Forbes Top Creators Show

How do you go from a broke 22-year-old Wall Street trader whom no financial advisor would touch to building a multi-million dollar media empire, selling a scripted television show to Amazon MGM Studios, and bootstrapping a seven-figure financial technology startup?

In this episode of The Forbes Top Creator Show, host Steven Bertoni sits down with financial educator, 2x New York Times best-selling author (Rich AF, Well Endowed), and entrepreneur Vivian Tu (Your Rich BFF).

Vivian breaks down her evolution from a one-woman financial content engine into a FinTech founder with the launch of her app, Ask Dolly. She shares why she turned down venture capital to self-fund over $1,000,000 of her own capital, how she's turning her book Rich AF into a scripted television show currently in development with MGM Studios and Amazon, and her prescription for Gen Z's growing "financial nihilism."

#YourRichBFF #VivianTu #AskDolly #ForbesTopCreators

0:00 Meet "Your Rich BFF" Vivian Tu

1:03 Best Sellers, Hollywood Deals & Launching The Ask Dolly App

4:30 Tackling Student Loan Debt & Government Confusion

5:43 Partnering with Tech Leadership & Assembly Mechanics

7:57 Monetization Strategy: B2B Enterprise & Marketplace

10:08 Self-Funding $1M+ & Turning Down Venture Capital

14:07 Beta Testing Ask Dolly & Facing Live Feedback

16:46 Fixing Gen Z "Financial Nihilism" & The 50/30/20 Budget

20:35 How "Rich AF" Became a Scripted MGM Drama

26:40 Advice to Legacy Media: Attention vs. Focus

28:23 Starring in SoFi Commercials & Visual Storytelling

32:27 Vivian’s Portfolio & Why Prediction Markets Are Gambling

35:17 The Death of Audio Podcasts: Why Everything is a Vodcast

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How do you go from getting bribed with quarters to play golf at two years old to hitting 300 million views a month, beating Steph Curry in a 1v1 match, and outperforming the PGA Tour on social media?

00:00 Meet GabbyGolfGirl: Live from Liberty National Golf Club

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How do you go from streaming to an empty chat room with a cheap, second-hand eBay capture card to signing historical streaming deals and building a 25-person game development studio?

Welcome to the Forbes Top Creator Show! This week, host Steven Bertoni decodes the business of gaming and streaming with pioneer, creator, and entrepreneur Andre Rebelo—AKA Typical Gamer.

In this episode, Typical Gamer opens up about his 16-year journey in digital media, starting on Justin.tv in 2009 long before the word "streamer" was even a viable career path. He shares the emotional reality of dropping out of college twice—first for computer science and then for business marketing, after realizing his 80-year-old professor was teaching a textbook version of social media that Typical Gamer was actively living out in real time. TG reflects on his upbringing as the son of Portuguese immigrants, highlighting how his father went from growing up on a farm with pigs on the floor to seeing his son sign the first-ever exclusive YouTube gaming streaming contract in 2015.

Andre breaks down the highly strategic business behind Typical Gamer. He reveals the logistics of live-streaming his wedding to his fellow creator wife, Samara Redway (complete with a Fortnite drone show, "Forever Duo" vows, and her grandfather's hilarious "Gandalf" officiant slips). He also deep-dives into his game development company, JOGO, explaining why he refuses to take a single dollar of profit from the business so they can supercharge Fortnite UGC map building. Finally, he shares his three rules of creator success, his hot takes on Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6), and why short-form content is the only way for modern creators to escape the fatal cycle of streaming to an empty chat.

#Typical Gamer #ForbesTopCreators #CreatorEconomy #GamingIndustry

Check out the Forbes Top Creator List:https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2026/06/23/forbes-top-creators-2026/

01:16 The Biggest Misconceptions of Professional Gamers

01:42 Live to Work: TG's Daily Stream and Meeting Schedule

03:09 The Justin.tv Origin Story and Scrappy Capture Cards

04:07 From Red Dead Tutorials to Handling Condescending Friends

04:57 Pigs on the Floor: The Portuguese Immigrant Family Backstory

05:56 Dropping Out of College Twice

07:45 The Walmart Days and the Game-Changing GTA 5 Launch

09:50 Making History: Signing the First Ever YouTube Gaming Contract

12:01 Live Streaming a Fortnite wedding to Samara Redway

14:35 Launching JOGO Game Development

16:51 The Superpower of Delegation

17:59 Three Golden Rules for New Streamers

19:43 Why Streaming to Zero Viewers Does Nothing

20:29 Managing a Tailored 10-Person Operations Team

23:38 A Bold Prediction for GTA 6

24:27 Why AI Game Making is Over-Hyped

25:02 The Next 5 Years: The Future of Gaming and Content Creation

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How do you go from working as a local barista slicing cucumbers for crepes to running a massively popular financial food brand as the internet's undisputed cucumber king?

