Dozens attend Center for Creator Economy launch at Syracuse University

Syracuse University hosted a launch night on Wednesday for its Center for the Creator Economy, a collaboration between the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, to a crowd of dozens.

During the hour-long event, guests, including influencers, students, alumni, faculty and staff, gathered together for a reception. They networked and ate before the keynote address given by Jonathon “Jon” Youshaei, an influencer and journalist who has collaborated with celebrities like Mr. Beast and Will Smith. 

Students like Liz Bukh, a public relations freshman, said she was thrilled to hear from Youshaei and engage with the upcoming panelists for Thursday’s ‘Cuse Creator Con.

“We get to learn and grow from other people’s knowledge,” Bukh said.

Broadcast and digital journalism junior Isabella Galan, a content creator, said she was equally excited about the event and about learning what the creator economy is about. 

“As someone who wants to go into content creation and build a brand for myself, this seemed like a perfect place to do that and get a feel for it,” Galan said. 

Youshaei, a creator with over one million followers combined on both YouTube and Instagram, discussed how the creator landscape has evolved and emphasized that understanding both the creative and business sides is what separates those who succeed from those who don’t.

Youshaei encouraged students to start creating now and experiment without fear of failure, and said that even the biggest creators started small. 

Youshaei spoke about how creators are no longer just influencers, but entrepreneurs running their own brands, managing partnerships and building communities that last. His hope, he said, is for future creators to transform their inspiration from art into something authentic.

“Don’t copy and paste. Copy with taste,” Youshaei said. 

​​Youshaei shared a story that inspires him, he said, about the artist Claude Monet. Monet, a painter, destroyed his own art after finding minor imperfections that bothered him.

Youshaei used the story as a metaphor for how creators today often sabotage their own potential by overthinking and striving for perfection before sharing their ideas. 

“Perfectionism is really procrastination in disguise,” Youshaei said. 

Waiting for something to be perfect often prevents it from ever being shared, he said.

“Don’t slash your ideas before the world even gets to see them.”