The Billion-Dollar Creator Playbook


Welcome to Created, the newsletter that’s harder to ignore than YouTube mid-roll ads. Here's what we got today:

  • What went wrong with Creator Clash 3

  • How Hailey Bieber leveraged creators to build a $1B beauty brand

  • Best YouTube thumbnails of this week


Creator Clash 3 Delayed, Moved, and Under Fire

Creator Clash 3 — a creator boxing charity event — was supposed to happen in Florida on June 28.


Now it’s happening in Los Angeles, in October, with a partially new lineup...and a lot of drama in between.

Let’s break it down.

Fighters Dropping Out

It all started when iDubbbz (Ian Kane Jomha), the founder of Creator Clash, released a new Content Cop video targeting Ethan Klein (H3H3) over his comments and interactions with other creators on Israel/Palestine.

Ethan responded, and as the YouTube drama began, it quickly spilled over into Creator Clash.

Fighters began dropping out. Fans started asking questions.


Soon after, Ian and his wife/co-founder Anisa released ownership and officially stepped away from running the event.

Quote: "I can't really have my cake and eat it too. It's either; you're gonna talk shit like a foul beast on the internet — or you're gonna have a charity event. It really can't be both," Ian said.

From Arena to Concert Hall

Next came the venue change.

Originally planned for the 21,000-seat Amalie Arena in Tampa (where CC2 was held), the event is now moving to the 4,000-seat Hollywood Palladium in L.A.


The new date? October 25.

The new organizers said the move brings the event closer to most fighters, who live in L.A., and fixes fan complaints from last year’s Florida setup.

But for those who already bought tickets or booked flights and hotels, it’s a mess. Ticket refunds are being offered, but backlash online has been heavy.

Charity…or Not?

That backlash got worse after the new organizers posted a “Transparency Q&A.” Turns out, Creator Clash 3 wasn’t structured as a charity event at all.

Unlike the first two years, which were marketed as charity-events, Creator Clash 3 is a a for-profit event, with a separate donation drive for Stand Up To Cancer on fundraising platform Tiltify.

This means none of the ticket sales, fight revenue, or merch are going to charity by default. Instead, only money donated to the Tiltify will go to charity.

Organizers say this is to avoid the fate of Creator Clash 2 — where the event lost $250,000 and $0 went to charity.

To date, Creator Clash 3 has raised $283,000 that will directly go to Stand Up To Cancer, regardless of the event's profits or losses.

Adding to the backlash, it came out that 34% of the event's profits were initially going to iDubbbz and Anisa — until they left. Now, that cut reportedly goes to the fighters.

Many fans, fighters, and past supporters said the event's charitable framing felt misleading.

What’s Next

With a new team (Real Good Touring), a new venue, and a new fight card coming in July, Creator Clash is trying to move forward.

Arin Hanson (Game Grumps), who’s helping lead Creator Clash 3, said, “We need to do right by [the fighters], the fans, and the charity...We’re making the changes to make that happen.”

Our Take

Creator Clash started as a feel-good charity event where YouTubers trained for months, fought in front of fans, and raised millions for causes they cared about. In 2022, Creator Clash 1 raised $1.3M for charity.

This year? It feels like the gloves came off behind the scenes.

There’s still a chance to save it — but only if the new organizers can rebuild trust, not just ticket sales.


Hailey Bieber’s $1B Creator Playbook

When Hailey Bieber launched Rhode in 2022, it didn’t feel like the start of a beauty empire.

There were no flashy campaigns. No retail blitz. It was just Hailey, two skin care products, and a lip balm.

Three years later, Rhode sold to e.l.f. Beauty for $1 billion. Here’s how she did it:

Tease First, Launch Later

Before Rhode even had a name, Hailey was already using it.

One of her first TikToks showing off her skin care was in April 2021 — over a year before Rhode's launch — and it racked up 9M views.

She kept posting with unnamed “mystery” products, and fans begged to know what she was using. By the time she officially launched, demand was already sky-high.

Rhode products became a viral sensation, selling out repeatedly and building waitlists of over 300,000 customers. All before a dollar was spent on ads.

Make Influencers Feel Like Insiders

Instead of cold DMs and paid scripts, Rhode built actual relationships.

They seeded products to macro and micro creators early, like thekikiglow (3.8K followers) or Christina Nadin (442K followers).

Collaborations with TikTok dancer Tate McRae resonated with Gen Z, while Matilda Djerf's collaboration boosted holiday sales.

And when creators like Golloria George publicly called out the lack of shade inclusivity? Hailey FaceTimed her. Then they reformulated with more diverse offerings.

The result? Trust. Community. And Creators who genuinely wanted to promote the brand — not just get paid to.

Let the Community Do the Selling

Rhode encouraged user-generated content from the start.

They pushed branded hashtags like #rhode and #rhodeskin (now with 8B+ combined views on TikTok), and reposted creators constantly, turning customers into ambassadors.

The response was organic — thousands of unpaid reviews and GRWMs that felt more real than any ad ever could.

Our Take

Rhode didn’t win by being loud.


It won by being everywhere — your FYP, your GRWM, your friend’s nightstand.

Instead of buying attention, Hailey earned it. Instead of marketing to fans, she co-created with them.

That’s how you build a $1B brand in 2025.


🎯 Weekly Roundup: YouTube Thumbnails

Why we love these YT thumbnails:

  1. Magazine cover pulled off of Zuckerberg’s face instantly highlights his rebrand (More Perfect Union)
  2. Bleeding smartwatch + 'bad data' text creates intrigue (The Unlazy Way)
  3. 'No edges' claim + bizarre pan design makes you wonder if it actually works (Stuff Made Here)
  4. 'Bored' text with junk content spilling from head draws attention (Johnny Harris)


🚀 Weekly Outlier

This video by unfiltered sonam has 1.3M views, which is 14.000 times higher than the channel’s average. Here's why it took off:

  • Emotional Hit: Reframes failure as progress in under a minute. Quick, powerful, and instantly motivating.

  • One-Take Pep Talk: Feels raw and direct, like advice from a friend rather than a polished guru.

  • High-Impact Simplicity: No gimmicks, just a clean message that sticks and speaks to nearly everyone.


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