The creator economy has grown to a multi-billion-dollar industry, and yet revenue distribution remains heavily skewed toward platforms and a small percentage of top creators, leaving most content creators struggling to build sustainable careers despite generating considerable engagement..
Changer, founded in 2015 by Ant McCormack and Farhad Meher-Homji, has spent a decade addressing this imbalance through creator education, community building, and strategic partnerships. The company serves YouTube creators and digital content professionals who seek to transform their creative passion into viable, long-term careers.
“Creators are generating all the value, but they’re not capturing it, and they don’t have the systems and structures and support required to build long-term sustainable businesses,” explains Ant. “And so our mission is to solve for that.” This observation, made before the term “creator economy” was even widely used, has driven Changer’s development into a support system for creators.
Ant and his team created the world’s first “YouTube Creator Accelerator” in 2017, establishing Changer’s foothold in creator education. “We do that primarily through education, community, and network,” Ant explains of their approach to helping creators capture more value.
In the decade since its founding, Changer has conducted over 500 workshops and masterclasses, reaching more than 17,000 participants across 44 countries. Their programs range from foundational business skills to specialized accelerators developed in partnership with industry leaders, such as YouTube. The “Skip Ahead” program, in collaboration with Google and Screen Australia, and the “Women’s Voices Accelerator,” in partnership with YouTube, demonstrate Changer’s commitment to serving diverse creator communities with tailored educational experiences.
It’s not just honing creator skills that Changer focuses on, but also transforming their mindsets. “It’s actually thinking about themselves as a business,” Ant identifies as the critical shift many creators miss. “That’s actually the thing that unlocks how you act and operate to maintain being a business.” This psychological barrier—viewing business acumen as somehow at odds with creativity—is something Ant has observed across creative industries.
“We have this across all creative industries—not all, but a lot—that making money or being or thinking like a business or even talking that you are thinking and acting like a business is like selling out or dirty work,” Ant points out. “I think we can have both. We can have great craft and creativity that should be rewarded financially.”
Ant McCormack & Farhad Meher-Homji
A Connected Ecosystem for Creator Success
Changer’s MO has developed into three interconnected initiatives that collectively address different aspects of the value gap.
Changer serves as the core education business, delivering workshops, accelerators, and training programs globally.
For creators ready to expand beyond content, Changer Ventures helps them “increase their impact, form strong bonds with partners and unlock revenue streams,” connecting creators with opportunities to build businesses that leverage their influence.
Meanwhile, Creator Generation, their podcast and community platform, enables successful creators to share experiences and strategies, creating valuable peer learning opportunities.
“Success as a creator is going beyond a moment of influence, and building long-term growth,” explains the mission statement for Changer Ventures, reflecting the company’s focus on sustainable creator careers rather than fleeting viral success.
Instead of focusing primarily on top creators, Changer envisions a more balanced creator economy where mid-tier and even niche creators can build sustainable businesses. “Not just the top 1, 2, 3%, but meaningful careers and businesses could be built from creators with relatively smaller audience numbers, but have really deep connections in niche audiences,” Ant says of his vision for the industry.
Bringing Education to VidCon
Changer’s educational philosophy will be on display at this year’s VidCon, an annual convention of digital creators and content set to take place at the Anaheim Convention Center from June 19-21.
At this gathering where creators, fans, and industry professionals converge, Ant has curated “The Hour of Power: Your Creator MBA in 60 Minutes,” a session designed to deliver concentrated business insights to creators. “I’ve pulled together the Avengers of the creator economy, some of the brightest minds,” Ant explains, noting that participants will gain “what they need to know to actually go from creator to creator business.”
The session, scheduled for Saturday, June 21 at 2:30 p.m. in Room 210, features nine industry experts, including Alex Naghavi (Creative Director), Elden Mirzoian (Talent Lead at beehiiv), Thomas Frank (Founder of Flylighter), and Tyler Chou (Founder of Tyler Chou Law for Creators). “If they take one actionable item from each of the speakers, they’ll have nine distinct steps that they can do right now, and they’re going to be nine steps ahead of everyone else,” Ant explains of the session’s practical value.
Complementing this, Changer’s Head of Partnerships, Lee Stewart, will lead “The Anatomy of a Deal” session, demystifying the brand partnership process. “Knowledge is power,” Ant notes. “There are a lot of dark or unknown things that happen when creators are represented, and they don’t know what they don’t know. And sometimes that’s good, but sometimes a lot of the time that’s bad.” The session aims to provide clarity on what actually happens during brand negotiations, empowering creators to advocate for themselves effectively.
