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How Women of Color Are Building Wealth, Late Night Is Replaced by YouTube Stars, and Young Creators Go Indie
In our 68th edition, we explore how women of color are leading a new wave of career-building in the creator economy, why YouTube stars are overtaking traditional late-night TV, and how young filmmakers are launching their own studios.
Brian Freeman
July 30, 2025
💰 How Women of Color Are Building Wealth
The creator economy has grown to a $250 billion powerhouse, with forecasts pushing that number to $480 billion by 2027. Despite this, women of color are still underrepresented among top earners, often starting out without business degrees, big budgets, or industry connections…but they’re claiming space anyway.
Take Maya Lê, who built an interactive storytelling world from scratch. Or Blair Imani, who transformed quick-hit lessons into a full-fledged micro-education brand. Joanna Franco spun her love of language and travel into a business. Karen Sevillano went viral and started a wellness and skincare brand focused on melanin-rich skin.
These women are redefining wealth as something deeper: sustainability, freedom, and meaningful impact. And they’re doing it in an industry that wasn’t exactly designed with them in mind.
For the full article from Alejandra Rojas at Forbes, click here.
Late night TV is fading on cable but booming online. As The Late Show shuts down, creators like Amelia Dimoldenberg, Sean Evans, and Theo Von are pulling millions with lo-fi interviews, chicken wings, and chaos. What’s unique about these shows is that the hosts also own both the show and its content. No network, no censors.
Even Stephen Colbert is reportedly eyeing the creator economy. Former Washington Post TikTok star Dave Jorgenson ditched journalism to launch his own YouTube show.
What This Means for Digital Creators
Owning your IP is more valuable than booking celebrities.
Talk show formats are thriving as podcasts and YouTube series.
Short-form clips drive discovery but long-form builds loyalty and monetization.
You don’t need a studio to go viral. Own your content. Build a niche. Post consistently. Let short clips pull people in and long-form keep them loyal.
For the full article from Natalie Jarvey at The Ankler, click here.
🎥 Young Creators Go Indie
In a warehouse on Austin’s east side, a crew of 20-somethings with no film degrees and no investors is quietly reshaping indie cinema. Creator Camp is a creator-led film studio founded by Max Reisinger, Simon Kim, and Chris Duncan. They’re on a mission to help digital creators make big-screen films without begging Hollywood for permission.
It started with a two-day film fest at the Paramount Theater in 2024. Since then, they’ve landed a studio space, shot branded shorts for Spotify and Coca-Cola, and built a daily community across Discord and Patreon. As their CCO Christina Kalina puts it, “There’s no A24 for YouTubers, so we decided to build one.”
How Does Creator Camp’s Model Work?
The business model is simple. Make a great film for $100K. Spend another $100K on a theater run. Sell 200,000 tickets at $10 and pull in $2 million. The profits go back to the creators.
For the full recap from Stagerunner, click here.
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👋 Happy Networking!
~ Brian F.
Content We Referenced Today
Can The Creator Economy Help Women Of Color Build Wealth? - Forbes
The YouTube Stars Replacing Late Night — and Writing Colbert’s New Playbook - The Ankler
These young filmmakers are saying screw it: We’ll build our own studio - Stagerunner