The Creator Spotlight Podcast

This week on The Creator Spotlight Podcast we are joined by Adam Biddlecombe, co-founder of Mindstream, a successful AI-focused newsletter which was recently acquired by HubSpot only 17 months after its inception. Adam shares his journey from being a musician to an entrepreneur, the ability to identify and seize an opportunity, and how to prep for acquisition. __ Adam's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-bidd/ Adam's X/Twitter: https://x.com/Adam_Bidd Mindstream: https://www.mindstream.news __ 00:00 Introducing Adam and Mindstream 01:48 Adam's first business in the music industry 06:38 The creator/entrepreneur spectrum 10:34 Getting started in the newsletter world 15:13 The first 1k subscribers and early investments 20:51 The skill of identifying an opportunity 27:31 Monetizing strategies following rapid growth 31:57 The value of using LinkedIn as a creator entrepreneur 37:56 How to prepare for acquisition 49:06 The three types of exits in business 52:20 The biggest opportunities in the creator economy right now #podcast #creatoreconomy #newsletter

This week on The Creator Spotlight Podcast we are joined by Jesse Feister, the Executive Director of the Webby Media Group. In the lead up to the 29th annual Webby Awards ceremony, Francis and Jesse reflect on the evolution of the Webby Awards and the creator economy, exploring the creator to business pipeline and the three skills necessary to succeed as a creator. __________ Check out the Webby Awards: https://www.webbyawards.com/ Jesse's 'AI and Creativity' piece: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/two-truths-ai-creativity-jesse-feister-v0uue/ __________ Follow the Webby Awards X/Twitter: https://x.com/TheWebbyAwards Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewebbyawards/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/thewebbyawards (@TheWebbyAwards) Follow Jesse LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-feister-6552b174 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessefeister __________ 00:00 Introducing Jesse and the Webby Awards 00:47 Jesse's mandate as Executive Director 03:37 How the Webby's define a creator 11:35 Understanding the grind of the entrepreneurial creator 16:00 Being a musician in the MySpace era 21:19 The 3 most valuable skills as a creator entrepreneur 30:20 Sustainable business models for small creators 34:04 The evolution of brand building online 38:46 AI and creativity: Creativity always wins 42:08 The biggest opportunities in the creator economy 44:56 The instant feedback loop — use it wisely 48:15 Plans for the Webby's 30th year #creatoreconomy #podcast #webbys

This week on The Creator Spotlight Podcast we are joined by Grace Ling, founder of the thriving Design Buddies community, which turns five years old this month, has over 150,000 members, and generates $1 million in annual recurring revenue. She is also a talented content creator and has found particular success on LinkedIn where she has nearly 50,000 followers. She is also the cohost of the How Creators Make Money podcast. __________ Design Buddies: https://www.designbuddies.community Grace's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irungracepace Grace's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graceling/ How Creators Make Money Podcast: https://howcreatorsmakemoney.com __________ 00:00 Introducing Grace Ling and Design Buddies 01:52 What is design? 03:30 What makes the Design Buddies community different? 05:46 The first 1,000 members 08:31 The first 150,000 members 12:00 Maintaining a healthy community at scale 15:46 $1M in revenue — what’s the breakdown? 18:18 Rizz as a service 20:39 Gatekeeping, use it wisely 22:40 How to spend $1M 24:49 LinkedIn’s untapped potential for growth 35:51 A lesson in diversifying your revenue as a creator 39:37 How Creators Make Money, the podcast 42:16 The two labor models of content creation 45:00 From creator house to party mansions __________ #podcast #newsletter #creatoreconomy

This week Francis is joined by podcasting Amanda McLoughlin, CEO of Multitude and co-host of the podcasts Spirits, Attach Your Resume, and Join the Party. Amanda began her journey as a creator vlogging on YouTube and has since spent over a decade in the podcast space. __________ Amanda's Podcasts: Attach Your Resume: https://multitude.productions/ayr Join the Party: https://www.jointhepartypod.com Spirits: https://spiritspodcast.com Multitude: https://multitude.productions __________ 00:00:00 Introducing Amanda McLoughlin 00:01:29 Building a network through the early YouTube community 00:05:04 How the podcasting world has changed over the past decade 00:11:02 Forming Multitude 00:15:56 Building a top 0.1% without the algorithm 00:25:53 Podcast listeners are the most valuable audience 00:31:20 The most valuable thing you can do is say no 00:33:58 Diversifying your revenue streams 00:35:52 Sustainable creator-led businesses to model 00:38:53 Your podcast doesn't need to be profitable to be valuable 00:40:08 Never host your podcast with Spotify 00:45:58 All creators are a business 00:52:33 Platforms need creators, creators don't need platforms 00:56:13 Attach Your Résumé 01:01:46 What NOT to focus on as a creator #podcast #creatoreconomy #podcasting

