Creator economy strategist Meredith Jacobson has spent a decade building the invisible scaffolding that supports the creator economy. The founder of Offscreen Resources—a professional placement service launched in January 2024—connects qualified talent with roles in influencer marketing, creator economy, entertainment, and media while simultaneously managing brand partnerships for viral creators. 

Her experience spans both sides of the industry, from agency work at Studio71 and Branded Entertainment Network to consulting with over 30 brand teams, including Google, LiveNation, and Hormel Foods.

“I think that while creating content and bringing those gifts to the world are important, there’s also a lot of importance in maintaining real human connection and those relationships,” Meredith explains. Her business addresses a key but often overlooked need: the professional ecosystem behind many successful creators, talent representatives, content strategists, and production teams who remain largely invisible to audiences.

Finding these specialized professionals has remained a challenge for companies in the creator economy. This is where Meredith aims to make a difference: “I work closely with hiring managers to align on logistics, scope, skills desired, and recommend a short list of vetted professionals for each opportunity. Credibility and accuracy are top values, so I developed an intake system designed to help fully understand each professional’s skills and goals.”

Dad Advice From Bo: A Case Study in Professional Support

Meredith’s work managing the business behind Dad Advice From Bo illustrates the crucial role of professional support in creator success. What began as an offer to review potential brand deals has evolved into five years of teamwork, including securing collaborations with major brands like Carhartt, Bose, USAA, and SimpliSafe.

“We met about three or four weeks after their first viral video went live in 2020. And it was just totally by a fluke,” Meredith recalls. The circumstances were unique: “Emily [Bo’s daughter, who creates his content] has a brain injury, and so that significantly limits what she’s able to do. And Bo continued to work a full-time job. Not to mention how fortuitous it was for us to find each other, given that they live in Washington and I’m across the country in Massachusetts.”

This situation called for more than standard talent management. Meredith explains, “As an independent consultant with deep roots in the space, I was uniquely positioned to support them before they had even begun generating revenue. I clicked with Emily and was deeply moved by her story. At that time, their entire focus was raising awareness around brain injury and asking for support to help offset the cost of Emily’s treatments. I told them, ‘Hey, if any brands approach you with partnership opportunities, I’ll help you navigate that as a favor. And when you get to the point that you’re generating meaningful income, then I’ll help you transition to a real talent manager.’”

That introduction never became necessary as their working relationship developed into something more customized, rooted in deep trust and shared values. In addition to securing and negotiating brand partnerships, Meredith works closely with them on business strategy, exploring and prioritizing potential revenue streams, then tapping experts in her professional network to help make them a reality. 

“What works about my relationship with Bo and Emily—which I’ve now been working for them for five years—is that we’ve developed a values-based system informed by their goals, priorities, and needs. My job isn’t just to secure as many brand deals as a I can for as much money as I can, it’s to protect their bandwidth, be transparent about the possibility of health-related delays (and offer solutions when they occur), and advocate for creative approaches that we know his ‘Internet Kids’ will enjoy and learn from.  We approach everything as a team and system that works for our business.”

Bridging the Knowledge Gap Through Podcasting

Recognizing the limited information available about career paths in the creator economy, Meredith launched the podcast “What Happens Offscreen” to showcase diverse professional journeys in the industry.

“As a freelancer since 2019 and since I started placing professionals with opportunities, I often speak with people when they’re getting ready for a transition, whether they’re considering becoming a freelance consultant or looking for a new role,” Meredith shares. “During those private conversations, I get to hear about the steps and often winding, unexpected paths that they’ve taken to get to this moment in time. I always learn a lot from those conversations, so I thought others might get value from hearing them too.”

The podcast features professionals at various career stages—from campaign managers to C-suite executives, talent managers to creators—providing a thorough view of potential paths in the industry.

“The idea is through the podcast to create sort of a mosaic of what different career paths could look like so that anyone with any skillset in this sphere can hear a story that maybe resonates with them and see how those different paths can develop,” explains Meredith. 

She deliberately seeks diverse voices, focusing on “people who represent different levels, especially people who are the boots on the ground doing the work: campaign managers, talent managers, creators, and everyone in between.”

This educational initiative complements her work with Offscreen Resources, helping companies find qualified professionals while also helping individuals understand the career paths available in the creator economy.

The Essential Value of Human Connection

Despite operating in a digital-first industry, Meredith places tremendous value on in-person connections. This philosophy has shaped her third business venture, Work Friends, which started as a community before becoming “more of a service where I work with companies that want to gather people and that share my values in terms of intentionality andcreating meaningful connections with curated groups of people and I host them all around the country.”

These curated gatherings reflect Meredith’s conviction that professional relationships thrive on face-to-face interaction. “I host meetups for co-working, happy hours, and am experimenting with structured programming as well,” she explains, creating spaces for genuine connection among professionals who might otherwise interact only through screens.

The commitment to in-person networking extends to industry events, such as VidCon. “One of the things that it has going for it is its longevity,” Meredith notes about the conference. “It’s become a ritual for a lot of people to make their way to Anaheim at the end of June, and in a lot of ways, it feels a little bit like a reunion because so many of us in the industry have known each other for so long.”

These in-person connections often lead to future collaborations, making events like VidCon valuable beyond the formal panels and presentations. “There are people that I worked with when I first started that I’m still in touch with, and some of them there was like an eight-year gap, but we reconnected at VidCon, and then the next thing you know, we’re working on a project together six months later,” she shares.

For first-time attendees, Meredith emphasizes this networking aspect: “The panels are all super informative, but the real magic is the conversations in the hallways and in the lounges. Don’t be afraid to approach random people and ask them about their work and who they are. Everyone’s very social.”

VidCon Panel: Niche Creators

At this year’s VidCon, taking place June 19-21 at the Anaheim Convention Center, Meredith will moderate the creator track panel “Building an Audience as a Niche Creator.” The session brings together successful creators who have built loyal audiences around specialized content.

“I’ve got three lovely panelists: VMT, Ericka Bozeman, and Dollar Tree Dinners. Each of them will be speaking about their respective niches,” Meredith explains. “I’m excited about it because they’re three completely different niches. Ericka reacts to true crime, VMT is into VR & developing games, and Dollar Tree Dinners creates affordable recipes.”

The panel will explore how these creators determined their content focus, lessons learned during their development, and advice for aspiring creators. Meredith plans to “orient the questions to be really insightful” for attendees on the creator track, many of whom are working to build their own audiences.

While focusing on creator strategies, the panel also highlights the professional infrastructure needed to support content creation.

Creator Economy Potential

Meredith observes both exciting opportunities and challenges in the creator economy. “I think that it’s exciting because as time goes on, the opportunities evolve and the ways that creators show up have continued to evolve,” she notes. “What you have are more creators doing more interesting things.”

For established creators who have mastered the art of building sustainable businesses, the current environment presents ample opportunities. Meredith points to Bo as an example of this phenomenon: “They essentially became celebrities from their backyard. What other moment in time has anyone been able to do that?”

Yet, the industry also faces challenges, particularly for those trying to break into it. “There’s a lot of oversaturation, and there are many people who are working really, really hard to be creators and to have that dream. But there are probably easier and more productive ways to make a living,” Meredith acknowledges. “The algorithms are tougher than ever, and there’s a lot of AI-powered content taking the soul out of creating.”