The Creator Spotlight Podcast

Tyler Bainbridge, founder of Perfectly Imperfect and builder of a human-curated social magazine and app, grew a newsletter into a 400k+ user platform. He discusses escaping algorithmic feeds, leaving Substack to own the product, scaling community and editorial taste, milestone cultural features, monetization paths, and a vision for a friendlier, human-first internet.

Matt Kiser is the creator and editor WTF Just Happened Today, a political news newsletter with over 200,000 subscribers built entirely on a pay-what-you-want membership model. In this episode Matt breaks down how he grew from zero to 100,000 subscribers in six months, the editorial philosophy behind curating the news every day for nine years, and the biggest mistakes he made along the way. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles __ Matt Kiser Newsletter LinkedIn Bluesky GitHub __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Matt Kiser 01:18 Zero to 100k in six months 11:06 Building the skill of aggregation and curation 17:41 The death of objectivity 18:37 From 100k to 200k subscribers 20:36 Don’t hate the media, become the media 29:18 Transparency with the revenue model 35:40 The AI podcast controversy 46:46 Biggest mistakes and learning moments 50:23 A deeper connection with the audience

Vin Matano is a B2B influencer marketing agency owner and part-time creator who made $200K as a creator and $2.5M through his agency Creator Buzz in 2025. In this episode, we get into how he lands and keeps long-term brand deals, his LinkedIn content strategy, and how he built Creatorbuzz from zero to $2.5M in its first full year. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/vin-matano  __ Get started with Taplio for free Use code: CREATOR1X1 __ Vin Matano LinkedIn YouTube Twitter/X Instagram Creatorbuzz __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Vin Matano 01:30 From $94k to $200k in one year 05:32 Getting brand deals and overdelivering 13:48 How many followers do you need for brand deals? 20:10 Partnering brands with creators 25:53 Making $2.5M in a year 28:50 The challenges of being a new founder 31:34 Getting leads with social media 37:24 The three types of LinkedIn posts to go viral 44:38 Debunking LinkedIn myths 49:25 The third generation of B2B marketing 54:12 Changing how success is measured

Rachel Meade Smith is the founder of Words of Mouth, a weekly newsletter focused on finding meaningful work. In this episode, we discuss how she built and monetised a values-driven newsletter to 72,000 subscribers over 10 years without ever running a single ad. Preorder Search Work now: https://orbooks.com/catalog/search-work/ __ Rachel Meade Smith Words of Mouth Website LinkedIn Instagram  Book __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Rachel Meade Smith and Words of Mouth 01:38 10 years of values based curation 07:17 Growing to 70k subscribers organically 13:03 72% open rate, 22% clickthrough rate 14:07 Monestizing while maintaining strong ethics 20:07 4 ways the newsletter is monetized 37:29 Developing beyond purely aggregation 43:21 The art of aggregation, curation, and editing 46:13 The process and expense of writing a book

Caper is a new media company covering the people, money, ambition, power and chaos that fuels the food world. In this episode we speak to Max Tcheyan, the co-founder and CEO, as well as three of the founding journalists. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles __ Get 10,000 free monthly credits at Eleven Labs: https://elevenlabs.io/ __ Caper Newsletter Caper LinkedIn In this episode Max Emma Annie Chris __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Caper Media 01:00 The gap in the market 03:45 Who is the audience? 07:29 How equity changes journalism 15:46 Food journalism that makes a difference 23:46 Building a team of founders 26:30 The $2.5M bet 29:28 Doing something that matters

Daniel Berk is beehiiv’s first sales hire-turned-strategist, cofounder of a local newsletter Palmetto Parents, and cohost of the Two Dads in Tech podcast. In this episode we discuss his journey from chaotic notebooks to 25,000 LinkedIn followers, how he helps creators and enterprise media businesses grow and monetize, and how to run a profitable newsletter and podcast. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles  __ Get started with Taplio for free at https://taplio.com/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=nl_creatorspotlight_0126_011526 Use code: CREATOR1X1 __ Daniel Berk LinkedIn Twitter/X Threads Podcast __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Daniel Berk 01:34 13 years of writing newsletters 05:25 The problem every creator and business has 11:13 Adapting to the AI driven web 14:24 Best and worst social media platforms 21:58 Why a big LinkedIn platform is so important 29:16 Making $60k with a podcast side-project 38:33 Building a community driven local newsletter 46:38 Outcome vs output driven creators 50:26 The value of writing every day

