“We have evolved past that first generation of YouTube talent,” declares Kevin Daigle, Chief Operating Officer at Lunar X and Head of Theorist at Theorist Media. “MrBeast and Dude Perfect are a part of that as well. And then it’s like, ‘What’s the next step from there?’”
This transition—from founder-led creator channels to professionally managed media enterprises—represents one of the most important shifts in the creator economy today. Lunar X is helping shape this change, developing a model that maintains the creative DNA of established channels while building sustainable businesses that can thrive beyond their founders.
Established as a media company, Lunar X focuses on supporting creator-led brands through IP expansion, development, and strategic growth initiatives. Its portfolio includes Theorist Media channels, “Economics Explained,” and other digital properties that Kevin now oversees as COO since January 2025.
The central challenge facing many successful creator businesses today is managing the transition when founders reach their limits or seek new challenges. For Theorist Media founders Matthew and Stephanie Patrick (MatPat), that moment came after 15 years of building one of YouTube’s most respected educational entertainment brands. “The reason that Matt has stepped aside is because he’s tired of the spotlight,” Kevin shares. “It’s been 15-plus years. It was time for him to move on to do something else, like a recently announced congressional advisory role, advocating for the creator economy writ large. And he was like, ‘Okay, well there needs to be leadership to come in and take Theorist to the next level.'”
This pattern is occurring across the creator economy as first-generation YouTube stars reach natural inflection points in their careers. Kevin points to DudePerfect as another example: “They were almost completely creator-led up until eight months ago. They didn’t have a formal management layer other than their Chief Brand Officer, Chad Coleman. Recently, Dude Perfect tapped veteran NBA exec, Andrew Yaffe, as their first CEO.”
For Kevin, the importance of these transitions cannot be overstated. These channels aren’t merely content operations—they boast millions of followers, significant revenue streams, and teams whose livelihoods depend on their success.
The Business Aspect
The key question becomes: how do you preserve what made these channels special while building systems that can outlast their founders? This is where Lunar X steps in.
“What that looks like is taking something that was created organically, over time and built in the image of the founder(s), so to speak, like Matt and Stephanie, and then transforming and evolving that into something that can be grown inexorably into the future without their involvement,” Kevin says. “That’s a little bit different from a proposition than if they were to stay.”
This transformation requires thoughtful change management and careful attention to company culture. “The relationships between leadership and employees are different from what it was between Matt and Stephanie and the employees because they weren’t executives when they started, they were creators,” Kevin observes. “And now it’s a large business.”
At Theorist, this means implementing specialized roles with clear boundaries while maintaining the creative quality that made the channels successful. “We need to create top-level content at all times,” Kevin emphasizes. “It has to be premium content that fits our format, serves our audience.”
Beyond content creation, Theorist must also develop “a commercial operation that’s pursuing brand partnerships and making sure our AdSense revenue is optimized and finding new revenue streams through syndication, partnership, and licensing, all the way out to products and shopping through YouTube in other avenues. Diversification is critical.”
Building the Plane While Flying It
Taking over a well-established creator brand requires both technical business expertise and a deep understanding of creator culture. Kevin’s 13-year career in the creator economy has prepared him for this challenge, having previously led Creator Success Programs at Spotter, where he worked with top YouTube creators, including Dude Perfect, Jordan Matter, FaZe Rug, and Airrack.
His day-to-day work at Lunar X operates on two primary tracks: “On the Lunar side, we’re mainly focused on successfully running, growing the businesses that have been invested in and pursuing new M&A opportunities,” he explains. “Which is a lot more high-level and strategic.” Meanwhile, at Theorist, which occupies about 80% of his time, the work is “much more operational.”
“There’s been a lot of adjustment,” Kevin acknowledges. “The role requires a lot of culture change management, a lot of operational exploration, and building. Because a lot of these processes haven’t existed before, they haven’t been formalized, and there are a lot of inefficiencies.”
