Hello and welcome to the 95th edition of Fresh Salmon. 

If you are new to Fresh Salmon, I’m very delighted to have you here, and if you want to read past issues, you can do so here.

If you are a regular reader of Fresh Salmon, I’m extremely grateful for your continued support and trust in making it a known name in the B2B arena. Much appreciated! 

Now, let’s get started...

Forbes came out with an interesting article last week titled - “Goodbye Corporate: The Rise Of The Independent Worker”. This is straight from that article -

In 2023, corporations proved that employees are truly nothing more than a line in a budget spreadsheet, and top-tier talent have decided to be that line item on their own terms. By building their own business, top-tier talent are able to remove the bureaucratic ties that slowed their work and can instead focus on the execution and strategic prowess that make them a unicorn.

This is exactly the reason why we are seeing the Creator-Operator Movement in its full swing.

A new generation of entrepreneurs is emerging, shaped by their experiences in established businesses. 

With corporate experience under their belts, these individuals are betting on themselves and starting their own businesses. 

Business practices are being reshaped by entrepreneurs who are reinventing how to drive impact independently because of corporate disillusionment.

Let me unpack this specifically from the B2B lens, but first a couple of things -

To begin with, for any B2B company in the world, their success hinges entirely on one simple aspect: Audience Building.

For businesses and creators alike, to succeed, building trust and engaging audiences is essential.

Attention is not just valuable; it is the golden ticket, the secret sauce to customer acquisition, and the foundation of commercial success. Period.

Second, we are in the midst of what I like call as the B2B Creator Ecosystem Evolution.

Let me elaborate on this now.

The B2B Creator Ecosystem Evolution

It is no longer a secret that B2B Creators are on the rise, and there is a lot going on in this side of the aisle.

Forward thinking B2B brands are already collaborating with B2B Creators, and they are setting an example for others to follow.

Nevertheless, there is a big change happening in the B2B Creator world that probably no one is aware of, and I'm here to tell you about it.

I refer to this transformation as the B2B Creator Ecosystem Evolution.

Let me start by saying that - all B2B Creators are not the same. 

There are huge differences in the way they operate. 

It’s very important for B2B brands to form the right type of partnerships in order to get desired results.

Typically, B2B Creators fall into 3 buckets: 

1. Solo Creators

2. Creator-Operators

3. Creator-Producers

The Solo Creators

The Solo Creators drove the first wave of B2B Creators to its existence. These folks were the ones who had a headstart in the B2B Creator Arena with their existing following on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, and X (previously Twitter).

These creators were already doing what they should be doing, and had built a trusted audience on rented platforms (such as social media), if not their owned audience in the form of newsletter subscribers. 

Typically, the Solo Creators are partnering with other brands on a part-time basis outside of their main job as a side hustle. 

Over time these folks end up building their own information products or merch, and do speaking engagements or short term consulting gigs. 

A couple of great examples of B2B Solo Creators from my personal social networks would be: 

Vin Matano

Kyle Asay

However, Vin has expanded his horizon to consumer companies as well due to the large audiences he has built on TikTok (~ 14.2K) and Instagram (~28.2K). Check out their LinkedIn profiles to get an idea of what they are up to.

The Creator-Operators

Creator-Operators are the people who have started their own businesses, leveraging the audiences they have built for their own personal brands.

These are individuals that were actually referenced in the Forbes article that I mentioned at the beginning of this newsletter.

Creator-Operators build their own companies and sell their products and services to B2B brands and professionals.

Typically, Creator-Operators run their business as a CEO/Founder until they reach a point where they hire a COO and other employees to expand their business. 

The Creator-Operators are not looking for venture capital, but to bootstrap the business to a multimillion-dollar level as quickly as possible.

A great example of a Creator-Operator from my social network is - Exit Five. 

Exit Five is a B2B media company that has built a large community of B2B marketing professionals. 

Exit Five was started by a well known name in the B2B Creator space: Dave Gerhardt. 

Bonus Example: TACK ⛵️ is a media network and go-to-market firm helping businesses create, capture, and convert demand into revenue. Started by a couple folks I know from my network: Mark Kilens and Nick Bennett.

Tack started as a B2B Marketing Community: ClubPF, and B2B GTM services provider. At this moment, I would consider them on more of a Creator-Operator model, but I believe as the TACK network is growing, the business is moving towards the Creator-Producers model.

Nick, who is a reader of Fresh Salmon, could you please reply and confirm this? 😊

The Creator-Producers

First, I would like to point out that I heard this term first used by Erik Torenberg, Co-Founder of Turpentine, on Greg Isenberg's podcast here.

The Creator-Producers are the folks who are responsible for creating a network of creators, and create a business model around it. 

They are doing this by partnering with creators in various niches, and bringing them under an umbrella brand which is owned by the Creator-Producer. 

The partnership terms vary from creator to creator, but the essence of it is to unlock distribution for the Creator-Producer by leveraging the existing audience of Solo Creators or Creator Operators on at least one of the platforms, and bringing more growth opportunities for the Solo Creator or Creator Operator.

When building their creator networks, Creator-Producer companies may need venture capital to fund their operations.

A couple of great examples of the Creator-Producers are:

Workweek - Workweek is a new kind of media company. Workweek is a growing collective of industry experts who are changing the world of business by creating content you'll actually enjoy.

Turpentine - Turpentine is a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, culture, and the trends driving our future.

It’s worth checking out both of these companies.

The Future of B2B Creator Ecosystem

As you can see, the B2B Creator Ecosystem is fast evolving and one thing is clear - this a total greenfield opportunity at the moment. 

We are going to see many businesses coming out with various innovative business models. 

If there is one thing that I’m more excited about other than the advancements in the artificial intelligence space, it’s the B2B Creator Ecosystem!

I’m extremely bullish on where it is heading, and how it will change the B2B go-to-market forever.

I am overwhelmingly optimistic about its trajectory. 

The future is bright, and it's filled with endless possibilities. 

Discover the transformation our world will undergo as the B2B Creator Ecosystem continues to expand!

Interesting Thing That I Read This Week

Tweet That I Posted This Week

What Do You Think?

This concludes this edition of Fresh Salmon.

I would like to hear what you thought of today's newsletter.

Also, let’s connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, or TikTok.

Cheers,

Vivek

PS. I love you ❤️