I quit my dream job! - This is NOT Advice #1

👋 Hi friends,

Welcome to This Is Not Advice, a weekly newsletter about building in public in the creator economy. I’ll be documenting the journey of building something new from scratch in my 20s, sharing the wins, the faceplants, the lessons, the mistakes, and the thinking behind it all.

But before we dive into all that, I want to give a bit of context.

I just quit my dream job.

The kind of job I’d been working toward since I was 13 years old. I was a failed sportsman — I loved rugby, but it became pretty clear I wasn’t going to make it pro. (If we have never met, I'm a rather slender gentleman:))

I heard this quote that stuck with me. I can't find it exactly nor who said it, but here is what I remember it as:

"I was a failed sportsman, so I thought: what’s the next best thing? I’ll be their agent."
— Someone wise

And so began my quest to become an agent.

A law degree seemed like the logical next step: contracts, negotiations, leverage. I was the odd one out among my classmates, though. Most were planning their training contracts and law firm careers. I had zero intention of ever becoming a lawyer. My classmates thought I was a little mad.

At first, I thought football would be my way in. But over time, I realized I loved the idea of the football industry, especially the money I had built up in my head, more than the reality of it.

So I pivoted. Toward something newer, riskier, but full of potential: esports.

I became an esports agent, and honestly, I loved it. I got to work right at the edge of the industry and with some brilliant people, notably Jamie Wootton who is still crushing it today!

It was an incredible experience, especially for someone barely out of university.

But I started to worry. About the sustainability of the esports ecosystem long-term. At the same time, I’d become obsessed with YouTube. I saw the potential these creators had: the reach, the trust, the influence. It was clear to me:

I kept repeating, to anyone who would hear me out, "The next Leonardo DiCaprio, the next global superstar, will be a creator."

I became laser-focused on breaking into the creator economy. I eventually landed at Sixteenth, where I initially came in to focus on gaming talent, my comfort zone.

And then, by what I can only describe as divine luck, I got the opportunity to work with Ali Abdaal and Max Klymenko.

Ali and Max showed me the massive potential of creators in the business and education space. I saw how valuable their audiences were, not just in terms of size, but in depth. And more importantly how brands were only just waking up to that value.

I decided to try and lead in that niche, and to help Sixteenth push deeper into the business and education creator space.

Fast forward two years, and I’m proud of the progress we made.

But then this idea started creeping in. It gnawed at me for six months.

“Boy, the good shit sticks.”
— Harry Crews (via Tim Ferriss)

Eventually, I couldn’t ignore it. I had to try.

So I left my dream job behind.

I’m not ready to talk about the idea just yet, but I will soon. What I can say is: I believe it has the potential to change the game for how startups and creators work together.

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If you're still reading, thank you. Let’s build something fun, hopefully interesting, and maybe even valuable.

I'll see you next week.

Cheers,
Jonny

Feel free to respond to this, I'll get back to you.