Side hustle --> main character energy: growing an audience without quitting

There’s been a lot of talk about creators leaving their jobs to make content full-time – and some of the reverse – but what about people doing both?

Sammi Cohen works full-time in corporate America [at Amazon, no less], and has simultaneously built an audience of over 250,000 followers between Instagram and TikTok, where she first started making videos in 2022. She’s also started posting on LinkedIn, publishes the excellent Social Currency newsletter, and has more in the works this year [more on that below].

I love Sammi’s content because she covers the intersection of Wall Street, tech, and culture. AKA, to me, it’s business news that isn’t boring. As a forever-recovering morning TV producer, my brain immediately goes to how great her content would fit there; it’s a unique skill to deliver dense topics in an engaging way.

[Currently loving her coverage of the Popflex skort drama, and seeing how Popflex founder Cassey Ho is showing up in Sammi’s comments - I’ve written before about how good Cassey is at this!]

While I’m sure Sammi has aspirations beyond climbing the corporate ladder, I also appreciate that she’s still in it. It’s true there’s room for everyone in content creation, but a competitive edge always helps. Whenever Sammi does make the jump, she’s got some major credibility behind her.

MTD: I know you started your channel as a creative outlet. How did it feel putting yourself out there on-camera? And were you ever concerned with how your employer would respond (particularly given the subject-matter you cover)?

Sammi Cohen: It was scary at first, for sure. But once I got over the initial fear, I was really excited about creating content since I'm so passionate about what I'm researching and speaking about. I wasn't really worried about my employer being concerned because I was careful to not speak about my employer and if I did ever mention anything about them, I would only share public information that was backed up with many public sources.

The rest of this interview is exclusive for paid subscribers on Substack here.