Co-Founder @ Measure Studio 📈 AI-Powered Social Media Insights

I’m a 3x entrepreneur and M&A advisor who helps founders sell their businesses.

👋 WHY ME?

After I sold my first startup (Paladin), several founder friends reached out to me. They wanted to know what it was like and what I learned in the process.

A few of them were thinking about selling their companies and asked if I would help. After all, I understood the industry and probably knew most of the potential buyers.

So I agreed to help a few of those friends and found myself with a new side hustle as a boutique investment banker.

After cutting my teeth on a few deals, I realized how much I love working with entrepreneurs, so I made it official and launched my own M&A advisory practice: Quartermast Advisors.

🤝 WHAT I OFFER:

I help my clients manage the entire M&A process from start to finish, which includes:

✭ Preparing your materials (management presentation, financials, etc.)
✭ Identifying and getting in touch with the right buyers
✭ Negotiating the deal structure and economics
✭ Coordinating with legal and tax experts to protect your interests
✭ Asking thoughtful questions and providing useful advice along the way

🤔 WHY WORK WITH AN M&A ADVISOR?

Research shows that hiring a banker results in ~25% higher valuation premiums, on average.

It also frees founders up to continue operating the business and hit their targets. There's nothing worse than poor company performance during a sales process, so it's often more valuable for the team to focus on delivering good results rather than managing M&A discussions.

👨‍💻 WHO I HELP:

I stick to what I know: digital media, tech, and the creator economy. I’ve helped sell influencer agencies, talent management firms, enterprise SaaS companies, and more.

If you’ve been approached or are just thinking about selling your company now or in the future, shoot me a note. I’d be happy to chat and answer any questions.

If I’m the right fit, I’d love to help you out. And if I’m not, I’ll gladly point you in the right direction.

💬 I'VE BEEN FEATURED IN:
- Business Insider
- Digiday
- eMarketer
- Forbes
- Net Influencer
- New Economies
- PRWeek
- Scalable
- The Information
- The Publish Press
- TheWrap
- They Got Acquired
- Tubefilter
…and more

📢 I'VE SPOKEN AT:
- 1 Billion Followers Summit
- Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
- Digital Entertainment World (DEW)
- Digital First
- Digital Hollywood
- DMEXCO
- Social Media Week
- VidCon
- Youth Marketing Show (YMS)
…and more

James Creech

Humbled to have been selected as "The Most Visionary Leader in M&A and Entrepreneurial Growth – 2026!"

The good news arrived yesterday via my spam folder (clearly an honest mistake on Gmail's part).

I didn't recognize the sender, but it came from a guy with two first names, so of course I trust him implicitly.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I wasn't familiar with this prestigious publication, so I visited the domain from the sender's email address.

The website was down, but I'm sure it's because they've gotten a huge surge in traffic after unveiling such an important list.

Incredibly flattered, I wrote back to graciously accept the award. There were, of course, some important logistical considerations to work out.

The most important detail was a $2,000 honorarium that I was expected to pay. I'll be honest, I haven't won many awards like this before, so this came as a surprise. But hey, welcome to the big leagues!

In exchange for this small fee, I would receive prime cover page placement, a 10+ page feature, an exclusive video interview, and global PR exposure.

That all sounded great, of course, but I paused and thought to myself: "What would a truly Visionary Leader do?"

That's when it hit me. A $2,000 certificate and online article weren't going to inspire those around me. We needed to think bigger. Much BIGGER.

How much would it cost for an oil painting or marble bust of me, I wondered? Better yet, how about a towering bronze sculpture to truly capture my visionary legacy?

Erin quickly gave me a quote and assured me that his team would take care of everything.

The whole thing wasn't cheap, but can you really put a price on visionary leadership?

The bronze sculpture is set to arrive in 10-12 weeks, so I'll be sure to share regular updates here on LinkedIn.

In the meantime, I had ChatGPT mock up the cover art to save their graphics team the trouble. I figured it's the least I could do.

Thank you all for your support! I'm blown away by this amazing honor!!

