THE BRIEF. Moment wanted to grow past selling lenses and bags. COVID had just hit, online education was climbing, and the company saw an opening: package world-class creators into courses, sell them to Moment’s own photographer/filmmaker audience. I co-founded the vertical with one other creative partner. The two of us built it from zero.

WHAT I DID. The model was rev-share. I pitched influencers — podcast hosts, pro photographers, cinematographers — on an equal partnership: they lent their expertise, we did everything else, and we split the revenue 60/40. Once a creator said yes, I owned the full cycle. I ran the calls to shape their curriculum and scripts. I set the shoot schedules, booked crews and locations, and flew out to shoot — usually as solo DP, sometimes with a second. I ran a 10-day shoot in Japan where I was simultaneously director, DP, and the local producer getting people from set to set. Back home, I set pricing based on the creator’s audience size and our unit economics. I built the paid and organic marketing plan for each course and ran it. I managed the freelancer pool, the budgets, and the finances.

OUTCOME. Zero to $1M+ in revenue in year one. Forty-plus courses produced. A two-person team.