Hey! Welcome to the Creator Economy NYC newsletter — the premier place for all things creator economy in the Big Apple.

As we gear up for our event this Monday (!), I wanted to spotlight one of our amazing panelists and creator in our community, Colin Rocker (aka @CareerColin).

In just one year, he went from losing his job to building a 300K+ following and booming creator brand — all by embracing what made him different in a saturated space.

Let's get to know Colin...

(plus, teasing our final event of the year!)

Enjoying being part of the community?

Owning your story: Colin Rocker's journey from consultant to creator

Every creator has their "why did I start?" story. For Colin Rocker, it began in the back of an Uber.

On his way to a client site as a fresh-faced consultant, Colin's Uber driver – who had just started a podcast – suggested he share his personal story online. His response? "That would be boring. No one is really interested in that."

Fast forward to today, and Colin has built a booming creator brand with over 300,000 followers across platforms, primarily by sharing exactly what he thought nobody wanted to hear — his story.

The corporate beginning

Like many first-generation professionals, Colin entered the workforce without a roadmap. His dad was a plumber, his mom was a teacher, and he "had no idea" about the vast landscape of career possibilities. "I meet someone every day that has a job title I've never heard of in my life," he reflects.

In college, consulting caught his eye (as it was pushed heavily by his college) - it was pitched as the perfect path for "insecure overachievers and people who are academically successful but don't actually have a strong sense of internal direction." The self-aware description resonated, and soon Colin was headed to New York, armed with what he thought was enough: $1,000 in his pocket (spoiler alert, it was not).

From Deloitte to a boutique consulting firm, then to a Series A startup and eventually an advertising agency, Colin was building what looked like a traditional corporate career. But something else was brewing…

The accidental creator

During the early days of COVID, while staying with his girlfriend's family during lockdown, Colin found himself downloading TikTok (after giving his now-wife grief about spending too much time on it) and staying up until 2 AM scrolling.

Looking for a creative outlet from consulting burnout, he started throwing content at the wall: motivational videos, business news, workout content – you name it. "Nobody was interested in seeing any of that from me," he admits.

Then came the pivot point: a simple day-in-the-life video as a “project manager.”

It hit 100,000 views. While "consulting" felt like industry jargon, "project management" was something people could grasp. Colin had found his initial hook.

Finding his differentiator

For about three years, Colin created standard career advice content. "I was just a talking head giving tips on the internet," he says. But as he got more serious about content creation, he realized something crucial: "I don't want to make videos that anyone else can make."

This revelation led him to lean into what made him unique - his experience as a first-gen professional. His first video using this term exploded to 4 million views. It wasn't just about career advice anymore; it was about sharing a journey that millions could relate to but few were talking about.

His most engaging content today? It's not interview tips or resume formats. "My best performing videos to date are about date nights, about reconciling my feelings as a new father because I didn't have the best relationship with my own," he shares. The lesson was clear: his differentiator wasn't his career advice - it was him.

A strategic approach to growth

Colin's approach to content is methodical and adaptive. When TikTok's future seemed uncertain amid regulatory concerns, he began cross-posting to Instagram and YouTube Shorts to build presence on other platforms.

"Growth was really slow at first," he admits. Then something shifted – in just 12 months, from late 2022 to 2023, his Instagram following exploded from under 10,000 to over 200,000 followers.

He also developed a smart testing strategy along the way: using TikTok as his experimental ground. He’d post multiple versions of similar content on TikTok to see what resonates, and whichever one or two of those performs the best, he’d take over and put that on Instagram.

This methodical approach to content testing, combined with Instagram's increased focus on video, helped Colin build his most engaged community while maintaining an efficient content development process.

The leap to full-time creator

When Colin got laid off recently, he had been quietly building his safety net. Every brand deal payment since he started monetizing had been saved, giving him runway to make a bold move. "I'm currently doing this on six to 10 hours a week," he thought. "What happens if I can put 60 hours towards that?"