Founder, Quartermast Advisors 🤝 We help entrepreneurs maximize their M&A outcomes. 🚀 Co-Founder, Measure Studio 📈 AI-powered social media insights.💡

My years of watching too much online video content are finally paying off.

Excited to serve on VidCon's inaugural Hall of Fame Selection Committee, which will nominate and vote on the creators whose work has shaped the creator economy over the last couple decades. No pressure. 😅

Fun to see so many old friends also on the committee! Adam Wescott, Alessandra Catanese, Avi Gandhi, Brendan Gahan, Brian Flanagan, Chris M. Williams, Eric Wei, Farhad Meher-Homji, Jim Louderback, Joseph Marchese, Lauren Schnipper, Lia Haberman, Megan Lightcap, Meredith Levine, Phil Ranta, Sean Atkins, Shira Lazar, and more!

As the creator economy matures, so does the capital landscape around it. Here are the key players:

𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 – investing in early-stage creator tools, platforms, and creator-led companies.

𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲 – acquiring and scaling established creator economy businesses.

𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐝𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 – democratizing investment access and empowering fans to directly back creators.

𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 – providing revenue-based funding and liquidity solutions.

𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐎𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 – pioneering ways to get creators on the cap table so they can participate in equity upside.

𝐌&𝐀 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬 – helping founders maximize their exit outcomes.

𝐌&𝐀 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 – matchmaking platforms for business buyers and sellers.

💡The takeaway: The creator economy is evolving into a full-stack financial ecosystem.

For creators and creator economy founders, that means more paths than ever to build, finance, and eventually exit meaningful businesses.

---
👋 I'm the Founder of Quartermast Advisors. We help media, tech, and creator economy founders maximize their exit outcomes.

👍 Like this post to help me.
🔥 Repost to help others.

#CreatorEconomy #VentureCapital #PrivateEquity #MergersAndAcquisitions

Today is my 36th birthday 🎉

Each year, I like to pause and reflect on a few lessons life keeps teaching me. Here are a few that feel especially true right now:

𝐁𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 🎯
Life moves fast. It’s easy to get caught up in the momentum, so occasionally stop and ask yourself, "Is this actually where I want to go?"

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐲 𝐍𝐨 🙅‍♂️
I still struggle with this and often find myself overcommitted. One thing that helps is to periodically create a "stop doing list" (the opposite of a to-do list) to remind myself that every "yes" comes with a tradeoff.

𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟 😅
Most things that feel urgent today won’t matter a year from now. Focus on what truly moves the needle and let the rest go.

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 🎮
Hobbies and passion projects make you more interesting and often make you better at your “main quest” too.

𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 😂
Make yourself laugh. Make others laugh. And most importantly, learn to laugh at yourself.

𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐆𝐞𝐭 🎁
The best relationships and opportunities grow from generosity. Helping others will come back in ways you never expect.

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐎𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 🌍
I try to visit 3 new countries each year, which is a fun goal, even if I don't always achieve it. Exploring new places and cultures is a great way to reset your perspective.

𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 🤝
Life is all about the people you share it with. Make an effort to connect good people and keep in touch.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐬 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 🌟
I'd rather be known well, than well known. A smaller circle of people who know and trust you is far more valuable than broad but shallow recognition.

Grateful for another trip around the sun and for all the amazing people who make the journey worthwhile!

P.S. I kicked off the bday celebrations at Sugarfish last night with my fellow Pisces Dylan Harari. Fun start to the weekend!

MrBeast has acquired Gen Z fintech app Step.

Here are the highlights, and what it means for the creator economy:

𝐁𝐮𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞
• Beast Industries, the entertainment, consumer products, and CPG company founded by YouTube creator and entrepreneur Jimmy Donaldson.
• Founded in 2012.
• 1,052 employees per LinkedIn.
• Raised $650M in total funding, including a $200M investment from crypto firm BitMine Immersion Technologies last month.
• Estimated valuation of $5B, based on investor pitch decks and reporting.
• Business lines include the MrBeast media empire (including the "Beast Games" series on Amazon Prime Video), chocolate company Feastables, snack kit Lunchly (JV with PRIME), and clipping platform Vyro.
• Step is Beast's 2nd publicly announced acquisition, after creator hiring platform Vouch in Oct 2024.

𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞
• Step, a fintech app that helps young people save, spend, build credit, and manage their finances.
• Founded in 2018 by CJ MacDonald and Alexey Kalinichenko.
• 276 employees per LinkedIn.
• Raised ~$500M in combined equity and debt funding.

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 & 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
• Undisclosed

𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐞
• Expand into financial services with an existing platform and user base. Step enables Beast to expand into the heavily regulated financial industry without building from scratch.
• Leverage Beast’s massive audience to drive adoption.
• Advance Jimmy's financial literacy and wellness mission. In his own words: "Nobody taught me about investing, building credit, or managing money when I was growing up. [...] I want to give millions of young people the financial foundation I never had.”

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲?

➊ Distribution is the new leverage.

Beast Industries is harnessing the global reach of its owned media engine to sell products and services to its audience at effectively negative CAC. This creates a direct line from attention → engagement → monetization.

➋ Audience monetization is maturing.

The first wave was brand deals. The second wave was CPG. And this next wave will include software, services, and more.

➌ Creators are becoming acquirers.

From Mythical buying Smosh to Epic Gardening acquiring Botanical Interests and Modern Farmer, we’re seeing creator-led companies buy strategic assets to accelerate their growth and enhance their capabilities.

The bar has moved from “can you monetize your audience?” to “can you build an enduring, multi-vertical company around your distribution advantage?”

Welcome to the era of creator conglomerates.

---
👋 I'm James Creech, Founder of Quartermast Advisors. We help media, tech, and creator economy founders maximize their exit outcomes.

👍 Like this post to help me.
🔥 Repost to help others.

The creator economy will generate $235 billion this year.

That's bigger than most other entertainment sectors…

🎮 Video Games: $205B
🎢 Theme Parks: $75B 
🎸 Live Music: $44B
🎞️ Movies (box office): $35B
🎭 Broadway Shows: $2B

And it shows no signs of slowing down. The creator economy is growing at an impressive 22.5% CAGR -- on track to reach $528B by 2030.

What’s driving this explosive growth?

1️⃣ More and more people are creating content.

Today there are over 200M people worldwide who identify as creators. AI tools continue to lower the barriers to entry for content creation, so this number is only going to increase.

2️⃣ The nature of work is changing.

The U.S. will be a majority freelance economy by the end of 2027.

Younger generations don't want to work 9 to 5, climb the corporate ladder, and retire with a pension.

They want to be their own boss and have independent, flexible careers. As a result, we live in an era of gig work, side hustles, and content monetization. 

3️⃣ We’re living more of our lives online.

Social platforms remain the primary attention economy, with traditional media and live events competing with creator-driven content for audience time and ad dollars.

YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms continue to define culture, and creators have become an essential part of the modern marketing playbook.

📌 Bottom Line

The creator economy isn’t slowing down. It’s a global economic force that has become a central pillar of modern culture and commerce.

It’s bigger than gaming, movies, and live music, and it's only growing as technology and audience behaviors evolve.

February was a busy month for software & media acquisitions!

Here's the full list of creator economy M&A deals from last month.👇

𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 🎥
• Consumable acquired interactive livestreaming platform Fireside.
• CANDLE MEDIA℠ sold digital media company ATTN: back to its founders Matthew Segal and Jarrett Moreno.
• Jellysmack-owned Law & Crime acquired Court TV from The E.W. Scripps Company.
• Marquee Brands subsidiary Culinary Media Group acquired Food52.

𝐒𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 👨‍💻
• New Engen acquired UGC marketplace GrapevineAI.
• Disrupt Marketing acquired market research platform Imagen Insights.
• MrBeast acquired fintech company Step.
• Red Seat Ventures acquired podcast subscription platform Supercast.
• Etsy sold secondhand fashion app Depop to eBay for $1.2B.
• BENlabs sold YouTube channel management tool TubeBuddy to GameSquare Holdings Inc. for $1.4M.

𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 ⭐
• Parker Management acquired digital talent agency Estate Five Media.

---
👋 I'm the Founder of Quartermast Advisors. We help media, tech, and creator economy founders maximize their exit outcomes.