Farhad, Ant’s co-founder, will also participate in a session called “The Growth Playbook,” partnering with Mario Huss, CEO of Stokes Twins, to debunk myths about creator growth.
Outside Formal Education: Building Community
In addition to supporting creators in gaining formal education, Ant and his team also focus on helping them establish key connections within the industry. For VidCon, he’s organized the “Changer Run Club”—an early morning run where industry professionals can connect in a relaxed setting outside the conference environment.
“It also became like a small, tight connection outside of the hustle and bustle of a busy conference, and it’s not at a nighttime cocktail party or in the hallways,” Ant explains. “It’s like a clear, relaxed moment to catch up, something different.”
When the Going Gets Tough…
From AI advancements to economic uncertainty affecting brand deals, the creator economy is seeing its share of challenges. Nevertheless, Ant sees these hurdles as ultimately strengthening the ecosystem by forcing more resilient business models.
“Even some of the threats become positivity,” he reflects. “Over-reliance on brand integrations and funding—if with economic uncertainty that reduces dramatically, it forces a need for creators and creative businesses to adapt. And we in this industry are the most able to adapt, and if anything, it’s going to force more resilient business models and more resilient opportunities.”
As co-founder of multiple creator-focused ventures, Ant has worked through the industry’s changes for a decade, continuously refining Changer’s methods for creator education and support.
Closing the Value Gap
After ten years of helping creators navigate the industry, Changer’s mission to bridge the value gap remains as relevant as ever. As platforms continue to change and new monetization methods emerge, creators require education and support to ensure they capture their fair share of the value they create.
Ant remains optimistic about the industry’s direction: “I think every year we get closer and closer to being able to realize the real opportunity that creators have,” he says. Through education, community building, and business development support, Changer continues to work on accelerating this progress, turning content creators into business owners who can fully capture the value of their creative work.
“If you show up and if you are there looking to give value, you will receive value,” Ant reflects on the creator economy. “I hope we never lose that in VidCon or in the industry because it’s the special thing about the creator economy.”
The creator economy has grown to a multi-billion-dollar industry, and yet revenue distribution remains heavily skewed toward platforms and a small percentage of top creators, leaving most content creators struggling to build sustainable careers despite generating considerable engagement..
Changer, founded in 2015 by Ant McCormack and Farhad Meher-Homji, has spent a decade addressing this imbalance through creator education, community building, and strategic partnerships. The company serves YouTube creators and digital content professionals who seek to transform their creative passion into viable, long-term careers.
“Creators are generating all the value, but they’re not capturing it, and they don’t have the systems and structures and support required to build long-term sustainable businesses,” explains Ant. “And so our mission is to solve for that.” This observation, made before the term “creator economy” was even widely used, has driven Changer’s development into a support system for creators.
Ant and his team created the world’s first “YouTube Creator Accelerator” in 2017, establishing Changer’s foothold in creator education. “We do that primarily through education, community, and network,” Ant explains of their approach to helping creators capture more value.
In the decade since its founding, Changer has conducted over 500 workshops and masterclasses, reaching more than 17,000 participants across 44 countries. Their programs range from foundational business skills to specialized accelerators developed in partnership with industry leaders, such as YouTube. The “Skip Ahead” program, in collaboration with Google and Screen Australia, and the “Women’s Voices Accelerator,” in partnership with YouTube, demonstrate Changer’s commitment to serving diverse creator communities with tailored educational experiences.
It’s not just honing creator skills that Changer focuses on, but also transforming their mindsets. “It’s actually thinking about themselves as a business,” Ant identifies as the critical shift many creators miss. “That’s actually the thing that unlocks how you act and operate to maintain being a business.” This psychological barrier—viewing business acumen as somehow at odds with creativity—is something Ant has observed across creative industries.
“We have this across all creative industries—not all, but a lot—that making money or being or thinking like a business or even talking that you are thinking and acting like a business is like selling out or dirty work,” Ant points out. “I think we can have both. We can have great craft and creativity that should be rewarded financially.”
Ant McCormack & Farhad Meher-Homji
A Connected Ecosystem for Creator Success
Changer’s MO has developed into three interconnected initiatives that collectively address different aspects of the value gap.
