Ep. 79: He had 15M followers, then he quit — here's why ft. Caspar Lee

This week on the Creator Spotlight Podcast, we’re joined by Caspar Lee — one of YouTube’s early stars turned entrepreneur and investor. Caspar talks about why he walked away from 15 million followers, how he built four companies after YouTube, and what every creator should know about building a business that lasts. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/caspar-lee __ Caspar Lee YouTube: @caspar Website: https://www.casparlee.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caspar-lee-13584456/ Twitter: https://x.com/caspar_lee Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caspar_lee/ Francis Zierer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-zierer/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/FZierer __ 00:00 Introducing Caspar Lee 01:17 How to exit, as a creator 07:11 It's hard to do YouTube and business 12:49 How influencer marketing has evolved 16:02 The hardest part of influencer marketing 20:33 Investing in the creator economy 25:18 What is the perfect investment? 30:14 Equity vs cash in brand deals 33:14 The vulnerability of the creator economy 38:43 If Caspar Lee started YouTube in 2025 43:28 Caspar Lee's five year plan #podcast #creatoreconomy #youtubers