Later started as a scrappy Instagram scheduler built by two Canadians who spotted a gap: Instagram had no native scheduler, and brands were doing it manually. The product was clean enough to grow without a sales team for years. The 2022 merger with Mavrck — backed by $95M from Summit Partners — turned a scheduling tool into a full influencer marketing platform. Smart move, harder game. Later now competes against enterprise software companies with bigger sales teams and deeper pockets than the scheduling startup it used to be.
Founded
2014
HQ
Boston, Massachusetts
Total Raised
$100M+
Founder
Matt Smith & Roger Parks
Status
Private
Website
later.comTHE ORIGIN STORY
Matt Smith and Roger Parks launched Later as Latergramme in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2014. The premise was embarrassingly simple: Instagram had no way to schedule posts in advance, which drove social media managers insane.
Brands had to publish manually, set phone alarms, or use clunky workarounds. Latergramme fixed it.
They launched at TechCrunch Disrupt and got traction fast. The product was clean, visual, and actually solved the problem.
They renamed from Latergramme to Later in 2016 as they expanded beyond Instagram to Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and eventually TikTok. In January 2022, Later merged with Mavrck, a Boston-based influencer marketing platform founded by Lyle Stevens.
Summit Partners backed the combined entity with $95M in growth financing.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO
Freemium SaaS with tiered subscription plans. Later's core scheduling product runs from a free plan with limited posts up to paid tiers for agencies and enterprises that need multiple accounts, team seats, and analytics.
The Mavrck-side of the business operates on enterprise SaaS contracts — six-figure annual deals for influencer campaign management with brands and agencies. The combined model covers both the high-volume SMB segment and the high-value enterprise segment.
THE PRODUCTS
Visual Instagram Planner — a drag-and-drop calendar for scheduling posts with a preview of how the grid will look. Link in Bio — a customizable landing page that replaces the single Instagram bio link, directing followers to multiple URLs.
Multi-Platform Scheduler — content scheduling across Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Mavrck Influencer Platform — enterprise-grade influencer discovery, campaign management, and performance measurement.
Analytics and Reporting — engagement tracking and growth metrics across platforms.
HOW THEY GREW
Later grew almost entirely through content marketing and word of mouth in the social media manager community. Their blog became one of the most-read resources for Instagram tips and best practices — driving organic traffic that converted directly into signups.
They built strong brand recognition in the SMB and freelancer market without a traditional sales team. The Mavrck merger changed the path: the combined company can now sell a full-stack influencer marketing solution — from scheduling organic content to managing paid creator campaigns — to enterprise brands under one contract.
THE HARD PART
The social media scheduling space is brutally competitive. Buffer, Hootsuite, and Sprout Social have more resources and longer track records in the SMB segment.
The Mavrck merger shifted Later into influencer marketing, where it competes against CreatorIQ, Grin, and other well-funded enterprise platforms. Competing at the SMB level on price and at the enterprise level on features simultaneously is hard to execute.
Platform dependency is also existential — Instagram and TikTok API changes can break core product functionality with no warning.
MONEY TRAIL
Series A
2019 · Led by BDC Capital
$5M raised
Growth Financing
2022 · Led by Summit Partners
$95M raised
WHO BACKED THEM
BDC Capital, Summit Partners
Related Profiles
Companies
CreatorIQ
After Later merged with Mavrck in 2022, it became a direct competitor to CreatorIQ in enterprise influencer marketing. Both platforms serve brands managing large creator programs, though CreatorIQ focuses on data quality and enterprise accounts while Later covers a broader SMB-to-enterprise spectrum.
Pinterest is one of Later's core scheduling platforms and a significant traffic driver for the lifestyle and e-commerce brands in Later's customer base. The two companies have had a partnership relationship to give Later users deeper Pinterest analytics.
Snap Inc.
Snap's creator and publisher ecosystem is a growing part of Later's multi-platform scheduling and influencer management offering. As brands expand creator programs beyond Instagram and TikTok, Snap is an increasingly relevant channel in Later's product.
Head-to-Head
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