The Creators Who Shape the Passion Economy ♟️💸🏝️
FemWealth Issue #11
Hi FemWealth Friends! 🌞
In today’s FemWealth, you will meet some of the movers and shakers in the passion economy. They are the “guiding lights” in my creator journey. They inspired me to start FemWealth and are my go-to reference for insights and fresh ideas.
The emerging passion or creators economy is fascinating. Today, everyone can carve their niche on the Internet. Everyone can find a tribe of people who share an interest or a passion, wherever they are in the world.
I encourage all of you to explore the idea of becoming a creator and give it a try. Start by reflecting on your unique intersection of skills, interests, experiences, aspirations, and personality traits. Then pick a medium to express yourself - writing, video, drawing, or whatever you enjoy.
Do not overthink or overengineer it (as I did). To save you some hours of research, I created this Passion Economy Starter Kit. And here’s a list of creators to get some inspiration from - FemWealth Explore.
Now, without further ado, meet the creators:
Lilly Singh, Comedian, Talk Show Host, YouTuber, and Actress
Spent thousands of dollars on tuition, graduated and got a degree. I make YouTube videos now. I am also a happy unicorn that believes in one love.
YouTube Star and “A Little Late with Lilly Singh” host Lilly Singh is one of the first and most successful creators to build a career by creating content on the Internet. She started making YouTube videos in 2010, under the pseudonym IISuperwomanII. She became one of the highest-earning women on YouTube. Lilly is also the author of the New York Times bestseller book How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life.
She made her television debut in 2019 as host of “A Little Late with Lilly Singh,” the only late-night show hosted by a woman of colour on U.S. network TV. After two seasons of the show, Lilly is moving on to new, exciting projects, including a Netflix comedy series she is developing with executive producer Kenya Barris.
Follow her on Twitter and TikTok.
📖 Lilly Singh’s Week: Pixar’s ‘Soul’ and ’90s Bollywood
📖 Lilly Singh's network late-night show to wrap as she turns to new projects
🎥 A Realistic Indian Zoom Wedding
🎥 Mother Earth Has Parenting Problems, Too
🎥 Lilly Singh’s Definitive Guide to Growing Your YouTube Channel
Alexandra & Andrea Botez, Chess Players and Professional Twitch Streamers
We want to show people who don’t play chess that it is an exciting game with a vibrant scene. - Alexandra Botez
The best chess players are part skilled competitors and part master entertainers, which is exactly what we try to bring to our brand and viewers. - Andrea Botez
Sisters Alexandra and Andrea Botez, aka the Chess Queens of Twitch, are among the few women chess players (only 1 in 50 chess players is a woman). With their witty and energetic way of playing and teaching chess, the Botez sisters are changing the online chess community.
Growing up, Alexandra (25) and Andrea (19) played chess competitively and represented Team Canada in international events. Alexandra has won a Woman FIDE Master title and several championships with the Canadian National Team. Adrea, fresh out of high school, is also a talented chess player.
The two digital natives are mastering community engagement and bringing a niche market to the next level. End of 2020, the Botez sisters have signed with Team Envy, a global esports and entertainment company, establishing themselves as major players in the streaming and esports industry. They also tutor the likes of Hafthor “The Mountain” Bjornsson.
You can find the Botez Sisters on Twitch or their BotezLive YouTube channel for chess and content creation tips. Follow them on Twitter @alexandrabotez and @Mobamba604.
🎥 Chess vs My Sister, But I Explain EVERY Move
🎥 How this 25-year-old makes six figures a year playing chess on Twitch
📖 Who are Alexandra and Andrea Botez? The chess queens of Twitch
Li Jin, Founder and Managing Partner at Atelier Ventures
New digital platforms enable people to earn a livelihood in a way that highlights their individuality. These platforms give providers greater ability to build customer relationships, increased support in growing their businesses, and better tools for differentiating themselves from the competition. In the process, they’re fueling a new model of internet-powered entrepreneurship.
Li Jin is one of the leading voices in the Passion Economy. A former investor at a16z, Li is the Founder and Managing Partner at Atelier Ventures, an early-stage VC firm. Atelier’s portfolio includes Substack, Run the World, and Patreon.
Li’s focus is on (1) The Passion Economy: How people can make a living from their passions and creative skills; and (2) Consumer trends & analysis: How macro trends are impacting consumers’ lives and work.
Li is also a prolific writer. Some of her most-read pieces are The Passion Economy and the Future of Work, 100 True Fans, and The Case for Universal Creative Income. She is also making art.
Follow her on Twitter and subscribe to Li’s Newsletter & Means of Creation.
📖 The Creator Economy Needs a Middle Class
📖 Is The United States a Creator-Friendly Country?