It took "a series of very long conversations" with his 39-week pregnant wife to say, effectively, "Hey, we're about to have a kid. I think I want to be an influencer full time."

But he set clear goalposts: if he wasn't hitting specific targets at 30, 60, and 180 days, he'd return to corporate. This combination of ambition and practical planning paid off.

The New York factor

Being based in New York has been "absolutely essential" to Colin's growth as a creator. From those early days surviving on $5 pizza and soda (which inspired his annual community pizza meetup), to now navigating the city's creator ecosystem, New York has shaped his journey in unexpected ways.

"Being in a place like New York that is such a fertile hotbed... you've got so many things going on, from Advertising Week to Creator Economy NYC to all these different events. You can really have a buffet in front of you," he explains.

While many creators might hide behind management teams or stay glued to their screens, Colin shows up - literally. As he puts it, "You want to go places where you are rare."

The bigger picture

In a world where everyone seems to be giving career advice, Colin has proven that your greatest differentiator is you. Through his content, community initiatives, and candid sharing about navigating both career and family life, he's helping others see themselves in roles they might have thought were out of reach.

Follow Colin's journey and get inspired to own your story on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.

And join us at our upcoming Creator Economy NYC panel, where we'll dive deeper with Colin (and others) into how to build sustainable personal branding by leveraging...you! A recap and recording of the panel to follow in this newsletter next week!

Featured event

You can just be you: how to turn yourself into a brand (a mixer & panel)

Join us Monday, November 18, at 6:30 for our signature mixer and panel event —connect with NYC’s top creators, marketers, and founders shaping the creator economy.

Whether you’re an established creator or just beginning to build your personal brand, your differentiator is YOU. Our panel will feature three top NYC creators who transformed aspects of their personal lives into content-driven careers:

• Jack Appleby – Creator of Future Social, a top newsletter for social media marketing, Jack combines his expertise with a passion for basketball to reach a dedicated audience.

• Yena Kim – Known for her account Menswear Dog, Yena has turned her love for fashion and her Shiba Inu into a viral brand, proving that creativity knows no bounds.

• Colin Rocker – A career coach turned content creator, Colin shares industry insights to help professionals thrive by building their personal brands.

• Piper Phillips - Piper brings an entrepreneurial approach to content creation, sharing insights on personal growth, business, and life in your 20s.

Finally a huge shoutout to our sponsors for this event — Teachable, beehiiv and Fig Wealth.

Next up

Content to commerce: building your brand, selling to your audience (final event of the year!)

For our final event of 2024, we’re stoked to be partnering with our friends at Shopify for a mixer and panel focused on content to commerce. We’ll be sitting down with leading creators —  Brett Conti, Elliot Choy and AmandaRachLee, who have launched — or are in the process of building — their own brands on Shopify, diving into the tactics, strategies, and insights that turn audiences into customers.

Let’s close out an incredible year together STRONG — RSVP early to secure your spot and get the latest updates! RSVP HERE.

Creator Economy NYC has seen exceptional growth this year, becoming NYC's go-to community for creators, brands, and industry leaders — and we're just getting started. In 2024 alone, we've hosted 16+ events, accumulated thousands in RSVPs, and built partnerships with brands who saw the opportunity early.

We're now mapping out 2025 partnerships, and as more brands recognize the value of our community, spots are becoming limited.

So, if you've made it this far — and you're a brand looking to get in front of the creator economy's most engaged community through our panels, meetups, newsletter, and more — reach out here and let's chat about how we can work together in 2025!

• Empowering creators: The new wave of small business

• Big ideas to get excited about in 2025 

• Views will now be the primary metric on Facebook for reels, videos, posts and stories

• Meet the engineer turned travel creator calling NYC home

• The “bionic model” that’s redefining success in NYC’s creator economy

• How this NYC TikTok icon found Hollywood success

Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you thought by replying back to this email! See you next week!

Brett