Welcome to the Forbes Top Creator Show! This week, host Steven Bertoni decodes the business of influence with food creator, communications specialist, and entrepreneur Logan Moffitt.

In this episode, Logan opens up about the powerful transition from his grueling 12-year competitive swimming background to social media stardom, proving how the discipline, endurance, and routine of the pool perfectly prepared him for the creator grind. He details his early days at U Ottawa studying communications while balancing two jobs, and how he spent almost two years posting four videos a day on TikTok before finally finding his audience.

Logan shares how he cracked the short-form food algorithm by abandoning hyper-produced, extravagant tutorials in favor of raw, curiosity-sparking snacks. He breaks down his simple, phone-only production setup, his impulse-driven creative process, and why he chooses to build long-term, high-trust partnerships with produce brands (and the Mushroom Council) rather than chasing fleeting algorithmic trends. Finally, Logan shares his bold plans for future-proofing his career through long-form podcasts, a YouTube transition, and the early development of a "chill" cookbook where exact measurements are strictly banned.

#LoganMoffitt #ForbesTopCreators #CreatorEconomy #FoodCreator

Check out the Forbes Top Creator List:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2026/06/23/forbes-top-creators-2026/

00:00 Meet Logan Moffitt

00:54 How the Cucumber Salad Was Born

02:14 Stepping Away from Complex Meals to Simple Snacks

02:53 Falling in Love with Cooking & Studying on YouTube

04:37 Swimming, Communications & Goggles: Life Before the Fame

05:24 The Barista Days: Slicing Cucumbers for Crepes

06:31 The Kimchi Breakthrough and Building a Food Community

07:15 The Secret to Cracking Short-Form Food Videos

08:31 Impulse Creation: The Bare-Bones Phone Setup

10:23 When Your Audience Tells You to Make Bun Bo Hue

10:43 Decoding the Business: Long-Term Brand Partnerships

11:24 The Cucumber Contract & The Mushroom Council

12:50 The Biggest Mistake: Hiding Your True Voice

13:24 Why Following Trends Is a Short-Term Trap

14:12 Future-Proofing: Transitioning to Long-Form Content

15:57 The Ultimate Accomplishment: Writing a 'Chill' Cookbook

18:18 French Ragu Pasta and the Dream Pork Belly Soju Meal

20:05 Olympic-Level Work Ethic: Posting 4 Videos a Day for 2 Years

21:56 Day One Directive: Spontaneity Beats Perfectionism

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How do you go from writing stories about human trafficking on the US-Mexico border to building a multi-million dollar business media empire?

Welcome to the Forbes Top Creator Show! This week, host Steven Bertoni decodes the business of influence with former journalist, Wall Street investor, and serial entrepreneur Codie Sanchez.

In this episode, Codie opens up about her intense early days as a border journalist, winning the John F. Kennedy Award for print journalism, and the searing realization that it is nearly impossible to assert your will on the world when you are broke. She details her transition into high finance—climbing the ladder at Vanguard, Goldman Sachs, and State Street—and why she walked away from private equity after realizing she didn't want to end up like her corporate peers.

Codie delivers a true masterclass on building Contrarian Thinking, a powerhouse holding company that uses social media to drive 130 million monthly views into venture capital, franchise brands, and advisory services. She breaks down her daily routine of waking up at 6:00 AM, skipping the cold plunges to go down TikTok rabbit holes, and enforcing a checklist of doing "one hard thing" and having "one hard conversation" every single day.

Finally, Codie shares her core investment thesis: why "boring" physical businesses like plumbing, HVAC, car washes, and laundromats are the ultimate path to financial freedom in the age of AI, and why they will outlast traditional knowledge workers like accountants, attorneys, and graphic designers. She also reveals her biggest creator mistake—getting "murdered" by the internet over a typo, and her three commandments for finance creators: "bring your weird way better than boring," fight the "sloppification" of content, and obsess over serving just one person.

#CodieSanchez #ForbesTopCreators #ContrarianThinking #CreatorEconomy

Check out the Forbes Top Creator List:https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2026/06/23/forbes-top-creators-2026/

00:00 Meet Codie Sanchez

01:32 What Makes a Podcast Worth an Hour of Your Life

03:13 From Walter Cronkite School to the US-Mexico Border

06:11 The City of Death: Why Money Equals Leverage

08:31 Winning the John F. Kennedy Journalism Award

10:52 From Valley Forge to the Goldman Sachs Rotational Program

13:06 Why I Quit Wall Street: "Third Wife, Lots of Lamborghinis"

