YouTuber MrBeast is a social media superstar with hundreds of millions of followers and a business worth nearly $5 billion.
According to his former talent manager Reed Dachsher, he may also be one of the last creators to amass such a large fan base.
As social media algorithms get better at tailoring content to individual users' interests, the ability for stars like MrBeast, Charli D'Amelio or Xabi Lamé to appear in feeds becomes much more difficult, Dachsher said.
“If you like travel content, if you like automotive content, if you like health and beauty content, your algorithms kind of stay in that vertical,” he said.
Social entertainment platforms such as YouTube and TikTok benefit from diversifying their talent pools with more creators rather than over-reliance on megastars to drive consumption, he said.
Duhscher's talent management firm Night works with other major creators such as Kai Chenat and Hassan Picker, but the company is thinking about finding new talent who dominate a particular niche of content, even if it means they have fewer loyal fans.
“It’s much easier to build a business when you have a hyper-niche audience at scale because the product makes so much more sense,” Dachsher said.
For example, a food creator might release a cookbook, or a plant creator might sell a line of gardening tools. Knight runs a separate venture capital arm that invests in author businesses. Dahsher ended his position as MrBeast's talent manager last year, but continues to work with the creator on his project. chocolate business, holidays.
The strategy of finding niche creators who can sell products is becoming increasingly popular among companies operating in the creator economy.
For example, an investment company Slow Enterprises writes checks ranging from $1 million to $3 million to creators who are popular in a particular content category and plan to expand beyond the medium.
“There will be a certain group of creators who are very entrepreneurial, have deep credibility and experience in a particular vertical, and are builders,” Slow's Megan Lightcap told Business Insider earlier this year. “They are the founders.”