This balance of maintaining creative output while improving operational efficiency represents the core challenge of second-generation creator businesses. As Kevin puts it, “We’re building the plane as we’re flying it, so to speak.” The guiding principle behind these efforts remains straightforward: “Looking at it from a higher strategic level, how can we save time and improve our output simultaneously?”
Clusters, Not Conglomerates
Kevin envisions a creator economy that will differ from both traditional media and the early MCN models that many creators found exploitative.
“I think you’re going to see a lot of growth in mergers and acquisitions over the next three to five years,” he predicts. “What you’re going to see is more companies acquiring each other, more creator-led companies acquiring each other, and creating these clusters of channels and operations that are centrally owned but independently operated.”
According to him, this model is a response to the failures of early MCN arrangements. “What you’re going to see is people moving in a direction that’s very different, that looks like responsible and sustainable leadership and growth,” Kevin notes.
Rather than massive private equity investments, Kevin anticipates more practical growth and collaboration between creator businesses.
“We’ve seen the biggest push of private equity pouring huge sums of money, nine-figure sums of money, into creator businesses,” he notes, referencing deals like Dude Perfect’s reported $100 million investment. “These are huge swings, which represent a certain set of goals and scaling. As a function of the macroeconomic environment, we’ll see less of that and more organic and bootstrapping companies banding together. We’re functional businesses. We don’t necessarily need $100 million to scale. We just need to be efficient and manage our revenue properly and smartly, which we are already doing.”
VidCon 2025: From Executives to Operators
The changing role of executives in creator companies will be a central topic at VidCon 2025, the annual convention of creators, fans, industry professionals, and brands. Taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center from June 19 to 21, this year’s event continues its tradition as the premier gathering for the digital media community.
Kevin will be speaking on the Industry Mainstage panel “Running The Playbook: Top Operators on Executing at Scale” alongside Amanda Perelli (Senior Creator Economy Reporter at Business Insider), Ryan Riggs (Chief Operating Officer at King Studio), and Zach Miller (President at Bucketsquad).
The panel reflects a notable shift in how the industry views leadership roles. “Before it was just a big deal that creator companies and companies in the creator economy had executives, had COOs and CEOs,” Kevin explains. “It was like, ‘Hey, cool, we have executives now. That’s great. Look how far we’ve come.’ And now it’s like, ‘Okay, well, what are those people actually doing every day? Like, what is the playbook? We’re not just talking about, hey, they’re here now, we’re actually running a business. How do we do that?'”
At VidCon, Kevin is particularly interested in discussing the industry’s direction with his fellow leaders. “I’m really excited to talk to other leaders in the space about how they see the landscape evolving, especially from a business perspective in the brand partnerships lane, and how we see the platform evolving from a content strategy perspective as well,” he shares. The panel will provide insights into operating at scale, moving beyond organic momentum, expanding into new areas, and pursuing joint ventures and partnerships.
For Kevin, one of the most important questions that needs addressing at VidCon is: “What’s the path forward for people who want to work in the industry? Previously, there wasn’t a defined career path, but it’s becoming one now. And so many people want to work in the industry who are like, ‘Hey, like, I’m not a shooter, I’m not an editor. Maybe I’m not a writer, but I want to work in business. But I also want to be in the creator economy.’ Is there a way to do that? And now there is.”
Creating Paths for the Next Generation
Aside from building sustainable businesses, Kevin sees a key responsibility in developing clear career paths for professionals in the creator economy.
“What does the career path look like for someone who’s an editor on YouTube? How do you get to the point where you’re a creative director or an executive producer?” he asks. “I think that’s part of our job as people with more experience and time in the space—it’s our responsibility to help push that forward, to make sure that there is a path for the people that are coming up after us.”
This commitment to industry development extends to challenging misconceptions about creator businesses. “People overlook YouTube and creator economy companies,” Kevin notes. “I saw a LinkedIn post about this, where editors who were out of work in Hollywood were looking for jobs. Many of them were like, ‘I’m not interested in YouTube’ because they have this misconception that those jobs don’t pay. And I have news for them. They absolutely do.”
