My First Million – "7 People Making $5M–$10M From Weird Hobbies"

Podcast: My First Million
Hosts: Sam Parr & Guest Billy (Venture Partner at Slow)
Date: September 5, 2025
Episode Focus: Exploring creators turning niche hobbies into multimillion-dollar businesses

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the “creator middle class”—people making $5M to $10M in annual revenue by leveraging niche hobbies or interests, often with surprisingly small audiences. Sam Parr welcomes Billy, a venture partner at Slow (and previously The Chernin Group), to analyze how these creators build passionate audiences, monetize with DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) products, and scale small “hobby” businesses into large, durable companies. The discussion features vivid case studies: woodworkers, car detailers, ranchers, and even paint-mixing TikTok stars, offering insight into what makes a creator “lovable,” spotting trends, and building systems that scale.

1. The Blueprint of the Creator Middle Class

Timestamps: 00:42–06:45

• Lovable & Relatable Creators:
  • Creators succeed when their audience genuinely loves them.
  • Love comes from relatability—when the creator feels like a buddy or mentor, not a remote celebrity.
  • “Those creators are the most interesting that can build durable businesses.” – Billy (02:11)
• Aspirational vs. Quirky:
  • Some creators (e.g., Doug Demuro) win by being relatable nerds, while others (Emma Chamberlain) are more aspirational.
  • Both can work, but quirks and authenticity often make for more durable audiences.

2. Case Studies: Niche Creators to Multi-Million Businesses

A. Doug DeMuro – Cars & Bids

Timestamps: 03:48–06:45

• Started as a schlubby car review YouTuber, now hosts a leading car auction platform.
• “He sold about $450 million worth of vehicles and then he takes a take rate off that.” – Billy (03:58)
• Business scaled beyond Doug’s own audience—people use his auction platform even if they don’t know him as a creator.

B. Jonathan Katz Moses – Woodworking Tools

Timestamps: 07:49–10:56

• Woodworker with polished but infrequent YouTube content (600k subs).
• Focuses on woodworking tips and tools; started own line (KM Tools).
• “He’s doing around $6 million in revenue now from...his tool site.” – Billy (09:24)
• Took investment from Slow to scale further; hopes to reach nine figures in the next decade.

C. Five Marys (Mary Heffern) – Ranching & Meat

Timestamps: 16:09–22:59

• Restaurateur turned ranch owner; transparent about building an ethical, family-run cattle and meat business.
• Grew from Instagram storytelling to subscription boxes, courses for women entrepreneurs, and multiple product lines (e.g., beef tallow, whiskey, cookbooks).
• “She started looking at ranches and ended up buying a ranch...Now has 600 acres...a large scaled business from 400,000 followers.” – Billy (16:11)
• Highly authentic content—just iPhone videos, not highly produced.

D. Jocko Willink – Tactical Apparel & Energy Drinks

Timestamps: 24:04–26:56

• Ex-Navy SEAL with a large podcast and a clear leadership ethos.
• Parlayed audience trust into “Echelon” leadership courses, Jocko Fuel (energy drinks now in big-box stores), and tactical apparel.
• “Jocko, like, speaks to a lot of people...and he did pretty well with that business, and he continues to do well with that business.” – Billy (24:53)
• Multiple “shots on goal,” sometimes discarding “fine” businesses if something else takes off.

E. Larry “AmmoNYC” & Detail Geek – Car Detailing

Timestamps: 30:40–34:36

• Larry details celebrity cars, sells branded cleaning products.
• “Any car enthusiast who has a proper collection knows Larry and uses his products.” – Billy (31:19)
• Detail Geek does similar work but focuses on “real world” cars and simpler production—refuses to scale up fast or take outside money, choosing lifestyle.

F. Tonester Paints

Timestamps: 36:40–38:48

• Started making casual TikToks about mixing paint at Sherwin Williams, got fired, started his own paint brand via TikTok (now 2.3m followers).
• “He starts making TikToks while he’s working at Sherwin Williams...he launches his own paint brand...just a camera on a paint can and he sticks the drills in.” – Sam/Billy (37:25–37:59)

3. What Makes Niche Businesses Scale?

Timestamps: 10:56–15:09 & 38:53–41:45

• Backable Creator-Founders: Must have both the willingness to persist and real expertise in niche.
• Audience Trust & Authenticity:
  • “Building audience trust for years” is key (40:08).
  • Launching products too soon without audience trust risks quick flameout.
• Repeatable Patterns:
  1. Build content around genuine interests
  2. Cultivate a very engaged, loyal niche audience
  3. Launch a product that directly solves problems for this audience
  4. Be hands-on with operations, recruiting trusted help only once you have clear traction
• Platform Doesn’t Matter as Much:
  • Both high- and low-production content can succeed
  • Some succeed with just an iPhone; others in sophisticated studios

