Hey! Welcome back to the Creator Economy NYC newsletter, your weekly hit of insights and strategies to help you build, monetize, and scale as a creator.
New York has long been a beacon for the ambitious, the visionary, and the builder — Simran Kaur, the founder of Friends That Invest, is no exception.
After building a 8-figure financial education and media business in New Zealand with more than 800,000 Instagram followers, 145,000 newsletter subscribers, and 10 million podcast downloads (casual), she's taking its next chapter to New York.
This week: Simran on why she moved, how she built a community people feel comfortable learning in, and the money move she thinks every creator should make.
Let's get into it.
Creators are shaping what AI recommends and here’s how to stay ahead on it
Creator content is becoming more influential in how AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini recommend brands and products.
What creators post, say, and share can influence which brands appear in AI answers, creating a new opportunity for creator marketing.
For brands and marketers, it's important to stay ahead of this shift. That's where Later's new Creator AEO approach comes in.
Later is helping brands understand how creators influence AI search and how creator campaigns can drive more than reach and engagement, but also greater brand discovery and visibility.
Why New York, and why now?
For most of her life, Simran lived on the same street in Auckland. She loved her life in New Zealand, but wanted to see what could happen somewhere unfamiliar.
After first visiting New York in 2022, she caught the same bug that many of the readers of this newsletter might relate to.
"There's something exciting about being surrounded by people building things and thinking big," she says. "For a creator, being able to meet someone in person and turn a conversation into a collaboration is a huge draw."
Being in the same room can move a relationship forward in ways a DM can't (that’s pretty much the main reason CENYC exists!) For Simran, that possibility helped make the major move worth the leap, even with the distance from family and the sticker shock of New York rent.
Building a room people feel comfortable learning in
Friends That Invest starts with a problem many people can relate to: feeling like you should already understand money.
"With investing, so many women have felt embarrassed about not understanding something, when they were simply never taught it," Simran says.
Creating a space where people could ask questions without feeling silly became the foundation of the community. What surprised her was how much members began supporting one another.
"People come for investing education, but they also find friends who will celebrate their first investment or talk openly about money."
Turning that trust into a media business
Today, Friends That Invest looks more like a media empire that spans social, a newsletter, a podcast, courses, and books.
Alongside its audience, Simran reports that more than 15,000 students have joined its investing education programs and her book has sold over 100,000 copies.
It’s a pretty solid road map for anyone wanting to turn their creator business into a bigger movement:
"Social makes an idea accessible, the podcast gives us room to explore it, and our courses provide more structured learning."
The business earns through education products, brand partnerships, podcast advertising, and speaking. That mix gives Simran more flexibility in deciding what to create and which opportunities to take.
"Having several revenue streams gives us more room to make thoughtful decisions about what we create and who we work with."
🔐 Don’t fuggetabout it: Simran’s business is a great example of climbing Commerce Mountain: turning the audience you’ve built into a business with multiple ways to earn.
Her top money move for creators: know what you actually keep 💰
We obviously had to ask Simran what money moves creators should be doing more of.
Her biggest advice: do the math on what a deal actually pays you and don’t be swayed by the number at face value.
A $10,000 brand deal is exciting. But if you’re paying for production, management, a team, and taxes, that headline number isn’t the number you’re taking home.
"Once you account for production, your team, management fees and tax, the amount left can look very different," Simran says.
Remember that at the end of the day you're running a business, and businesses come with expenses. Understanding those costs helps you price your work properly, know what kind of help you need, and decide which opportunities are worth your time.
She also encourages creators to build some breathing room into their finances. When income fluctuates, a buffer can give you more confidence at the negotiating table.
"Having a buffer makes it easier to negotiate and make decisions without feeling you have to say yes to everything."
The next chapter: New York 🗽
So what does someone do after building an 8-figure business in New Zealand? For Simran, the answer was to put herself somewhere new.
She came to New York for the same reason so many of us love building here: you never know who you’ll meet, or what a conversation might turn into.
Oh, and if you can create it here… well, you can create it anywhere.
Thanks to Simran for sharing her story! You should follow Friends That Invest here.
NEXT EVENT: December 9th - Closing out the year with our biggest ones yet
We're finalizing our final event of the year. Yup… we’ve made it that far.
While more details are coming soon, you can get ahead and apply to join below.
Two minutes. A chance to win $150. 🎁
Earning money from your creator work? We want to hear how you manage it.
Complete our 2-minute survey for a chance to win one of three $150 B&H gift cards. Three winners will be selected at random.
Whether you’re just starting out, creating alongside a day job or doing it full-time, your experience belongs in this report. Individual responses stay anonymous in everything we publish.
Two free tools top creators use to keep themselves moving
The Creator Goal Setting Guide (FREE): A simple but powerful document to help you declare who you want to BECOME in 2026. Get it here.
The Creator Accountability System (FREE): Your visual companion for consistent creation in 2026. Get it here.
Thanks for reading! Its builders like Simran that make New York the best place in the world to be a creator. We’re so pumped to see what her next chapter holds here in the city and hope it inspires you to keep building.
F*ck It, Create It,
Brett and Taylor
