Earned: Unlocking the Power of the Creator Economy

Drumroll please…today's guest is Terence Reilly, president of TikTok's favorite water bottle brand, Stanley 1913. While the brand went mega-viral in November for replacing a woman's car after her Stanley cup survived a fire, it's enjoyed remarkable growth over the last few years, jumping from $70M in annual revenue in 2020 to $750M in 2023.  We start the episode by unpacking Stanley's explosive gr...

In the 110th episode of Earned, Conor sits down with Lilly Ghalichi, social media star and founder of creator favorite brand, Lilly Lashes. To start, we dive into the founding of Lilly Lashes, and hear the story of why Lilly classifies it as 'accidental.' A lawyer by trade, Lilly explains that it was her love of all things glam that led her to creating the brand. Next, Lilly shares that in the wor...

In Ep. 109 of Earned, we sit down with David Neyman, Global Lead of Talent and Content at Logitech. We dive into Logitech's innovative approach to marketing, and David explains how the brand builds "cultural cachet" with consumers by partnering with talent (like Lizzo) on creative campaigns. David emphasizes the importance of aligning internally and externally on the purpose and goals of a creator...

To start, we dive into the unique story behind the founding of Chubbies, and learn about what sets Chubbies apart from the competition. Next, Preston shares what went into a couple of Chubbies' creative marketing programs, such as its tailgate tour and "koozie palooza." With the goal of maintaining "human to human friendship" versus becoming a corporate company selling to faceless customers, we un...

It's clear that creators have become an integral component in successful marketing strategies. But what does good creator marketing really look like? Who's doing it well? And how do you measure success? For today's episode of Earned, we're sharing one of the most popular sessions from our blowout CreatorIQ Connect event in October titled "What Does Good Creator Marketing Look Like?", hosted by Con...

In Ep. 107 of Earned, we sit down with Stephanie Fried, CMO of the world's largest fan wiki platform, Fandom. To start, we dive into Stephanie's personal favorite fandoms and hear about the content that's shaped who she is. We learn about Fandom's mission and vision, and discover what makes it the world's best resource for fans. Next, Stephanie shares what went into Fandom's branding process, and...

In today's episode of Earned, Conor has the pleasure of sitting down with two incredible guests: Rose-Marie Swift, veteran celebrity makeup artist and founder of RMS Beauty, and her partner in crime for 15+ years, Chief Strategic Officer Elaine Sack. To start, we hear why Rose-Marie was inspired to disrupt the industry and create her own clean beauty line after years of being a professional makeup...

In Ep. 105 of Earned, we sit down with Dan Elton, Senior Director of Customer and Marketing at trendy, fashion-forward online boutique, ASOS. To start, we dive into Dan's thought process behind "starting at the ground floor" by focusing on stabilizing the brand, rebuilding the balance sheet, and refreshing the leadership team. We learn about ASOS' goal to be in a position of growth, as well as its...

In Ep. 104 of Earned, we sit down with Carolyn Dawkins, CMO of luxury jewelry company David Yurman. We start the episode by diving into Carolyn's career trajectory and unpacking her learnings from "finishing school" brands like P&G, L'Oréal, Google, and The Estée Lauder Companies. We explore how Carolyn uses data and analytics to understand consumer behavior and build better pattern recognition, a...

In Ep. 103 of Earned, we sit down with Natasha Vaquer, SVP of Talent Partnerships and Influencer Strategy at VICE Media—the largest independent youth media company in the world. To start, we dive into the ever-evolving relationship between publishers and creators, and Natasha reveals where she thinks it's heading next. With a decade of experience in the industry, Natasha sheds light on how editors...

In Ep. 102 of Earned, we're back with Lia Haberman: advisor, educator, newsletter publisher, and one of Insider's "Top Creator Economy Experts." We start by discussing Lia's time in the editorial world, and she recounts the shifting ownership of celebrities' narratives from their PR and management teams to the celebrities themselves. We then discuss the approach Lia's students take to the social m...

This week on Earned, we're revisiting our incredible episode with Katie Welch, CMO of Selena Gomez's smash-hit makeup brand Rare Beauty! We kick off the episode by hearing about how Katie uses her own TikTok platform (that now boasts over 96k fans!) to mentor young professionals interested in the beauty industry, and how Katie herself broke into the space. We then walk through Katie's enviable mar...

