By Victoria Hassan, Former Contributor.
Published Oct 12, 2025 at 06:15am EDT
Updated Oct 12, 2025, 06:38am EDT
At 22 years old, Marlon Ray Swazy Jr. has emerged as one of the most unconventional and self-made founders in the creator economy — not through credentials or venture networks, but through an unusual combination of relentless self-education, consumer psychology obsession, and firsthand experience working across every layer of the digital market.
Born in Mississippi and raised in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Swazy grew up feeling out of place. “I never fit in anywhere,” he recalls. “I always felt like I was meant for something different.” That sense followed him to the University of New Mexico, where he studied business but found more value in late-night reading about marketing, persuasion, and digital behavior than in any lecture.
To make extra income during college, Swazy began teaching combat martial arts to students — a side hustle that unexpectedly grew to more than 50 clients. At the same time, he worked as a dishwasher, saving nearly every dollar and observing how people respond to service, trust, and credibility even in the smallest economic transactions.
At 22 years old, Marlon Ray Swazy Jr. has emerged as one of the most unconventional and self-made founders in the creator economy — not through credentials or venture networks, but through an unusual combination of relentless self-education, consumer psychology obsession, and firsthand experience working across every layer of the digital market.
Born in Mississippi and raised in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Swazy grew up feeling out of place. “I never fit in anywhere,” he recalls. “I always felt like I was meant for something different.” That sense followed him to the University of New Mexico, where he studied business but found more value in late-night reading about marketing, persuasion, and digital behavior than in any lecture.
To make extra income during college, Swazy began teaching combat martial arts to students — a side hustle that unexpectedly grew to more than 50 clients. At the same time, he worked as a dishwasher, saving nearly every dollar and observing how people respond to service, trust, and credibility even in the smallest economic transactions.
Early Steps Into the Digital Economy
By his second year at UNM, Swazy decided to channel his curiosity into something bigger. He launched FrayAgency, a UGC and performance-marketing agency focused on helping brands scale through Meta ads and creator partnerships. The work forced him to study the mechanics of trust in online buying behavior — what convinces a stranger to purchase, why creators struggle to prove legitimacy, and how consumers subconsciously navigate risk.
His next venture, Marayai, took those lessons further. Marayai was a lead generation and ad services agency built specifically for local and digital businesses. While still living at home with his family, Swazy scaled it to over $11,000 per month in consistent revenue — an inflection point that convinced him he could build something much larger.
The Vision
In 2024, Swazy partnered with his now-wife, Tyla Booker, to create SAAS QUEENS, a program helping women launch and scale SaaS service businesses. Leaning on his deep understanding of marketing psychology and content-driven growth, Swazy grew SAAS QUEENS from $0 to $55,000 per month in six months, establishing a proven track record in scaling creator-led businesses with systematized trust, marketing, and conversion frameworks.
The success of SAAS QUEENS gave him a unique vantage point: thousands of conversations with creators, countless sales calls, and a frontline view of the creator economy’s biggest, most painful gap.
In 2024, Swazy partnered with, Tyla Booker, to create SAAS QUEENS, a program helping women launch and scale SaaS service businesses. Leaning on his deep understanding of marketing psychology and content-driven growth, Swazy grew SAAS QUEENS from $0 to $55,000 per month in six months, establishing a proven track record in scaling creator-led businesses with systematized trust, marketing, and conversion frameworks.
The success of SAAS QUEENS gave him a unique vantage point: thousands of conversations with creators, countless sales calls, and a frontline view of the creator economy’s biggest, most painful gap.
The Insight That Sparked Varyfi
Across every coaching program, agency, and digital product space, Swazy saw the same pattern:
Creators can sell — but they can’t prove credibility.
Buyers want to trust — but they have nowhere to verify.
The dominant creator monetization platforms weren’t solving this. Stan Store and Beacons were designed for selling, not proving legitimacy. Their review sections felt like extended product marketing — not neutral, third-party trust indicators.
The creator economy, despite being valued at more than $250 billion, had no equivalent to Google Reviews, Yelp, or any standardized, independent trust layer.
That realization became Varyfi, a platform built around three pillars:
A public credibility dashboard
A neutral testimonial hub
A verified badge signaling legitimacy and reducing buyer friction
Creators use Varyfi as their new link-in-bio — a place where a potential buyer immediately sees:
Real video testimonials
Proof of past results
Ratings
A credibility score
A blue checkmark if they are verified
After investing $50,000 of his own money, Swazy launched Varyfi’s MVP and quickly built momentum. Within months, Varyfi secured $8 million in early funding, valuing the company at $16 million by September 2025.
Across every coaching program, agency, and digital product space, Swazy saw the same pattern:
- Creators can sell — but they can’t prove credibility.
- Buyers want to trust — but they have nowhere to verify.
The dominant creator monetization platforms weren’t solving this. Stan Store and Beacons were designed for selling, not proving legitimacy. Their review sections felt like extended product marketing — not neutral, third-party trust indicators.
