Leaving CNBC and gaining a million followers in a year - Featuring Uptin [uAZ2R99sQj2]
@uptin spent years as a CNBC producer, where he launched the network's international YouTube channel in 2016 and quietly noticed something awkward: the videos he shot on his own iPhone in selfie mode outperformed the ones made with a professional crew. Then the pandemic hit, he was laid off, and he had to decide whether a million-view brand name meant anything without the brand. In this episode, Uptin is specific about why he spent his severance on an editor from day one, how PR consulting in the mornings let him make content in the afternoons with no financial pressure, and how a single LinkedIn message turned into a Dubai agency he never meant to start and later sold. Plus the reason his agency deliberately had no Instagram or TikTok, why he once unfollowed Gary Vee and then told him so to his face, and his rules for delivery: trim 30% of the script, never say "hey guys", and talk like you're speaking to one person. Topics covered: starting from zero · consistency · funding the early days · accidental agencies · scaling down · hustle culture · the craft of a good story #Uptin #CreatorEconomy #CNBC #Entrepreneurship #CreatorGeneration