YouTube University

One creator raises money for an education platform

Happy Friday. Cameo just announced “Cameo Pass” for in-person meet and greets. Is there a creator you would want to meet? As soon as golf instructor Clay Ballard launches a Cameo, I’m there.

-Hannah Doyle

Airrack Raises $3 Million for Film School

Source: Airrack / YouTube

Creator Now, a cohort-based education program co-founded by Eric Decker, known as Airrack, secured seed funding earlier this week.

Investors include creators like Casey Neistat, Colin and Samir, Justin Kan, and Jack Conte.

Decker teamed up with talent manager Zack Honarvar, who is now CEO of the program, to kick off classes last summer. "We focus on creators learning through action and getting personalized feedback from their peer group,” Honarvar said. "We find this to be far more effective than consuming pre-recorded videos and learning in an isolated environment."

Competition is a big part of the program, not unlike Airrack’s own YouTube channel where he’s hosted a ping pong competition and on-the-street challenges. Creator Now recently held a competition with fintech company Current, where participants won cash prizes for creating branded videos. 

Every two months Creator Now invites groups of 300 creators to participate in a six-week cohort, with a $250 fee to join. One of its most successful creators to date has been Brandon Vu, a yoyo YouTuber who went from receiving 1,000 views to 10,000 views per video after completing the program.

Our Take

The career of being a creator is too new and ever-changing to be taught in traditional schools. Creators hold the keys to teach the next generation and are uniquely positioned to define what paid education will look like within our industry.

Bodega TikToker Plans for Manhattan Storefront

Source: NYT Cooking / YouTube

Rahim Mohamed went viral on the platform last year for his creative bodega sandwich creations and enthusiasm while making orders “the Ocky way”. 

Mohamed’s nickname is General Ock, which comes from the word “akhi”, a slang word meaning “brother” in his native country of Yemen. He immigrated to the states in 1999, and in 2007 took over running his family’s bodega. 

Mohamed has 2.7 million followers and regularly pulls in 3-8 million views on his videos. He recently announced he's on Cameo, and told the New York Times he is now making plans for a Manhattan storefront that will feature his signature sandwiches.  

Our Take

A bodega, which is simultaneously a community hub, grocery store, and restaurant, has been Mohamed's training ground for entrepreneurship. Now he is leveraging those skills and applying them to TikTok, where he can grow a wider community, and increase his income. Our experiences offline often dictate the success we see online.

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Ali Abdaal Launches a Stationery Line

Source: Essentiali

After months of production and crowdsourcing ideas, the UK-based doctor turned education creator launched essentiali, his first line of paper goods.

The materials align with the productivity tips Abdaal shares on his YouTube channel, including a notebook, planner, and to-do list.

Our Take

As creators, the value prop of our content should match the value prop of the merchandise we choose to sell. In Abdaal’s case, by making notebooks and planners, he is expanding his brand ecosystem, and creating a natural extension for his online education courses, where students will have a one-stop shop for their classes and school supplies. 

🔥 Press Worthy

• Jubilee launches a card game on Kickstarter. 

• TikTok dancer Morgan Bullock becomes the first black woman in the Riverdance cast.

• Minecraft streamers Ranboo and Tubbo join Misfits gaming. 

• PewDiePie returns to YouTube after a month-long hiatus.

• Sunroom app launches to help women and non-binary creators monetize their content.

• Call Her Daddy releases part two of the Emma Chamberlain interview.