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
“We have evolved past that first generation of YouTube talent,” declares Kevin Daigle, Chief Operating Officer at Lunar X and Head of Theorist at Theorist Media. “MrBeast and Dude Perfect are a part of that as well. And then it’s like, ‘What’s the next step from there?’”
This transition—from founder-led creator channels to professionally managed media enterprises—represents one of the most important shifts in the creator economy today. Lunar X is helping shape this change, developing a model that maintains the creative DNA of established channels while building sustainable businesses that can thrive beyond their founders.
Established as a media company, Lunar X focuses on supporting creator-led brands through IP expansion, development, and strategic growth initiatives. Its portfolio includes Theorist Media channels, “Economics Explained,” and other digital properties that Kevin now oversees as COO since January 2025.
The central challenge facing many successful creator businesses today is managing the transition when founders reach their limits or seek new challenges. For Theorist Media founders Matthew and Stephanie Patrick (MatPat), that moment came after 15 years of building one of YouTube’s most respected educational entertainment brands. “The reason that Matt has stepped aside is because he’s tired of the spotlight,” Kevin shares. “It’s been 15-plus years. It was time for him to move on to do something else, like a recently announced congressional advisory role, advocating for the creator economy writ large. And he was like, ‘Okay, well there needs to be leadership to come in and take Theorist to the next level.'”
This pattern is occurring across the creator economy as first-generation YouTube stars reach natural inflection points in their careers. Kevin points to DudePerfect as another example: “They were almost completely creator-led up until eight months ago. They didn’t have a formal management layer other than their Chief Brand Officer, Chad Coleman. Recently, Dude Perfect tapped veteran NBA exec, Andrew Yaffe, as their first CEO.”
For Kevin, the importance of these transitions cannot be overstated. These channels aren’t merely content operations—they boast millions of followers, significant revenue streams, and teams whose livelihoods depend on their success.
The Business Aspect
The key question becomes: how do you preserve what made these channels special while building systems that can outlast their founders? This is where Lunar X steps in.
“What that looks like is taking something that was created organically, over time and built in the image of the founder(s), so to speak, like Matt and Stephanie, and then transforming and evolving that into something that can be grown inexorably into the future without their involvement,” Kevin says. “That’s a little bit different from a proposition than if they were to stay.”
This transformation requires thoughtful change management and careful attention to company culture. “The relationships between leadership and employees are different from what it was between Matt and Stephanie and the employees because they weren’t executives when they started, they were creators,” Kevin observes. “And now it’s a large business.”
At Theorist, this means implementing specialized roles with clear boundaries while maintaining the creative quality that made the channels successful. “We need to create top-level content at all times,” Kevin emphasizes. “It has to be premium content that fits our format, serves our audience.”
Beyond content creation, Theorist must also develop “a commercial operation that’s pursuing brand partnerships and making sure our AdSense revenue is optimized and finding new revenue streams through syndication, partnership, and licensing, all the way out to products and shopping through YouTube in other avenues. Diversification is critical.”
Building the Plane While Flying It
Taking over a well-established creator brand requires both technical business expertise and a deep understanding of creator culture. Kevin’s 13-year career in the creator economy has prepared him for this challenge, having previously led Creator Success Programs at Spotter, where he worked with top YouTube creators, including Dude Perfect, Jordan Matter, FaZe Rug, and Airrack.
His day-to-day work at Lunar X operates on two primary tracks: “On the Lunar side, we’re mainly focused on successfully running, growing the businesses that have been invested in and pursuing new M&A opportunities,” he explains. “Which is a lot more high-level and strategic.” Meanwhile, at Theorist, which occupies about 80% of his time, the work is “much more operational.”
“There’s been a lot of adjustment,” Kevin acknowledges. “The role requires a lot of culture change management, a lot of operational exploration, and building. Because a lot of these processes haven’t existed before, they haven’t been formalized, and there are a lot of inefficiencies.”
