This week’s Way forward for TV Briefing includes a Q&A with YouTube creator Jonathan Katz-Moses and Sluggish Ventures’ Billy Parks on the funding marketplace for creators working standalone companies.
The rise of the CEO-creator
Over the previous decade, Jonathan Katz-Moses has constructed up a YouTube viewers of 591,000 subscribers. Spectacular, however there’s an much more spectacular quantity connected to that platform presence. On the again of that YouTube channel, he has erected a worthwhile woodworking instruments enterprise that did almost $6 million in income final yr – and that simply landed its first funding deal.
Katz-Moses had initially adopted the usual creator enterprise playbook, counting on model offers and affiliate gross sales for income. However he shortly determined that wasn’t the trail for him.
“It simply turned very apparent that if I wished to create one thing that was sustainable, was exit-able, was one thing that might assist my household, that I needed to do it myself. As a result of at that time, it was very clear I simply owned a full-time job selling issues for different individuals,” stated Katz-Moses.
That pivot is what ended up placing Katz-Moses on the radar of enterprise capital agency Sluggish Ventures. Sluggish Ventures is build up a portfolio of what enterprise associate Billy Parks dubbed “CEO-creators.” With a fund of $64 million, the VC agency has invested $2 million in Katz-Moses’s KM Instruments in trade for what Katz-Moses described as “a robust minority” stake within the enterprise.
“We goal someplace between 10% to fifteen% [stakes] once we do these investments at $1 million to $3 million. That’s our normal vary,” stated Parks. “We don’t take board seats; we don’t have management. We need to discover founders who’re working their very own store.”
This interview has been edited for size and readability.
Was this all the time the plan, to be a creator after which have your personal enterprise and that be the primary factor? Versus being a creator be the primary factor?
Katz-Moses: Sure. Instantly this was my purpose. From month six on YouTube is once I posted my first quote-unquote invention or product. I initially had accomplished the YouTube to advertise this as a result of I had no different technique to do it, no cash. I believed that solely mega-corporations have been those who developed merchandise.
Creators a lot bigger than me at the moment have been getting much less [money for sponsorships] than I’d only for utilizing one in every of my merchandise in a video and promoting it. Then I began doing affiliate hyperlinks; I stated, “If I’m going to say these merchandise in any case, I ought to get a fee for it.”
Then I began to see the numbers and had this epiphany. One yr I did $3 million in affiliate gross sales for one firm and one other $10 million on Amazon, and I stated, “I’m placing different individuals’s children by way of faculty.” None of those firms invented these merchandise. So I stated, “I can do this.” And this factor grew into Katz-Moses Instruments that you already know right this moment.
What number of years into it did you go from the creator revenue being your major revenue stream to KM Instruments being your major revenue stream?
Katz-Moses: Three years.
So that might be, what, 2018. It seems like round that point there was an increase of extra creators launching their very own companies, not simply merch traces. Emma Chamberlain launched Chamberlain Espresso in 2019. Was there one thing within the water in that period?
Katz-Moses: You realize what occurred? Amazon modified their affiliate fee construction. Amazon was paying 8% to fifteen% commissions at the moment. After which swiftly, Amazon stated, “Hey, look, we personal the market. Why are we paying individuals to ship individuals to someplace they might go in any case?” So that they reduce affiliate constructions right down to lower than a % for lots of issues. And so abruptly there was a large income for individuals simply chopped out from beneath them.
That was when there was a shift in the direction of a heavier sponsorship mannequin and a heavier need to develop merchandise. It simply turned very apparent that if I wished to create one thing that was sustainable, was exit-able, was one thing that might assist my household, that I needed to do it myself. As a result of at that time, it was very clear I simply owned a full-time job selling issues for different individuals.
Billy, at Sluggish Ventures you all are prioritizing creators like this, the place they’re creators however that’s not their major enterprise. Why is that the main target?
Parks: What we’re seeing proper now’s that creators notice there are methods to become profitable with affiliate hyperlinks, working with manufacturers, and there’s methods to truly be a scaled media firm. However to exit on that’s actually powerful. Exiting a media firm is admittedly powerful for digital expertise.
For Sluggish, we’re actually searching for CEO-creators who need to construct companies that may be enterprise scale, which is to say, it’s advantageous in case you’re creating wealth with manufacturers, however it may well’t be your primary focus. Our greatest sign is: Does this individual need to construct a enterprise of scale?
Jonathan, how a lot income is KM Instruments throwing off annually?
Katz-Moses: Final yr have been slightly below $6 [million]. We had a bit little bit of a dip through the commerce battle. It was basically a two-month embargo on Chinese language items, and I don’t care what place within the provide chain you’re in, all of it leads again to China. We manufacture over 100 of our merchandise right here in Santa Barbara, however issues like 3D printer filament, that comes from China. And so we took a bit little bit of successful. However I do assume we’re going to have an enormous development yr this yr. I’d like to hit eight figures this yr. Realistically we’d come simply barely shy, however we are going to see development. And we’ve seen about 2x to 3x development yearly for 10 years now.
Worthwhile?
Katz-Moses: Sure. I imply, I bootstrapped this firm. We’ve by no means taken an funding or mortgage till I met Billy. And that’s a scary factor to do. A part of the funding that was so enticing to me is we’d hit a glass ceiling. If you get to $6 million in income, you’re outlying a lot operational money movement that it’s a must to select issues like, do I let a preferred product exit of inventory so I can take the income from that final stock and put it into product improvement? Or do I reinvest in issues a whole lot of our buyer base already has?
Sluggish’s funding was so cool as a result of they stated, “We simply need you to cook dinner. You’ve confirmed your self, and we need to provide you with some cash for the subsequent section.”
