I interviewed Cleo Abram about how she went from a journalist at Vox to a YouTuber with over 2 million subscribers.

After 5 years as a journalist at Vox, Cleo Abram made the jump to solo-creator in 2022 with the launch of her show Huge If True and making videos with NASA, MKBHD and Boston Dynamics.

The ‘optimistic tech explainers’ explore everything from NASA’s supersonic planes to Formula 1, artificial wombs, quantum computers, and electric cars.

Thank you to Firebrand Media for filming this episode and VidSummit for providing the space. 

Chapters
0:00 - 1:05 Who is Cleo Abram? 

1:04 - 6:21 Leaving Vox to Start YT Channel

6:21 - 8:02 Cleo's first sponsorships 

8:02 - 10:12 Hiring a team

10:12 - 12:29 Cleo’s 4-Step Video Process

12:29 - 16:51 Step 1: Pitch

16:51 - 21:20 What Are Key Visuals? 

21:20 - 22:51 Step 2: Info Doc

22:51 - 24:29 Step 3: Outline

24:29 - 27:53 Step 4: Script

27:53 - 32:52 Lessons From Vox

32:52 - 35:43 Breaking Through Your Niche

35:43 - 42:59 Cleo’s Cold Email To NASA

42:59 - 47:31 How Do YouTubers Be Better Journalists?

47:31 - 49:48 Short Form Process

49:48 - 52:57 Future of YouTube

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I interviewed Dude Perfect about how they went from trick shots at Texas A&M to planning a $100M Dude Perfect World, new streaming app, toys in Walmart, and more. The group of Tyler Toney, Garrett Hilbert, Cody Jones and twins Coby and Cory Cotton have come a long way.

In their first interview in years, the group opens up about their biggest fights, turning down brand deals, launching their Overtime show, the new Dude Perfect Streaming app, and their most popular videos like Gym Stereotypes, All Sports Golf Battle, and Giant Nerf Trick Shots.

Chapters

0:00 - 1:34 Meet Dude Perfect

1:34 - 3:15 Who's More Popular: Dude Perfect or The Beatles?

3:15 - 6:04 Almost Quitting Dude Perfect

6:04 - 7:39 First Brand Deal

7:39 - 11:59 Traditional Careers vs YouTube

11:59 - 16:28 Biggest Argument

16:28 - 20:49 Saying No To Big Deals

21:16 -  23:35 Dude Perfect's Creative Process

23:35 - 27:17 $100M Dude Perfect World...The Next Disney?

27:45 - 30:16 Launching New Products in Walmart

30:16 - 32:12 The Team Behind Dude Perfect

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I interviewed Kwebbelkop (Jordi Maxim Van Den Bussche) who’s been uploading to YouTube for over a decade, earning 15M subscribers. But earlier this year, Jordi replaced himself with an AI. Jordi opens up about why he did, reveals the truth about Tiger and Bloo, and tells us his worst fear for AI.

Chapters

0:00 - 1:43 Who Is Kwebbelkop?

1:43 - 3:15 Why Replace Yourself With AI?

3:15 - 10:33 Launching Second Channel … To Turn Into AI

10:33 - 14:11 Creating a V-Tuber: Bloo

14:11 - 15:17 Turning Bloo AI

15:17 -19:06 Virtual Influencer Vs. AI Creator

19:06 -26:46 Turning My Podcast into AI?

26:46 - 31:41 Kwebbelkop Replaces Himself With AI

31:41 - 36:34 Can AI Replace Human Creators?

36:34 - 41:36 Kwebbelkop Responds To Hate Tweets

41:36 - 48:46 Will AI Displace Jobs?

48:46 - 52:05 Secretly Launching 100% AI Channels

52:05 - 58:28 Kwebbelkop Reveals His ChatGPT Prompts

58:28 - 59:35 AI Rules & Regulations

59:35 - 1:05:13 Kwebbelkop’s Worst Case AI Scenario

1:05:13 - 1:11:40 AI Rules & Regulations Cont.

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I interviewed Bryce Hall, known as TikTok’s “bad boy.” But there’s much more to his story. He’s a master of social media with 33M total followers, but Hall’s had his share of controversies too. He opened up about the rise and fall of Sway Boys, his friendship with Josh Richards, and his break up with Addison Rae.

Chapters

00:00 - 1:31- Who Is Bryce Hall?

1:31 - 4:39 Bryce vs. Austin McBroom

4:39 - 6:21 Controversies & Paparazzi

6:21 - 8:40 Start Of Sway House

8:40 - 12:46 Making Money On Social Media

12:46 - 19:53 The Truth About Bryce’s Arrest

19:53 - 21:50 Boxing & Break Up With Addison

21:50 - 23:51 Playing The Villain

23:51 - 27:38 Bryce’s Bare Knuckle Fight

27:38 - 28:20 Bryce Calls Out KSI, Deji, Austin McBroom

28:20 - 29:01 How Much Did Bryce Make Last Year?

