I’ve been heads-down this quarter turning Creator Diaries from a passion project into a real media business.
Every week I’m asking: How does a creator scale like a business?
Turns out there are dozens and dozens of people we can learn from who are building 7 and even 8-figure business online. These are the stories I want to tell here.
Enter Marina Mogilko. Her 17-million-follower flywheel and 19 revenue lines read like a playbook for creators could take things—diverse income, community at the core, venture-backed ambition. I dissected her blueprint so you can steal the best moves.
I also published a book review of Daniel Priestley’s Entrepreneur Revolution, which should give you some inspo to start and build your own thing.
Let’s get into it!
How Silicon Valley Girl is building a media empire
17+ million followers, 19(!) revenue streams, and a $1.7 million venture check for a single YouTuber — Marina Mogilko proved a personal brand can scale like a SaaS startup.
Her story is fascinating, and I had to feature it in a case study this week.
As of 2025, she has three distinct brands (including Linguamarina Inc., Silicon Valley Girl), earns 7+ figures as a creator business, and her language-school marketplace brings in 8-figure GMV.
And perhaps most interestingly, she was the first creator to receive venture capital. (led by Slow Ventures)
There is a ton I've learned from Marina's story.
First, it expands what "founder" can mean. Those who fundamentally understand content and storytelling yet think like a business person will be the new empire builders.
And the next big opportunities sit at the intersection of content, community, and commerce, where a single insight video can funnel customers into a product ecosystem.
Want to learn more? Check out the full playbook here below:
Book review: Entrepreneur Revolution by Daniel Priestley
Daniel Priestley argues that we’re experiencing the most significant shift in how we work since the Industrial Revolution (but it’s not as scary as it sounds!)
In fact, he says there’s never been a better time to start your own business.
I recently read his book Entrepreneur Revolution (just after finishing another one of Priestley’s books, naturally) and loved it so much I wanted to write up a review & share my learnings.
Some highlights:
→ Find your entrepreneur sweet spot. Your ideal business combines passion, skill, and profitability (don’t skip one!)
→ Build using the ATM (Ascending Transaction Model). Guide your audience from free value to premium offerings smoothly (businesses aren’t built overnight!).
→ Follow the seven stages of entrepreneurship: From Newbie to MADE (Making A Difference Enterprise), embrace each stage before scaling up.
→ Mindset matters. Shift from an employee mindset (wait, react) to an entrepreneur mindset (observe, create, lead).
→ Your story is your greatest asset. People buy into who you are and what you stand for—not just what you sell.
→ Small and nimble wins. Today, solopreneurs and small teams have unprecedented advantages—no huge teams or offices needed.
You can read the full review here:
And if you have any favorite business reads, send them my way—my bookshelf always has room for more! 📚
Updates from my world
Published a few pieces for beehiiv, such as this one on lead magnets. I had a blast reporting this one out because I wanted to study dozens of real lead magnets that newsletters are using and gather all of my learnings. A piece like this felt like going back to my journalistic roots and I would love to do more SEO-slash-reporting features like this.
Got to attend some events for SXSW - fave was anatomy of a founder with Chris P, the founder of Granola (an AI notetaking app that’s taking the tech world by storm. What was fascinating to me was learning more about the supercharged growth of Granola (3/4 of the room had used the tool previously!) but also how Chris is thinking about the rapid advancements in AI, what the future of product looks like, and his experience building in the US vs. London.
As you’ve noticed I’m publishing more long form content and original interviews/case studies. So energized learning from other creators and businesses. If you have any specific creators you want me to feature, my DMs are open!
Launched my Stan store! I think this company is going to make a huge splash in the creator economy (I wrote more about this here), so I wanted to experiment using it firsthand. You can check out my link below:
And if you want to start experimenting with your own Stan store, you can try it out here: https://join.stan.store/taylorcromwell
Upcoming events in the creator world
On June 18th, Kit is hosting The Creator Business Summit with some of the leading creator entrepreneurs like Pat Flynn, Amy Porterfield, and Nathan Barry (the CEO of Kit!). If you’re interested in how you could grow a creator business of your own, this is where you’ll want to be.
Mighty Networks is also hosting a Creator Summit (it must be something in the air?!) on June 24-25. Tbh they had me at the tagline, “build a business you love.” Speakers include Amanda Goetz, Justin Moore, and Gina Bianchini (the CEO of Mighty Networks).
I really see Mighty as a company to watch in the community space, so I’m looking forward to seeing how this event goes.
