Why Most Creator Businesses Fail (& Which Don't) – Transcript

00:00We bought products from eight different creators, and today, we're going to put them head-to-head and decide which one is the best creator product. >> We've been reviewing creator products for almost a decade now, and we've seen a lot of products succeed, but even more fail. But, the opportunity now has probably never been greater to start a creator product. We're seeing headlines every day about new products being launched and major investments being made into creator companies.

00:22>> All right. Our first match-up, we got Feastables versus Long Weekend. >> Long Weekend is a collaboration between Moment, who is an existing gear brand, with Willem Verbeeck, the YouTuber and a fashion designer and his friend Allison Simon. So, they designed the products and did the branding and initial shooting. Moment handles manufacturing, supply chain, and distribution.

00:46>> That looks really cool. >> It does look cool. >> Okay, so completely different companies. >> Yeah, so we wanted different types of creator products. So, there are four absolute juggernaut, massive YouTube channel companies, and then there are four companies from more niche creators that are either partnerships with bigger brands to help out with distribution or are completely bootstrapped distribution, designing, manufacturing completely themselves.

01:12>> So, this is David versus Goliath. >> You You okay right now? What are you doing? >> I don't I I Batteries are sometimes really hard to put in. >> I can see that. Do you want me to put the batteries in? >> No, I'll get I'll get it. I got you. I got young hands. >> >> Keith, you want to do it?

01:25>> Yeah, it may not be USB-C, but I got it. >> No, I'm confident. I'll get it, guys. Carry on. >> Okay. Connor, tell us about the rubric in which we are judging. >> Yeah, so we are judging on four criteria. Number one, authenticity. Does this product or business feel like it's an extension of the creator? Number two, scalability. Can it grow into something bigger? Do you have to be a fan of the creator to enjoy this product? Shareability. Does the product

01:52make you want to tell your friends about it or post pictures on Instagram? And then, the last one is just general cool factor. Like, is it fun to talk about? Is it cool? Do we think it's good? >> I think Colin's going to need help.

02:05>> No. >> Come on. >> You don't >> >> Let me see this. All right, you ready? >> >> How come you figure >> That's crazy. You never used a disposable camera? >> I have.

02:19>> You just go like this. >> I was doing it. >> You wind it up all the way. >> winding it. >> Disposable cameras are cool, they're in right now. There's that uh short form format where somebody walks up to somebody else and is like, "Hey, take this camera, shoot your trip, and bring it back to me."

02:32Uh that feels like the obvious format for this to like keep this in the world. The difference between this disposable camera and another one is this one looks cool. >> And it's reusable. >> And it's reusable. What's the price point? >> That is $50. >> Ooh.

02:46>> That's expensive. >> It's reusable. >> I get it, but that's expensive. Like that At 50 bucks, you have to have a deep relationship to make that purchase. >> And how much is the film cost? >> I bought Portra 400, and it was $35 a roll. But there's much cheaper film.

03:00>> All in to get yourself shooting here, it's $85. >> With a name like Long Weekend, this needs to be way more about the community that you get to be a part of if you buy this camera than the actual camera. >> Yes. >> This should be about going on long weekend trips that are planned for you that maybe at a much higher price point.

03:17Like, we're going to take a photography trip to Zion National Park or Joshua Tree. Bring your Bring your main camera, but also >> because you bought this, you're like, you can be a part of the community that even has access to these trips. >> This also feels like a great collaboration with Airbnb. Like, this feels like a mechanism for the creator to do more interesting brand deals.

03:38Does that make sense? Like, Airbnb is going to buy 100 of these and ship them out to subscribers who get to go on trips and then take photos, and we're going to make a big photo book. So, it to me, this is not a business in and of itself. It's a product that gives these creators a cool story to do better brand deals.

03:57>> This is just a way to find people who are into a thing so that you can honestly sell them something else. >> But I think honestly products are great for creators because they give you something to talk about. Willum probably is making a ton of I remember watching his videos about photography. It's really cool, but then you kind of like at least for me I tapered off cuz it's like, you know, I need a new narrative.

04:16And the new narrative could be like what you're talking about, long weekend trips, meeting communities, connecting to people, stories about photos. There's a lot in here, but the product can be that mechanism to tell a story. >> Yeah, it's not super scalable. It is honestly more similar to when someone buys one of our Press Publish hats. It's an identifier >> It's an identifier >> of our community.

04:34>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> to wear that. >> Yeah. >> Like that bag, one thing I really like about it is that it's a camera bag, but it doesn't totally look like a camera bag. Like there's a little bit of ambiguity about what it is and how you use it. So even if you're just a fan of Willum, but you're not like a photographer and you like the bag, you could still buy it and use it.

