Building Value with Jason Nellis

The Value of Hard Work [Jacklyn Dallas]

"Working hard and being kind is a great legacy to leave behind. Hopefully, it would be like always showing up and trying to be a really good person and making people feel better, like at the end of the interaction that they felt at the beginning."
Since starting her YouTube career at the age of 13, Jacklyn Dallas has amassed a sizable audience across multiple social media platforms. That, by itself, would be interesting enough; but when you look closer at her work ethic, her ability to move past projects that don't work, and her incredible positive attitude, you come to understand that the success she's experiencing isn't luck or timing. It's perseverance.
Less an interview and more a conversation, my chat with Jacklyn revealed a great deal about her approach to work (if it's not fun, why do it?), her shift towards interviews (including her recent interview with Google CEO Sundar Pichai), and what she'd want to be remembered for through her work.

The Value of Play [Christopher Chapman]

Ever looked at the piles of work on your desk and thought "there's got to be a way to make this fun - or at least less boring?" Then you've summarized the thesis of my guest's entire career.
Chris Chapman is the former Global Creativity & Innovation Director at Disney, and the founder of Imaginology —a global innovation agency established in 2019 that specializes in creative collaboration workshops, design sprints, and development projects. His interactive and entertaining approach and kind yet rebellious attitude drive real change for companies and individuals. His recent partnerships span a diverse range of professionals, from Oscar-winning producers and animation directors to Fortune 500 leaders, academic researchers, psychologists, even surgeons and the Sesame Workshop.
During our chat, we looked the trajectory of Chris's career - how he climbed the ranks at Disney, started his own work, explores how AI can be a positive force for creativity, and how solo creators/entrepreneurs can employ the modalities he teaches for their own use.

The Value of Musical Mayhem [Loren DiGiorgi]

Never take yourself too seriously - that's the advice to take away from this interview with Loren DiGiorgi. As a comedic musician (slash musical comedian), Loren's short-form videos are a throwback to the dad jokes and eye-roll punch lines many of us got from our parents and grandparents.
But underneath that silly veneer is a serious musician with a lot to say about the changing musical landscape. From AI and its effects on the broader musical population, to the joys and value of EDM, Loren offers a positive view on how the modern age enables more and more people to access music - even young kids - which can only benefit everyone.

The Value of Active Listening [Michael Fisher | Mr. Mobile]

Michael Fisher, known sometimes as  @TheMrMobile and others as @Captain2Phones, has been a consistent and valuable voice in the tech review community for the better part of a decade. But when you go from being one of a few voices in an industry to one of hundreds, how do you stand out? The answer, according to Michael, is consistent quality and innovative scripting.
We discussed a number of different aspects of his illustrious career, from the beginnings of the Mr. Mobile brand (and a reminder that, no, Michael's not an independent creator, but is in fact part of a larger company), how his approach to reporting has changed over the years, and most recently, his experiences co-founding a physical product company that harkens back to the days of that satisfying Blackberry clicks, bringing the experience to a modern touch screen audience.
(Also we nerded out about theatre stuff, but that's because we're giant theatre nerds.)

The Value of Love is Blind [Grace McCarrick]

Grace McCarrick is one of those rare interviews where the subject is funny, interesting, and compelling - all at the same time. Grace is a self-titled Culture Coach, as she works with established businesses to improve and develop their existing company culture into something greater than the sum of its parts. She's also a keen social media content creator, having recently unlocked a strong strategy to go from 3-10K followers on TikTok in less than 3 months, with no signs of slowing down.
Grace and I chatted about a number of topics, including discussions of her TikTok strategy, her ability to disconnect from comments on the internet, and how the Netflix show Love is Blind applies to work (yes, really).

Gadgets, Golf, and Growth: The Tech Ninja Tell-All [Kevin Nether]

Kevin Nether ( @Techninjaspeaks ) is one of YouTube’s best voices for product reviews. His videos range from the typical fare you’d expect, like TVs and Gaming Devices, to the less obvious but still important, like refrigerators and vacuum cleaners. His grounded, straightforward approach to talking about tech has earned him hundreds of thousands of followers, and his ten plus years in the review space has earned him the respect and collaboration of brands like Samsung, Sony, TLC, Google, and more.
We discussed how his work has shifted in the last year, such as leaving his 9 to 5 and committing to YouTube as his primary income. We looked at how he edits his work these days, leaving behind the fad of retention editing and focusing on simple, effective storytelling. And we compared notes on what it’s like to work from home with a kid running around trying to get your attention.
The Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeUjBzgS9MfQ4arXwyeKwo2ehifKp-8Hi

Matchmaking on YouTube [Gordon Saft]

Making new friends. It’s one of the hardest things to do as an adult. Building a connection and keeping it going can be a lot of work, even when you have lots of interests in common.
For creators who are looking to collaborate on new videos, it can be 10x even more difficult. But today’s guest is here to help you solve that problem. Today, I’m chatting with Gordon Saft, founder and CEO of Artnership.
His mission: to enable individuals around the world creating media to work better together, and to create new possibilities for collaboration. Gordon and I chatted about the upcoming launch of Artnership’s app on mobile devices, on his experiences at Google and Meta working with creators in the worlds of News, Podcasts, and the Metaverse, and about the challenges of building a two sided marketplace from scratch.
He offers a compelling perspective that, despite how difficult it is to forge real connections on social media, technology can still be an important tool for building and networking between creators, leading to new creative and business opportunities.
Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeUjBzgS9MfQ4arXwyeKwo2ehifKp-8Hi

Navigating VidCon in a Pandemic [Jim Louderback]

The term “influencer” gets thrown around a lot these days, and it’s not hard to understand why. The creator economy continues to grow and grow, enabling independent artists and thinkers to express themselves and make money doing it.
But like all trends, there were those at the beginning who saw sparks of potential, and thought “what if I could do something with this?” One of those early thinkers - perhaps one of the very first - was Jim Louderback.
Jim generously chatted with me about how he started as a product tester at Ziff-Davis Publishing, building a YouTube-centric network in Revision3, then leading the influencer convention VidCon through acquisition - and later, the Pandemic.
He shares his philosophies in how to experiment as a creator, how to make teams that can address new challenges, and his thoughts on how to keep the work of building fun, even when it’s not.