Forbes Top Creators Show

How do you go from working grueling 100-hour weeks as a corporate M&A lawyer to building an audience of over 20 million followers and running a multi-faceted financial media business?

Welcome to the Forbes Top Creator Show! This week, host Steven Bertoni decodes the business of influence with attorney, financial creator, and entrepreneur Erika Kullberg.

In this episode, Erika opens up about the heartbreaking turning point that led her to quit her big-firm corporate law job after her boss refused her time off to see her dying grandfather. She details her transition from $200,000 in student debt to launching her startup, Plug and Law. Erika delivers a true masterclass on how she systematically studied YouTube and TikTok like an M&A deal, writing down over 100 viral hooks to decode the rhythm of the algorithm.

She reveals the $1,000 daily-posting bet that forced her onto TikTok, her legendary 30-second Nike shoe refund video that gained 1 million followers in 24 hours, and why she turned down a massive $100,000 brand deal in her second month to protect audience trust. Finally, Erika breaks down her 90/10 investment rule, how to bypass algorithm suppression, and how she used her massive platform as a "selfish" backdoor to interview her business heroes on her hit podcast, Erika Taught Me.

#ErikaKullberg #ForbesTopCreators #CreatorEconomy #PersonalFinance

Check out the Forbes Top Creator List:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2026/06/23/forbes-top-creators-2026/

0:00 Meet Erika Kullberg

1:29 Quitting the 100 Hour Corporate Law Grind

3:01 Shifting to Entrepreneurship & Launching Plug and Law

4:23 The M&A Method: How to Study Viral Hooks Like a Deal

8:05 Gaining 5 Million Followers in 30 Days From a $1,000 Bet

9:20 Why Erika Turned Down a $100,000 Brand Deal to Protect Trust

10:26 Organizing a 100,000-Person Live Investing Workshop

12:22 The Business of Erika Kullberg: Diversifying Revenue Streams

14:12 Launching Erika Taught Me and Meeting Her Heroes

17:46 The Truth About Short-Form vs. Long-Form

18:47 Why You Absolutely Should NOT Start a Podcast

19:29 Bypassing the Algorithm with Owned Email Lists

21:17 Erika's Three Commandments of Personal Finance

21:42 The 7-Day Rule: Overcoming Impulse Buying

23:10 Financial Nihilism & Erika's 90/10 Investment Strategy

24:23 From Splitting Tissues in Law School to True Wealth

26:32 If Your Content Isn't Shareable, What's the Point?
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How do you go from losing your biggest commercial acting break to creating a viral meme that has been viewed over 7 billion times?

Welcome to the Forbes Top Creator Show! This week, host Steven Bertoni decodes the business of influence with comedian, filmmaker, and "recovering actor" Steven He.

In this episode, Steven opens up about his unique Chinese-Irish upbringing and the harsh realities of trying to survive as a traditional actor in New York City. He reveals the exact strategy he used to pivot into social media, grinding through 220 failed comedy sketches before finally hitting his first million-view spark on video 221. He breaks down the chaotic, uncontrollable 7-billion view success of the "Emotional Damage" meme, and frankly discusses his biggest business failure: investing massive amounts of time and money into a highly-produced show that alienated his audience and tanked his channel's revenue by 90%.

Steven delivers a true masterclass in how to pivot your YouTube strategy, shifting content just 10% at a time to successfully launch his new 30-minute action-comedy series, James Bao, and why your failures just might be your greatest asset.

#StevenHe #ForbesTopCreators #EmotionalDamage #CreatorEconomy

Check out the Forbes Top Creator List:https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2026/06/23/forbes-top-creators-2026/

0:00 Meet Steven He

1:11 From A Chinese-Irish Upbringing To The NYC Acting Grind

3:00 Heartbreak: Losing A $34,000 Big Break To The Pandemic

4:39 The Turning Point: Grinding Through 220 Failed Videos

8:57 The 7 Billion View Accident: The "Emotional Damage" Phenomenon

11:41 The Ultimate Fail: How A Massive Budget Tanked 90% Of Views

14:52 Boiling The Frog: The 10% Pivot Strategy

21:56 Taking Power Back From The Bullies

25:38 The Next Flex: Competing At The Box Office With James Bao

31:36 The Mic Drop: Why Your Failures Forge You
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How do you pivot from chasing empty viral trends to building a fiercely loyal community of over 40 million followers?

Welcome to the Forbes Top Creator Show! This week, host Steven Bertoni sits down with creator and entrepreneur Rebecca Zamolo.