Changer serves as the core education business, delivering workshops, accelerators, and training programs globally.
For creators ready to expand beyond content, Changer Ventures helps them “increase their impact, form strong bonds with partners and unlock revenue streams,” connecting creators with opportunities to build businesses that leverage their influence.
Meanwhile, Creator Generation, their podcast and community platform, enables successful creators to share experiences and strategies, creating valuable peer learning opportunities.
“Success as a creator is going beyond a moment of influence, and building long-term growth,” explains the mission statement for Changer Ventures, reflecting the company’s focus on sustainable creator careers rather than fleeting viral success.
Instead of focusing primarily on top creators, Changer envisions a more balanced creator economy where mid-tier and even niche creators can build sustainable businesses. “Not just the top 1, 2, 3%, but meaningful careers and businesses could be built from creators with relatively smaller audience numbers, but have really deep connections in niche audiences,” Ant says of his vision for the industry.
Bringing Education to VidCon
Changer’s educational philosophy will be on display at this year’s VidCon, an annual convention of digital creators and content set to take place at the Anaheim Convention Center from June 19-21.
At this gathering where creators, fans, and industry professionals converge, Ant has curated “The Hour of Power: Your Creator MBA in 60 Minutes,” a session designed to deliver concentrated business insights to creators. “I’ve pulled together the Avengers of the creator economy, some of the brightest minds,” Ant explains, noting that participants will gain “what they need to know to actually go from creator to creator business.”
The session, scheduled for Saturday, June 21 at 2:30 p.m. in Room 210, features nine industry experts, including Alex Naghavi (Creative Director), Elden Mirzoian (Talent Lead at beehiiv), Thomas Frank (Founder of Flylighter), and Tyler Chou (Founder of Tyler Chou Law for Creators). “If they take one actionable item from each of the speakers, they’ll have nine distinct steps that they can do right now, and they’re going to be nine steps ahead of everyone else,” Ant explains of the session’s practical value.
Complementing this, Changer’s Head of Partnerships, Lee Stewart, will lead “The Anatomy of a Deal” session, demystifying the brand partnership process. “Knowledge is power,” Ant notes. “There are a lot of dark or unknown things that happen when creators are represented, and they don’t know what they don’t know. And sometimes that’s good, but sometimes a lot of the time that’s bad.” The session aims to provide clarity on what actually happens during brand negotiations, empowering creators to advocate for themselves effectively.
Farhad, Ant’s co-founder, will also participate in a session called “The Growth Playbook,” partnering with Mario Huss, CEO of Stokes Twins, to debunk myths about creator growth.
Outside Formal Education: Building Community
In addition to supporting creators in gaining formal education, Ant and his team also focus on helping them establish key connections within the industry. For VidCon, he’s organized the “Changer Run Club”—an early morning run where industry professionals can connect in a relaxed setting outside the conference environment.
“It also became like a small, tight connection outside of the hustle and bustle of a busy conference, and it’s not at a nighttime cocktail party or in the hallways,” Ant explains. “It’s like a clear, relaxed moment to catch up, something different.”
When the Going Gets Tough…
From AI advancements to economic uncertainty affecting brand deals, the creator economy is seeing its share of challenges. Nevertheless, Ant sees these hurdles as ultimately strengthening the ecosystem by forcing more resilient business models.
“Even some of the threats become positivity,” he reflects. “Over-reliance on brand integrations and funding—if with economic uncertainty that reduces dramatically, it forces a need for creators and creative businesses to adapt. And we in this industry are the most able to adapt, and if anything, it’s going to force more resilient business models and more resilient opportunities.”
As co-founder of multiple creator-focused ventures, Ant has worked through the industry’s changes for a decade, continuously refining Changer’s methods for creator education and support.
Closing the Value Gap
After ten years of helping creators navigate the industry, Changer’s mission to bridge the value gap remains as relevant as ever. As platforms continue to change and new monetization methods emerge, creators require education and support to ensure they capture their fair share of the value they create.
Ant remains optimistic about the industry’s direction: “I think every year we get closer and closer to being able to realize the real opportunity that creators have,” he says. Through education, community building, and business development support, Changer continues to work on accelerating this progress, turning content creators into business owners who can fully capture the value of their creative work.
“If you show up and if you are there looking to give value, you will receive value,” Ant reflects on the creator economy. “I hope we never lose that in VidCon or in the industry because it’s the special thing about the creator economy.”