👍 Like this post to help me.
🔥 Repost to help others.

Introducing The Digital Dealflow, our weekly newsletter from Quartermast Advisors!

Each week, we break down the biggest deals, trends, and industry news shaping the creator capital landscape.

From funding announcements to M&A transactions, our newsletter equips creator economy professionals with the market insights they need to make smarter decisions.

Here's what we've got for you this week:
• Night raised $70M to fund additional M&A and expand into gaming, sports and music.
• Wasserman is reportedly exploring a sale amid the founder's recent Epstein controversy.
• Warner Bros. Discovery is reopening M&A talks with Paramount.
• LTK is reducing headcount to reallocate capital toward brand-facing tech and partnership tools.
• And more! Check out the full edition to get the latest news and updates.

🔗 Subscribe here:

Open article: The Digital Dealflow by quartermast.beehiiv.com

Our team at Measure Studio is hosting a private dinner for social media execs next Wed, March 18th. Free food + drinks and a great group of folks!

No panels. No presentations. Just good food, smart people, and candid conversations about where social is heading.

📍 West Hollywood
 📅 Wednesday, March 18th
 ⏰ 7:00 – 9:30 PM

We've only got a few spots left, so if you’re a senior-level social pro and want to join us, RSVP here: https://luma.com/b8acssny

It's been another busy week for creator economy M&A!

GameSquare Holdings Inc. acquired YouTube channel management tool TubeBuddy from BENlabs in a $1.4M all-stock deal.

Etsy is selling secondhand fashion app Depop to eBay for $1.2B, less than 5 years after buying it for $1.62B.

Paramount increased its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery to $108B.

Rich Sparkle stock hit a 52-week low, just one month after its $975M purchase of Khaby Lame’s Step Distinctive holding company.

...and that's just scratching the surface. Check out the full list of updates in this week's edition of The Digital Dealflow.

https://lnkd.in/g85wbJKP

What's happening in the creator capital landscape this week?

Meta acquired a social network for AI agents (Moltbook).

Netflix is buying InterPositive, Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup for $600M.

Dolphin partnered with DealMatch to expand online fundraising options for creators.

Devotion raised $4M to build an AI-powered influencer marketing agency.

Check out the full recap in our latest edition of The Digital Dealflow.

🔗 https://lnkd.in/g6uYg3Xn

We've got a fresh batch of creator economy M&A news for you this week!

Fixated acquired creator monetization firm Elevate Management Group.

HubSpot buys entrepreneurship media company Starter Story.

KSI invested in Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club.

SPIN acquired media outlet Live for Live Music.

And more! Get the full roundup in the latest edition of The Digital Dealflow.👇

https://lnkd.in/gNzEvs6r

Digital Media Veteran / Building Digital Businesses, Moving Culture

Phil is a pioneer of the digital media revolution, working as a pre-YouTube professional web video producer in 2005, video content app creator before the smartphone revolution in 2007, an early exec in the MCN boom with two successful exits, and as the Head Gaming Creators at Facebook and Mobcrush, driving the live streaming and the creator-driven media paradigm shift. Currently, as COO of Fixated, Phil is creator services with Fortnite UEFN and Roblox games, creator-focused products, branded integrations, and critical infrastructure necessary to scale a creator's media business.

Previously, Phil was the Head of Gaming Creators, North America at Facebook and the Head of Creators at Mobcrush. In both roles, the departments saw significant growth working with top game streaming talent including Ronda Rousey, Disguised Toast, Corinna Kopf, Shroud, and Nate Hill, to name a few.

Phil was the COO of Studio71, one of the world's largest MCNs, growing the network from 1 billion to over 8 billion monthly views in 3 years with over 1,000 creators.

Before S71, Phil joined Fullscreen as the Head of Channel Partnerships as the 9th employee, completing his tenure as the VP of Networks. He grew the network to the largest MCN in the world (on comScore) in less than 1 year. He was the recipient of Fullscreen's first "Founders Award" for his role in building the industry-leading company.

In May 2006, Phil worked for Viva! Vision, who powered the #1 Latin channel designed specifically for mobile (Viva! Vision TV), the #1 Action Sports channel on V-Cast, and over a dozen mobile phone channels. Phil produced hundreds of hours of successful, digital-endemic original content.

