{"id":3095237,"date":"2026-02-20T14:24:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T22:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?post_type=tc_podcast&#038;p=3095237"},"modified":"2026-02-20T14:55:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T22:55:22","slug":"why-creators-are-ditching-ad-revenue-for-chocolate-bars-and-fintech-acquisitions","status":"publish","type":"tc_podcast","link":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/podcast\/why-creators-are-ditching-ad-revenue-for-chocolate-bars-and-fintech-acquisitions\/","title":{"rendered":"Why creators are ditching ad revenue for chocolate bars and fintech acquisitions\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--56);margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--56);\" class=\"wp-block-tc23-podcast-player\">\n\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"tcembed-iframe tcembed--megaphone wp-block-tc23-podcast-player__embed\" height=\"200px\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm?e=TCML9044740962\"><\/iframe>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"speakable-summary\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">The creator economy is evolving fast, and ad revenue alone isn&#8217;t cutting it anymore. <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/02\/10\/youtubers-arent-relying-on-ad-revenue-anymore-heres-how-some-are-diversifying\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">YouTubers are launching product lines<\/a>, acquiring startups, and building actual business empires. In fact, MrBeast&#8217;s company <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/02\/09\/mrbeasts-company-buys-gen-z-focused-fintech-app-step\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bought fintech startup Step<\/a>, and his chocolate business is out-earning his media arm. This isn&#8217;t just one creator&#8217;s strategy. For many, it&#8217;s the new playbook.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On this episode of TechCrunch&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/podcasts\/equity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Equity<\/a> podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Rebecca Bellan unpack how creators are diversifying beyond ads, what happens when influence becomes infrastructure, and whether this model can scale beyond the top 1%.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Listen to the full episode to hear about:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/02\/13\/a-stanford-grad-student-created-an-algorithm-to-help-his-classmates-find-love-now-date-drop-is-the-basis-of-his-new-startup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How Date Drop raised \u201ca few million\u201d<\/a>&nbsp;on the idea that one curated match per week can fix college dating burnout&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/02\/18\/heron-power-raises-140m-to-ramp-production-of-grid-altering-tech\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ex-Tesla VP Drew Baglino&#8217;s $140 million raise<\/a>\u00a0for solid-state transformers powering AI data centers\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/02\/19\/altman-and-amodei-share-a-moment-of-awkwardness-at-indias-big-ai-summit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The handshake that didn&#8217;t happen<\/a>: Sam Altman and Dario Amodei&#8217;s&nbsp;awkward&nbsp;moment at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/02\/16\/all-the-important-news-from-the-ongoing-india-ai-summit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">India&#8217;s AI summit<\/a>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\">India&#8217;s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/02\/17\/india-bids-to-attract-over-200b-in-ai-infrastructure-investment-by-2028\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$200 billion AI infrastructure push<\/a>\u00a0and why its first\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/02\/16\/fractal-analytics-muted-ipo-debut-signals-persistent-ai-fears-in-india\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AI IPO flopped<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\">ByteDance&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/02\/15\/hollywood-isnt-happy-about-the-new-seedance-2-0-video-generator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Seadance 2.0<\/a>&nbsp;and whether AI video tools democratize creativity or just create an endless flood of&nbsp;slop&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">Subscribe to Equity on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@TechCrunch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">YouTube<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/id1215439780\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/overcast.fm\/itunes1215439780\/equity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Overcast<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/5IEYLip3eDppcOmy5DmphC?si=rZDFHv2sQUul_g94iCRgpQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Spotify<\/a> and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EquityPod\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">X<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.net\/@equitypod\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Threads<\/a>, at @EquityPod.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574571,"featured_media":2577172,"template":"","meta":{"tc-featured-article":false,"tc-header-option":"","tc-breaking-news":false,"tc-article-brief":false,"carmot_uuid":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-02-20T22:24:46Z","apple_news_api_id":"3465b5bd-7d53-4135-81bc-d74818824d27","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-02-20T22:55:13Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ANGW1vX1TQTWBvNdIGIJNJw","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"podcast_url":"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm?e=TCML9044740962","podcast_duration":"","tc_featured_image_disabled":false,"tc_exclude_from_rss_feed":false,"tc_exclude_from_content_rivers":false},"categories":[20429,577030456,577047203],"tags":[576849806,577370487,449559570,577360109,577370329],"tc_podcast_type":[577244973],"tc_storyline_tax":[],"coauthors":[577084855,122839103,576860078,576606195],"class_list":["post-3095237","tc_podcast","type-tc_podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-startups","category-media-entertainment","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-creator-economy","tag-date-drop","tag-equity-podcast","tag-heron-power","tag-india-ai-impact-summit-2026","tc_podcast_type-equity"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.1 (Yoast SEO v25.1) - 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