship with the creator economy.

At Web Summit in Lisbon on Tuesday, Visa is set to announce a program with Karat Financial, a fintech startup that provides credit cards and banking tailored to content creators. The program is scheduled to launch in 2026 for Karat’s clients and will initially be free, with the possibility of becoming a paid service in the future.

The program will offer tools to help with tasks including setting up automated prompts to vendors about unpaid invoices and enrolling their bills in autopay. It will also feature an AI agent that can assist in evaluating brand deal offers.

Any tools that ease the work of chasing payments can be beneficial to creators, said Kyle Hjelmeseth, CEO of G&B Digital Management, a creator-management company. Brands that say they’ll pay in 30 days often take up to 60 and even 120 days, causing some creators to run into trouble paying rent and hampering their ability to plan and take risks.

“When I started doing this 10 years ago, I was sending invoices on behalf of creators and follow-ups,” Hjelmeseth said. “Are brands paying more on time than they were 10 years ago? Absolutely not. It’s a huge issue for a normal creator.”

Visa says it geared the tools toward people who are trying to be full-time creators and are making money, but not yet famous. Visa will measure the program’s success by how much creators use the tools and how well it helps them manage their cash flow.

The move comes as the creator economy continues to expand and grab attention and revenue from traditional media. Ad giant WPP forecast that creators would earn $185 billion in 2025, up 20% from 2024.

“We are firm believers that the composition of the pie is changing, meaning creators are a new segment that has emerged over the last few years,” said Jonathan Kolozsvary, global head of small business at Visa.

Other financial companies have also been catering to creators. In February, Mastercard announced its Business Builder debit and credit card products, which are pitched to creators. That program offers tools to reduce creators’ personal liability for their online content, lower their tax burden, and simplify their business management, among other things.

New research reveals creators’ business needs

Visa enlisted TikTok’s top star, Khaby Lame, to help promote its creator initiatives. The new program builds on Visa’s 2024 move to classify creators as small businesses, which enabled them to take advantage of certain financial tools.

Visa is launching the program in tandem with a new research report titled “Monetized,” which shows that creators are growing more optimistic about their earning potential and are increasingly viewing it as a career path, with 88% expecting their revenue to increase over the next year.

Conducted in partnership with TikTok and Morning Consult, the report surveyed over 1,000 creators from May to August across the United States, Brazil, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.

Nearly half of the content creators in the report said they were self-taught in most business areas. The top areas they said they wanted help in — all cited by about a fourth of respondents — were contract negotiation, business strategy, financial management, and tax/legal compliance.

Kolozsvary said that creator pain points are similar to those of small businesses in general, including managing cash flow and accessing capital.

He said that one difference for creators is that when they “turn that passion to profit, they don’t know what tax implications look like now that they’re a business, and not just a consumer.”

• Asahi Pompey said it’s not always wise to seek mentorship from the most senior person.
• The Goldman partner advised looking for someone who has the time to actually know you and your work.
• In Goldman’s annual intern survey, 84% of respondents said they expect workplace mentorship.

When it comes to mentorship, it’s not always wise to aim high.

Asahi Pompey, Goldman Sachs’ global head of the Office of Corporate Engagement and chair of the Urban Investment Group, said that young people often have the wrong priorities when looking for a workplace mentor.

“One mistake I think people make is that they tend to want the most senior sponsor and mentor. That’s not so great if that person doesn’t know you well, doesn’t know your work, and can’t really speak to it,” she told Business Insider.

People often fall into a “trap” where they seek out mentorship in the biggest name or moneymaker, even though that person might not be able to devote enough time to the relationship, she said.

“You need somebody who’s going to bang the table on your behalf, and that’s going to be someone who really knows the substance of your work and the value that you’re delivering,” Pompey said.

In Goldman’s annual intern survey this year, 84% of respondents said they expected to be paired with a mentor at a new job. The potential mentorship options have recently changed, since the firm shook up its leadership ranks last week by promoting 608 employees to managing director. Of the new MDs, 70% came from revenue-generating divisions and 27% were women.

Pompey — who has been at Goldman for nearly 20 years and a partner since 2018 — advised the new MDs to pinpoint the people they want to mentor. She’s also told Business Insider that she consistently worries about the people on her team, and especially about whether she’s doing all she can to “amplify their talents.”

Some of Business Insider’s 2025 rising stars of Wall Street advised college students to harness the power of networking early on in their careers. Others said it’s important to avoid chasing titles or jobs simply because they sound impressive, and instead be guided by genuine interest.

