If you’d told Colin Rosenblum and Samir Chaudry in 2011 that they’d one day interview YouTube titans for an audience of nearly 1.6 million subscribers — and land on TIME magazine’s 2025 Top 100 Creators list — they might have laughed.
Back then, they were two young guys separately making videos about lacrosse on YouTube, a choice that baffled friends, family and pretty much anyone who didn’t share their obsession with the sport. Financial institutions didn’t know what to do with them. Brands barely acknowledged YouTube. And the phrase “creator economy” hadn’t entered the conversation.
But they had two things that mattered: a shared passion and a growing community who cared about what they made. They recently spoke with hosts of the Money Travels presented by Visa podcast, which explores innovations in digital finance that transform lives. Here’s their story — plus valuable advice for new creators and what banks need to know to keep up with this new wave of entrepreneurship.
Two paths converge
The son of Indian immigrants, Samir grew up in Los Angeles fascinated by storytelling and film. He landed a Hollywood editing job straight out of college, working on a major motion picture with A-list celebrities — the dream, on paper. In reality, it felt slow and stifling.
“It felt like a slow-moving cruise ship compared to the films I made in college, where I could have an idea tomorrow and release it the next day,” Samir recalled.
A seasoned editor offered what Samir now calls the best advice I’ve ever gotten in my life: “Success in the creative field is the opportunity to do more of what you’re currently doing. Go do what you want to do.”
YouTube was the only place Samir knew he could do just that, make a film from start to finish, without asking for permission. So he picked up a camera and started filming lacrosse videos — for a community he belonged to and understood.
Miles away in Colorado, Colin had just graduated college and wanted to be an entrepreneur. He bought a camera off Craigslist, taught himself to edit and launched a web series about his college lacrosse team. His first video got 500 views — one of them from Samir.
“I ended up publishing my episodes on The Lacrosse Network, Samir’s YouTube channel, and then he invited me for an internship in Los Angeles. That was 14 years ago,” Colin said.
Building a niche network
From the start, Samir treated The Lacrosse Network channel like a business. He thought like a TV programmer: fill “programming slots,” acquire good shows like Colin’s and sell ads.
But while they were pulling in hundreds of thousands of views by 2012 — enormous numbers for such a specific sport -- advertisers didn’t get it. Even family members were confused. Samir’s father, who ran a clothing business, asked, “I don’t understand — what are you selling?”
“The salary you could make from doing it was super undefined,” said Samir of the time.
Money was scarce. Their YouTube channel doubled as a portfolio to sell services like building websites and live streaming events, even though their real ambition was to sell ads directly against their own content.
Then came the gut punch.
“You’re making home movies”
Samir landed a call with a venture capitalist who’d invested in the Tennis Channel and played lacrosse himself — a perfect match he thought. Ninety seconds into Samir’s pitch, the VC cut him off: “What you’re doing is not broadcast. You’re making home movies. And quite frankly, you’re not that good at it. Chalk this up to a hobby and find something else,” Samir recalls him saying.
Instead of quitting, they printed the phrase “You’re making home movies” on a poster and hung it on the wall.
“His criticism was actually our superpower,” said Colin. “If you take a step back, that’s actually what our audience really liked about our content.” Over time, they focused on building a grassroots, community-driven style that felt personal and different from traditional sports coverage.
The breakthrough
Slowly, they were able to monetize their work. First, lacrosse brands — and a major hotel chain — started sponsoring their videos, signaling a shift in brands dedicating their marketing budgets away from magazines and toward social media.
Reinvention: Colin and Samir 2.0
After two years inside the larger company, they were ready for a new challenge. They left to launch a new channel — Colin and Samir — where they break down the latest news in the creator economy from a creator's perspective.
Without a clear audience or niche, the channel stalled. They pivoted, deciding to make videos for their “younger selves” — aspiring creators in their twenties. They leaned into educational content, turned their podcast into weekly YouTube videos and built a consistent process.
That shift transformed them into two of the most respected voices in the creator economy.
The four fundamentals
Through trial and error, Colin and Samir developed what they call the four pillars of a successful creator business:
- . Audience – Know exactly who you serve.
- . Value proposition – Clearly define how you help them.
- . Process – Deliver that value consistently.
- . Monetization – Create systems to earn from your work (ads, sponsorships, products).
They see many creators fail by rushing the process, lacking patience or not fully defining their audience before chasing brand deals.
The money problem
While monetization has improved — with major brands shifting ad spend toward creators — funding remains a gap. Early on, even opening a bank account was complicated. Creator income is irregular, and banks still struggle to understand the business model.
“There was a lot of confusion about what our business actually did and how to classify it,” said Samir. “At our core, we are a media company — and in this space, you need time and room to build an audience before figuring out how to monetize. Traditional entrepreneurship is: build a product, then find customers. Creator entrepreneurship is the inverse: build an audience first, then find products for that audience.”
What creators need, they say, is:
- Higher credit limits
- Automated, goal-oriented savings and investment tools tied to creator payouts
- Financial institutions that recognize creators as entrepreneurs
Looking ahead
In the next decade, they believe the term “creator” may fade. Social platforms will simply be the entertainment industry. “What traditional entertainment used to be is just living in a different place,” said Samir. Stand-up comics, musicians and cultural icons will emerge from platforms like YouTube and TikTok just as they once emerged from comedy clubs or radio.
For Colin and Samir, the mission remains the same: share creator stories, explore the evolving business and keep building community within community.
Because if their journey from “home movies” to a top spot in the creator economy proves anything, it’s this: Passion plus persistence — and a plan — can turn even the most niche idea into a thriving business.