Strategic Partnership Pairs the Market Leader in Equity Crowdfunding With Entertainment Industry's Premier Marketing Consortium
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / February 18, 2026 / DealMaker, the leading online capital raising platform, and Dolphin (NASDAQ:DLPN), the premier entertainment marketing and content development company, today announced a strategic partnership designed to expand access to growth capital for celebrity, influencer, and entertainment-led consumer product and lifestyle companies.
The partnership brings together DealMaker's power and experience as the clear market leader in online capital raising with Dolphin's extensive marketing capabilities and deep relationships across the Creator economy, traditional Hollywood, and the broader entertainment industry. Together, the companies aim to help founders not only raise capital, but also expand audiences, grow customer bases, and build engaged communities - transforming investors into passionate users and users into long-term stakeholders-while building the awareness, credibility, and cultural relevance required to scale successful consumer-facing businesses.
Under the partnership, Dolphin and DealMaker will source opportunities both within Dolphin's own roster as well as across Dolphin's expansive network of talent, creators, managers, agents, ambassadors, and entertainment entrepreneurs. The collaboration is designed to support capital raises across a range of asset types, including consumer products and lifestyle brands, primarily at growth and expansion stages, as well as established businesses pursuing their next phase of scale.
Bill O'Dowd, CEO of Dolphin, said, "Celebrity and influencer-led businesses have been creating successful consumer brands for decades. What's fundamentally different today is that modern capital formation tools allow companies to directly align capital, customers, and community in a single, integrated model. This partnership brings together two leaders in their respective fields to help entertainment-driven companies raise capital while building brands with real cultural and commercial momentum."
Rebecca Kacaba, CEO of DealMaker, added, "We're thrilled to partner with Dolphin Entertainment to support the next generation of celebrity-backed consumer brands. Dolphin's ability to turn cultural relevance into market impact makes them an ideal partner as we expand access to capital for entertainment- and celebrity-led companies."
DealMaker is the dominant force in this category. Its platform streamlines the entire capital-raising lifecycle, including automated compliance, investor onboarding, payments, and ongoing investor engagement.
Dolphin, which was named #1 on the 2025 Observer Power List, is an award-winning entertainment venture studio surrounded by a collection of best in class PR and marketing agencies. Collectively, the Dolphin team brings decades of experience developing and marketing the launch, scaling, and sustaining of culture-defining brands across film, television, music, influencers, food, hospitality, fashion, sports, consumer products and lifestyle brands. Its integrated marketing platform spans earned media, influencer marketing, live events, experiential, and digital storytelling, helping transform creative ideas into category leaders.
About DealMaker
Headquartered in New York City, DealMaker is the future of capital raising. With more than $2.4 billion raised, DealMaker's platform enables companies to own their end-to-end capital raising lifecycle-from investor acquisition and conversion to compliance, payments, and engagement. Its white-label approach allows companies to retain ownership of their data and investor relationships while building lasting investor communities around their brands. For more information, visit dealmaker.tech.
About Dolphin
Dolphin (NASDAQ:DLPN) is where cultural creation meets marketing execution. Founded in 1996 by Bill O'Dowd, Dolphin operates as both a venture studio-developing and investing in content, products, and experiences-and a marketing consortium featuring leading agencies across every communications discipline.
Dolphin's collective includes 42West, The Door, Shore Fire Media, Elle Communications, Special Projects, and The Digital Dept., delivering expertise across film, television, music, influencers, sports, hospitality, fashion, consumer brands, and purpose-driven initiatives. Dolphin marketing has received numerous industry honors, including being named the #1 Agency of the Year by the Observer, as well as inclusion on the PR Net 100 and the PR News Elite 120.
Media contacts:
Dolphin - Lois@dolphinentertainment.com
DealMaker - press@dealmaker.tech
Investor contact for Dolphin:
James Carbonara - james@haydenir.com
SOURCE: Dolphin Entertainment
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/publishing-and-media/dealmaker-and-dolphin-partner-to-unlock-community-capital-for-celebrity-and-in-1137918
