You won’t believe how a $2,500 angel investment and a WhatsApp group turned into one of the most powerful female-led creator brands today. In this episode of The Business of Creators, Ian Shepherd talks with Maggie Sellers Reum, founder of Hot Smart Rich about how she turned her creator-led female ambition brand into something so powerful that Steven Bartlett and FlightStory came calling. She shares the full behind-the-scenes of how the deal happened and how she’s scaling her media business without losing its soul.

Topics Discussed:
- The moment Maggie knew HSR was more than just content
- How FlightStory discovered the podcast and why they invested
- Lessons from negotiating your first major deal as a creator
- Why community is HSR’s secret weapon
- Building a real brand beyond virality

What You’ll Learn:
- How Maggie got on Steven Bartlett’s radar — and why DMs matter
- The strategic value of partnerships for podcast and media growth
- Why monetizing a podcast requires more than just great content
- How to position your brand to attract investors (even if you're small)
- The systems Maggie uses to scale as a founder and creator-CEO

Watch to learn actionable strategies to grow your creator business and don't forget to subscribe to the channel for more insights on the business of creators!

What if your podcast could be the next billion-dollar media company? Georgie Holt is already building them with Steven Bartlett and she reveals exactly how.

In this episode of The Business of Creators, Ian Shepherd sits down with Georgie Holt, CEO of FlightStory & Co Founder of FlightStory Studio, who shares the playbook for turning creators into powerful media brands, using data, AI and obsessive focus on audience value.

You’ll hear how they’ve scaled The Diary of a CEO into cultural phenomena and why the next generation of media empires will be built by creators, not corporations.

Topics Discussed:
- What FlightStory actually does (and why it’s more than a podcast network)
- How to evaluate creators like venture capitalists
- The tools and data behind FlightStory’s “creator radar” system
- Why community and long-form content are essential for scale
- How AI is shaping the future of content creation

What You’ll Learn:
- How to turn your content into a full-scale media brand
- What metrics and experiments actually move the needle
- The mindset shift from “creator” to “founder”
- How to structure a team that helps you scale beyond platforms
- Why audience obsession drives long-term growth

Listen to learn actionable strategies to grow your creator business and don't forget to subscribe to the channel for more insights on the business of creators!

If you want to understand where the creator economy is heading — and how to build a real business in it — this episode is a must-listen.

Ian Shepherd sits down with Beehiiv CEO and co-founder Tyler Denk to break down the company’s massive new product launch and its mission to become “the operating system for the content economy.” Tyler shares how Beehiiv is transforming newsletters into full-scale media businesses with websites, digital products, analytics, an ad network and more — all in one platform built for both solo creators and major publishers.

Topics Discussed:
- Beehiiv’s new product ecosystem and why they shipped everything at once
- How newsletters, websites, podcasts, and digital products now fit into one unified platform
- Why creators and publishers are moving toward full-stack, consolidated toolsets
- How Beehiiv’s ad network and Boosts give creators instant monetization opportunities
- The role Tyler’s own newsletter plays in shaping Beehiiv’s roadmap and enterprise strategy

What You’ll Gain From This Episode:
- A clear understanding of how top creators are building real, scalable content businesses
- Practical ideas for monetizing your content — even with a small audience
- Insight into how to simplify your creator tech stack for faster growth and less friction
- Strategies for owning your audience and future-proofing your business
- A behind-the-scenes look at how Beehiiv is building tools designed for long-term creator success

Listen to learn actionable strategies to grow your creator business and don't forget to subscribe to the channel for more insights on the business of creators!