This balance of maintaining creative output while improving operational efficiency represents the core challenge of second-generation creator businesses. As Kevin puts it, “We’re building the plane as we’re flying it, so to speak.” The guiding principle behind these efforts remains straightforward: “Looking at it from a higher strategic level, how can we save time and improve our output simultaneously?”
Clusters, Not Conglomerates
Kevin envisions a creator economy that will differ from both traditional media and the early MCN models that many creators found exploitative.
“I think you’re going to see a lot of growth in mergers and acquisitions over the next three to five years,” he predicts. “What you’re going to see is more companies acquiring each other, more creator-led companies acquiring each other, and creating these clusters of channels and operations that are centrally owned but independently operated.”
According to him, this model is a response to the failures of early MCN arrangements. “What you’re going to see is people moving in a direction that’s very different, that looks like responsible and sustainable leadership and growth,” Kevin notes.
Rather than massive private equity investments, Kevin anticipates more practical growth and collaboration between creator businesses.
“We’ve seen the biggest push of private equity pouring huge sums of money, nine-figure sums of money, into creator businesses,” he notes, referencing deals like Dude Perfect’s reported $100 million investment. “These are huge swings, which represent a certain set of goals and scaling. As a function of the macroeconomic environment, we’ll see less of that and more organic and bootstrapping companies banding together. We’re functional businesses. We don’t necessarily need $100 million to scale. We just need to be efficient and manage our revenue properly and smartly, which we are already doing.”
VidCon 2025: From Executives to Operators
The changing role of executives in creator companies will be a central topic at VidCon 2025, the annual convention of creators, fans, industry professionals, and brands. Taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center from June 19 to 21, this year’s event continues its tradition as the premier gathering for the digital media community.
Kevin will be speaking on the Industry Mainstage panel “Running The Playbook: Top Operators on Executing at Scale” alongside Amanda Perelli (Senior Creator Economy Reporter at Business Insider), Ryan Riggs (Chief Operating Officer at King Studio), and Zach Miller (President at Bucketsquad).
The panel reflects a notable shift in how the industry views leadership roles. “Before it was just a big deal that creator companies and companies in the creator economy had executives, had COOs and CEOs,” Kevin explains. “It was like, ‘Hey, cool, we have executives now. That’s great. Look how far we’ve come.’ And now it’s like, ‘Okay, well, what are those people actually doing every day? Like, what is the playbook? We’re not just talking about, hey, they’re here now, we’re actually running a business. How do we do that?'”
At VidCon, Kevin is particularly interested in discussing the industry’s direction with his fellow leaders. “I’m really excited to talk to other leaders in the space about how they see the landscape evolving, especially from a business perspective in the brand partnerships lane, and how we see the platform evolving from a content strategy perspective as well,” he shares. The panel will provide insights into operating at scale, moving beyond organic momentum, expanding into new areas, and pursuing joint ventures and partnerships.
For Kevin, one of the most important questions that needs addressing at VidCon is: “What’s the path forward for people who want to work in the industry? Previously, there wasn’t a defined career path, but it’s becoming one now. And so many people want to work in the industry who are like, ‘Hey, like, I’m not a shooter, I’m not an editor. Maybe I’m not a writer, but I want to work in business. But I also want to be in the creator economy.’ Is there a way to do that? And now there is.”
Creating Paths for the Next Generation
Aside from building sustainable businesses, Kevin sees a key responsibility in developing clear career paths for professionals in the creator economy.
“What does the career path look like for someone who’s an editor on YouTube? How do you get to the point where you’re a creative director or an executive producer?” he asks. “I think that’s part of our job as people with more experience and time in the space—it’s our responsibility to help push that forward, to make sure that there is a path for the people that are coming up after us.”
This commitment to industry development extends to challenging misconceptions about creator businesses. “People overlook YouTube and creator economy companies,” Kevin notes. “I saw a LinkedIn post about this, where editors who were out of work in Hollywood were looking for jobs. Many of them were like, ‘I’m not interested in YouTube’ because they have this misconception that those jobs don’t pay. And I have news for them. They absolutely do.”