The creator economy, despite being valued at more than $250 billion, had no equivalent to Google Reviews, Yelp, or any standardized, independent trust layer.
That realization became Varyfi, a platform built around three pillars:
- A public credibility dashboard
- A neutral testimonial hub
- A verified badge signaling legitimacy and reducing buyer friction
Creators use Varyfi as their new link-in-bio — a place where a potential buyer immediately sees:
- Real video testimonials
- Proof of past results
- Ratings
- A credibility score
- A blue checkmark if they are verified
After investing $50,000 of his own money, Swazy launched Varyfi’s MVP and quickly built momentum. Within months, Varyfi secured $8 million in early funding, valuing the company at $16 million by September 2025 — a valuation that put Swazy’s paper net worth at roughly $3.6 million, based on his % ownership stake.
Why Creators Love Varyfi
A question investors frequently raise about trust platforms is whether creators actually want to be judged publicly. Swazy’s approach solves this neatly:
Creators choose which testimonials to show
Varyfi does not police or penalize creators
It is positioned as a conversion booster, not a rating system
The verification badge is a credibility signal, not a moral score
“It’s built for creators, not against them,” Swazy emphasizes. “Trust increases conversions. And conversions increase revenue. Creators understand that immediately.”
By anchoring Varyfi as a revenue tool, not an accountability tool, adoption becomes far more natural. And by placing testimonials and trust indicators “above the fold” — instead of buried beneath products — Varyfi redefines the link-in-bio experience around proof first, products second.
A question investors frequently raise about trust platforms is whether creators actually want to be judged publicly. Swazy’s approach solves this neatly:
Creators choose which testimonials to show
Varyfi does not police or penalize creators
It is positioned as a conversion booster, not a rating system
The verification badge is a credibility signal, not a moral score
“It’s built for creators, not against them,” Swazy emphasizes. “Trust increases conversions. And conversions increase revenue. Creators understand that immediately.”
By anchoring Varyfi as a revenue tool, not an accountability tool, adoption becomes far more natural. And by placing testimonials and trust indicators “above the fold” — instead of buried beneath products — Varyfi redefines the link-in-bio experience around proof first, products second.
A Vision to Become the Trust Infrastructure of the Creator Economy
Varyfi’s long-term ambition extends well beyond badges and testimonials. Swazy envisions the company evolving into the universal trust standard for the creator industry.
The roadmap includes:
- Deep creator analytics
- Verified support responsiveness metrics
- Refund-rate verification
- Activity scoring
A data infrastructure layer that lenders, platforms, and buyers can tap into
Integration with link-in-bio tools, cold outreach, ads, and funnels
“In every major industry, trust infrastructure exists — except the creator economy,” he says. “We’re building the system that should’ve existed years ago.”
Varyfi’s long-term ambition extends well beyond badges and testimonials. Swazy envisions the company evolving into the universal trust standard for the creator industry.
The roadmap includes:
- Deep creator analytics
- Verified support responsiveness metrics
- Refund-rate verification
- Activity scoring
A data infrastructure layer that lenders, platforms, and buyers can tap into
Integration with link-in-bio tools, cold outreach, ads, and funnels
“In every major industry, trust infrastructure exists — except the creator economy,” he says. “We’re building the system that should’ve existed years ago.”
Momentum, Marketing, and the Path Forward
Leveraging his years of experience in content and performance marketing, Swazy plans to scale Varyfi through:
- UGC
- Viral creator partnerships
- Affiliate programs
- Social seeding
- Paid ads
- Community-led growth
Trust education campaigns (“Don’t buy before you Varyfi”)
His belief is that once creators begin using Varyfi in their bios, funnels, and cold DMs, it will trigger a network-driven snowball effect — making the Varyfi badge a familiar symbol across platforms.
Leveraging his years of experience in content and performance marketing, Swazy plans to scale Varyfi through:
- UGC
- Viral creator partnerships
- Affiliate programs
- Social seeding
- Paid ads
- Community-led growth
Trust education campaigns (“Don’t buy before you Varyfi”)
His belief is that once creators begin using Varyfi in their bios, funnels, and cold DMs, it will trigger a network-driven snowball effect — making the Varyfi badge a familiar symbol across platforms.
What Comes Next
Varyfi is still in its early stages, but the company’s positioning sits at the intersection of three powerful movements:
- The rise of creator-led businesses
- Growing skepticism of online educators and coaches
- The shift toward transparency-driven commerce
Swazy aims to place Varyfi at the center of that transformation.
“We’re not building a review site,” he says. “We’re building the trust layer that will move the entire creator economy forward.”
Varyfi is still in its early stages, but the company’s positioning sits at the intersection of three powerful movements:
- The rise of creator-led businesses
- Growing skepticism of online educators and coaches
- The shift toward transparency-driven commerce
Swazy aims to place Varyfi at the center of that transformation.
“We’re not building a review site,” he says. “We’re building the trust layer that will move the entire creator economy forward.”
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