The Creator Spotlight Podcast

This week on Creator Spotlight we talk to Billy Parks, Partner at Slow Ventures and co-lead of the $65M Slow Creator Fund. Billy invests directly in creators, backing entrepreneurial creators who turn their expertise and communities into scalable businesses. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/billy-parks __ Billy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billyfilm/ Slow Ventures: https://slow.co/about/ Jonathan Katz-Moses: @katzmosestools __ Follow Francis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-zierer/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/FZierer __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Billy Parks and Slow Ventures 01:30 What makes an investable creator? 05:35 The two types of creator businesses 13:44 Creators are just founders 17:24 Which creators need investment the most? 23:30 The difficulties of valuing a creator business 32:13 It's all marketing 34:29 The biggest risk in creator investments 38:12 Business is the future of the creator economy 42:54 How to be niche in the creator economy

This week we talk to Quynh Nguyen. She is a paper flower artist who has built her passion into a six-figure business. We cover her journey from hobbyist to entrepreneur, her pricing and growth strategies, and how she’s helping other creators turn their passions into profits. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/quynh-nguyen __ Quynh Website: https://www.pinkandposey.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pinkandposey/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quynhdnguyen/ Paper Talk Podcast: @papertalkpodcast7117 __ Follow Francis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-zierer/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/FZierer __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Quynh Nguyen 02:53 The most important marketing principles online 06:52 How to get paid to teach your passion 12:01 The secret to nurturing a valuable community 18:34 Moving from a physical to a digital business 24:32 A podcast that builds trust and loyalty 31:07 The creator-entrepreneur spectrum 36:02 Expanding audience for future events 40:40 Breaking down the revenue of a thriving online business 45:45 From 6-week course to 6-month mastermind 50:17 The one thing Quynh is most proud of

This week on the Creator Spotlight Podcast we're joined by Stefan von Imhof, co-founder of alts.co, an alternative investment newsletter, community, fund, and platform. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/stefan-von-imhof __ Alts Website: http://alts.co Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alts_co/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmgk4gzQ56QvpyegBJJVQA Stefan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanvonimhof Substack: https://substack.com/@stefanvonimhof __ Follow Francis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-zierer/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/FZierer __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Stefan 02:05 An alternative revenue breakdown 06:54 The biggest challenges of community building 15:02 How a side project becomes a business 22:44 Demonstrating the value of your content 27:33 Leveraging audience segmentation 31:21 Decentralised due-diligence 33:56 The art of buying and selling newsletters 37:10 A bearish perspective on the newsletter economy 40:54 The power of events as a community business 47:17 The playbook for newsletter acquisition 49:39 Newsletter remix concept 53:16 A love for physical media 56:55 Where is the creator/business owner tipping point

This week on The Creator Spotlight Podcast we're joined by Jonathan Hunt, the VP of HubSpot Media. Jonathan has been working in media for two decades for brands such as Nat Geo, Complex, Vice, Vox, and more. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles __ Jonathan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanwhunt/ HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com/ Mindstream: https://www.mindstream.news __ Follow Francis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-zierer/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/FZierer __ 00:00 Introducing Jonathan Hunt 01:20 The 3 pillars of audience development 04:16 For the independent creator 07:32 Marketing through content creation 14:10 The most sustainable monetization models 18:18 Building a brand voice 21:00 The need for diversification 23:41 The ever evolving definition of 'creator' 26:50 The most shocking recent changes in media 28:27 When to sell your business as a solo creator #podcast #creatoreconomy #newsletter

This week we're joined by Suraj Kapoor, the creator of Pointer, a 10 year old 40,000 subscriber newsletter curating articles for engineering leaders. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/suraj-kapoor __ Follow Suraj Pointer: https://www.pointer.io/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/surajkapoor/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/surajkapoor __ Follow Francis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-zierer/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/FZierer __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Suraj and Pointer 01:33 The art of curation 06:53 10 years and 40k subs later, what's changed? 08:44 Avoiding becoming a personal brand 13:35 The AI threat to curation 18:38 From side hustle to six figure business 24:25 Attracting premium advertisers 31:09 Building a high-value audience 35:29 reinvestment and experimentation 40:30 The 20 hour work week 42:39 Mastering your analytics 48:00 Identifying your most popular content 51:15 The biggest threat to aggregation content

