‘Jordan The Stallion,’ Jenny Hoyos, Misha Brown, V Spehar, Ziad Ahmed, Shira Lazar, and companies like Liquid Death, LTK, Boobie, Smosh, NFL all have one thing in common – It’s No Fluke they found success.
Each week, we unpack the highs, lows, and untold stories of culture and creativity with top creators, brands, agencies and thought leaders.
New episodes drop every Tuesday and Thursday. Stay tuned!
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A Shorty Award winner and Real Time Academy member, Jeff Barrett works with major influencers and brands like Adobe, Experian, Oracle, FIS and more on communications and influencer strategy. He spent three years traveling to almost every state in the country writing about startup ecosystems for Inc and Entrepreneur. After years of talking for a living, he's ready to listen and amplify the voices of amazing people, stories and ideas.
Aria Kim (@techwitharia) is a DC-based creator covering AI, careers, and tech for an audience of 150K+. Before going full-time on content, she spent years as a security program manager at Meta and Sony, and now helps people build careers that don't follow a straight line. She has partnered with some of the biggest tech companies in the world, including OpenAI, LinkedIn, and Coinbase, and her work on the future of work has been featured in Forbes and Business Insider.
Jason Keehn is the founder of Accompany Creative, the award-winning, impact-driven creative agency recently named Ad Age’s Purpose Agency of the Year. With their motto of “We make good, work” Accompany Creative focuses on transforming brands into change agents through inspiring, mission-led storytelling and design.
The company is a collective of socially conscious branding, marketing, PR, product design, merchandising, and sourcing leaders who work together to help brands authentically connect with values-driven consumers throughout the entire brand experience. Jason’s expertise in both aspirational campaigns and impact-minded products and programs can be seen in their work for a client roster that includes Nespresso, Neiman Marcus, Vestiaire Collective, ABC Carpet & Home, Levi’s, NBC Universal, God’s Love We Deliver, and the YMCA of Greater New York.
Jason’s entrepreneurial passion centers on harnessing the power of consumer-minded branding, design, and storytelling for brands and business models that are doing not just “less bad” but also “more good.” In 2022, he launched the first-ever mission-driven merchandising with Universal Pictures for the film “Jurassic World” – work that earned the agency its first Clio award.
Prior to launching Accompany Creative, Jason spent 20+ years in brand strategy, identity, and integrated advertising as Chief Growth Officer at independent creative agency Yard NYC.
With an MS degree in global bioethics from Columbia University, Jason has published his research in academic journals about the ethics of marketing and has spoken about his integrated branding/ethics perspective at prominent venues like the United Nations General Assembly, Columbia University Commencement, US Consulate General in China, SXSW Eco, and Fashion Forward.
Maria Vorovich and Holland Martini are the co-founders of GoodQues, the “anti-research” research company built around the idea that rigor and creativity shouldn’t be opposites. Maria serves as Chief Strategy Officer and Holland as Chief Insights Officer, combining strategy, psychology, analytics and research to better understand what people actually think, feel and do.
Maria spent much of her career on the receiving end of consumer research and saw the same problem: companies had more data than ever, but the questions and answers had become predictable. Before co-founding GoodQues in 2019, she was Chief Strategy Officer at Air Paris and Global Strategy Director at Grey Group. Her work blends creative strategy, psychology and storytelling to make research more useful and memorable.
Holland comes at the problem from the data side, focused on making research more actionable and human without sacrificing precision. Before GoodQues, she built and led Grey New York’s Data Strategy team and later its Data Center of Excellence. She previously led advanced analytics and business strategy for Johnson & Johnson brands at J3/UM. At GoodQues, she challenges the conventions of research, including whether companies are asking the right questions in the first place.
Together, they’ve built GoodQues into one of ADWEEK’s Fastest Growing Agencies for 2026, working with brands including Adobe, TikTok, PepsiCo, P&G, Mars, PayPal and Unilever. GoodQues grew 2,082% in three years and has appeared multiple times on the Inc. 5000. Their work can mean borrowing techniques from psychology, replacing obvious questions with creative exercises or turning research into a podcast instead of another deck.
What connects Maria and Holland is a belief that better research starts with being more human. They push against an industry that often prioritizes faster and cheaper instead of asking whether the research itself is getting better. For GoodQues, creativity isn’t the enemy of rigor. It’s often what gets a more honest answer, uncovers something the obvious question missed and turns data into an insight people actually remember.
Chris Abraham is a Senior CSM on beehiiv's Ad Network team, where he manages more than $2 million in monthly ad spend across 80-plus active advertiser campaigns and a publisher network of over 30,000. He spends his days matching brands with the right newsletter audiences and helping publishers turn trust into revenue.
Before beehiiv, Chris grew revenue at The Peak, a Canadian business, finance and tech newsletter that was later acquired by a Canadian legacy media brand. When he's not connecting brands and newsletters, Chris is out hiking the Colorado mountains with his wife, Cassidy, and their dog Kirby, a Mini Aussie–Border Collie mix.