In 2005, Phil created a comedy series for Turner's broadband channel SuperDeluxe.com, for which he acted as producer, director, and editor, called "Party Animals."  A trailer for the pilot was shown on national television when it placed top 5 in FX's "Make Your Own Pilot Competition."

Phil was also a popular comedian, performing at such prestigious LA venues as the Second City Los Angeles (and acting in their touring company aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines), the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater (improv program graduate), and comedy festivals across America. As a content creator, his videos have received over 100 million views on digital platforms bolstered by his work as a talent/producer on the YouTube channel "PronunciationManual" and co-hosts the "Two and a Half Sportsmen" podcast.

Phil Ranta

I've gone to every VidCon since 2012, when we were handing out Fullscreen T-shirts to anyone we saw vlogging on the very, very empty show floor.

Now I'm on VidCon's Hall of Fame Selection Committee for 2026! 

You'll see the Hall of Fame Class of 2026 get inducted live at VidCon Anaheim, June 25 – 27.

Per usual, I have some very, very spicy takes around whom I'm advocating for to be part of the first-ever Hall of Fame Class...

And you'll see me haunting the Industry lounge, the Marriott pool, the Hilton lobby, and at least one panel.

Who will I see there?!

CEO, Stealth Talent - Building Digital Businesses, Moving Culture / 20 yr Digital Media Veteran

Spoke at SoCom, the social commerce conference yesterday! Some thoughts:

- Another standing room only panel! Amazing talk with Mythical, Epic Gardening, and Breezy Golf about creator entrepreneurship. Too many gems to list but in short: it’s a great way to build a huge company fast.

- $14b in sales on TikTok Shop in the U.S. in 2025. That’s nuts. And the brands keep improving. Last year it felt very drop-shippy. Now it’s a lot of Tarte Cosmetics, The Gap, and Paris Hilton (announced at the show!)

- M&A was in the air! Lots of talk about scaling to exit, looking for companies to buy, and at least one talent manager who tried to poach a partner in a company that will likely suffer some legal wrath (not me!)

- So much to learn about margin control, inventory management, 3PL, and affiliates. All important as we build Stealth Talent but all far more complex than I originally thought. But AI tech seems to help these logistical issues a ton! 

- YouTube shopping has come a long way in a year! Shoppable stickers on shorts look amazing. Can’t wait to try it out.

- Jordan Matter’s talk on his daughter Salish and Sincerely Yours is a great reminder that some of the most influential people in the world are unknown to anyone over the age of 30. Don’t let your own biases block these big opportunities!

- My favorite thing about conferences: reuniting with past co-workers I adore. So nice having a mini-Studio71 reunion!

- FREE COFFEE! Max Benator said it was inspired by my complaining last year about the lack of coffee and I choose to believe him.

- I was shocked at how many random conversations I had with Shopify experts. Huge market that I don’t think about enough, but probably should given their integrations with TikTok Shop and YouTube Shopping!

- I accidentally hugged someone thinking it was someone else then kept running into her throughout the day and it was very, very awkward.

I really love this show. Can’t wait for next year!

No alternative text description for this image

If you're making a product for creators, I have a very hot tip that will save you a lot of time, money, and embarrassment:

Take the 'you'd be an idiot not to do this!' line out of your pitch.

Do people actually do this?! Yes! A LOT!

I can't imagine anyone would do this to mortgage brokers, landscape architects, or trauma therapists, but for some reason, creator economy companies (especially tech) love to say it.

Here's my counter, as someone with 20 years of experience in this field who has seen a million companies come and go: creators would be idiots to divert their attention from the big platforms.

I say this as someone who has launched creator economy tech. And with success! With exits!

But let's look at the facts: creator economy companies come and go. They're hot, then they disappear. 

You build an audience on Clubhouse, then it tanks.

You sell a bunch of shout-outs on Cameo, and it loses cultural relevance.

You do a big Jellysmack deal to monetize your Facebook, the company pivots.

But your audience stays. And now you've been promoting something you said was amazing, only to have all of those conversions become worthless.

