5 Stages of a Great Creator Business
how to build for the long-term
This is my basic thesis on how great creator businesses will develop and sustain greatness over time.
It’s simple, and not fully fleshed out. But — if you follow it — I have no doubt you’ll find great success in any medium, on any platform:
1. Build, share, and package a worldview.
A worldview is essentially a story about how the world as a whole, or something within the world works. This could be as concrete as “mastering X in WoW is interesting to watch” or it could be something more abstract like Nike’s “just do it” mantra. We often call this step “finding a niche” or “building a brand,” but to me it’s really about asking the question — how do I see the world and how can I best communicate it?
2. Find and build an audience that shares that worldview.
If your product is your worldview, then your videos, essays, newsletters, and podcasts should be thought of as “features” or “updates” on that product. Like the founder of a tech company, you should be willing to try a variety of different releases to figure out what sticks.
In the early days, this means you’re shipping a lot to get lots of feedback, and interacting…
