This week on Creator Spotlight, Francis is joined by Geoff Sharpe, founder of Lookout Media — a network of local newsletters collectively generating almost $500K a year. Geoff shares how he built a profitable, subscription-first media business, why trust and real journalism still win, and the systems he’s using to scale local news across Canada.

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Geoff Sharpe

• Lookout Media
• LinkedIn
• Twitter/X

Francis Zierer

• LinkedIn
• Twitter/X

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Geoff Sharpe

01:40 Making $500k+ with paid subscriptions

07:16 Don't listen to your audience

12:00 The merging of editorial and business

16:20 Running a media company sustainably

21:01 Building trust through food

27:06 How to get people to pay for your content

37:43 What do people not pay for?

40:44 Don't scale too quickly

43:41 The difficulties of local newsletter ad sales

49:11 How to grow a local newsletter

52:40 A bullish and bearish take on local media

57:50 Best advice for entrepreneurs

This week on the Creator Spotlight Podcast we're joined by Kaelyn Grace Apple. Kaelyn is the founder and co-owner of Accepted Society, an international online community of students, educators, and independent researchers dedicated to learning, research, and creating networks of support. In this episode Kaelyn shares how she cracked the formula for building a profitable, niche, online community. She breaks down the business plan behind her 500+ member collective, lessons from working with Ali Abdaal, and the strategies every creator can use to turn research into results.

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Earn with Google AdSense

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Kaelyn Grace Apple

• Accepted Society
• Website
• YouTube
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

Francis Zierer

• LinkedIn
• Twitter/X

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Kaelyn Grace Apple

01:28 From eight members to over 500

08:02 Why you should not scale too quickly

12:03 The course model vs. community model

14:03 Using YouTube to build a community

18:42 Pricing a community

22:01 Scaling a business up, and scaling it down

30:46 The evolution of Kaelyn's YouTube content

37:24 Revenue breakdown

42:44 Why Kaelyn left the Ali Abdaal team

47:34 Lessons learnt working with Ali Abdaal

53:47 Kaelyn's 30 year plan

This week on the Creator Spotlight Podcast, we’re joined by Caspar Lee — one of YouTube’s early stars turned entrepreneur and investor. Caspar talks about why he walked away from 15 million followers, how he built four companies after YouTube, and what every creator should know about building a business that lasts.

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Caspar Lee

• YouTube
• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Instagram

Francis Zierer

• LinkedIn
• Twitter/X

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Caspar Lee

01:17 How to exit, as a creator

07:11 It's hard to do YouTube and business

12:49 How influencer marketing has evolved

16:02 The hardest part of influencer marketing

20:33 Investing in the creator economy

25:18 What is the perfect investment?

30:14 Equity vs cash in brand deals

33:14 The vulnerability of the creator economy

38:43 If Caspar Lee started YouTube in 2025

43:28 Caspar Lee's five year plan