Good morning. Let’s try something different today—reply with a word that we should incorporate into our next issue. We’ll reveal the mystery word next Tuesday. 

–Hannah Doyle

Creators Raise Over $330,000 for Ukraine Relief

Yes Theory and Max Rantz-McDonald have partnered to help Ukrainian citizens on the ground at the Poland–Ukraine border. Less than a week ago, they started a fundraiser, which has already raised over $330,000.

Ammar Kandil from Yes Theory spoke to us from the Ukrainian border to give more detail on the work they’re doing. “What I’m learning is how supply chain gets completely f*cked during war time,” Kandil said. “Things are running out everywhere. Luckily, because of our global community, we’re able [to obtain resources]. I literally just put in an order for 35,000 euros to buy 100 generators coming from Berlin tomorrow morning.”

Their team has been compiling lists of items most needed on a daily basis through direct contacts with Ukraine citizens and in the different centers hosting the refugees fleeing war on the Polish side. 

If you’d like to support in ways outside of donating, check out their website, with a list of items they need, including generators and sleeping mats.

Kandil shared more about the work they’re doing, and how creators can help in our Q&A at the end of this newsletter.👇

Our Take

Yes Theory and Max Rantz-McDonald have spent the larger part of the past decade building a global audience and brand through their storytelling. With that foundation, they’re not only able to get a message to travel fast when it matters most, but they’re able to make a remarkable impact. Because their community trusts them and aligns with their mission, the community is ready to both receive the message and take action. You can donate to their efforts here.

Graham Stephan Opens up About His Coffee Company Losses

Last week, the finance YouTuber shared that the business he started last year, Bankroll Coffee, is losing money.  

In May 2021, the brand launched with 10,000 bags of coffee in inventory, expecting that inventory to last 30 days. The coffee ended up selling out in 72 hours.

“Since then, it’s only gotten more difficult,” Stephan said. 

The issue has been the rising price of coffee, shipping, packaging, and other production costs. 

“Because we offered flat $5 shipping and we didn’t want to raise prices shortly after launching, we just absorbed the cost ourselves,” Stephan said. 

By the Numbers 

$16,000 → cost of initial investment to get the business off the ground.

$20,000 → average sales per month.

46% → returning customer rate.

The prices will rise later this month, just enough to offset the increased costs. Bankroll Coffee also plans to expand into teas, citing its larger margins in comparison to coffee thanks to its lower weight per serving.

“At the end of the day, I just want to build a brand that’s strong enough to stand on its own,” Stephan said. “Over time, I believe the more organic the growth, the more valuable it’ll eventually become.” 

Our Take

Building a consumer product business that can sustain itself independent of a creator’s input can be a long and hard road. Rising production costs lead to higher product prices, but being willing to shift gears and be transparent with your consumers, like Stephan has, can lay the groundwork of trust for a lasting and healthy business with loyal customers. 

Sponsored by The Ridge

This is Not Your Typical Ad…

It’s actually an opportunity for YOU to make an ad. Apply here to get sponsored by The Ridge. 

If you spend as much time on YouTube as we do, you’re probably familiar with The Ridge, an accessory brand known for its flagship wallet.

But today, our friends at The Ridge have a different goal: they want to find creators like you to sponsor. 

Since 2018, they’ve partnered with over 10,000 creators and they’re not slowing down. In their creator program, you’ll work with flexible deadlines, creative freedom, and easy payment terms—the way creator–brand partnerships should be.

Go here to apply to The Ridge’s creator program.

Nickisnotgreen Makes a Hiring Hub for Creators and Editors

The comedy YouTuber recently started a Discord to connect creators and editors looking for work.

For some creators, editing is part of the creative process and something that they want to have control over. For others, especially those with a high volume of output, hiring it out is a quicker yet feasible option.

Our Take

Sometimes the best hires are subscribers and fans of creators. By making a creator-driven job Discord, Nickisnotgreen is creating an environment for pay transparency and networking where qualified hires can find the right fit in this extremely niche market.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Isaiah Photo launches a YouTube Shorts class with Nas Academy.

• The D’Amelio family starts a VC fund.

• Markiplier drops the trailer for his new YouTube Originals show In Space With Markiplier.

• OnlyFans opens a fund for fashion creators.

• Gaming creator IShowSpeed livestreams his countdown to 6 million subscribers.

• Snoop Dogg joins FaZe Clan’s board of directors.

