The "Adults" in the Room Are YouTubers

📔 Jeff’s Diary (yes, I’ll let you read it)

Something happened to me I wish happened more often. I was having a coffee with another founder and when I left to go outside, a young kid was waiting for me who said “I couldn’t help but eavesdrop on your conversation and I had to introduce myself”.

We walked for the next 5 minutes and I answered what were perfectly experienced questions for a college student studying business and entertainment.

I think too often people don’t shoot their shot. Heck, the meeting I was having was from a cold DM I sent on LinkedIn, so how I could be anything other than inspired?

When I was 19, I would take the bus every morning to my internship on the American Stock Exchange. Every morning, I couldn’t wait to see who I would sit next to. Like Forest Gump, sitting next to me was a guaranteed chat, and many times, a guaranteed giggle.

I actually got my next internship from chatting it up, and as I think about how many people I’ve met in my life (im now 40) that I can say I met randomly because I simply opened my mouth, it would be the majority of the 13,000 that follow me on Linkedin!

I write this because last week, I was in Dubai and met a founder who had Simon Squibb as an investor. I simply asked if he could introduce me, and ten minutes later, Simon and I were chatting about democratizing access to ownership and how we could partner.

There are many moments I regret where I’ve had the opportunity to meet personal idols or potential whales, and I should’ve just grabbed my ⚽️🏀⚾️ and went for it. But I didn’t; and I’ll never know what could’ve been.

Like the great Eminem once said….. “you only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow.”

So shoot your shot. You always miss the ones you don’t take. And the worst thing that can happen, is you get rejected. Such is life….. 

– Jeff

📆 WHAT WE WILL HIT ON THIS WEEK:

→ Every Founder Must Know: Reed Duchscher just joined the Board of Directors at Funko. Here is why public companies are handing the keys to "Creator Managers."

→ The $20 Billion Mall: New data shows TikTok Shop is eating social commerce alive. If your product isn't tagged, you don't exist.

→ The Khaby Lame Acquisition: A public company just bought the operating rights to the world's biggest TikToker. It isn't a sponsorship; it’s an asset purchase.

♟️ The "MrBeast Strategy" Just Entered the Boardroom

Reed Duchscher, the CEO of Night, was officially appointed to the Board of Directors at Funko (NASDAQ: FNKO) this week.

Funko didn't hire him to make TikToks. They gave him a vote on the future of the company.

Why this matters: 

This is the ultimate signal that "Creator Strategy" is now "Corporate Strategy." Funko is a legacy pop-culture brand that lives or dies on its relevance with Gen Z. They realized that a traditional marketing executive doesn't understand attention mechanics in 2026. Reed does.

He isn't there to sign a sponsorship deal. He is there to restructure how the company thinks about IP, community, and product launches.

The Lesson for Founders: 

Stop treating creators like "talent" to be booked. Treat them like Strategic Advisors. If a public company is humble enough to admit they need a "YouTube guy" on their board to survive, you should be too.

• Don't just ask a creator to post.

• Ask them to fix your roadmap.

• Ask them how they would launch your product if they owned it.

The OWM Play: 

You need a "Reed Duchscher" on your cap table—someone who understands the algorithm better than your VCs do. Most founders are scared to give equity to creators/operators because they don't look like "traditional" advisors. Get over it. The traditional advisors aren't the ones driving $20B in sales on TikTok.

We track the high-signal talent in the creator economy who are looking for creators advisory roles.

🛍️ The $20 Billion "Mall" in Your Pocket

New data from eMarketer forecasts that TikTok Shop sales will hit $20 billion in the US by the end of 2026. It now makes up nearly 20% of all social commerce.

Why this matters: 

Founders still treat TikTok like a "Discovery" app (top of funnel). You need to start treating it like Amazon (bottom of funnel). The user behavior has shifted. They aren't seeing a video and then Googling your brand. They are seeing a video and clicking "Buy" before the loop finishes.

The Operator Take: 

If you are a consumer brand and you aren't on TikTok Shop, you are effectively refusing to stock your product in the world's busiest mall because you "don't like the music they play."

Get over it. Tag the product.

🤲 The "Khaby Lame" IPO Strategy

Rich Sparkle Holdings (NASDAQ: ANPA) officially completed the acquisition of Khaby Lame’s core operating company Step Distinctive Limited

This isn't a sponsorship. It is an acquisition. The holding company now owns the exclusive rights to operate Khaby’s commercial infrastructure—livestreaming, supply chain, and "AI Digital Twin" development—for the next 3 years. They are projecting $4 billion in GMV from this deal.

Why this matters: 

This is the moment the "Creator Economy" officially turned into the "Industrial Economy." Khaby Lame isn't being paid to make funny videos anymore. He is being treated as a logistics pipeline. The holding company is using his 160M+ followers as the top-of-funnel for a massive cross-border commerce operation.

The Signal: 

The biggest creators are no longer "influencers." They are distribution utilities. Public companies are now buying creators the same way they buy factories or shipping fleets. If you are a founder, stop asking "What is your CPM?" and start asking "Can we build a joint venture?"

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