15:03 Coronado and Launching the Contrarian Thinking Newsletter

16:20 Leaving the Inbox: Transitioning to Video and Short-Form

18:24 Going Viral with Laundromats

20:04 The Contrarian Holding Company Business Model

21:41 Top of Funnel: Serving 99.9% of Your Audience for Free

24:19 Mel Robbins and the Secret to Growing a Top Podcast

27:21 Daily Routine: TikTok Rabbit Holes, Heavy Workouts & Electrolytes

29:17 The Core Daily Habit: One Hard Conversation a Day

31:22 Why "Boring" Businesses Outlast Accountants & Lawyers

34:40 The Baby Boomer Key Hand-Off and Small Business Investing

36:57 Breaking the Mainstream: Less Corporate, More Off-The-Cuff

39:01 My Biggest Mistake: A Typo

40:45 Day One Directive For New Creators

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How do you go from working grueling 100-hour weeks as a corporate M&A lawyer to building an audience of over 20 million followers and running a multi-faceted financial media business?

Welcome to the Forbes Top Creator Show! This week, host Steven Bertoni decodes the business of influence with attorney, financial creator, and entrepreneur Erika Kullberg.

In this episode, Erika opens up about the heartbreaking turning point that led her to quit her big-firm corporate law job after her boss refused her time off to see her dying grandfather. She details her transition from $200,000 in student debt to launching her startup, Plug and Law. Erika delivers a true masterclass on how she systematically studied YouTube and TikTok like an M&A deal, writing down over 100 viral hooks to decode the rhythm of the algorithm.

She reveals the $1,000 daily-posting bet that forced her onto TikTok, her legendary 30-second Nike shoe refund video that gained 1 million followers in 24 hours, and why she turned down a massive $100,000 brand deal in her second month to protect audience trust. Finally, Erika breaks down her 90/10 investment rule, how to bypass algorithm suppression, and how she used her massive platform as a "selfish" backdoor to interview her business heroes on her hit podcast, Erika Taught Me.

#ErikaKullberg #ForbesTopCreators #CreatorEconomy #PersonalFinance

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2026/06/23/forbes-top-creators-2026/

00:00 Meet Erika Kullberg

01:29 Quitting the 100 Hour Corporate Law Grind

03:01 Shifting to Entrepreneurship & Launching Plug and Law

04:23 The M&A Method: How to Study Viral Hooks Like a Deal

08:05 Gaining 5 Million Followers in 30 Days From a $1,000 Bet

09:20 Why Erika Turned Down a $100,000 Brand Deal to Protect Trust

10:26 Organizing a 100,000-Person Live Investing Workshop

12:22 The Business of Erika Kullberg: Diversifying Revenue Streams

14:12 Launching Erika Taught Me and Meeting Her Heroes

17:46 The Truth About Short-Form vs. Long-Form

18:47 Why You Absolutely Should NOT Start a Podcast

19:29 Bypassing the Algorithm with Owned Email Lists

21:17 Erika's Three Commandments of Personal Finance

21:42 The 7-Day Rule: Overcoming Impulse Buying

23:10 Financial Nihilism & Erika's 90/10 Investment Strategy

24:23 From Splitting Tissues in Law School to True Wealth

26:32 If Your Content Isn't Shareable, What's the Point?

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How do you go from losing your biggest commercial acting break to creating a viral meme that has been viewed over 7 billion times?

Welcome to the Forbes Top Creator Show! This week, host Steven Bertoni decodes the business of influence with comedian, filmmaker, and "recovering actor" Steven He.

In this episode, Steven opens up about his unique Chinese-Irish upbringing and the harsh realities of trying to survive as a traditional actor in New York City. He reveals the exact strategy he used to pivot into social media, grinding through 220 failed comedy sketches before finally hitting his first million-view spark on video 221. He breaks down the chaotic, uncontrollable 7-billion view success of the "Emotional Damage" meme, and frankly discusses his biggest business failure: investing massive amounts of time and money into a highly-produced show that alienated his audience and tanked his channel's revenue by 90%.

Steven delivers a true masterclass in how to pivot your YouTube strategy, shifting content just 10% at a time to successfully launch his new 30-minute action-comedy series, James Bao, and why your failures just might be your greatest asset.

#StevenHe #ForbesTopCreators #EmotionalDamage #CreatorEconomy

00:00 Meet Steven He

01:11 From A Chinese-Irish Upbringing To The NYC Acting Grind

03:00 Heartbreak: Losing A $34,000 Big Break To The Pandemic

04:39 The Turning Point: Grinding Through 220 Failed Videos

08:57 The 7 Billion View Accident: The "Emotional Damage" Phenomenon

11:41 The Ultimate Fail: How A Massive Budget Tanked 90% Of Views

14:52 Boiling The Frog: The 10% Pivot Strategy

21:56 Taking Power Back From The Bullies

25:38 The Next Flex: Competing At The Box Office With James Bao

31:36 The Mic Drop: Why Your Failures Forge You

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How do you pivot from chasing empty viral trends to building a fiercely loyal community of over 40 million followers?

