Good morning. Over the weekend, our team saw Tim Robinson’s new movie, Friendship. Thanks to some creator cameos—hi, Connor O’Malley—a lively theater audience, and a whole lot of cringe, our friendship has never been stronger.

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

‘Challenge Accepted’ Goes Primetime

Challenge Accepted accepted. 

After months of petitioning to be moved from the Emmys’ Daytime category, Michelle Khare has successfully qualified for Primetime Emmy nominations for “Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series.”

How she got here →

• In 2016, Khare left BuzzFeed to start her own YouTube channel.

• In 2018, she released the first episode of Challenge Accepted with the video “I Trained Like A Victoria’s Secret Model for 5 Weeks.” 

• 57 episodes and over 330 million views later, Khare still writes, directs, and produces her own videos to her audience of 5 million—trying anything from training with Navy SEALs to defending a murder trial.

Challenge Accepted joins other creator shows like Hot Ones, Chicken Shop Date, and Good Mythical Morning which were considered for Primetime Emmy nomination categories in 2024. Khare submitted the episode “I Trained Like a Black Belt for 90 Days” to the Television Academy for consideration. Nominations will be announced July 15. 

The creator difference: “What makes this moment truly special, is that this is a show that may have never been picked up by a studio,” Khare said on LinkedIn. “Instead, it has been championed and grown organically by our amazing community—and a group of the greatest collaborators I could have ever dreamed of working with.”

Why This Startup Journalist Went Solo

Longtime startup journalist Alex Konrad recently left Forbes after 12 years to embark on a startup journey of his own: launching Upstarts Media, a newsletter covering the startup ecosystem.

Context: Konrad joins legions of journalists from Mehdi Hasan and Oliver Darcy to Taylor Lorenz and Don Lemon in leaving legacy media to pursue an independent career in the last year.

Konrad told us he’s gone from reporter to creator—and one-man event planner, host, business development lead, and sales associate.

Why now: “Upstarts was the right thing for me because I was passionate about the space and we need more in-depth reporting on the startup system,” Konrad told us. “I also didn’t feel like there was a ton of reporting that was both press-worthy and fun.”

Here’s how Upstarts is turning startup content into a business →

• Konrad is publishing one free, sponsored weekly edition with ongoing brand partnerships.

• The rest is about premium memberships—for  $15/month or $160/year, readers get an additional weekly post with in-depth reporting, exclusives, scoops, and early access to events.

• Founding Upstart members who pay $590/year get access to a private WhatsApp group and exclusive meetups.

“I see having multiple revenue streams really important for growth and [a way to avoid leaning] too hard on one thing that works and becoming a victim of your success,” Konrad said.

What’s next: Konrad is developing a short daily podcast and hosting his first subscriber event tomorrow, less than two months after the newsletter launched. 

“It’s never too early for meetups. In this current information overload, and with AI making it easier than ever to aggregate information, what that means is we should be engaging with our audience as much as possible,” Konrad said.

Substack Introduces Audio-Only Livestreams

Substack creators now have the option to disable video on livestreams for an audio-only live experience. This format is designed for creators who wish to remain anonymous, call-in-style formats, and more casual updates.

What creators are saying:

• “Audio-only livestreams are a great addition—finally we can leave Twitter/X's Spaces behind!” finance creator Librarian Capital commented.

• Wellness creator Kim Roberts said she looks forward to offering guided meditations in a more relaxed setting. “People don't want to have to look at anything while they are meditating,” she said.

Big picture: Substack continues to add features geared toward audience accessibility—and it’s leading to spikes in membership. Meditation creator Dan Harris told Digiday he saw significant increases in both paid and unpaid subscriptions after co-hosting a livestream in January with political creators Sharon McMahon and Van Jones, he said.

👀 Creator Moves

• Auto creator Nino Rosella aka Not Economically Viable is looking for a full-time video editor based in the UK.

• Software review YouTube channel Efficient App is hiring a remote video editor proficient in Adobe Premiere.

• Veritasium is looking for a writer/director to research, write, revise, and edit scripts for its YouTube channel.

Fiverr, the world’s leading marketplace for digital services, is partnering with creators to showcase the power of freelancing. Join the Creator Program and turn your influence into income.*

*This is sponsored advertising content.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Mark Rober, Dhar Mann, The Try Guys and more creators are launching FAST channels on Samsung TV Plus.

• The number of full-time creators has grown 7x since 2020, according to a new report.

• Figma is rolling out live website and vector tools.

• Niko Omilana launched a candy brand.

• TikTok creator Jack Innanen is starring in an FX show called Adults.

• Kickstarter releases a tariffs manager for creators to add surcharges to cover unexpected import costs.