Social media star Caspar Lee on quitting YouTube for entrepreneurship

Lee’s companies now help influencers monetise their content and professionalise their brands

Caspar Lee, the YouTube star turned investor, has spoken of why he quit social media for the world of business – and how other content creators can make the switch.

The 30-year-old British-South African transitioned into the business world and is building a portfolio of companies within the creator economy, with offices in Dubai and Riyadh.

His company, Influencer.com, bills itself as the original influencer marketing agency, helping budding stars transition into paid work. The biggest challenge is often giving influencers longevity, given the fickle and fast-changing nature of the industry.

“While I was doing my YouTube videos, I was launching various things, and two of them – Influencer.com and MVE – started doing really well,” he told The National on the sidelines of the first day of the 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai.

The 1 Billion Followers Summit, the world’s first and largest event dedicated to shaping the content creation economy, got under way in Dubai on Saturday. All photos: Antonie Robertson / The National

American commentator Tucker Carlson was at the summit

Journalists Taylor Lorenz and Jane Ferguson discuss managing misinformation and disinformation

The three-day event is taking place at Dubai's Emirates Towers, the Dubai International Financial Centre and the Museum of the Future

This year's summit is the third edition

More than 15,000 content creators and 420 speakers are expected

Top influencers and industry experts will also be in attendance

This year's summit aims to advance the content economy

The event will feature more than 420 keynote speakers, including more than 125 chief executives and global experts

The summit features more than 340 sessions

Sessions will include keynote addresses, roundtables, interactive discussions and training workshops

Discussions will focus on trends in digital media, best practices, and advancements in business, economy, investment, and content creation

The world’s leading social media platforms, including Snapchat, X, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Meta will discuss the future of the industry

Platform representatives, influencers, and content creators will also exchange ideas

The summit will also announce the winner of the One Billion Award, a $1 million prize deemed the world’s largest and most valuable for content creators

The award aims to celebrate creators whose content inspires positive change, fosters unity, and shapes future generations

Ahmed Aboushabab, deputy head of creative at IMI and Sky News Arabia, addresses the crowds

The event is organised by the UAE Government Media Office under the theme 'Content For Good'

“Being a creator is entrepreneurial in itself,” he added.

Lee, who has over six million subscribers on YouTube, decided to shift his focus from entertainment to business and entrepreneurship.

“To do YouTube really well, you have to focus on it, and to do business really well, you have to focus on it. So I had to choose,” he said.

Lee co-founded Influencer.com in 2017 as a marketing platform, which now employs more than 150 people globally.

A year later, he partnered with fellow YouTuber Joe Suggs to launch the talent management company MVE. The company manages 50 creators in Los Angeles and London. He then stopped working on YouTube in 2019. The decision to transition wasn't easy, he said.

“The hardest resistance I faced was within myself,” he said, noting that those around him were supportive when he decided to move into business.

“People have always been quite nice because when you're a creator, people are quite nice to you,” he said.

However, this kindness sometimes left him feeling unsure. “Everyone's saying you're good. I'm like, maybe they don't mean that.”

'So stressed'

Lee highlighted that one of his first steps in entering the business world was identifying and collaborating with talented individuals.

“The steps are finding people who are really talented and somehow getting them to work with you and convincing them to be your partner,” he said.

He credits his success to collaborating with Ben Jeffries, co-founder and chief executive of Influencer.com, and the team at MVE Management.

Following his success with the website, Lee featured on Forbes' 2020 “30 Under 30" list in Europe.

When reflecting on what he wished he had known when entering the corporate world, Lee emphasised the importance of not sweating the small stuff.

“I wish I didn't get so stressed over scenarios that I thought at the time were the biggest deal in the world,” he said. “I can't even remember 95 per cent of them today.”

Lee has recently turned his attention to Creator Ventures, a London-based venture capital firm he co-founded in 2022 with his cousin Sasha Kaletsky, a former private equity expert at Bridgepoint.

The firm raised $20 million in its first funding round to support global consumer-internet start-ups, including AI-driven language learning app Praktika and newsletter platform Beehiiv.

When asked what sets a creator-led business apart, Lee said: “The real standout happens when a product goes beyond the creator's audience, attracting people who don't know about their videos. That kind of traction is exciting.”

Lee's journey exemplifies the broader shift within the creator economy, now valued at $250 billion and projected to grow to $480 billion by 2027, according to Goldman Sachs.