Welcome to the Forbes Top Creator Show! This week, host Steven Bertoni sits down with creator and entrepreneur Rebecca Zamolo.

In this episode, Rebecca reveals her biggest career mistake: focusing entirely on viral videos and realizing her massive audience didn't actually know her. She opens up about shifting her strategy to true vulnerability, sharing her battle with a severe, life-altering illness and an isolating two-year struggle with infertility. Rebecca explains why she downsized her production crew from 20 people to just 5, leaning into the philosophy that high-retention storytelling on a $5,000 budget can successfully compete with bloated, multi-million dollar productions. She also details her obsessive process of A/B testing up to five different thumbnails per upload, and her unique strategy of targeting different demographics on each platform: treating TikTok like the "cool kids" for viral trends, using Instagram for deep connections with moms, and building elaborate story-driven videos for YouTube.

#RebeccaZamolo #ForbesTopCreators #CreatorEconomy #YouTubeStrategy

00:00 Meet Rebecca Zamolo

01:18 The Biggest Mistake: Viral Videos vs. True Community

04:16 The Origin Story: Facing Surgery and Opening Up Online

07:02 Content Strategy: Building Backyard Bunkers and Waterparks

09:37 The Masterclass: The Science of A/B Testing

15:45 Balancing Boundaries and Vlogging for 500 Days Straight

21:24 Running a 15-Person Mini-Studio

24:33 Platform Strategy: YouTube vs. TikTok vs. Instagram

28:34 Multiple Revenue Streams

29:08 Launching Molo Wellness

31:58 What's Next: Expanding Beyond the Camera

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How do you go from running a "cash for gold" shop and hiding your content from your family to becoming an 83-million follower comedy powerhouse?

Welcome to the Forbes Top Creator Show! This week, host Steven Bertoni sits down with short-form sketch comedy legend and entrepreneur Anwar in his first podcast appearance ever!

In this episode, Anwar reveals his journey from being the class clown to avoid getting bullied, to accidentally going viral by stopping freeway traffic with a fake magic trick involving a loose toilet. He opens up about dropping out of college, hiding his early success from his traditional Middle Eastern family, and eventually moving into 1600 Vine—the legendary Hollywood apartment building where he lived and collaborated with creators like King Bach, Lele Pons, and Logan Paul. Anwar breaks down his highly optimized downtown studio production process, his strategy of continuously repurposing 10-year-old videos, and his strict boundaries on turning down lucrative brand deals to protect his credibility. Finally, he discusses taking his comedic inspiration from legends like Jim Carrey and Edgar Wright to fuel his ambitious pivot from 6-second clips to writing and directing a feature film.

00:00 Anwar's First Podcast

01:37 The Origin Story: Using Comedy to Avoid Bullying

04:14 The First Viral Hit: A Magic Trick With a Loose Toilet

06:32 Dropping Out of College To Create

08:40 Inside Anwar's Production Studio and Creative Process

10:39 The Strategy Behind Repurposing 10 Year Old Videos

18:35 Moving to 1600 Vine: The Creator Incubator

24:24 Protecting Credibility

29:17 The Next Step: Directing Feature Films

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How did The Stokes Twins go from living out of their car and sneaking into Costco for free samples to running a 70-person production company with more than 30 billion views, and soon a new series on Netflix?

Welcome to the Forbes Top Creator Show! This week, host Steven Bertoni sits down with the masterminds of YouTube retention, Alan and Alex, The Stokes Twins.

In this episode, the brothers open up about dropping out of medical school and moving to LA with no plan, facing homelessness, and relying on a scuffed Costco card just to eat. They share how a single viral video ("What It's Like to Be a Twin") gained 10 million views in a week and changed their lives forever. The twins break down their obsessive, highly analytical approach to studying their audience, why they believe 90% of the work is in the core idea, and how they scaled from a two-man team editing on iMovie to a massive 70-person production operation.

They also reveal exclusive details about their most expensive video to date (a $1 million Squid Game recreation featuring VFX artists from Endgame and Avatar), a surprise phone call from MrBeast, and a sneak peek into their massive new unscripted competition series coming soon to Netflix.

#StokesTwins #ForbesTopCreators #CreatorEconomy #YouTubeSuccess

00:00 Meet The Stokes Twins

01:58 The Origin Story: Making Videos Since Age 10

04:24 The First Viral Hit: "What It's Like to Be a Twin"

05:51 Living in a Car & Sneaking into Costco

12:36 Scaling the Business & Analyzing the Algorithm

22:01 Spending $1 Million on a Squid Game Video

27:05 YouTube Heroes & Getting a Call From MrBeast

31:43 Building a 70-Person Production Team

38:52 The Next Level: Creating a Netflix Original Series

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