Over the last 30 years, I've built 19 companies and invested in 81 start-ups.
One of the things that's given me an edge is trying things before others do. In Hong Kong, I started one of the first CRM companies for restaurants… before "software" was cool.
I put advertising in places others missed, and I was one of the first to sell bar coasters as ads.
A few years ago I started posting on TikTok, teaching business advice for free. Even though "it was cringey" and I was "too old". Today I'm one of the most followed influencers in the UK.
So here's where I think the creator economy is going.
Number 1: Data wins.
The creators who build their own database will have an edge over those who don't. Platforms own your audience, and the algorithm can change overnight.
My team and I have spent over £70k building our database over the last 10 months, and we've got one of the fastest growing newsletters in the creator economy right now. We doubled it in January.
Number 2: Real stories.
4 months ago we walked away from our "proven" YouTube format for something completely new and untested.
We went all in on storytelling.
I no longer do the sit-down videos that got me over 2.4m followers on YouTube. We were the first to do the "X years of business knowledge in a minute" that almost every education creator went on to copy.
This is where I believe the puck is going. It won't be long until others follow.
Number 3: Live shopping.
In the last 6 months I've been Penguin UK's top creator on TikTok Shop.
The future of e-commerce is social commerce.
We're launching some new brands this year (every creator should have their own brand), and social commerce is at the front of our go-to-market strategy.
Hope this helps some of you.
-Simon Squibb