ICYMI... HIBT Lab! The Sorry Girls: Kelsey MacDermaid and Becky Wright

How I Built This · 29 Dec 2022 · 44m

What this episode covers

Kelsey MacDermaid and Becky Wright, co-founders of the media company behind the YouTube channel The Sorry Girls, discuss their journey from film students to running a sustainable business with over 2 million subscribers. They explain how they pivoted from DIY crafts to home decor by leveraging audience feedback and brand partnerships, while maintaining strict ethical standards regarding sustainability and overconsumption. The founders detail the economic realities of creator content, noting that ad revenue is insufficient to support their growing team, necessitating a diverse revenue model including sponsorships, licensing, and affiliate links.

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Making It · 1h 13m

    416: Ichabod’s Big Boy Pants

    Jimmy Diresta, Bob Clagett, and David Picciuto discuss the challenges of maintaining creative margin and business sustainability as established makers. Bob details his iterative design process for a leather utility bag, while Jimmy explores the 'Creator Dynamics' of YouTube channel lifespans and the bottleneck of post-production editing. David shares updates on his Simon table project and the complexities of securing a mortgage as a self-employed creator, highlighting the need for supplemental income streams to fund meaningful experimentation.

  • Making It · 54m

    Episode 308: How are you doing?

    Jimmy Diresta, Bob Clagett, and David Picciuto discuss their personal well-being, career sustainability, and the psychological pressures of running a successful maker business. They explore the tension between creative freedom and the demands of sponsorships, the exhaustion of constant content production, and the importance of maintaining hobbies and mental health. The conversation highlights specific challenges like scheduling conflicts, audience validation, and the fear of irrelevance as they age in the digital space.

  • Making It · 1h 20m

    439: The Right Side Of The Grass

    Jimmy Diresta, Bob Clagett, and David Picciuto discuss the challenges of scaling their maker businesses, focusing on the tension between creative freedom and the need for effective YouTube marketing. They explore the difficulty of optimizing titles and thumbnails, the myth of 'coasting' financially, and the importance of adapting to changing audience tastes and personal growth. The conversation also touches on specific projects like Diresta's wooden bucket and printing press, Clagett's shop clean room, and Picciuto's new CNC plasma cutter.

  • Making It · 1h 03m

    376: This one only has four utters

    Jimmy Diresta, Bob Clagett, and David Picciuto discuss their current projects, including David's boat build and Bob's in-house product launch, while addressing the challenge of narrowing content focus to maintain relevance on YouTube. Bob details the operational complexities of producing and shipping his first physical products in-house, defining success as learning processes rather than immediate profit. The group also reflects on the generational gap in media consumption, the importance of Patreon support for creative freedom, and shares recommendations for music and creators.

  • Making It · 1h 09m

    Episode 316: The Bubble

    Jimmy Diresta, Bob Clagett, and David Picciuto discuss the saturation of the YouTube maker community, debating whether the 'bubble' has burst and how creators should navigate declining view counts. They emphasize the importance of setting personal creative goals over chasing algorithms, maintaining mental health, and viewing YouTube as a portfolio hub for other business opportunities like product lines and sponsorships. The conversation also touches on the value of diverse creative inputs, such as visiting a classic car museum, to fuel long-term creativity.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by How I Built This. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.