Hey, it’s Eric. This week, I’m doing something a little different.

I’m going live on Tuesday evening (8pm EST) with someone you’ve likely heard of in the creator economy: Meet Kevin. Kevin went from zero to 4+ million subscribers on YouTube in just a few years, and has done some really interesting things to grow his business and brand beyond just YouTube. We’ll be talking about how he’s built his business and creator brand, what’s worked, what hasn’t, and where he sees the creator economy going. I’d encourage you to come to the live–but if you can’t make it, we’ll be posting the video to our YouTube channel shortly after the live ends.

But first, the week’s headlines.

TikTok in the U.S.: What’s Actually Happening?

There’s a lot of noise in the news about TikTok in the U.S. Let’s break it down clearly.

Where things stand today: TikTok is still operating in the U.S., but only because of a temporary executive order from President Trump pausing enforcement of the divest-or-ban law that went into effect on January 19th.

What’s being negotiated: The most likely outcome, right now, appears to be some kind of deal where a U.S. entity takes a significant ownership stake in TikTok’s U.S. operations—with ByteDance retaining some involvement but without full control. Names that have been floated as potential buyers include Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz, and several others.

What this means for creators: TikTok isn’t going anywhere in the near term. But the uncertainty isn’t fully resolved either. A few things worth knowing:

• The app is back on U.S. app stores.
• New installs have resumed.
• Creator monetization programs (including the Creativity Program) appear to be continuing normally.

Our take: Build your audience on TikTok if that’s where your people are, but don’t rely on it exclusively. This situation has made crystal clear why owning your audience (email list, owned community) matters.

New Data: Creator Economy by the Numbers

A few stats worth highlighting from recent reports:

• The creator economy is now estimated at $250 billion and projected to reach $480 billion by 2027 (Goldman Sachs).
• There are now approximately 50 million people who consider themselves creators worldwide.
• Only about 4% of creators make more than $100k per year.
• The average YouTube creator with 100k-500k subscribers makes approximately $3,000-$5,000/month from YouTube alone.

What we find most interesting isn’t the big numbers—it’s the income distribution. The gap between the top 4% and everyone else is massive. Most creators aren’t making life-changing money from a single platform. The ones that are have typically built diversified income streams.

Quick Hits

• Instagram Reels: Instagram is testing longer Reels (up to 3 minutes) to compete more directly with YouTube. If you create long-form content, this could open up interesting cross-posting opportunities.
• YouTube’s new features: YouTube is rolling out expanded analytics for Shorts creators, giving more insight into audience retention and traffic sources.
• LinkedIn for creators: LinkedIn’s creator program continues to expand. If you’re a B2B creator or professional, LinkedIn’s organic reach is still significantly higher than other platforms.

How Meet Kevin Grew to 4M+ Subscribers

Here’s a preview of what we’ll be covering in Tuesday’s live:

Start with a niche, then expand

Kevin started with hyper-specific personal finance content—house hacking, real estate investing—before expanding into broader financial commentary and eventually politics and current events. He built a loyal base first, then widened the aperture.

Consistency over perfection

In his early years, Kevin was uploading daily. Not every video was great. But the volume created a feedback loop: more content meant more data on what worked, which meant improving faster than creators who posted once a week.

Monetization diversity early

Kevin didn’t wait until he was huge to diversify revenue. He sold courses, built an email list, and looked at business opportunities that his content could support. This is a playbook we see among the most successful creators.

Content as a business, not a hobby

From early on, Kevin treated his channel as a business. That meant thinking about thumbnails like product packaging, thinking about titles like headlines, and thinking about his audience like customers.

If you want to join the live Tuesday at 8pm EST, follow our YouTube channel to get notified.