This week Francis is joined by Thomas Yeum, an ambitious video-first creator specializing in YouTube and Instagram. Thomas is well known for his Instagram series '125 days to make 10k/month'. Thomas shares his journey from software engineering to content creation, discussing the challenges and opportunities within the creator economy. Follow Thomas: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thomasyeum/ YouTube: @Toemas LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yeumthomas/ 00:00 Introducing Thomas Yeum and his creator journey 06:39 Challenges with modern consumption habits 10:03 The creator economy is the new American dream 15:48 Finding a career that fulfills personal values 19:22 125 days to make $10k/mo 26:07 The 3% rule: How to utilize inspiration 27:39 4 steps to making a great video 33:57 Balancing art and business as a solo creator 36:29 Making $100k/mo in 365 days 39:03 A bad video does not equal a bad concept 45:48 Building 12k+ subscriber newsletter from scratch 49:28 Bridging the gap between tradition media and the creator economy 53:15 Advice for aspiring creators #podcast #creatoreconomy #newsletter

This week Francis is joined by Kyle Sheldon, founder and CEO of Name and Number, a soccer specific marketing and creative agency. Kyle has worked within the US soccer world for two decades and held marketing roles at multiple MLS clubs. Kyle is also the founder and editor of Pathway, a newsletter aimed at helping individuals break into the soccer industry. Kyle: https://x.com/kylesheldon Name and Number: https://www.nameandnumber.com Pathway: https://pathwayhq.com 00:00 Introducing Kyle Sheldon 01:05 The evolution of soccer and sports marketing 04:28 Becoming the driving force in growing soccer in the US 09:25 Growing careers in the soccer industry 12:22 Pathway's natural growth has led to extremely high engagement 17:32 The potential future growth of the soccer industry is massive 21:20 Navigating the soccer-creator industry requires expertise 24:49 The fashion culture within soccer 28:19 Empowering creators to thrive in the soccer space 32:22 US vs European football content culture 41:36 The shifting power dynamic between creators and traditional media 50:32 Partnership advice for creators and brands #podcast #creatoreconomy #mls

This week Francis is joined by award winning financial reporter, Phil Rosen. Last year Phil left his role as Senior Markets Reporter at Business Insider to pursue his independent newsletter-first media company, Opening Bell Daily. His flagship newsletter Opening Bell Daily, now has over 190k subscribers within its first year of operation. Opening Bell Daily: https://www.openingbelldailynews.com Phil's X: https://x.com/philrosenn 00:00 Introducing Phil Rosen and Opening Bell Daily 02:00 Building the foundation of a successful writer 05:27 Independent journalism's rise over established media 13:49 Navigating the business side of journalism 18:22 The freedom of building a new business model 21:40 Phil's ambitions to NOT scale the business 24:32 The death of objectivity in journalism 30:48 The untapped market for valuable growth 33:40 Overcoming the fear of posting video 39:30 Paywalls: The necessary evils of the media business 44:36 Advice for aspiring writers and creators #creatoreconomy #podcast #newsletter

This week Francis is joined by six-time author, cultural critic and book publishing coach, Leigh Stein. Leigh is also the creator of the newsletter Attention Economy. Attention Economy: https://leighstein.substack.com/ Leigh's Website: https://www.leighstein.com/ 00:00 Leigh's prolific content output 01:43 Is now the best time to be a writer? 04:38 Defining 'writing vs creating' 08:47 The art is the product 16:45 Does form come before content? 20:25 TikToks instability and the importance of BookTok 23:09 Leigh's journey through the literary world 27:25 We're influencing, not influencers 34:54 Writing 'Attention Economy' 40:52 How to make your content shareable 42:54 Destroying the stigma of self-publishing 45:55 The magical portal to likeminded people 48:54 Leigh's upcoming projects 52:27 Advice for other creators #creatoreconomy #podcast #booktok

This week Francis is joined by Eric Silver, a podcaster, podcast producer and head of development at Multitude, a podcast studio and production company. Multitude: https://multitude.productions 00:00 Introducing Eric Silver 03:14 Crafting your interview style 06:04 The details of teaching podcasting 11:56 Podcasting does not mean video 19:41 The future of audio-only podcasts 25:39 The intention behind the creator 28:24 What makes a good podcast guest? 31:46 The difficulties of guest-based podcasts 36:06 Building an ethical creator-first business 44:11 The rise of Actual Play podcasts 50:08 The future of worker-owned and independent media 52:57 Hank Green's best interview #podcast #creatoreconomy #podcasting

This week Francis is joined by Matt Brown of Extra Points. With a laser focus on writing high quality content, Matt is an independent sports journalist covering the world of college sports in America. Extra Points: https://www.extrapointsmb.com 00:00:00 Introducing Matt Brown and Extra Points 00:01:47 The focus on producing quality content 00:05:26 The unique story of acquisition and reacquisition 00:13:11 Striving to make the internet a better place 00:19:36 Balancing creativity and business in the creator economy 00:22:53 The values and integrity of independent journalism 00:26:27 Vox Media: The bootcamp for independent journalists 00:35:28 Understanding your community 00:42:29 Providing value with high-ticket and low-ticket offers 00:55:41 All analytics lead to $$$ 00:59:59 Bridging the gap between communities through sport 01:04:09 The decentralization of media #podcast #creatoreconomy #newsletter