The Creator Spotlight Podcast

Rowan Cheung is the founder and CEO of The Rundown, a daily AI newsletter that has seen incredible growth, reaching over 2M subscribers all while remaining profitable since day one.

In this episode, Rowan shares how he gained his first 250k subscribers through Twitter posts, why he recently took his first-ever investment from Electrify, and the one piece of growth advice he'd give every newsletter operator.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles
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ElevenLabs Eleven v4 is available now and until October 12th Creator+ plans in ElevenCreative can use it for free. Try it today: https://elevenlabs.io/v4 

open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video 

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Rowan Cheung

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Rowan Cheung of The Rundown

01:06 The revenue split of an eight-figure newsletter business

02:35 Gaining the first 250k subscribers

09:47 The key growth lever now at 2M readers

13:44 How a newsletter makes over $10M annually

23:55 Why The Rundown is taking on investment

28:11 Scrapping his short form AI avatar

34:20 Creating unique valuable content

37:24 Advice for creators

Jacques Keyser is the Programming Director at VidCon, where he has spent eight years building events for creators, brands, and platforms around the world.

In this episode, he shares how to host a small event that people actually show up to, from booking speakers with no budget to knowing where the money really matters, and explains why he believes IRL events are becoming essential in the age of AI.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles 

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On Tuesday, October 6, Creator Spotlight will be hosting our first official event in Manhattan, together with ElevenLabs.

Space is very limited, so RSVP now to hear firsthand how creators are using generative AI audio tooling to expand their reach and connect with new audiences. Really hope to (literally, actually) see you there: https://luma.com/TheNewReach 

open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video 

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Jacques Keyser, programming director at VidCon

00:53 How to run a great IRL creator event

10:06 An example of the perfect creator event

16:16 How VidCon has changed over the years

24:52 The most unique international VidCon events

29:42 Why come to VidCon in 2027

36:15 The value of IRL events in the creator economy

Jack Settleman is the founder of Snapback Sports, the sports media company that started as a Snapchat account in 2017 and became one of Underdog's earliest creator partners. Jack breaks down the bets behind the business — taking equity in Underdog before its $1.3 billion sale, deleting a 600,000-subscriber YouTube channel, sending his brother to 33 World Cup games in 39 days, and choosing not to pay himself a salary — plus why he believes the gatekeepers in sports media are running out of time.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles 

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On Tuesday, October 6, Creator Spotlight will be hosting our first official event in Manhattan, together with ElevenLabs.
Space is very limited, so RSVP now to hear firsthand how creators are using generative AI audio tooling to expand their reach and connect with new audiences. Really hope to (literally, actually) see you there: https://luma.com/TheNewReach 

open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video 

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Snapback Sports 

Jack Settleman

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Jack Settleman of Snapback Sports

00:52 The $1.3B sale

05:59 The origin of Snapback Sports

09:36 Turning a Snapchat page into a real business

12:47 $2M revenue with mostly brand deals

15:30 Remaining unique as a sport media brand

24:32 Ethical boundaries in sports advertising

34:53 Making ambitious unique content

44:30 Pivoting from creator to business owner

48:19 Investing back into the product

56:15 Creating products beyond content

On Tuesday, October 6, Creator Spotlight will be hosting our first official event in Manhattan, together with ElevenLabs.

Space is very limited, so RSVP now to hear firsthand how creators are using generative AI audio tooling to expand their reach and connect with new audiences. Really hope to (literally, actually) see you there.

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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video

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Fernando Caralt and Espresso Matutino

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Fernando Caralt

02:18 Growing a newsletter to 150k readers

08:03 Targeting a Mexican audience

10:04 Generating $400k with one revenue stream

17:38 The state of the newsletter market in Mexico

24:22 The lack of acquisitions opportunities

27:32 AI tools to build your newsletter product

33:01 How big can this newsletter business get?

Taylor Craig is the co-founder and head of content at Launch Live Now, a live streaming production company pioneering the social media live show format. He and Francis get into why niche live streaming is becoming a real business, how you measure and sell a live audience when the viewer counts look small, and how creators can tell whether converting their video podcast into a live show is worth it.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles 

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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video

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Taylor Craig

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Taylor Craig

00:56 Interactivity is the future

02:53 Why live stream audience value is so high

08:40 Behind the scenes of a well produced live show

18:22 When should a podcast become a live show?

