Opinions expressed by business partners are their own.
Key takeaways
- The American dream is changing. Many workers today are less motivated to climb the ladder and make a decent living by sharing their skills and doing it.
- I built a solution to help creators get paid for work they were already doing. It’s a one-stop shop that removes the friction that prevents them from building real online growth.
- The most successful creators understand the specific need their brand serves and share their journey in an authentic way, which helps build a genuine connection with their audience.
As an Asian-American child growing up in North Carolina to an immigrant mother, I was taught to follow the rules (no exceptions). I was a Boy Scout, graduated at the top of my class, and was hired by Goldman Sachs right out of undergrad. I followed what I thought was the “right” path. I was living in the greatest city in the world (New York City, of course) and working for one of the best companies in the world… but none of it felt right.
Like many others in corporate America, I walked away from a high-powered banking job. Not because I couldn’t do it, but because it wasn’t. mine Dreaming 100 hours a week working for someone else feels like living in the wrong skin.
After leaving Goldman, I went to Stanford Business School and started thinking about what was next. Like everyone else in 2020, I was making silly dance videos on TikTok when I realized that I could use social media to promote myself, my talent, and whatever I do.
Instead, what I found was far more meaningful: an online creative community authentically sharing its talents with the world.
The passion of these creators, the businesses they build and the way they bring people together through their shared digital community is, I believe, the essence of the American Dream today. Regardless of racial differences, the American workers I talk to are (for the most part) no longer motivated by climbing the ladder. They — we — are motivated by sharing their knowledge and expertise with others, and making a decent living doing it.
Dare to dream.
What I found even among fellow creators was a web of disparate, broken systems, a misunderstanding of how to do real online development, or even how to create an email campaign. Everything felt harder than it needed to be, no tools were involved, and much of it was overwhelming (and overpriced) for new entrepreneurs.
I had little programming experience, so I built and launched the first version of my company Stan in 2021. The beta launch was very basic but it brought together many of the pain points that my fellow creators and I were experiencing. We’ve made it a one-stop shop, with everything a creator needs conveniently packaged and designed in one place.
After that, I convinced a few fellow content creators to let me establish my online brand presence, and the first creator saw instant sales of his online course (for under $999) overnight — with no marketing and no other outreach than the creator’s own work.
The idea was simple: make it easy for people to get paid for work they were already doing. Stan was not created to teach creators how to monetize. It was designed to completely eliminate friction.
The business model proved to fill a unique gap in the market, and building Stein became my full-time job. Today, five years later, we have over 80,000 active creators on the platform, who have collectively earned over $400 million, and we even have the support of Gary Vaynerchuk and Steven Bartlett.
Everyday entrepreneur
What I’ve seen over the past five years is that the creative economy is becoming the default path for anyone who wants to create something of their own. What defines a “creative” in 2026 could be anyone from a fitness coach, a special education teacher or a mechanic. These “unconventional” influencers are transitioning into creatives. Really Own your brand, build your community and monetize what they know on your terms.
It’s the everyday entrepreneurs, working towards their dreams and taking their ideas to the next level, that keep me and my team motivated. Among these new creators, those who succeed usually have two key things in common:
They understand the needs that their personal and professional brand fulfills: The most successful creators have clearly identified a gap in the market for their product or service and identified how they can help fill that need.
They share their experience authentically: You have to believe in your dream to make it, so why not share your story and experience in an authentic way? Being true to yourself helps the audience connect with you and understand the “why” behind your work.
Do good, and do good
When it comes to my “why,” like many other children of immigrants in America, I grew up with very few children. While working at Goldman, I realized that I need My job is fulfilling (no, working at an investment bank didn’t check that box). I wanted my work to be meaningful and somehow give back to the greater good.
Through my current work with Stan and the creative community, I’m able to directly help others build their dreams and monetize their businesses, turning their creative passions into a lucrative income.
While many are still burning the candle at both ends, being parents, caregivers, partners while building their own businesses and working one, two (or three) other jobs, they are working toward their dream of a successful future business based on their experience and creativity. If that doesn’t sound like “living the dream,” I don’t know what does.
Key takeaways
- The American dream is changing. Many workers today are less motivated to climb the ladder and make a decent living by sharing their skills and doing it.
- I built a solution to help creators get paid for work they were already doing. It’s a one-stop shop that removes the friction that prevents them from building real online growth.
- The most successful creators understand the specific need their brand serves and share their journey in an authentic way, which helps build a genuine connection with their audience.
As an Asian-American child growing up in North Carolina to an immigrant mother, I was taught to follow the rules (no exceptions). I was a Boy Scout, graduated at the top of my class, and was hired by Goldman Sachs right out of undergrad. I followed what I thought was the “right” path. I was living in the greatest city in the world (New York City, of course) and working for one of the best companies in the world… but none of it felt right.
Like many others in corporate America, I walked away from a high-powered banking job. Not because I couldn’t do it, but because it wasn’t. mine Dreaming 100 hours a week working for someone else feels like living in the wrong skin.
