Creators as the New CEOs
How Today’s Top Creators Are Building Scalable Businesses and Leading Like Startup CEOs
Hello, creators! Have you ever thought about what title you’d print on your business card? Content Creator/Digital Coach or CEO? In today’s booming creator economy, you might be both. The line between a solo creator in a bedroom and a startup CEO in a boardroom is blurring. Think about it - you're building a brand, engaging an audience, launching products, and generating revenue. In this issue of The Mango Insider, we explore “Creators as the New CEOs,” and how individuals are transforming their creator gigs into full-fledged digital businesses.
The Creator Economy Goes Big (and Keeps Growing)
The creator economy isn’t a fringe hobby corner anymore - it’s a mainstream industry. There are over 200 million creators worldwide riding this wave. In dollar terms, the market is huge: the creator economy was valued around $250 billion in 2023. And it’s on an explosive trajectory, projected to nearly double to $480 billion by 2027. For context, that would make it as large as some of the world’s biggest industries. No wonder creating content has become the dream job for many. In fact, being an online creator or influencer is the top career choice for 57% of Gen Z youth today - a massive cultural shift in how we view entrepreneurship and work.
What’s driving this surge? A mix of technology, platforms, and cultural change. Tech has lowered the barriers - today a solo solopreneur with a smartphone and internet can reach millions. Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and TagMango give creators instant access to global audiences and monetization tools. Meanwhile, society is recognizing that an individual with a camera and an idea can build a real business. Creators are realizing it too. They’re not just chasing views; they’re building companies around their personal brands. In short, the creator economy is growing up - and growing fast - right in front of our eyes.
From One-Person Hustle to Company of One
As the creator economy matures, many creators are professionalizing their approach. The gig that might have started as a side-hustle or passion project is turning into a business venture. We’re seeing a rise of what you might call the "company of one" - solo entrepreneurs who run lean, digital-first businesses at scale. Thanks to modern tools, it’s increasingly possible for a single individual (or a tiny team) to operate like a startup. How far can one person go? Consider this: in the U.S., the number of one-person businesses earning over $1 million in revenue shot up from about 57,000 to 116,000 in just one year (2021 to 2022). Yes, six-figure and seven-figure incomes are no longer the exclusive realm of big corporations - solo creators and solopreneurs are getting there too. They’re leveraging automation, outsourcing, and smart online tools to scale up without a large staff.
However, with big opportunity comes big competition. The reality is most creators still start small in earnings. A recent census of independent creators showed that 71% of creators make under $30,000 a year from their content (and only about 9% make over $100,000 annually). In other words, only a single-digit percent are breaking into six-figure “CEO-level” incomes. What sets those high-earning creator-CEOs apart? Often, it’s a shift in mindset and strategy: they treat their personal brand like a business. They diversify revenue streams and invest in growth. Nearly 45% of creators have multiple income streams today - whether that’s combining ad revenue, brand deals, merch sales, paid newsletters, or online courses. And about 67% of monetizing creators sell some kind of product(digital or physical) to their audience. The message is clear: to thrive, creators are thinking and acting like entrepreneurs, turning their follower base into a sustainable enterprise.
Creator CEOs in Action: Building Empires from Content
Let’s look at a few inspiring examples of creators who have grown their one-person shows into full-blown enterprises. These global creators treat their brands like startups - scaling up operations, hiring teams, building communities, launching products and their stories offer a glimpse of what’s possible in this golden era of creator entrepreneurship.
MrBeast: From YouTuber to Media Mogul
You might know MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) as the YouTube phenom famous for outrageous challenge videos and philanthropy stunts. But behind the scenes, MrBeast runs his channel like a fast-growing company. At just 25 years old, he’s hiring teams of creatives and engineers, reinvesting most of his earnings into bigger projects, and expanding into real-world businesses. In 2022, MrBeast topped Forbes’ list of creator earnings by making an estimated $54 million in a single year. How? Not just from YouTube ad revenue. He’s diversified with multiple ventures – launching a virtual burger chain available across hundreds of restaurants, a chocolate bar brand (Feastables), merchandise, and more.