29:01 - 33:36 Bryce’s Best & Worst Deals

33:36 - 34:30 Bryce’s Message To Brands

34:30 - 36:10 Bryce’s Beef With Logan Paul?

36:10 - 38:06 Is Bryce The Next Tom Cruise?

38:06 - 39:27 Playing The Villain Pt. 2

39:27 - 41:48 Filming Skill House With 50 Cent

41:38 - 43:44 Bryce’s Childhood & Bullying

43:44 - 48:46 Bryce’s Start Live Streaming

48:46 - 51:16 Getting Swarmed In Public

51:16 - 52:11 Future of Bryce Hall

52:11 - 55:36 Bryce Reacts to “I’m Not A Fighter”

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I sat down with Dream for one of his first interviews without his mask. We talked about his face reveal, how he grew to 30 million subscribers faster than MrBeast, rejecting $550,000, and whether he's risking it all by going into music.

Chapters:00:00 - 01:41 Who's Dream?01:42 - 04:35 Reflecting on Face Reveal04:36 - 05:16 Getting More Personal05:17 - 08:17 What Caused Change in Views?08:18 - 12:33 Strategy for 30M Subscribers in 2 Years12:34 - 14:43 Rise of Faceless YT Channels?14:44 - 23:44 Dream SMP & "Losing" Money To Make It Bigger 23:45 - 25:50 Saying No To Big Money 25:51 - 28:29 Biggest Paychecks28:30 - 30:10 Genius of Dream's Biggest YT Series30:17 - 34:07 Music Industry vs Creator Economy34:08 - 35:31 World Record for BTS Video?35:32 - 38:00 Questioning "Best Practices" 38:01 - 42:11 Getting Non-Gamers To Care About Gaming42:12 - 43:22 What's Next & Easter Eggs

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I interviewed Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, the co-founders of Smosh who recently bought back their historic YouTube channel after 12 years.

In 2011, Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox were one of the first to sell a YouTube channel long before the likes of MrBeast started on YouTube. 12 years later, they’ve become the first to buy a channel back. We discussed Smosh’s evolution from sketch comedy to a production power house with over 35 employees, 5 channels, and 45 million combined subscribers. We also covered the duo’s 2017 split, their solo journeys as creators, and their ultimate reunion to buy back Smosh from Rhett and Link (Mythical Entertainment).

Chapters

00:00 - 00:57 Who Is Smosh?

00:57 - 01:42 Presented By HubSpot

01:42 - 02:20 The Untold Story of Smosh 

02:20 - 10:55 Why Smosh Sold Its Channel...And What They Got

10:55 - 19:07 Growing A Creator Business

19:07 - 28:31 Creative Frustration & Breakthrough

28:31 - 35:47 Why Anthony Left Smosh...But Ian Stayed

35:47 - 39:40 Rules for Working With Best Friends

39:40 - 48:53 Anthony's Solo Creator Career

48:53 - 52:18 Ian Re-defines Smosh 

52:18 - 52:52 HubSpot Presents: Finding Founders

52:52 - 56:35 How Smosh Nearly Ended

56:35 - 1:05:55 Finding Smosh A New Home

1:05:55 -  1:08:34 Ian & Anthony's Secret Meetings

1:08:34 - 1:22:09 Buying Back Smosh

1:22:09 - 1:32:38 How Big Is Smosh Today? 

1:32:38 - 1:41:34 Economics Of Smosh & Memberships 

1:41:34 - 1:45:11 Creating Sustainable Content

1:45:11 - 1:49:56 Smosh’s Production Process

1:49:56 - 1:55:35 Sketch Writing Process

1:55:35 - 2:02:19 Adapting To The Algorithm

2:02:19 - 2:09:17 What’s Next For Smosh?

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Before hitting 100,000 subscribers, Matthew Beem had taken out $60,000 in loans to fund his YouTube dreams. He customized cars for MrBeast, Logan Paul, Faze Clan, and more. But for Beem, it was never about the money. Two years later Beem's bet seems to have paid off — with 4.75 million subscribers and uploads routinely topping 2 million views.

In today's interview we discuss the risks of Beem’s all-in approach, how he stood out in the challenge genre, and his top retention tips for creators.