In Ep. 101 of Earned, we sit down with Avi Gandhi—prolific LinkedIn creator and Founder of the creator economy's hit newsletter Creator Logic. To start, we dive into Avi's vast experience building and leading creator-facing teams. Avi reveals that after 15 years of working in the creator economy, he's worn nearly every possible hat. This experience led him to start his educational, data-backed new...

It's our 100th episode of Earned! What an incredible ride it's been. We truly couldn't have done it without you, our loyal listeners. Thank you! To celebrate this milestone, we've compiled all of the best moments, learnings, and takeaways from our amazing guests over the last 100 episodes, highlighting their tried-and-true approaches and philosophies around influencer marketing, the creator econom...

In Ep. 99 of Earned, we sit down with Oshiya Savur, Chief Brand Officer at No. 1 mass beauty incubator Maesa. To start, we discuss how Maesa began as a private label for fragrances before transforming into the successful incubator behind brands like Kristin Ess, Flower Beauty (Drew Barrymore), and Being Frenshe (Ashley Tisdale). We then switch gears and dive into Oshiya's unexpected career journey...

In Ep. 98 of Earned, we sit down with Lexie Barnhorn, the Head of Influencer Marketing at Notion, the $10B productivity and organization web application. To start, we dive into why Lexie joined Notion after championing the platform at her previous company, Curology, and hear how working in the scrappy, startup world allows her to stay at the forefront of fast-growing businesses. Next, Lexie explai...

In Ep. 97 of Earned, Conor sits down with Jesse Draper: actor, fourth-generation venture capitalist, and founding partner of early-stage, female-focused VC firm Halogen Ventures. To start the show, we learn why Jesse pursued Hollywood stardom, with notable acting credits including Nickelodeon's hit TV show "The Naked Brothers Band," before jumping into the investing business. Jesse shares the insp...

In Ep. 96 of Earned, Conor sits down with Amy Liu, founder and CEO of fast-growing clean beauty brand Tower 28. We dive into Tower 28's success both online and off, and Amy shares the past investments she's made that are now paying off. We hear why she believes you have to earn your reputation, and how investing in people and products have fueled much of the beauty brand's success. Next, we take a...

For our 95th episode of Earned, Conor sits down with Samantha Sichel, the Head of Social Product and Digital Innovation at leading live entertainment company Live Nation. To start the show, we dive into Samantha's nearly two-decade career at Live Nation, and she shares how the company and industry have evolved during the rise of digital media. We unpack Live Nation's rapid growth via vertical inte...

In Ep. 94 of Earned, we sit down with Eurie Kim, managing partner at Forerunner Ventures, the wildly successful early-stage venture capital firm that has helped skyrocket consumer-favorite brands like Glossier, Dollar Shave Club, Outdoor Voices, and more. We start the episode by looking back on the past few years in the venture capital market, and Conor asks Eurie whether Forerunner has reconsider...

In today's episode of Earned, we sit down with Oura CMO Doug Sweeny, whose marketing prowess helped drive the $3B+ acquisitions of Nest Labs and One Medical. We start the episode by digging into this success, and hear the qualities Doug looks for before joining  a company. Doug emphasizes his interest in companies that are solving real-world problems, and shares his experience working at One Medic...

In Ep. 92 of Earned, Conor sits down with Steven Waldberg, SVP of Global Brand Engagement & Communications at Top 10-certified skincare brand Kiehl's. Conor and Steven start by diving into Meta's latest app launch—Threads—and Steven shares his thoughts on the platform thus far, explaining why marketers should be there to test and learn. Next, we take a step back and discuss Steven's experience gro...

In Ep. 91 of Earned, Conor sits down with Peter Hollens, a powerhouse a cappella singer who has amassed a following of over 3M subscribers on YouTube, and over a billion views across his various social channels. To start the show, Peter explains why he has pursued other business ventures outside of being a creator, including investing, consulting, and recently founding his own business (Inhouse Cr...

In our 90th episode of Earned, Conor sits down with Amina Pasha, CPG marketing expert and current CMO of Thrive Market, the cult-favorite healthy food retailer that brought in nearly $500 million in revenue last year. To start the show, Amina unpacks Thrive Market's mission to make healthy living easy, affordable, and accessible. We then hear what drew Amina—who previously served as VP of Marketin...

In Ep. 89 of Earned, Conor sits down with the legendary Danessa Myricks, founder of the inclusive, "boundary-breaking" beauty brand Danessa Myricks Beauty. We jump in by discussing how Danessa became an "accidental makeup artist," and broke into the beauty industry by creating educational makeup DVDs. We learn how the success of those DVDs led Danessa to consult for other beauty brands, and even b...