Grant Beene is a short-form video creator known for crafting wild, story-driven skits that have generated hundreds of millions of views across TikTok and Instagram. In this episode, we break down how he writes and produces viral short films, structures brand deals without compromising creative integrity, and why he believes short-form is the training ground for becoming a world-class director. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/grant-beene  __ Get 10,000 free monthly credits at Eleven Labs: https://elevenlabs.io/ __ Grant Beene TikTok Instagram Francis Zierer LinkedIn Twitter/X __ Timestamps 00:00:00 Introducing Grant Beene 00:02:34 The process behind a 120M view video  00:07:32 Limitations creating uniqueness  00:10:47 Early TikTok growth  00:22:41 Pushing short form content to the extreme  00:26:22 Difficulties monetizing as a short form creator  00:34:45 The value of collaborating in the creative process  00:41:03 From short form creator to artist  00:48:11 The role of faith in drive and discipline  00:52:47 How the creative process changes with long form  00:59:10 Unlocking the creativity  01:05:45 Inspirations in art and film  01:12:29 Make art and it will take you to your goal 

Lucie Fink is a creator and entrepreneur who’s built a successful personal media company across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, podcasts, and newsletters. In this episode, we break down how she actually makes money as a creator, dealing with and confronting online trolls, and pivoting from lifestyle influencer to artist. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles __ Lucie Fink — All my Income Sources Revealed __ Lucie Fink YouTube Instagram TikTok Website Podcast Francis Zierer LinkedIn Twitter/X __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Lucie Fink 01:10 Confronting an online troll 08:57 I’m an artist, not an influencer 12:59 Building a personal brand while at Refinery29 17:02 First year challenges going solo 20:58 Making over $100k as a creator 32:30 Learning from previous course mistakes 39:52 Making $50k from one video 45:46 Adapting content to a shifting audience 48:20 Maternal burst of creative energy 51:53 Aspirations of a Netflix show

Marissa Lovell is the founder and operator of From Boise, a local newsletter business generating over $100k in annual revenue. In this episode, she breaks down how she built it, what nearly made her quit, and the decisions that finally made it work. __ Get 10,000 free monthly credits at Eleven Labs: https://elevenlabs.io/ __ Marissa Lovell LinkedIn Twitter/X From Boise Francis Zierer LinkedIn Twitter/X __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Marissa from Boise 01:00 From nearly quitting to $100k+ revenue 06:18 The once-a-month growth strategy 09:34 Early stage experimentation 12:15 Accidentally growing a “personal brand” 17:56 Zero to 10k subscribers in one year 23:20 How big can a local newsletter be? 24:18 How to monetize a local newsletter 30:37 Investing in a website that feels right 33:27 Why a discount card for the community didn’t work 38:14 Connecting a community with dinner clubs 42:15 Building in public and empowering female entrepreneurs 46:58 Creating in way that suits you 52:35 Becoming a six-figure solopreneur 55:09 Doubling revenue for 2026

Fernando Hurtado is a former NBC Telemundo journalist who walked away from a six-figure media career to build on YouTube from scratch. In this episode, Fernando breaks down how he got monetized in days, landed (and lost) brand deals early, priced himself wrong, and rebuilt with a repeatable system for publishing high-quality videos without burning out. We talk risk, leverage, time-boxing creative work, and what journalists actually need to know before betting on themselves. __ Watch Fernando’s AAPI Latino’s video  __ Fernando Hurtado YouTube Twitter/X Instagram TikTok LinkedIn Francis Zierer LinkedIn Twitter/X __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Fernando Hurtado 01:06 The hardest part of full-time YouTube 04:40 How to land (and lose) brand deals 09:30 Transitioning from NBC to YouTube 16:02 Four reasons to become a YouTuber 21:00 Learning the business side of journalism 28:59 Diversify your revenue streams 30:41 Building a sustainable upload schedule — without burnout 35:09 Creating videos for the algorithm and the culture 40:48 Showing the journalistic process 43:27 Creating a video that inspires discussion 45:50 Successes from one year as a YouTuber 51:36 Advice for going all in on YouTube