Swayze (formerly Swayme) was accelerated at AceON during the Spring Accelerator 2024 and won the People´s Choice Award at our Demo Day. The initial concept was developed in mid-2023, and by January 2025, Swayze expanded to the US, with part of the team relocating from Poland to New York.

What’s the story behind this incredible milestone, and how did the team prepare for such a significant move? Phi Long Bui, co-CEO, has shared Swayze´s journey in detail, offering a guide and inspiration for other start-ups planning to scale to the US market.

Businesses receive authentic social media exposure directly from their customers, and users enjoy exclusive benefits

“At Swayze, we aim to revolutionize the way brands and individuals connect on social media. Our platform turns everyday Instagram users into authentic brand ambassadors, bridging the gap between businesses and their target audience. Brands enjoy a cost-effective, impactful alternative to traditional influencer marketing, while users are rewarded with real benefits for a picture,” explains Phi Long Bui, co-CEO of Swayze.

Swayze turns everyday individuals into nano-influencers, rewarding them with free food, drinks, and discounts for Instagram Story posts. Businesses like restaurants, bars, and barbershops join the platform to offer these deals, which users redeem by posting and tagging the business. Since the app launch in April 2024, Swayze has achieved tremendous growth:

• over 25,000 users and counting,
• nearly 50 partner brands spanning various categories,
• active in 4 cities in Poland,
• ranked 3rd place in the Polish App Store which was a huge validation of the app’s popularity and appeal.

The winning combination: team and strategy

Swayze was co-founded by Phi Long Bui, Kuba Henriksen, Kevin Heins, and Wiktoria Wisniewska. A special mention goes to Swayze´s CTO, Viet Nguyen, who has played a vital role in building the app, and Aleksandra Pawlik, CMO and a Forbes 25 Young Stars honoree, who has significantly elevated the brand through her innovative marketing efforts.

Some of Swayze´s most effective strategies included:

• Creating viral reels that showcased the ease of using Swayze and the benefits for both businesses and users.
• Collaborating with micro-influencers, who promoted Swayze in exchange for perks like free meals at partner restaurants.
• Grassroots promotions, such as distributing flyers, setting up interactive booths at universities, and even using a 360-degree camera at a music festival to capture and share engaging videos.

Many of the strategies Swayze tested and refined in Poland are carried over to the US market, as they´ve been proved effective and scalable. For example, encouraging the partner brands to promote Swayze within their venues (placing marketing materials on tables or at checkout points), or collaborating with university clubs to promote the app on campuses. However, they recognize that the US market brings unique opportunities and challenges, so they’re exploring additional marketing activities tailored to this environment, such as Subway advertisements, Spotify ads, and University partnerships.

Why target the US Market?

Swayze began locally in the Polish market, which provided an excellent proof of concept for their solution. A key milestone validating Swayze’s model - and driving the decision to expand - was the sheer number of deals facilitated through the platform. Thousands of Instagram Story posts served businesses noticeable increases in revenue and foot traffic after just a few users shared their experiences.

Initially, the Swayze team considered enabling the platform to work across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. However, the MVP was refined to focus exclusively on Instagram Story posts, the most popular medium for frequent posting. The US, particularly New York, offered a promising market with significantly more Instagram users who post more frequently, alongside highly competitive businesses eager to invest in new marketing solutions.

101: How to prepare for expansion

Interplay VC’s Incubator investment was the catalyst that enabled Swayze to make this leap, providing not only funding but also connections and resources to navigate the US market effectively.

The moving of the company abroad required a lot of planning and preparation:

• Finding a strong leadership to take over and run the Polish company was a priority as co-CEOs were prepared to relocate to New York.
• Registering the company in Delaware and setting up the necessary bank accounts to establish operations.
• Rebranding the platform and marketing materials to suit the American market, ensuring our messaging resonated with both businesses and users in the US.
• They consider themselves fortunate to be able to collaborate with multiple University’s consulting clubs, who helped them map out an expansion strategy and support in building the app. The students dove deep into areas like pricing models, marketing tactics, and identifying key focus points for entering the US market. The insights were incredibly helpful as Swayze built their game plan for New York.
• Interplay VC introduced them to brands and start-ups in their network, helping Swayze team to learn from their experiences.

“It’s been an intense process, but it’s also been exciting. Balancing the needs of two markets - Poland and the US - while setting up a completely new operation has been a challenge, but it’s one we’ve embraced with a lot of energy and optimism.”

Currently, Swayze operates in both Poland and the US. The team in Poland continues to run the existing operations and manage the partners there. In the US, they are building a new team focusing on sales and marketing, starting with New York as a launchpad.

Founder´s life in New York

Life as a founder in New York is a completely different experience compared to Warsaw. The start-up ecosystem there is thriving - while it may not be as big as Silicon Valley, it’s clear that New York has become a major hub for start-ups and VC funds. Every conversation becomes a learning opportunity, whether it’s about scaling strategies, funding, or overcoming challenges.