With over 150 million subscribers on his main channel fueling this ecosystem, MrBeast’s operation has been valued like a high-growth startup (a leaked investor deck even pegged it around a $500–$700 million company). He reportedly has dozens of employees and is obsessive about data-driven content strategy - there’s even an employee handbook outlining how to “succeed” in the MrBeast production team. The takeaway from MrBeast’s journey: treat content creation as serious business, scale up quality and output by building a team, and branch out into products and services that turn your audience’s attention into revenue streams.
Ali Abdaal: Productizing a Personal Brand
Ali Abdaal isn’t just a YouTuber talking about productivity and education - he’s the CEO of a growing edtech small business built around his name. Ali, a former doctor in the UK, started making videos for fun, but as his following grew, he approached it with a startup mentality. He hired a team of editors, writers, and marketers to help elevate his content and expand his offerings. Instead of relying solely on ads or sponsorships, Ali productized his knowledge. He launched online courses (like the Part-Time YouTuber Academy), sold digital downloads, and even developed a custom website theme for creators.
The result? In 2022, Ali Abdaal generated roughly $957,000 in revenue just from selling digital products to his audience. That’s nearly a $1 million product line built on his personal brand and it doesn’t even count his YouTube AdSense or sponsorship earnings. By outsourcing video editing and admin tasks, he freed himself to focus on high-level content and course creation (the things only he can do as the face of the brand). Ali’s example shows how a creator can scale impact and income by launching scalable products, all while maintaining a lean operation. He often talks about how running “Ali Abdaal Ltd” feels like running a startup with weekly team meetings, OKRs, and a growth strategy - except his “investors” are the fans who invest in his products.
Nas Daily: From One-Minute Videos to a Global Company
When Nuseir Yassin started Nas Daily, he was a solo travel vlogger making one-minute Facebook videos each day. Fast forward, and Nas Daily has evolved into Nas Company, a global media and education business. Nuseir treated his explosive social media growth as the foundation for something bigger: he began hiring a team to help film and edit content, opened offices in Singapore and Dubai, and started thinking beyond just videos. He launched Nas Academy, an online platform for creator courses, and Nas.io, a community-building SaaS product for creators and brands. This startup-style approach attracted serious investor attention - Nas Company raised $25 million in funding to expand its creator education and community platforms. The company rapidly scaled; at one point, Nas’s ventures pulled in over $1,000,000 of revenue in a single month.
Nuseir essentially went from vlogging in his parents’ backyard to running a multi-product company with dozens of employees, all in a span of a few years. He’s built an ecosystem (content studio, academy, conferences like Nas Summit, even a Nas-branded co-living space) that reaches 300 million people each month. The Nas Daily story is a masterclass in community-building too - Nuseir fostered a massive international community around his “bring people together” mission, which became the user base for his new products. It illustrates that a creator can scale horizontally (into new products and services) while keeping the core brand strong, much like a startup expanding its product line after finding initial success.
How to Treat Your Personal Brand as a Business
By now you might be fired up and wondering: “This sounds amazing, but how can I start acting like a CEO of my own creator journey?” Here are some actionable strategies to get you started on professionalizing your creator business and leveling up like a creator-CEO:
Adopt the CEO Mindset
Start thinking like a founder, not just a creator. Here's how:
Work on your business, not just in it. Set aside time to plan content strategically, set growth goals (audience size, revenue, product launches), and track your progress.
Build a simple business blueprint. Think of your brand like a startup: What problem do you solve? Who’s your target “customer”? What’s your value proposition?
Use data to drive decisions. Regularly review content performance metrics - what’s working, what’s converting, what needs improvement — and adapt accordingly.
Spot opportunities like a strategist. From partnerships to monetization, keep scanning for ways to scale impact - not just rack up likes.
Diversify and Productize Your Knowledge
Don’t put all your income eggs in one basket - here’s how to create scalable revenue:
Launch your own offerings. Consider cohort-based courses, eBooks, templates, coaching programs, paid newsletters - anything your audience would pay to access.
Build scalable income. Focus on products that can be sold to many without increasing your effort linearly (e.g., a digital product sold 1000 times = passive income).
Use tools like TagMango. Platforms like TagMango help you launch and manage these offerings easily - from payments to memberships - without tech overwhelm.
Start small, then expand. Begin with one simple product, test it with your community, then build out a suite of offerings that compound your revenue over time.