• This newsletter provides tools for creators to build their business.

Q&A: Ammar Kandil from Yes Theory

The following interview, conducted via voice memo, has been condensed and edited for clarity.

At what point did you know that going in person was the best way to help the Ukrainian people? How did the plan come about?

On the third day of war, as things intensified I suggested to Thomas that we could potentially scratch the episode we were supposed to film and switch plans and go to Poland. We already had a dear friend of ours, Max Rantz-McDonald, on the ground who we had been on multiple trips and adventures with, and we trusted that he would be a great lead on what’s actually needed. 

We didn’t want to be extra weight just standing in people’s ways not knowing what we were doing. The plan was pretty seamless given we had someone that was on the ground and we trusted that he had all the right intel.

What local organizations have you been working with? How did you know where to start for relief assistance?

When we landed, our friend Max had visited every border crossing, compiled a list of the people that are running them, and what they needed most. 

We made a friend with a lovely woman named Victoria who’s Ukrainian and has been living in Poland for the last eight years. She had set up a welcome center for the refugees at one of the universities and we’ve been working with her directly as our lead on the Ukrainian side by being in Poland. She’s got friends there, so that’s who we’ve been in contact with and it’s been going great so far.

How have your skills / platform as creators equipped you to help aid in relief? 

Our community, the Yes Fam, is the strongest global internet community out there. We have raised close to $350,000 over the past four days. We knew that if we came for something, it would be two things: first, being able to deploy our greatest asset, which is our community, and how much energy there is to help and be there in moments like this. 

And second: tell a really meaningful story that can create a long-lasting impact so this doesn't become a moment of history that we look back and see in the news, but rather we can see the other side, the light that came out in the midst of darkness. When a brutal war was happening, and civilians were being bombed, people have come from all over the world to make this happen. 

We’ve got over 10 countries represented on the team that we’ve built and half of them are members of the Yes Fam in Poland who are international students. We’ve got India, Malaysia, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Canada, the USA, Ireland, France, and Sweden represented. On a daily basis we’re getting more volunteers from the Yes Fam.

What kinds of things have you learned since you’ve started helping at the Poland–Ukraine border? Anything you’ve found surprising?

We’re so in it that there hasn’t been any time to process what’s surprising. What I’m learning is how supply chain gets completely f*cked during war time. Having raised all this money, we’re having a hard time moving the funds so we can buy the necessary things. Things are running out everywhere. 

It’s really been such a learning process trying to manage that. Luckily, because of our global community we’re able [to obtain resources]. I literally just put in an order for 35,000 euros to buy 100 generators coming from Berlin tomorrow morning.

As we speak we’re figuring out how to transport that to Warsaw because these are the generators that are going to go onto the Starlinks that Elon Musk sent to be able to make them work, given that power is going to be a problem. It’s already a problem and it’s one of the most needed things in Ukraine right now, basically generators and being able to send gas in, which we’re working on.

Five days since you’ve started the fundraiser, you’re already over $100,000 over your goal. Did you expect such a response? Why or why not? 

We have raised money before for different humanitarian causes, and we’re always pleasantly surprised by the response, but this one was very different. We really felt the global support coming through. 

It definitely makes a huge difference when you’re able to be on the ground and you’re able to show people what it is that they’re putting money towards. I think the trust element of people knowing that if they’re giving to this cause and to this team, whether it’s Max and Yes Theory, with the credibility that we’ve both had in situations like this, I feel like that really motivated people to send money and make this happen because in situations like this, you see so many gofundmes, and everybody's sharing, and everybodys raising money and you never know where to give money to, and it creates decision paralysis. 

What are other ways, besides donating, that creators can help?

As creators we have a responsibility as storytellers, especially ones that identify as storytellers and have a mission with the type of content that they're making. It's moments like this that we have to all come together and tell a meaningful, impactful story that allows us to not repeat this again. 

We look back at history, and we look at what’s happening right now—too many perils. It’s quite sad to think that we might not be learning from our past and this is the time that we’re able to use the tools that exist for us today and the technology that allows us to know what’s happening on the other side of the world in a matter of seconds to bring awareness and to bring the right kind of stories to the people that need it the most, and to the world as a whole.

As storytellers, we have a responsibility to deepen that sense of empathy that people can have towards each other given that the news now is benefiting over divisive headlines and ways that make people more scared of each other rather than to want to be closer to each other.

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