21:43 The best social media platforms for livestreaming

26:04 Who are the best creators for livestreaming?

34:03 How livestreaming makes money

40:23 The skills and tools needed for livestreaming

45:05 Who watches live streams and nichecasts?

49:39 The next decade of livestreaming and nichecasting

Amanda Shendruk is an award-winning visual journalist who's spent 15 years making charts for the Washington Post, Quartz and The Guardian, and now writes the data newsletter Not Ship. Francis asks her to teach him the craft, how she decides what to label, and why she still doesn't trust AI with a chart.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles 

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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video 

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Amanda Shendruk

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Timestamps 

00:00 Introducing Amanda Shendruk

01:52 Making your graphics legible at a glance

10:18 Universal rules of data visualization

18:10 Finding trustworthy data sources

27:08 Tools for research and data viz

32:24 Good and bad data visualization

37:48 The real world effect of good data journalism

39:55 Starting a newsletter

47:16 The future of Not Ship

Imran Mumtaz is a former Amazon engineer who quit in 2022 and now creates content as Imran the Finance Engineer, with 1.7 million followers built almost entirely on short form. He and Francis get into how long it took to replace his $250,000 salary, his current revenue mix, the tactics that make financial content hold attention, and why he refuses to post every day.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles 

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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video 

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Imran Mumtaz

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Imran The Finance Engineer

01:24 Long form vs short form content creation

07:19 Four revenue streams that make $250k

13:43 The short form video strategy to get millions of followers

19:03 Starting a second channel

26:20 Competition and collaboration in the creator economy

30:05 Making educational content entertaining

34:58 Diversifying revenue streams: course and newsletter

38:52 Advice for starting out as a creator

42:09 Avoiding burnout as a creator

48:19 The future of Imran's business

Zach Williamson runs Culture Crave, Latest in Space and a network of pop culture accounts with millions of followers across X, Bluesky and Instagram, selling attention to movie studios and agencies through CPM deals and bespoke campaigns. In this episode he breaks down how studio brand deals are actually priced and pitched, the economics of the clipping industry, why he's now building a website and newsletter off the back of his socials, and what it really costs to run the business.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles 

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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video 

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Culture Crave 

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Timestamps 

00:00 Introducing Zach Williamson of Culture Crave

01:00 Growing a social media page to 1M+ followers

03:23 Running a culture and media account that gets clicks

11:01 Diversifying revenue streams beyond CPM deals

15:55 The difference between build on Twitter vs X

23:35 Inside the clipping ecosystem

34:41 The cost running a viral social media page

42:53 Competitive pages and differing styles

52:30 Why a podcast is not worth it

56:24 What's the current meta?

Gigi Robinson is a brand deal expert and consultant who runs Host of Influence, a professional development platform for creators who want to build real businesses. Gigi is on track to double her annual revenue of $200,000 to $400,000 in 2026.She breaks down how she prices brand deals, why usage rights and paid boosting became her biggest revenue lever, and what every creators first hires should be.

Read the newsletter

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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video 

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Gigi Robinson

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Gigi Robinson

01:11 Doubling yearly revenue to $400k

04:56 Working with the biggest brands online

08:25 How usage rights can make you more money

14:36 Packaging yourself to attract brands

19:17 How to land speaking gigs

27:49 Helping others make a living through content

36:40 Building a team as a creator

42:55 Big bets for the future

Dan Oshinsky is the founder of Inbox Collective, an email consultancy he launched in 2019 after building newsletter programs at BuzzFeed and The New Yorker. In this episode, he explains how AI is about to reshape the inbox, traces the eras of the newsletter industry from traffic driver to standalone product, and breaks down what's changing in newsletter growth, monetization, and reader loyalty.

Read the newsletter

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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video 

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Dan Oshinsky

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Dan Oshinsky

00:45 How AI is changing the inbox

08:05 Standing out amongst millions of newsletters

11:24 Entering a new chapter of email

15:30 The demographics are changing

21:38 The toughest part of growing a newsletter

35:55 Monetization in 2026

41:55 Building the world's best newsletter information resource

57:15 Overrated and underrated newsletter trends and metrics