Outsource, Automate, and Build Your “Team”
You can’t do it all alone - and you don’t have to. Here’s how to scale smart:
Identify what drains you. Hate editing? Dread admin? Those are the first things to delegate or automate.
Use tools or freelancers. Hire a video editor, use scheduling tools, or bring on a virtual assistant - even a small team can massively boost your output.
Focus on your genius zone. Free yourself to focus on content, community, and vision - the tasks that only youcan do.
Build systems for sustainability. Create processes that run on autopilot (automated emails, content batching, etc.) so your brand keeps growing without constant hustle.
Build a Funnel and Own Your Audience
It’s time to design a journey from follower → fan → customer. Here’s how:
Capture contact info. Get your audience on your email list, Telegram, or Discord, WhatsApp Community - so you’re not dependent on flaky algorithms.
Guide with intention. Offer value in layers: free webinars, lead magnets, newsletters - leading up to paid offerings.
Map the journey. Think about how your content plays a role at each stage: TikToks for discovery, YouTube for trust, newsletters for retention, and products for conversion.
Add calls-to-action (CTAs). Every post is an opportunity - guide your audience to the next step (subscribe, download, register, buy).
Nurture Your Community (and Brand) for the Long Run
Sustainable growth = real relationships + strong identity. Here's how to build both:
Engage authentically. Reply to comments, host lives, run Q&As - show up consistently and with genuine connection.
Create exclusive spaces. Set up a membership, private group, or insider community for your biggest fans.
Cultivate repeat customers. When people feel like they’re part of your journey, they stick around for your next launch, course, or offer.
Stay consistent with your brand. Define your story, values, and niche - and reflect them in every piece of content you create.
Think long-term. A loyal community is your biggest asset and a strong brand attracts not just followers, but partners, sponsors, and long-term opportunities.
Welcome to the CEO club, creator! This might feel like a lot and no, you don’t have to do it all at once. The beauty of being a creator today is that you can start small, as an army of one, and gradually implement these strategies as you grow. Pick one or two action items from above to focus on this month. Maybe it’s outlining your first digital product, or hiring an editor for your next video, or drafting a simple business mission statement. Each step will bring you closer to running your creator venture like a well-oiled startup!
The Golden Era of the Creator-Entrepreneur
It truly is an exciting time to be in the creator economy. Never before have individuals had such accessible tools, platforms, and global market reach to build something of their own. The playing field is more level than ever: one person with determination and creativity can compete with established media companies and brands. As a digital coach, content creator, or aspiring entrepreneur, you are standing at the edge of unprecedented opportunity.
The takeaway from this trend is empowering: you are the business. By viewing yourself through the CEO lens, you’ll start to make decisions that propel you forward - investing in your growth, expanding your capabilities, and building assets (like products or a community) that pay dividends over time. This is the mindset that separates those who burn out after a year from those who build lasting success in the creator world. It’s not about chasing overnight virality; it’s about building an empire, one step at a time.
So, as you close this issue of TMI and go back to planning your next piece of content, remember the big picture. You’re not just posting a video or an article - you’re laying a brick in the foundation of your own creator company. Dream big, plan smart, and stay consistent. The CEO title is there for the taking, and you don’t need anyone’s permission to claim it. Here’s to the creator-entrepreneurs – the new CEOs of this golden era. 🚀
Your CEO Era Just Got Wheels
Speaking of building empires, what if we told you your creator CEO journey could also come with… a car at the finish line?
Introducing the Mango Alliance Program - TagMango’s very own affiliate program where your influence doesn’t just grow your brand, it helps others thrive too. Share the platform, hit milestones, and unlock rewards like AirPods, a DSLR, a MacBook, and yep… that shiny Kia Sonet. ✨ But here’s the catch - registrations are only open till 10th May. So if you’re ready to scale with us, fuel your growth, and drive into CEO mode (literally), join the Mango Alliance today!
Pick Of The Week:
As we wrap up this issue, we’re leaving you with a podcast recommendation that’s well worth your time. Nikhil Kamath sits down with none other than Bill Gates for a wide-ranging conversation that covers everything from innovation and climate change to curiosity and legacy. Thoughtful, sharp, and refreshingly grounded - this one’s a standout. Don’t miss it.