Followers Are Worthless. Watch Time Is The New Currency. (w/ Sooraj Saxena)

Most of what you've been told about being a content creator is a lie. Sooraj Saxena spent years learning that the hard way. In this conversation he reveals the testing pool TikTok uses before any video goes viral, why Mr. Beast openly admits his mental health is awful, why chasing another creator's blueprint guarantees you'll resent your own life, and the moment that made him walk away from a 5,000 person paying waitlist. If you're building anything online in 2026, this is required listening. 00:00 Content Is Science 01:51 Sooraj's biggest audience 03:21 His Original Chai videos 05:22 Brown Creator Representation 06:13 Childhood Performer Roots 10:47 Startup Videos Breakthrough 16:41 Sneaking Into Concerts 19:23 His Company Shakti And the TikTok Market Gap 32:58 Back to Brand Deals 33:22 Betting on a Portfolio 35:14 Being Ghosted From a Big Partnership 37:09 Gods Wake Up Call 40:24 His First Big 6 Figure Merch Year 48:20 How the Algorithm Can Penalize You 51:41 Why Brands Dont Reach Out 01:10:05 Creator Chaos Tradeoffs 01:14:01 Create for Joy Not Fame 01:16:12 Deinfluence Your Dreams 01:16:43 Having Four Million Followers But Broke 01:19:50 Stop Chasing Blueprints Like Mr Beast 01:23:48 No One Is Saving You 01:27:03 What To Do When Content Flops 01:30:49 AI and Human Resilience 01:35:49 Final Advice   Follow ⁠⁠⁠Sooraj⁠ Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arrad (podcast host)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠    LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SPOTIFY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠APPLE MUSIC⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YOUTUBE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   CONNECT WITH US: ✩ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ourselves (production team)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:  ✩ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ✩ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ✩ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ✩ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook