Good morning. Big news from the Publish team: We’re hosting our biggest, most ambitious event yet on September 4 in Brooklyn. Press Publish NYC is a one-day summit for the creator economy and you’re the first to hear about it. Keep reading for more information on how to join.

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

It’s been nine months since lifestyle creator Ashley Alexander launched her Nami matcha brand. So how’s it going?

Pretty well, if this weekend is any indication. Alexander hosted a pop-up at The Lighthouse in LA on Saturday, and the line of her Matcha Mob fans eager to meet Alexander, sample a new strawberry matcha, and purchase merch grew into the hundreds.

Alexander launched Nami last July and held the brand’s first pop-up in NYC in October with similar success.

After nine months in business, Nami has…

The biggest challenge of building the business? Tariffs and matcha shortages, Alexander told us, which have impacted both margins and inventory. Alexander has also struggled to nail demand planning—for example, she expected a recent order of her Yame matcha to last until July, but it sold out in one month.

“I’m so grateful that we’ve had high demand. At the same time, I don’t necessarily want to be doing drops. I want it to always be available on the site,” Alexander told us.

What’s next: Alexander is eyeing wholesale, with hopes to get Nami into grocery stores and cafes. 

“The cool thing about a business having a creator brand in their cafe is there aren't many other matcha brands where people would go to a cafe because of the matcha brand,” Alexander said. “I think that shows the power of a creator-owned brand and it's a cool concept that if a business wants to wholesale Nami they get that additional marketing perk.”

Two teams. 16 creators. 21 million views (and counting). Challenge creator Fede Vigevani and Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson each assembled a team of creators to face off in a Spanish- vs. English-speaking basketball game on Donaldson’s own basketball court—broadcast live on Vigevani’s channel this weekend.

Context: Vigevani is one of the largest Spanish-speaking YouTubers. He’s gained 50 million of his 66.8 million total subscribers in the last four years alone.

The game, by the numbers:

What made the stream so engaging? Every step of the way, audience involvement was encouraged—with a live chat displayed on the jumbotron and a fan-voted rematch in Spain. 

“The idea of this stream, of this game, was about having fun and having an epic get-together,” Vigevani said after the game. “I am very grateful to all the people that made this stream possible.”

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Over the weekend, gaming creator Connor “CDawgVA” Colquhoun completed the fourth installment of his Cyclethon fundraiser, bringing in over $1 million for the Immune Deficiency Foundation in support of VTuber IronMouse.

How he got here: Colquhoun started the Cyclethon in 2022 with an initial fundraising goal of $25,000, which he quickly increased to $250,000 after a wave of donations. 500 miles later, Colquhoun raised $319,000. Each year since, Colquhoun has broken his fundraising record—with a collective $3.8 million raised overall. 

During this year’s 15-day, 745-mile journey across Japan, Colquhoun was joined by fellow creators Pewdiepie, Rob Dee, Abroad In Japan, and Gigguk.

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.

Four years. 625+ newsletters sent. And thousands of stories written about creators. It’s all led to this: Press Publish NYC, our one-day summit for the creator economy on September 4 in Brooklyn.

We’re bringing together creators and the industry that supports them to focus on the future. To be the first to know the agenda, who’s speaking, and when you can apply for tickets, join the list here and we’ll see you in NYC.

_{*This is sponsored advertising content.}