Chapters:

00:00 - 00:38  Meet Matthew Beem 

00:39 - 01:40 Presented by HubSpot

01:41 - 09:13 Beem’s First Big Bet: MrBeast Car Giveaway

09:14 - 15:02 Beem’s Second Big Bet: Buying Logan Paul’s Car

15:03 - 18:12 Top Retention Killers

18:13 - 23:07 Intro Roast

23:08 - 24:28 Balancing Short Form Editing with Storytelling

24:28 - 25:20 HubSpot Presents: Creator Science

25:21 - 27:54 Advice for New Creators

27:55 - 30:28 Future of the Challenge Genre

30:29 - 34:02 How Matthew Makes Money

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I interviewed Jay Alto who’s worked with MrBeast, Ryan Trahan, Colin and Samir, and more.Jay is a master of thumbnails, creativity, and now has a YouTube channel of his own. In our conversation, Jay breaks down the 4 elements of a great thumbnail, how to find better ideas, and the weeks of prep-work that go into a Ryan Trahan video. Plus he roasts some of YouTube’s best and worst thumbnails, from Mark Rober to MrBeast to my interview with Logan Paul.

Chapters:

00:00 - 0:36: Who is Jay Alto

00:37 - 01:33 Presented by Hubspt

01:34 - 03:39 Ryan's Creative Process

03:40 - 06:38 Finding Ideas on YouTube

06:40 - 08:29 The Thumbnail Checklist

08:30 - 09:31 Roasting Mark Rober's Thumbnail

09:32 - 10:33 HubSpot Presents: Another Bite

10:34 - 12:01 Improving Mark’s Thumbnail

12:02 - 13:57 Roasting MrBeast's Thumbnail   

13:58 - 17:40 Roasting My Thumbnail

17:41 - 19:42 Scripting Like Top YouTubers

19:43 - 21:21 How to Grow Your Channel Sustainably

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I interviewed Zach King about how he's gotten over 20 billion views, created over 3,000 videos, and become one of the world's most popular creators. In this interview, Zach broke down his step-by-step process for turning simple ideas into viral videos. We also covered: how Zach uses AI, how much money he's made from YouTube Shorts vs TikTok, when it makes sense to hire a team vs not, how to script your next YouTube video, and what it's like working with Terry Crews, winning money from MrBeast (aka Jimmy Donaldson) and Airrack, and we may have started beef with another YouTuber cough cough Graham Stephan ; )
Chapters:

00:00 - 00:38: Who is Zach King?

00:39 - 01:35: Presented by HubSpot

01:36 - 04:47: Zach's Creative Process: Then vs Now

04:48 - 05:46: Using Prompts to Spark Ideas

05:47 - 07:24: T-Sheet" Brainstorming

07:25 - 13:44: Example Video: Step-By-Step

13:45 - 15:52: The Extra 10%

15:53 - 18:29: Process for Long-Form Videos

18:30 - 21:21: How Zach Makes Money

21:22 - 24:04: Comparing Pay: TikTok vs YouTube

24:05 - 28:39: YouTube Strategy 2023

28:40 - 29:48: Higher Budget Videos

29:49 - 33:14: Solo Creators vs Teams

33:15 - 34:14:  Another Bite: Presented by HubSpot

34:15 - 34:50: Zach's Hiring Rules

34:51 - 37:27: What YouTubers Can Learn From Hollywood

37:38 - 39:22: The Rise of Twitter Creators?

39:23 - 42:28: Most Expensive Videos

42:29 - 46:25: Re-creating "The 9-5" for creators

46:26 - 51:21:  Future of Filmmaking

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Before there was MrBeast there was Liza Koshy. She was one of the world's fastest-growing YouTubers and Viners, growing a fanbase well beyond 25 million subscribers. Her videos have over 2.6 billion views, but then she stopped uploading. So what happened to Liza Koshy? In this interview, I asked Liza why she left when she was on top of YouTube, what it was like hosting the Met Gala, voice acting in the new Transformers movie, and how she's applying all her skills as a host, actress, and director today. Who knows, we may just see Liza on Saturday Night Live soon enough.

Chapters

00:00 - What happened to Liza Koshy?

00:35 - Presented by HubSpot

01:45 - Liza's Creative Process

06:46 - Becoming a "Single-Person Studio"

09:31 - Filming Process: Liza vs Vogue  

14:52 - Liza's unique approach to hosting Met Gala

19:22 - Taking up more space

21:59 - HubSpot Presents: Create Like The Greats

22:35 - Who's ignoring Liza Koshy?

25:56 - What people didn't see

29:20 - Creating in groups vs solo

31:53 - What can YouTubers learn from Hollywood? Vice versa?

35:58 - "I've said no to large sums"

36:48 - How big is your team?

38:30 - Liza's Vocal Impressions

41:00 - Liza's Big Goal...and Obama's advice

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