Maker Studios was ground zero for the creator economy before anyone knew what to call it. Hundreds of creators, millions of subscribers, and no playbook for any of it. I was editing BTS for Epic Rap Battles of History, a channel that would go on to cross 5 billion views, AD'ing Honda partnership shoots, and learning how a content business actually works from the inside out.

I was still there when Disney acquired Maker for $675M. That's not a credential. That's context. I watched what happened when creative without intention scaled. And I watched what happened when it had a reason to exist. I've been building toward the second one ever since.