This week we're joined by Milly Tamati, the creator of Generalist World, a community and learning platform. She is also a writer, illustrator, speaker, and consultant. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/milly-tamati __ Follow Milly Generalist World: https://www.generalist.world/links Website: https://www.millytamati.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milly-tamati/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@generalist.world __ Follow Francis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-zierer/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/FZierer __ Timestamps 00:00:00 Introducing Milly 00:01:45 Necessity of a personal brand 00:06:22 Becoming director of miscellaneous 00:14:14 Building cult-like loyalty on social media 00:18:58 How a quiz can drive subscribers 00:27:26 The playbook for building a community 00:36:41 Keeping a community active 00:46:24 Brand deals done differently 00:53:15 Digital tool workshops 00:58:57 A podcast for the community, about the community 01:05:22 Not knowing what's next is fine

This week we’re joined by Landon Huslig, the creator of Wichita Life, a local media brand covering life in Wichita through a newsletter, podcast, and Instagram. He built it as a side hustle while working full-time as an engineer. It now has a combined 50,000 followers and generates $120k+ annually. Wichita Life: https://wichitalifeict.com __ Follow Landon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/landon-huslig-5b5b006a/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/landonhuslig __ Follow Francis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-zierer/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/FZierer __ Timestamp 00:00:00 Introducing Landon 00:01:16 The art of hand to hand combat 00:10:54 Starting a local media 00:18:43 The growth to $120k 00:25:06 How big can a local newsletter be? 00:34:27 The value of a likeminded community 00:40:39 The creator to entrepreneur spectrum 00:46:06 The difficult relationship with traditional local media 00:57:22 Building local businesses in addition to newsletter 01:01:48 The responsibility to your audience 01:04:03 Side hustle vs full time business 01:09:24 Starting a local newsletter in 2025 #creatoreconomy #podcast #newsletter

This week on Creator Spotlight we're joined by Nathan May, founder of The Feed Media, a company that helps newsletters grow with paid ads and help convert readers into revenue. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles __ Join the waitlist: https://creatormasterminds.co __ Follow Nathan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-may1/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/_May_Ham The Feed: https://thefeedmedia.com __ Follow Francis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-zierer/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/FZierer __ 00:00 Introducing Nathan May 01:21 The core principles of newsletter growth 06:33 It’s about niching down 12:31 Growing a newsletter for acquisition 18:23 Your subscriber count does not matter 23:58 Is it harder than ever to get subscribers? 31:38 The one thing AI can’t replace 37:10 Give your knowledge away for free 43:58 Podcasting is hard — why do it? 50:11 Best lessons from podcast guests 52:18 Rapid fire advice for creators #podcast #creatoreconomy #newsletter

The week on The Creator Spotlight Podcast we're joined by Liz Kelly Nelson. Liz is the founder of Project C, a newsletter and pre-funding collective helping mission-driven journalism creators develop sustainable business models. __ Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/liz-kelly-nelson __ RSVP to the Creator Business Summit: https://www.beehiiv.com/virtual-events/creator-business-summit __ Follow Liz Project C: https://projectc.beehiiv.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizkellynelson/ __ Follow Francis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-zierer/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/FZierer __ 00:00 Redefining influencer 04:46 Journalists want to be creators 10:17 What to expect if you become a creator 16:51 The role of community in creator journalism 21:20 Is the solo creator a myth? 27:00 Culture shock at the newsletter conference 31:52 Your responsibility as a creator 36:10 Maintaining ethical standards as a solo journalist 38:16 The creator journalist world 5 years from now 40:57 Revenue breakdown 43:10 Don't make these mistakes as a creator journalist #podcast #creatoreconomy #journalism

This week Francis and Natalia are joined by sewing creator Sydney Graham (@HiSydGraham). Sydney has gained over 100k subscribers on YouTube this year and has over 600k followers across platforms. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/sydney-graham __ RSVP to the Creator Business Summit: https://www.beehiiv.com/virtual-events/creator-business-summit __ Follow Sydney YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HiSydGraham TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hisydgraham Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hisydgraham __ Follow Francis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-zierer/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/FZierer Follow Natalia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nmperez/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/_NatmPerez __ 00:00 Introducing Sydney Graham 01:01 How to gain 100k subscribers in a year 10:46 Early days of the creator economy 15:05 The biggest creators in the sewing space 17:40 Balancing community and individuality 21:17 The best video platforms for creators right now 25:19 Why you shouldn't chase trends 31:48 Sewing content is growing - here's why 33:45 Revenue breakdown 36:51 Content creation and sewing similarities 41:12 How to build a friendly community online 45:53 Choosing the right brand partnerships 49:38 Defining your goals as a creator #podcast #creatoreconomy #sewing