4. The Role of Operations & Focus

Timestamps: 22:10–22:59

• Scaling operations in physical products (like ranching or apparel) requires real, often challenging, logistical chops.
• Many creators split focus (multiple products), but prioritization and hiring operators are crucial.
• “My answer to your focus is prioritization...she needs to make sure she has operators in place.” – Billy (22:31)

5. How Do You Find Operators or Partners?

Timestamps: 27:22–29:51

• Attracting strong operational partners is a signal you're a founder, not just a creator.
• Date before you marry: test partners on small projects before bringing them fully on board.
• “I think entrepreneurs have to be able to...attract people to hire.” – Billy (28:04)

6. Choosing the Right Niche & Business Models

Timestamps: 41:45–44:04

• Start with Passion-Based Niches with a natural bottom-of-funnel (you can imagine a “product” that audience would want).
• “If you’re building content, you have to be keeping in mind...what am I going to move people to?” – Billy (44:19)
• Steer away from pure entertainment if your goal is product revenue; pick “enthusiast” or “how-to” categories where trust translates to purchases.

7. Hot Categories & Emerging Trends

Timestamps: 49:23–55:00

• Everyday Carry (EDC): Knives, wallets, watches, pens—huge, passionate audiences but few creator-led brands.
• Fountain Pens: Potential for a niche “Hodinkee for pens.”
• Chess: Massive global audience for products and content.
• Second Amendment (2A)/Tactical Gear: Big, loyal communities despite advertising hurdles.
• Jiu Jitsu/BJJ: Two-sided marketplaces for courses, apparel, equipment (e.g., BJJ Fanatics).
• “Those are the kind of things when we see those, we’re like, whoa…chess creators...jiu jitsu...passionate...” – Billy (51:26)
• RC Planes/Engineering “Hacker” Kids: Young creators building educational kits (see Project Air, Hacksmith).

8. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “He’s just kind of a...I don’t know...he’s like a car nerd. But even among car nerds, many of them are more...they dress affluent...he does not care.” – Sam, on Doug DeMuro (04:54)
• “She’s got a butchery, she does shipping...FDA-approved slaughterhouse and a very large scaled business from 400,000 followers.” – Billy, on Five Marys (16:11)
• “Jocko Fuel. That probably crushes. He probably makes $100 million a year in revenue off that.” – Sam (26:13–26:17)
• “A lot of these middle class creators, I think, have the ability to be venture-style businesses with the right founder and the right hires.” – Billy (33:45)
• “She just shoots everything on her iPhone...it’s just Mary doing her thing...and you can tell that right away.” – Billy (34:53)
• “Shots on goal...maybe that thing becomes the thing that is venture scale...the beautiful thing about all these creators...” – Billy (22:10)
• “If you’re building your audience, build them into something that you can, like, transact into and you can add value to them...” – Billy (46:11)

9. Picks & Predictions: Who’s Next?

Timestamps: 56:45–67:05

Each host gives three creators they’d “draft” to join—future stars of the “creator middle class”:

• Epic Gardening (Kevin) and Cars and Bids (Doug DeMuro): scaled DTC in gardening and car auctions.
• Sarah McAllister (Go Clean Co): The “queen of clean,” poised to launch her own cleaning product line.
• Gohar Khan: Ex-Minecraft YouTuber, MIT grad, now building SAT/prep business “Next Admit” for high school students.
• Honorable Mentions: Iron Snail (menswear content, launching own apparel); Project Air (RC/hacker DIY kits); Remy RC Planes (building giant model planes, backed by Tyler Perry); Hacksmith (engineering YouTubers, $7M Kickstarter for a multi-tool).

10. Takeaways & Best Practices (The "Workout Plan")

Timestamps: 41:45–44:04

• Double down content on genuine passions/hobbies—niche beats mainstream.
• Build audience trust over time before launching products.
• Solve a need for your audience (tools, kits, seeds, classes, etc.).
• Be intentional about your “bottom of funnel”—know what you’ll eventually sell.
• Authentic, consistent content matters more than production value.
• Date (test) partners before you marry (fully commit).
• Accept some criticism and tough skin—haters come with the territory.

11. Final Thoughts

Timestamps: 69:05–69:40

Creators at every level can build “weird” niches into multi-million dollar businesses if they’re authentic, obsessed with their topic, and know how to serve their audience with relevant products. In the era of the “creator middle class,” all it takes is a passion, a phone, persistence, and a system—or as Sam puts it, it's about “putting your all in it, like, no days off.”

Useful for Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

• Learn how “niche” can be a superpower in the creator economy.
• See real, actionable case studies of creators making serious money—without MrBeast-style audiences.
• Discover which categories are primed for “middle class” creator businesses and what tools, mindsets, and business models help these businesses succeed.

For those contemplating their “weird hobby” or niche: “You don’t need investors to start a company...but what you do need is systems that actually work.” – Sam (06:45)