Work at Goldman Sachs or have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at atecotzky@insider.com or Signal at alicetecotzky.05. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.

• After quitting a $250K HR job, Jesse Tervooren is coming up on a year of unemployment.
• Time away from work helped her become a more present mother and rethink her relationship with money.
• She is now seeking a job that aligns with her values and promotes a healthy work-life balance.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jesse Tervooren, a 39-year-old former HR executive based in Vancouver, Washington. It’s been edited for length and clarity.

When I quit my $250,000 corporate HR job last year, I thought finding another job would be no big deal. I was out of touch with the reality of the job market.

I hadn’t applied to a job in a traditional way in over a decade because I’d always been recruited. Now that it’s rounding up on a year of unemployment, I wish I could go back and shake myself.

At the same time, my time away from work has finally allowed me to be a present mother and confront my strained relationship with money. I’m absolutely ready to go back to work, but I plan to make a few changes.

I knew it was time to leave when my values no longer aligned with the company’s

I identified early on in my career that I was good at work, and I let productivity and achievement become my identity. There were many times, throughout my decadelong career in HR, when I tried to take a step back and be less intense, but I think I had an addiction to the dopamine that came from stress.

When my daughter was born, my husband became her main caregiver, and I became the sole provider for our family. In 2023, I was promoted to director of people experience at a dental company. I loved the diversity of my job’s responsibilities, the salary, and my team, so I stayed for months.

The straw that broke the camel’s back came when I was in direct opposition with my boss about something that made me realize I wasn’t the right person for the job. I made a commitment to myself that I would never stay in a role where I was compromising my values.

I didn’t wake up that day thinking I was going to quit, but something about that day made me feel like I couldn’t take it anymore.

After I quit, I took a break that backfired, but I don’t have any regrets

I had a little too much hubris, thinking it would be easy to find my next role, so I didn’t start applying to jobs until January of this year. I was very out of touch with reality.

As a healthcare recruiter, I saw an almost constant shortage of workers, so I thought it would be the same for the HR industry. From January to April, I applied for jobs, wrote personal cover letters, reached out to past coworkers, sent LinkedIn messages, and did everything I could to secure a new role, but it felt like all my applications went into the abyss. It was very humbling.

I don’t have any regrets and feel that everything worked out as it should, but I wish I had looked at the job market in my field and started applying sooner.

Quitting made me realize I hadn’t been a present mother

I used to think I was the most present mother I could be. I’d stop working at five and put on a smile to play with my daughter, but I was still mentally going through everything I had done that day. I was available, but I wasn’t present.

Since quitting my job, I’m finally able to give my 6-year-old daughter what she needs: me fully immersed in her world, playing, being silly, and not just physically being next to her. Kids are intuitive, and I feel like she’s noticed the difference.

I’ve learned to stop using money to deal with stress

When I was earning a $250,000 salary, I’d cope with a stressful day by ordering something from Amazon, buying myself a little treat, or doing a Target run. I’d justify it by saying, “It’s just a sweater from Target, it’s not a designer purse.”

I didn’t realize that I was using money to distract myself from stress. Now that I don’t have access to disposable funds, I’ve had to find other ways to deal with stress.

I’ve gotten into coloring, painting, and even doing my own nail art. I’m not overly artistic or talented in any of these things, but they’re cathartic and allow me the satisfaction of seeing something through to completion without pressure.

I’ve also built a community of friends over this time. I go walking some mornings with a neighbor who has kids in the same school as mine. It’s good for physical health, mental health, and connection. My time away helped me realize I’m so much more than how productive I am in a day and how much I can contribute to a company.

I’m ready to work again, but I have boundaries

Although it’s nice and relaxing to stay home and color, I miss working. I miss feeling productive, like I’ve accomplished something that is tangible and in the service of others. I also miss the daily social connection that I had at work.

I’m ready to work again and need to work again to provide for my family, but I guess I’ve become disenchanted with corporate America.

I don’t want to go back to an office, from 9-to-5, or have to send my daughter to day care instead of spending time with her. I’m not even seeking balance — just a job that won’t systematically conflict with motherhood, mental health, and life. I may be idealistic, but I’m no longer willing to sell my soul for work.

Do you have to story to share about how you’ve navigated long-term unemployment? If so, please reach out to this reporter at tmartinelli@businessinsider.com.