Billy, what was it you noticed in Jonathan’s enterprise that led an funding to make sense?
Parks: We predict when it comes to staff and theme. Group is Jonathan. He’s confirmed he’s put his cash the place his mouth is. He’s constructed an excellent enterprise. He’s accomplished it profitably. He has constructed staff members. He’s introduced on high quality advisors. He’s constructed such an excellent backend that he’s truly working with different creators who’ve superior product concepts that Jonathan helps them develop and takes them by way of the manufacturing and testing processes.
After which the realm that Jonathan is in with woodworkers is a really fascinating areas. There are a number of companies in that house doing greater than $50, $60, $100 million. It’s a passion-niche space. That is an space the place Jonathan can proceed to be a number one voice in, assist different members of the group and construct a extremely scaled enterprise that he has actual business experience about.
Jonathan, what number of staff do you’ve got?
Katz-Moses: I’ve obtained a whole lot of staff now. 15-plus on payroll, after which one other 5 to eight fractional [employees]. I simply employed a fractional CMO. I’ve obtained product builders who could do their very own factor as properly.
How do you consider the content material creation facet of your online business going ahead? You’re nonetheless placing out movies, however the cadence isn’t that common. Is it one thing the place there will probably be a day quickly during which you’re not placing out movies? Or do it is advisable up the cadence now that you’ve got this funding?
Katz-Moses: My past love is educating and educating and giving individuals good recommendation. That’s the factor I miss most about bootstrapping a big firm is that was unceremoniously robbed from me. And the good factor about this funding is I get the chance to get that again. We’ve got an enormous plan for a content material calendar. I simply employed any individual yesterday who will have the ability to help me in preparation for movies. We’ve got a content material staff who’s actually good on the advertising facet of issues. My CMO is coming in six days per week to shoot natural content material with me. So we will construct out a staff of people that may also help unfold the gospel, if you’ll.
In the event you lose contact together with your clients, you lose contact together with your merchandise, you lose contact together with your backside line. It’s necessary to develop a loyal viewers that trusts you. And so it’s a very difficult tight rope to stroll to say my total income is predicated on merchandise I promote, however I additionally want you to imagine me once I discuss issues.
My cadence was destroyed as a result of I grew an enormous enterprise. However my absolute number-one purpose is to get again to often posting on all of the platforms.
What we’ve heard
“It seems like influencer content material however that influencer shouldn’t be posting it to their very own viewers. They’re creating it after which turning it over to the model to personal outright.”
— Sway Group’s Danielle Wiley defining what “creator-generated content material” is
Numbers to know
$39.99: Month-to-month subscription value for the ESPN+Fox streaming bundle that can launch Oct. 2.
$29.99: Month-to-month subscription value for ESPN’s standalone streaming service that can launch on Aug. 21.
$7.7 billion: How a lot Paramount can pay over 7 years for U.S. rights to UFC fights beginning subsequent yr.
~$1.6 billion: How a lot ESPN can pay over 5 years for U.S. rights to WWE tentpole occasions, together with WrestleMania.
3.4 million: Variety of streaming subscribers that Warner Bros. Discovery gained within the second quarter of 2025.
10.4 million: Variety of streaming subscribers that AMC Networks had on the finish of Q2 2025, the identical depend as the top of 2024.
What we’ve lined
YouTube’s deliberate tempo on scalable creator advertisements raises eyebrows amongst entrepreneurs:
- YouTube is lagging behind different platforms on the subject of letting manufacturers working creators’ movies as advertisements.
- Three entrepreneurs informed Digiday that YouTube’s scalable creator advert merchandise, equivalent to BrandConnect, have been extra complicated and fewer seamless than different platforms’ choices
Learn extra about YouTube’s creator advertisements right here.
Dentsu’s newest deal alerts rising holdco curiosity in NIL creators:
- The Japanese company group will use MOGL’s matchmaking service to supply faculty athlete creators for model offers.
- MOGL’s platform is related to 30,000 faculty athlete creators throughout 1,100 U.S. universities.
Learn extra about NIL creators right here.
Stay procuring firms credit score entrepreneurs’ rising deal with influencer efficiency for development in 2025:
- TikTok and Whatnot have reported procuring gross sales development in 2025.
- Stay procuring platform Fanatics stated an undisclosed variety of individuals buy a median of 17 gadgets per thirty days on its platform.
Learn extra about dwell procuring right here.
WTF is manufacturers’ new funding in creator-generated content material?:
- Not like user-generated content material, this content material sort refers to content material that manufacturers rent creators to make and that’s distributed on manufacturers’ personal channels.
- It’s principally creator as advert company versus creator as impartial media entity.
Learn extra about creator-generated content material right here.
What we’re studying
Why the NFL now owns a part of ESPN:
The NFL could have been motivated to take a ten% stake in ESPN with a purpose to prop up a standard rights holder and protect competitors towards tech giants that will really feel much less strain to bid up the worth to air video games, in accordance with Stratechery.
Why Disney is folding Hulu’s standalone service:
Disney spends roughly $3 billion a yr on Hulu’s non-programming prices, and it’ll save a lot of that cash from folding Hulu into Disney+, in accordance with Selection.
Paramount’s Skydance period:
Paramount, a Skydance Company — which is seemingly the brand new identify for the corporate previously known as ViacomCBS — has lastly bought itself off and now must type out learn how to reduce $2 billion in prices beneath David Ellison’s possession, in accordance with The New York Occasions.
Google’s CTV advert gross sales shift:
Google now not requires streaming providers on its Google TV CTV platform to provide the corporate a share of advert stock to promote and as an alternative is just asking for a reduce of advert income, in an indication of Google’s battle to scale up Google TV, in accordance with The Verge.
