In 2020 I started posting on TikTok and quickly amassed a following. I noticed a few other women in New York doing the same, all of whom were strangers, and asked if they wanted to get dinner together. There’s something special about sharing shared experiences and these women, at least online, seemed intelligent, funny, and thoughtful in their delivery. But who were these women outside of their niche? And did they have plans on turning this newfound attention into a full-time career? I had questions they agreed to help answer.
Here are some observations and learnings:
The creator economy is broken.
Friendship is incredibly motivating.
Women are powerful. Women with attention and influence are even more powerful.
Women of “regular trade” (lawyers, Chief of Staff’s, chefs, etc.) are establishing large followings and creating fan loyalty on digital platforms for the first time in history alongside full-time social media influencers, reality tv stars, and celebrities.
As our world is growing increasingly fractured, we’re seeking curation from people we trust as credible sources of intelligence and opinion.
Content creators are forced to stay independent and develop a “personal” brand as a means to monetize.
Women, no matter how different, share the experience of being a woman operating in the world today.
Fans want more and more access to creators—and are willing to pay for it.
Creators want better ways to engage with their fans beyond just the comment section.
Women who are interested, organized, autonomous, invested, emotionally engaged, financially incentivized, and aligned in mission are unstoppable.
These are some of the ideas that sit behind the creation of xyz, the project I’m working on now.