“What’s also been encouraging is how open and willing people are to meet with us, even as a start-up coming from Poland. Whenever we meet a partner or investor with Polish roots, there’s often an instant connection, which adds a personal element to these interactions. It’s been surprising to see just how many Polish people and businesses are active in the US, especially in New York.”

Phi Long’s family is originally from Vietnam, but he was born and raised in Poland. He spent half of his life living in the UK, worked in 8 different countries, and traveled to over 60 countries before founding Swayze. These experiences made him highly adaptable to diverse environments. During his travels, Phi Long often captured countless moments - especially photos of food - and realized that he had been organically promoting businesses, not as a traditional influencer but by influencing his close circle of friends. This unique perspective resonates deeply with investors, partners, and users, adding credibility and authenticity to the Swayze story.

Swayze´s lessons learned

Importance of adaptability

In Poland, Swayze had a level of comfort and familiarity that made it easier to get started - they knew the city, the culture, and people willing to offer the support. Moving to New York, however, was a completely different experience. Everything was new, learning how the subway system worked, figuring out the neighborhoods, and even understanding the business culture. For Swayze team, it felt like starting over, but it also reminded them of the importance of adaptability and staying open to learning.

Be adventurous!

One of the biggest lessons they’ve learned is the power of curiosity and persistence. When everything feels unfamiliar, the best approach is to treat it like an adventure, ask questions, meet people, and absorb as much as you can. Being in a new environment pushes you to grow as an entrepreneur and as a person.

Building relationships and network are super-important

In New York, every meeting, every event, and every new contact is an opportunity to learn and grow. Whether it’s connecting with other start-ups, meeting investors, or just getting advice from someone who understands the market better, those relationships are invaluable.

Do not give up, jump over the obstacles

Finally, one of the most inspirational lessons is learning to trust the process. Expanding across continents isn’t easy, it’s about being resilient, embracing challenges, and remembering that each obstacle is a stepping stone to something bigger.

Challenges and opportunities in the European vs. US start-up ecosystems

“I was once told that American founders want to take over the world, while European founders only aim to take over their country. There’s some truth to that. American founders often think on a global scale from day one, but European founders face unique challenges. They have to navigate multiple languages, cultures, and regulatory systems just to scale across Europe. This makes European founders incredibly resilient. If you can successfully grow a startup in Europe with all its complexities, I truly believe you can succeed anywhere.”

Swayze´s co-CEO Phi Long also shared some of his perspectives on the local European start-up scene, comparing it to the US market. He focused particularly on the funding options available for pre-seed start-ups, highlighting the differences in approach between the two regions:

• The European start-up scene has less funding than the US, especially at the pre-seed stage, where investors often expect traction, a working product, or revenue before investing.
• American VCs are more risk-tolerant, often backing start-ups with just a pitch deck if they believe in the vision and founders. This risk-taking culture, along with higher valuations, makes the US more attractive for start-ups, with a larger ecosystem to learn from and collaborate with.
• In Europe start-up scene is still evolving. In recent years, more VC funds have been appearing across Europe, and there’s been a wave of successful founders reinvesting their time and money back into the ecosystem. Government-backed programs, accelerators like AceON, and weekly start-up events in cities like Warsaw are also helping to create more opportunities for young companies. The surge of interest and investment in AI, particularly in countries like Poland, is a promising sign for the future.
• Reducing bureaucracy and creating founder-friendly structures, like Delaware’s company registration system or investment vehicles like the SAFE, would make Europe easier for start-ups.

The future of influencer marketing and Swayze

The influencer marketing industry has shifted significantly in recent years. Phi Long sees these changes on the market:

• Brands are increasingly moving away from mega-influencers and celebrity endorsements, the focus has shifted toward micro-influencers and user-generated content (UGC).
• Micro-influencers, with smaller but highly engaged audiences, are proving to be far more effective at promoting brands. They connect with their followers on a more personal level, building trust and authenticity that big influencers often lack.
• UGC - such as Instagram reels and TikTok videos - has become the go-to format for marketing for a lot of companies, including Swayze.

And what is the future of Swayze?

With a significantly larger budget for marketing and sales compared to what they had in Poland, they’re confident in Swayze´s ability to scale quickly. A key focus will be building a local team on the ground in New York, dedicated to sales and marketing efforts. The goal is to grow their user base to 100,000 active users while simultaneously onboarding at least 100 business partners across various industries.

By summer 2025, Phi Long aims to leverage the traction they’ve gained in New York to raise a seed funding round, demonstrating their rapid growth, partner success stories, and the overall impact of Swayze in this market. Success in New York will provide a roadmap for expanding to other cities, solidifying Swayze as a transformative force in social media marketing.

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