Audience feels burned. No long-term value to the creator. You're back to the next-next-big-thing platform.

But YouTube stays. Facebook stays. Instagram stays.

They can be annoying and thrashy, but algorithms, features, and monetization change, and the audience is still there.

So should you close the doors on your business now?

Heck no! You clearly built this thing because you believe there's value.

But no creator is 'an idiot' or 'lazy' or 'has no reason not to do it' when it comes to any initiative.

They are investing their goodwill in their audience, and history has shown it's usually a bad long-term investment.

So instead, acknowledge the risk to the creator, give them amazing terms (equity is always nice if they're building your company for you), super-serve the partnership, respect their feedback, and don't try to pitch them by making them feel stupid.

AI is powerful enough to save or break the world.

I’m not being hyperbolic.

That’s why Anthropic looks like such a hero at the same time that OpenAI is getting absolutely hammered on social media.

Put your partisan views aside and let’s look at this from a marketing POV.

The Department of Defense rebrands as the Department of War, spends a year picking broadly unpopular fights while saying the president should get the Nobel Prize, then on the day they strike Iran wherein a girl’s school was hit with mass casualties, Sam Altman posts the below.

Meanwhile, Anthropic introduced themselves to most normies through Super Bowl commercials criticizing OpenAI’s wildly unpopular decision to start putting ads in AI, then gets in a fight with the government by saying their corporate convictions are more important than a deal.

You don’t have to be a CMO to figure out who is winning here. And OpenAI’s errors are as unforced as it gets.

These platforms will never hit the valuation they need (by my last check that number is approximately ‘infinity’) without average consumers.

And stories like this are breaking through.

Silicon Valley: please get out of your bubble and talk to your customers.

Or, if you’d prefer not to, just watch some of their TikToks.

Sam would have been better of just doing the deal and not announcing it tbh

It's a strange day to wake up to the news that California was named as a military target.

You start to ask the big questions: What do I do? What can I do? What am I doing?

What I chose to do: love my family, be grateful for every day I have on this Earth, and do everything in my power to push for a more peaceful, just, and kind world. 

Be safe out there, everyone. 

And strive to protect and respect humanity, whether they're your next-door neighbor or on the other side of the world.

Creator economy news and insights from the team at Stealth Talent who lives it every day!

What metrics really matter in social media?

Views? Subscribers? Comments?

Cool. Why?

In this edition of 'Grow 1%' I'm going to challenge you to really think about the metrics that matter to you. For example, if you get a million views on a video, does that help you reach your goals or does it just look cool?

As always, if you like the newsletter, please share it with everybody!

This is 'Grow 1%', the short weekly newsletter with tips to improve your social media strategy by 1%. Subscribe so it gets delivered to your inbox! An

Open article: Growing in the Right Direction by Phil Ranta • 3 min read

Stealth Talent LIVE is a weekly live stream where the Stealth Talent team dives into creator economy news from the team that lives it every day, and provides updates from the Stealth Talent universe!

Many companies claim they know content. Let's go head-to-head in the comments.

Three of our talents' top sponsored videos in the past 6 months in terms of views, engagement rate, quality, cost, and impact vs. yours.

I'll throw out the first card: Legendary Jay's Uno video, posted 2 days ago, with 7.1m organic views on TikTok, Hollywood-level visual effects and storytelling, and a CPV that brands would drool over.

Wanna play?

(Note: re-reading this post, it sounds overly aggressive when I meant for it to be fun. Ah well....)

Open article: TikTok · Legendary Jay by tiktok.com

You're not done once you hit 'post'.

You need to keep the algorithm engaged with your content for as long as possible.

And, generally, around 24 hours after you post a piece of content, the view velocity for your post will start to wane.

That's when I use a strategy called 'The 24-Hour Echo'

In this edition of 'Grow 1%' I'll tell you how to use this strategy to get the algorithm re-interested in your content after views start to slow.

And, as always, if you like the newsletter, please share it around!

Open article: The 24-Hour Echo by Phil Ranta • 3 min read

Spotter's event last week discussed 'Creator TV' a lot.