🎥 Adam Davidson and Li Jin discuss the Passion Economy
Gaby Goldberg, Investor, Bessemer Venture Partners
It’s clear that curating content within a particular niche can be an incredible way to build an audience and add value. Content curation hooks people in with the promise of learning new skills while saving time, and it keeps them coming back by building a sense of community around a particular subject or vertical.
A recent graduate of Stanford University, Gaby Goldberg is passionate about understanding the intersection of humanity and technology and its impact. She is an investor at Bessemer, focusing primarily on early-stage consumer software businesses and the creator economy.
She has written several influential articles, including Curators Are the New Creators and The Value of a Velvet Rope: Effects of Hype and Exclusivity on Launch Strategies.
Follow her on Twitter and Medium, and subscribe to her Substack.
📖 The Building in Public How-To Guide
📖 Gen Z women are breaking into the venture-capital boys club
Polina Marinova Pompliano, Founder and Author of The Profile
Everyone has a story, and we can all learn a lesson or two from the world's most successful.
Polina Marinova Pompliano, a former journalist at Fortune, studies the most successful and interesting people and companies in business, entertainment, tech, and sports and distills their life stories or business secrets in the weekly newsletter The Profile. Among the people profiled by Polina are Sara Blakely, Ed Catmull, Shonda Rhimes, and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.
A master of storytelling, Polina also has a YouTube channel where she interviews some of the most influential personalities. Interviewees include Kara Lynn, James Clear, and Brandon Stanton.
Follow her on Twitter and subscribe to The Profile.
📖 The Profile Dossier: Edith Eva Eger, the Holocaust Survivor Who Escaped the Prison of Her Mind
🎥 Polina’s interview with 4x Obstacle Race Champion Amelia Boone on Mastering the Art of Suffering
🎥 'Atomic Habits' Author James Clear: 'I'm Never Far From a Good Idea'
🎥 'Humans of New York' Creator Brandon Stanton Shares the Secrets of His Craft
Are you already a creator, or do you explore the idea of becoming one? I would love to hear from you.
FemWealth Curated Content 🌐
Looking for an investor for your startup? Step 1) Ask yourself if you really need an investor; Step 2) Check out 100+ female VC partners in Europe: the complete list published by Sifted & FemWealth Founders, the library for early-stage entrepreneurs; 3) Do your homework and select those who in addition to money bring industry expertise; 4) Get in touch with the selected ones via email, Twitter, or LinkedIn (an introduction from a mutual connection is the warmest; in the absence of those try the art of cold calling)
Modern Fertility, a reproductive health company founded in 2017, was acquired by Ro in a deal north of $225M. Are you passionate about women's health? Follow this Twitter List for insights from the movers and shakers in the industry
It’s time to normalize self-care, child, disability, and elderly care in the tech industry. Read Seven Seven Six’s 2% Growth and Caregiving Program & Diversity VC’s Parental Leave Guide
Berlin-based startup Pitch with women co-founders Charlette Prevot and Vanessa Stock onboard raised $85M in a Series B round led by Lakestar and Tiger Global
New VC funds in the US: Overlooked Ventures founded by Janine Sickmeyer, Zane Venture Fund founded by Shila Nieves Burney
Curious about how it is to be employee No. 1 in a startup? Read this insightful article Being startup employee number one
Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and fashion designer and entrepreneur Tory Burch team up to create the Tory Burch Fellowship at the Innovative Genomics Institute to help women scientists venture into entrepreneurship
The #Make Money Equal campaign changes the representation of women in visual media - read the Summary Report: Gendered representations of money in visual media, a study, and the Image Bank, a library of 100 photos depicting a more authentic and diverse representation of women and how they act when it comes to money
Find out how CEO Lisa Su transformed AMD into a chip powerhouse from this interview with Emily Chang of Bloomberg Studio 1
JPMorgan names two execs to lead biggest U.S. consumer bank, setting up race to succeed Dimon
FemWealth Recommended Events
THE RIPPLE EFFECT | Cartier Women’s Initiative [May 24-26] - Speakers include Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, Jacqueline Novogratz, Founder & CEO of Acumen, Ellen Ochoa, Astronaut & Director of the NASA Johnson Space Center (2013-2018)
Change NOW [May 27-29] - the world’s largest gathering of innovations for the planet
Debt vs. equity: What you need to know [June 3] - what you need to know when fundraising
Thank you for reading FemWealth! I hope you enjoyed it and found some precious gems. 💎 Please share your feedback and any insights you believe help level up the playing field for women and non-binary people.
Stay tuned for FemWealthIssue #12 focused on Women & Money. Do you have ideas and suggestions for future editions? Would you like to team up and write valuable content together? Please reply to this email or hit me up on Twitter.
Wish you a happy Sunday and a great start to the week!
Anamaria
Founder and Writer @FemWealth
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