Jonathan Chanti is the Founder and CEO of Reign Maker Group, a modern media, talent, and marketing company built at the intersection of culture, creators, sports, entertainment, and brand innovation. Through its portfolio of companies, Reign Maker Group represents top creators, athletes, entertainers, and brands while helping them build scalable businesses beyond traditional endorsement and content opportunities.
Prior to founding Reign Maker Group, Jonathan was an early executive at Viral Nation, where he played a key role in helping grow the company into one of the leading creator and influencer marketing agencies in the world. Throughout his career, he has worked alongside some of the most influential creators, athletes, entertainers, and brands, helping structure partnerships, drive revenue growth, and create long-term business opportunities across the digital landscape.
As an entrepreneur and industry leader, Jonathan has been at the forefront of the rapidly evolving creator economy, helping talent navigate the shift from content creators to business owners. His experience spans talent management, creator monetization, brand partnerships, media, marketing, and business development, with involvement in major creator-led ventures, strategic brand partnerships, and talent-driven businesses across sports, entertainment, and technology.
Jonathan is a sought-after voice on topics including the creator economy, entrepreneurship, talent representation, personal branding, creator-led businesses, digital media trends, and the convergence of entertainment, commerce, and technology. Under his leadership, Reign Maker Group has emerged as a leading force helping creators and talent transform audiences into sustainable businesses and lasting brands.
Melissa Yinger is an editorial leader and storyteller who has enjoyed working with Theorist’s all-star team of writers and creative visionaries since May 2025. She holds a Ph.D. in Literature and brings 15+ years of experience shaping content that ranges from academic essays to No. 1 iTunes documentaries, viral shorts, and long-form shows.
She loves blending deep research and cultural analysis with YouTube pragmatism (translation: the narrative arc matters, but so does the hook). Favorite part of the job? Finding original creators and helping them shine. Also, not quite believing they pay her to do this.
Jamie Gutfreund is a leading authority on the creator economy, advising marketers, investors, and technology companies on how to capitalize on the rapidly evolving creator media ecosystem. Drawing on senior leadership roles across brands, agencies, and platforms, she specializes in creator marketing technology, measurement strategy, and market positioning.
Jamie currently serves as Co-Chair of the IAB Creator Economy Board, is an advisor to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, and covers the creator economy for Forbes.
Her career includes C‑suite and senior leadership roles at Microsoft, Expedia, WPP, Hasbro, and CAA, as well as Chief Growth Officer at Whalar and board member for Tubular Labs.
She has authored widely used industry resources, including the Creator Rosetta Stone with The Harris Poll and Apples to Apples, a categorized database of the creator technology ecosystem.
Jamie has been named to Campaign’s 40 Over 40, Forbes’ 50 Most Entrepreneurial CMOs, and Elle’s Women to Watch.
Today, she leads Creator Vision, a consultancy that builds the strategy and infrastructure brands, investors, and technology companies need to win in the creator economy.
Read more about APPLES TO APPLES.
Charlie Ibarra is the Co-Founder and Head of Content at Creator TV®, the first creator-led streaming network and content studio dedicated to bringing the authenticity and energy of social media storytelling to television. Since co-founding the network under Sabio Holdings in 2024, he has built Creator TV's content operation from the ground up developing the studio's format strategy, leading creator recruitment, and overseeing an original programming slate that spans comedy, culture, and competition formats.
Before launching Creator TV®, Charlie studied television storytelling under Paul Kolsby, senior writer and producer of Netflix's Ozark, and Izzie Pick-Ibarra, the award-winning showrunner behind Dancing with the Stars and The Masked Singer. Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership roles at Flashtalking, Celtra, and JUICE Mobile, building deep expertise in brand storytelling and global advertising markets.
A frequent speaker at industry events including StreamTV, OTT.X, and TVOT, Charlie is a recognized voice on the future of creator-led television. He holds a B.A. from UCLA and completed UCLA Extension's programs in Television Writing and Film & TV Development.
Eric Cheng (@ericsaymore) is a digital director, strategist, and political content creator . He leads digital and creator strategy for campaigns including the current LA mayoral race. With an audience of over 80K across socials, he blends comedy, culture, and commentary to make civic engagement accessible to a wider audience.
Delaney Debinski is the Founder and Creative Director of Delavie Creative, a new media creative consultancy in Brussels. From writing at Warner Bros Discovery to directing content with over 3 billion views on YouTube channels like Average Rob, MrBeast, Hilton Hotels, and more, she founded Delavie Creative around the philosophy in its name: de la vie, meaning "of life." Today she develops and directs long form content, and teaches sustainable storytelling to the professionals building this industry.
Delaney's work starts with one question: why. She believes careers in new media last when they're rooted in real connection, so she helps creator entrepreneurs define their why and build deep roots accordingly. Through the Delavie Creative Residency, her seven-week cohort for creatives, she coaches people through the shift from the hustle to a sustainable, scalable creative career. Her mission is to help this industry build businesses that breathe life into people's identity rather than claiming it.