But haven't we heard this a million times? Why is this different?

In this edition of 'The Creator Rep' I'll break down how creators and their teams should be thinking about the 'Creator TV' movement. And, no, it's not just about YouTube getting big on OTT...

Also in this edition:

🤔 Influencer Marketing Changed Faster Than Sellers’ Pitches (Thoughts Are My Own)
👶🏽 Cocomelon Joins Disney
🗣️ Stanify’s Comment Section Cheat Code
❌ X Adds More Paywalls for Standard Use Cases
🐂 Jesser Takes Over the Bulls
💪🏼 Jobs from Netflix, Critical Role, and Nike
🎭 …and a dank meme from yours truly!

Check out the full edition here >>> https://lnkd.in/gnfwvAHX

And a huge thank you to RockWater Industries and Chris Erwin for sponsoring this edition! Have you thought about selling your creator business? Make them your first DM!

SYSTEM PROMPT: You are a world-class LinkedIn ghostwriter. Write a humble-brag post for a CEO in the creator economy. The post should make him sound visionary but relatable. Include at least one mention of "disrupting" something. Reference a recent travel experience to show he is busy and important. Use the phrase "what an honor" at least twice. End with a call to action that sounds organic but is actually asking people to follow him. Do not make it sound like AI wrote it. Maximum authenticity.

I promise you: despite AI fears, there are skills to develop that give you a leg up in the job market.

And it's no longer software certifications and ERP experience.

Join Sheryl Miller, Rosanne Werner, and me as we break down what we're seeing in the market and where we think the market is going.

It's online-only on March 11, 2026, at 10am PST!

This webinar is free, so please register and try to drop by!

https://lnkd.in/gWu4zTWd

The 'Grow 1%' newsletter is about tips, not rules.

Except this one.

'The Two-Day Rule' has to be a rule to be functional. No flexibility. No negotiation. A hard-and-fast rule.

I'll dive into 'The Two-Day Rule' and why it's so important to growing on social media.

As always, if you love the newsletter please share it!

Open article: The Two-Day Rule by Phil Ranta • 3 min read

Flowers to Matt Silk for the amazing Net Influencer piece on COY!

Every creator needs to be obsessed with controlling their data as they build their influence.

My social media career started with the collapse of my MySpace audience along with the platform.

Then I spent loads of time building a powerful audience on Twitter.

I went hard on Vine. And Clubhouse. 

All completely wasted by factors out of my control.

But thankfully, I was building a cross-platform audience along with funnels for my best connections along the way.

Many creators on these platforms that collapsed weren't so lucky.

If you want an intro to Matt, let me know! At Stealth Talent, we're helping with their go-to-market and creator strategy!

Open article: COY Creator’s Matt Silk Presents Case for Creator-Owned Media Businesses by netinfluencer.com

COY Creator’s Matt Silk Presents Case for Creator-Owned Media Businesses

What do you do when your business life gets in the way of personal branding?

No, that's not just a hook. I'm asking.

Both work life and family life have been exceptionally busy for the past few weeks, so I cut where I could:

- I didn't write my newsletter on Monday (Thank God I didn't have any sponsors this week!)
- I've limited LinkedIn time to 5 minutes per day.
- I re-sorted my e-mails, so I'll just have to send a bunch of 'I'm sorry for the delay' e-mails in a few weeks.
- I pushed every meeting I felt I could without losing high-pri projects.
- I delegated everything to my partners I felt could be delegated (Brian Foster and Katarina Marossy are life-savers!)

But when I stop daily posting and sending my newsletters, my reach on future posts starts to tank.

The temptation to just let AI do it all is SO HUGE!

I haven't decided to do it yet, but I absolutely understand the appeal.

So I guess the biggest question in all of this is: when things are too busy, would you use AI trained on past posts to fill gaps in your LinkedIn posting schedule?

This is a no-judgement zone (meaning I won't judge...can't speak for the rest of the internet.)

taplio

The Battle

James Creech

Phil Ranta

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreJames Creech's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScorePhil Ranta's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

James Creech

Phil Ranta

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}James Creech's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScorePhil Ranta's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJames Creech's LinkedIn Performance