04:53>> What's up with all the Pokémon tins? >> That's my personal bag. >> That's understood. Understood. I didn't know. >> Yo, you said that's so judgmental. >> You said that very judgmental. >> That's so judgmental. >> crazy. >> Yeah, I'm sorry everybody. I did not mean to offend everyone who loves Pokémon. I just like you all acted like it's totally normal. We're reviewing a product and this one looks weathered.

05:10>> about, man. >> Yeah, I know and I >> him your whole life. >> >> Yeah, and I appreciate you and I like that you have their interests. It's great. Um >> cool bag. >> All right. If we talk about Feastables for a second. So Feastables is Mr.

05:24Beast's candy and snack brand started in 2022. They're sold in over 30,000 retail locations in over 30 countries. It's huge. >> had this in a long time. I don't really eat chocolate.

05:39>> Yo. >> >> But this is really good. Like for chocolate. Like you're a chocolate guy. You eat chocolate all the time. >> Big time chocolate guy. >> What do you think of this? >> It's delicious. I have pieces of it regularly at my home, primarily because Jimmy sends it to us all the time. So, I'm a little bit biased here.

05:53>> I haven't tried the new products. How many products does Feastables sell now? >> They sell like five variations of chocolate bars, peanut butter cups, hazelnut cups, and then the new sour strikes. >> To answer the scalability question, I would say like this product is distributed in 30,000 retail stores. We looked up prior to this how many McDonald's there are around the world.

06:13There's 45,000 McDonald's. Just to like orders of magnitude, like he has distributed almost at the scale of one of the most widely distributed brands in the world. >> He is one of the most scaled creators in terms of his reach right now, so it makes sense that his product has also scaled.

06:29>> The question is like is always about repeat purchase with chocolate, right? Like how many times can you buy these chocolate bars, but seems to be clearly working. This I think is an effort to get to more repeat purchases. >> Mhm. >> I actually think gummies, new product skews like this, probably have more repeat purchases than chocolate.

06:47>> Can we pull up the video he made about how his chocolate's made? >> You've heard me say that Feastables is the best tasting chocolate in the world. >> How Feastables chocolate is made, 61 million views. Is that not insane? Think about this value proposition. Like the fact that him and his team can make this video and 61 million people will watch it is crazy.

07:08>> Just at a high level, this is the advantage of being a creator and launching a business. >> Yeah. >> When a creator launches a product, it's sort of entrepreneurship in reverse. >> Yeah. >> Right? So, normally you come up with an idea for a product or a business, you build that product, and then you go, "Okay, how do I reach the people that this product serves?" The creator is already developing an intimate relationship with a large group of people who care about something, and they have an idea of what their need may be. Then they can get a product.

07:34>> They also have a system to produce content about it. >> Yeah, reaching their audience is not the problem. Like 61 million is remarkable for a Hershey's, but it's a competitive advantage for a Mr. Beast. >> Yeah, but sometimes you see a creator launch a product and they don't know how to talk about it.

07:49>> Mhm. >> I think he like kind of brute forces like there is constantly content about this. I think the important word here is world building. Like Jimmy and his team are doing a great job of world building. Feastables is a character in the Mr. Beast world. Even when he goes on another channel like when he's on Niga Giovanni's channel, he is bringing Feastables in that cooking challenge with him.

08:08>> Let's go to the rubric. >> All right, Feastables versus Long Weekend. Authenticity. >> Long Weekend actually has a pretty good case here to take it for authenticity just because Willem is a film photographer. This is a perfect extension >> Sure. >> of his brand. You like Willem, you like what he does, you want to take photos like him, go on similar journeys, buy the camera.

08:27>> Yes, you're right. Jimmy was not making videos about chocolate before he launched a chocolate brand. Willem was making videos about photography when he launched a camera. >> Might be point Willem. >> Scalability, Feastables. >> And easy. >> >> I wouldn't say that. >> Come on, guys. >> Yeah, yeah, there's potential here, but I mean look, this >> is David versus Goliath. Like >> There's there's potential >> You're talking about the most scalable creator.

08:46>> That's not meant to scale. >> Exactly. >> Yeah, that's not meant to scale. Also, even the price point is >> Between Pokémon and that, I'm like I'm like a real villain. >> Yeah. >> Sorry, everybody. >> Shareability. >> Shareability, I think if you looked right now online of how many people are sharing themselves eating Feastables and even Jimmy's ability to create content around this, he has wins.