We’re sitting down with leaders on the business side of the founder economy to get their advice for makes looking to develop their careers.
This week, the Daily Dot spoke with Jason Y. Lee, the Founder and CEO of Jubilee Media. You might distinguish Jubilee for their contentious video entitles like, “Flat Earthers vs Scientists”, “6 Non-Virgins vs 1 Secret Virgin”, or “Do All Teen Moms Think the Same? ”
In an exclusive interrogation, Lee shared with the Daily Dot his story of house a media company over the past decade from the ground up, why he quitted his finance occupation to create content, what challenges he’s faced along the way, and his insights for aspiring imaginative entrepreneurs.
Jason Y. Lee never understood himself becoming a content creator.
Growing up, his parents–who are both Korean immigrants and professors–fostered an environment where education was very important. Lee said that because of his upbringing, he used to view his vocation course as exceedingly traditional: Go to a good college, get a good job, was married, retire.
After finishing up college at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Lee followed the traditional formula he lay out for himself and went to work at a control consulting house in New York City. There, he said that his life turned upside down.
Only two days into his new job, Lee decided on a conceit to make a video singing at a subway stop to raise money for the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Despite being a “terrible singer, ” Lee said his video blew up, getting tens of thousands of views and raising thousands of dollars in under a week.
“It certainly was not quality that concluded it successful. It was the first video I shot, I shaped it in iMovie, ” Lee said, “But I review I sounded into two things. One being current events. Beings truly wanted to help Haiti. And second, I foresee I truly leaned into my community.”
Inspired by the impact his material prepared, Lee decided to create a nonprofit called the Jubilee Project, dedicated to raising money and awareness for various starts through content creation.
Initially, it was just Lee, two brothers, and his best friend acquiring Jubilee Project videos on nighttimes and weekends. In 2012, after the Jubilee Project improved an audience of over a hundred thousand readers, Lee and his crew cease their jobs to pursue the non-profit full-time.
In 2016, on the ends of the controversial election of Donald Trump and stimulation by the departure of two brothers and most special friend from the nonprofit, Lee re-evaluated his projection.
Lee decided he wanted to move away from a nonprofit fundraising mission. Instead, he wanted to build a media company with a operation of “affecting culture and creating a movement for empathy.” Thereafter, Jubilee Media was born.
“I think a huge challenge at the beginning that was really good in the long run was nailing down the why. Why are we doing this? ” Lee continued. “Over go we learned that we’re here to promote understanding and establish human associate. And if we’re doing something that’s not aligned with that, we have to cut that out.”
The “why” factor proved to be important as Jubilee rivalled with other media corporations: “When we firstly started Jubilee, BuzzFeed was preparing 65 videos a week. I knew that we didn’t have the money or the resources necessary do that. We couldn’t win on quantity, but we could win on quality.”
Today, Jubilee certainly has length covered–it currently has over 8 million customers and its content has generated 2 billion views.
“There is a huge hunger to watch this kind of content. Content that reminds us that we’re not as different as we might contemplate, ” Lee said. “Not in a didactic or banal path, but in a way that’s authentic.”
Building human connection is easier said than done on the internet: “The huge advantage of social media is that something can go viral or be a megaphone. But one of the difficult things about social media is certainly there is indeed trolls, haters, or kinfolks who aren’t being super positive.”
Jubilee embraces many sensitive topics–including sex work, abortion, religion, and politics–and often spurs video participants to share their perspectives on contentious issue.
“At the end of the day, we’re trying to create content that reminds us of our own humanity. It’s really tough when someone vulnerably shares their identity on our pulpit and receives hate, ” Jason continued, “Something we really share with our throw representatives, and even our unit, is that we’ve got to create mental health and brace beings for whatever might come.”
Jason said that loyal followers, some who have been following the organization all the way back to its Jubilee Project periods, have cultivated supportive environments: “That’s something we don’t take lightly. I think it’s really difficult to build the patriotism of a devotee, and even more difficult to build a community around fanship.”
As a part of LinkedIn’s Creator Accelerator Program, Lee is now making an effort to share his journey as a founder.
“One thing that you struggle with early on as a designer is the fact that it feels like an impossible assignment. No one is necessarily giving you a blueprint on how to do it … One of the most helpful things is talking to other individuals who are smart, but not like geniuses, ” Lee continued, “I’m hoping to now pull back the curtain for other creators.”
“When you’re trying to climb Mount Everest, it can be really scary, ” Lee said, “But certainly, clambering Everest necessaries one pace at a time. Break down a massive challenge into bite-sized, tangible steps.”
Lee continued, “When I was looking up, I was paralyzed, but when I was looking right in front of me “its like”,’ I imagine I can do these 10 steps.’ You find that the more that you step, the better you get at stepping.”
“There is no better time than now. It can be such a scare thing. But one of the real signeds of an inventor is someone who is just trying. It doesn’t mean attaining, it implies just trying.”
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