"For years, the creator economy has rewarded founders who built audiences and companies simultaneously, serving as talent, brand, strategist and executive all at once. But as teams grow, revenue diversifies and operational complexity increases, that model is increasingly under pressure. One of the clearest examples comes from Smosh, one of YouTube's longest-standing creator businesses. Nearly two decades after its founding, Smosh has survived multiple platform evolutions, monetization resets and cultural changes by intentionally separating creative leadership from executive control."
"Catanese is direct about the tension that emerges when creators attempt to run companies while remaining creatively prolific. "You have to decide, as a creator, how much of your art do you want to sacrifice to focus on the business" she says. That tradeoff, she notes, is often underestimated. Running a scaled media company means managing budgets, staffing, culture, partnerships and long-term risk, responsibilities that don't always align with the instincts that make someone a great creator."
Creator businesses that scale into multi-million-dollar media companies often require leadership separate from creative founders. Smosh separated creative leadership from executive control, installing Alessandra Catanese as CEO while founders Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla focus on creative direction. Running a scaled media company requires managing budgets, staffing, culture, partnerships and long-term risk, which can conflict with creative instincts. The creator-CEO hybrid can force tradeoffs between artistic output and business needs, leading to strategic tension. Smosh's intentional division of labor enabled founders to prioritize art while executive leadership handled operational complexity.
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