Tally

The 10 audited YouTube posts show three distinct layers. First, the product does its own distribution: free forms expose a `Made with Tally` badge, and both Tally’s public writing and an earned growth teardown identify that badge plus word of mouth as an acquisition flywheel.

Second, software educators turn the free tier into long, high-visibility tutorials and real workflows; four audited creators carry confirmed personal referral links, while one Kevin Stratvert post separately says `Sponsor: Tally` and also uses a referral URL.

That single paid receipt proves sampled paid activity, not a broad fixed-fee creator program. Third, founder and community influence is earned media: a dedicated teardown makes Marie Martens, the bootstrapped origin story, and the badge flywheel the subject without a disclosed commercial tie.

Tally publicly offers referral economics and invites creators to co-create guides, but the observed strategy is better described as product badge/WOM distribution, referral monetization around explanation, and founder-led earned influence than as a conventional sponsorship machine.

This is a sampled, YouTube-heavy public view, not a market census.