‘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!
Got feedback or a guest idea? Reach out via email, LinkedIn or Instagram.
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.
Caitlin Begg is the founder of Authentic Social and a sociologist. Authentic Social is a NYC-based applied research lab at the intersection of sociology and technology. Since her undergraduate Harvard sociology thesis in 2016, she has spent the last decade researching how digital communication reshapes human interaction. Caitlin speaks around the U.S. and Europe, presenting her work at venues ranging from TEDxPrincetonU to World Summit AI in Amsterdam. She is also the host of the Hypercommunication podcast (with a corresponding substack).
You can watch her recent TEDxPrincetonU talk "Stuck in your screen? Here's how to detach" here.
Noah Swimmer is a Partner and Head of the Culinary Department at Underscore Talent, where he manages and builds the careers of some of today’s leading culinary creators and food media personalities. With a focus on long-term growth and success, Noah works with his clients across content strategy, brand partnerships, book publishing, consumer products, licensing, television, and other opportunities that extend and elevate creators’ careers beyond social media.
He has helped clients develop bestselling cookbooks, launch products and businesses, secure major endorsements, and expand into traditional media. Based in Los Angeles, Noah is passionate about the evolving intersection of food, entertainment, pop culture and helping talent build enduring, multidimensional careers. When he’s not working, you can find Noah grabbing a bite at Dan Sung Sa or hiking with his Sheepadoodle, Josh
Hannah Wilson is one of the leading voices in the creator economy, helping shape how creators, brands, and technology work together. She has partnered with some of the biggest brands in the world, including Meta, Adobe, and ManyChat, and shared stages with leaders from Forbes, Microsoft, Reddit, and CNN, as well as at Paris Creator Week.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has publicly called her a “must-follow,” Teen Vogue named her a “Creator of Tomorrow,”
Through her agency Cultish, she helps brands build cult-level loyalty by pairing sharp positioning with strong storytelling. Hannah built her own career from a smartphone and now empowers other creators and companies to do the same: with clarity, creativity, and cultural fluency.
Claire Uhar is the founder and CEO of OBSCURE, a strategic advisory firm at the intersection of media, technology, and capital. She has spent her career at inflection points — part of the founding team at a startup acquired within its first year, then building creator platforms at San Francisco product studio Swipe Labs at the dawn of the $350B+ creator economy. She joined EVERFI, leading some of its largest partnerships ahead of their acquisition by Blackbaud, before joining Protocol (part of Politico Media Group) as part of the launch team ahead of Axel Springer's acquisition.
In 2022 she launched OBSCURE, working with a tight roster of clients: venture capital firms, media organizations, entertainment executives, and growth-stage companies, at moments of launch, scale, or repositioning. Her network spans leading execs, investors, creative and talent agencies, and brand partners globally.
Mark Horvath is an activist, filmmaker and pioneering force in narrative change, revolutionizing how we perceive and address homelessness. With a background in leadership, marketing, and multimedia production, he brings a unique perspective to the issue. As the founder of Invisible People, a nonprofit utilizing video storytelling and journalism, Mark sheds light on homelessness, reaching 20M+ people monthly. His authentic approach humanizes the stories of those experiencing homelessness, challenging societal perceptions and inspiring empathy. Through his work as an activist, filmmaker, and social media explorer, Mark turns his own experience with homelessness into a catalyst for social good, sparking a collective call to action for meaningful change.
Paige McCormick is the Senior Manager of Social & Influencers at Glow Brands, where she leads social media and influencer strategy across a portfolio of consumer brands, including Sun Tan City and Wellness City. In her role, she oversees national social strategy, creator partnerships, influencer programming, content development, and community engagement, with a focus on building brand awareness and meaningful connections with consumers.
In addition to her work on the brand side, Paige is an active content creator, giving her a unique perspective on influencer marketing from both sides of the partnership. Her firsthand experience building her own platform and working with brands allows her to better understand what resonates with creators, audiences, and brand partners alike.
A former Division I student-athlete and team captain at the University of Louisville, Paige brings a background that spans athletics, marketing, NIL, and the creator economy. She holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Sport Administration from the University of Louisville.
Bill Davaris is Co-Chief Executive Officer of Malka, the adaptive content studio within Gen Digital's media business, which joined Gen through its 2025 acquisition of MoneyLion. Alongside co-CEO Chris Apostle, Davaris leads a studio built to combine the strategic insights of a creative agency with the dynamic efficiency of a full-service production company, producing work spanning feature documentaries, immersive podcasts, rebranding, and advertising campaigns for global brands including L'Oréal, Deloitte, CitiBank, Amazon Music and MoneyLion.
Davaris is a rare hybrid of brand-side and agency-side leadership. He was named co-CEO of Malka in May 2024, arriving from SharkNinja, where he served as Chief Marketing and Brand Officer. Before that, he was CMO at MoneyLion, the role he held when the company acquired Malka in 2021, giving him firsthand experience on both sides of the studio's operating model: as the client who bought its capabilities and now as the executive who runs them.
Ruth Mortimer is global president for Advertising Week and SVP, Forge. She oversees the Advertising Week, Prosper and B2BMX brands globally. They operate across the world, with events and content in the US, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Advertising Week has more than 2000 speakers each year on its stages and more than 200 partners worldwide including Netflix, Amazon and Disney.
Previously, Ruth held a large number of roles managing content businesses and overseeing both live and digital product development. She led the award-winning digital marketing training business Econsultancy as Managing Partner, which provided training for brands such as General Mills, UPS and IKEA. She ran the Festival of Marketing in the UK, overseeing all areas of the business, which at the time comprised the largest gathering of brands in Europe. She was also formerly content director for Centaur Marketing, which comprised 10 media brands with several million users including Marketing Week, Creative Review, Design Week, Influencer Intelligence, Fashion/Beauty Monitor, Year Ahead and Foresight News.
Ruth was editor of Marketing Week magazine and an award-winning business columnist, writing five books about marketing. In her freelance career, she worked on identifying new entertainment talent for TV stations as well as building subscription products for a variety of media companies. She also held a role early in her career as an archaeologist, working mainly in the Middle East.
Ant McCormack has spent over a decade building in the creator economy, helping creators build media companies, not just audiences.
He's worked with creators across 50 countries, run 25+ accelerator programs, and built industry-first partnerships with YouTube, Google, and TikTok, including the world's first YouTube Creator Accelerator.
Ant’s bet: An audience isn't an asset you own. The next generation of creators will build businesses that are.
Jonny Paterson is an LA-based producer and VP of Business and Creative Development at digital studio Wall of Entertainment. He previously founded JP International Productions and served as VP of Television and Head of Development at Confluential Films, following early career roles at ICM, Lionsgate, and Chestnut Ridge Productions.
In 2016, Paterson produced his debut feature "Halfway," which premiered at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival and was nominated for a British Independent Film Award. At Confluential Films, he built and managed a slate of features, TV, and premium documentaries alongside partners like Netflix, HBO Docs, Hulu, and Sony before transitioning to a first-look producing deal in 2023.
Joining Wall of Entertainment in 2025 to open its Los Angeles office, Paterson executive produced the studio's first two US originals, "Substitute Teacher" and "House Rules." Wall of Entertainment is the studio behind hit YouTube series like "Does The Shoe Fit" and "Shiro's Story."
A BAFTA Los Angeles Newcomer Award recipient and former Paley Center Media Council member, Paterson holds degrees from the University of Leeds and Carnegie Mellon University. He also served over a decade on the board of UK charity Football Aid.