In this episode, Rebecca reveals her biggest career mistake: focusing entirely on viral videos and realizing her massive audience didn't actually know her. She opens up about shifting her strategy to true vulnerability, sharing her battle with a severe, life-altering illness and an isolating two-year struggle with infertility. Rebecca explains why she downsized her production crew from 20 people to just 5, leaning into the philosophy that high-retention storytelling on a $5,000 budget can successfully compete with bloated, multi-million dollar productions. She also details her obsessive process of A/B testing up to five different thumbnails per upload, and her unique strategy of targeting different demographics on each platform: treating TikTok like the "cool kids" for viral trends, using Instagram for deep connections with moms, and building elaborate story-driven videos for YouTube.

#RebeccaZamolo #ForbesTopCreators #CreatorEconomy #YouTubeStrategy

Check out the Forbes Top Creator List:https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2026/06/23/forbes-top-creators-2026/

0:00 Meet Rebecca Zamolo

1:18 The Biggest Mistake: Viral Videos vs. True Community

4:16 The Origin Story: Facing Surgery and Opening Up Online

7:02 Content Strategy: Building Backyard Bunkers and Waterparks

9:37 The Masterclass: The Science of A/B Testing

15:45 Balancing Boundaries and Vlogging for 500 Days Straight

21:24 Running a 15-Person Mini-Studio

24:33 Platform Strategy: YouTube vs. TikTok vs. Instagram

28:34 Multiple Revenue Streams

29:08 Launching Molo Wellness

31:58 What's Next: Expanding Beyond the Camera
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How do you go from running a "cash for gold" shop and hiding your content from your family to becoming an 83-million follower comedy powerhouse?

Welcome to the Forbes Top Creator Show! This week, host Steven Bertoni sits down with short-form sketch comedy legend and entrepreneur Anwar in his first podcast appearance ever!

In this episode, Anwar reveals his journey from being the class clown to avoid getting bullied, to accidentally going viral by stopping freeway traffic with a fake magic trick involving a loose toilet. He opens up about dropping out of college, hiding his early success from his traditional Middle Eastern family, and eventually moving into 1600 Vine—the legendary Hollywood apartment building where he lived and collaborated with creators like King Bach, Lele Pons, and Logan Paul. Anwar breaks down his highly optimized downtown studio production process, his strategy of continuously repurposing 10-year-old videos, and his strict boundaries on turning down lucrative brand deals to protect his credibility. Finally, he discusses taking his comedic inspiration from legends like Jim Carrey and Edgar Wright to fuel his ambitious pivot from 6-second clips to writing and directing a feature film.

#Anwar #ForbesTopCreators #CreatorEconomy #ComedySketches

0:00 Anwar's First Podcast

1:37 The Origin Story: Using Comedy to Avoid Bullying

4:14 The First Viral Hit: A Magic Trick With a Loose Toilet

6:32 Dropping Out of College To Create

8:40 Inside Anwar's Production Studio and Creative Process

10:39 The Strategy Behind Repurposing 10 Year Old Videos

18:35 Moving to 1600 Vine: The Creator Incubator

24:24 Protecting Credibility

29:17 The Next Step: Directing Feature Films
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How did The Stokes Twins go from living out of their car and sneaking into Costco for free samples to running a 70-person production company with more than 30 billion views, and soon a new series on Netflix?

Welcome to the Forbes Top Creator Show! This week, host Steven Bertoni sits down with the masterminds of YouTube retention, Alan and Alex, The Stokes Twins.

In this episode, the brothers open up about dropping out of medical school and moving to LA with no plan, facing homelessness, and relying on a scuffed Costco card just to eat. They share how a single viral video ("What It's Like to Be a Twin") gained 10 million views in a week and changed their lives forever. The twins break down their obsessive, highly analytical approach to studying their audience, why they believe 90% of the work is in the core idea, and how they scaled from a two-man team editing on iMovie to a massive 70-person production operation.

They also reveal exclusive details about their most expensive video to date (a $1 million Squid Game recreation featuring VFX artists from Endgame and Avatar), a surprise phone call from MrBeast, and a sneak peek into their massive new unscripted competition series coming soon to Netflix.

#StokesTwins #ForbesTopCreators #CreatorEconomy #YouTubeSuccess

0:00 Meet The Stokes Twins

1:58 The Origin Story: Making Videos Since Age 10

4:24 The First Viral Hit: "What It's Like to Be a Twin"

5:51 Living in a Car & Sneaking into Costco

12:36 Scaling the Business & Analyzing the Algorithm

22:01 Spending $1 Million on a Squid Game Video

27:05 YouTube Heroes & Getting a Call From MrBeast

31:43 Building a 70-Person Production Team

38:52 The Next Level: Creating a Netflix Original Series
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