In the last five years, the creator economy has evolved from being an internet curiosity to one of the world's largest emerging industries. Billions of dollars have been invested. Platforms have multiplied. Audiences have exploded.

But along with the rise came an uncomfortable question:
Why do so many creators with hundreds of thousands of followers still struggle to monetize their content?

Meanwhile, others — with small audiences, sometimes less than 10 thousand people — build million-dollar businesses, launch products, form communities, and live freely. What separates these two groups?

The answer is not just talent or luck.
It lies in the structure.

We are living at a turning point in the creator economy: the fusion of talent (entertainment) and expertise (value). Creators who were once just good on camera now need to be good at business. And those who previously only sold courses now need to entertain, engage, and build an audience.

It is the emergence of Creator 2.0 — and those who do not understand this movement will be left behind.

Talent vs. Specialist: The two archetypes of the creator — and why they are merging

For a long time, the creator economy was divided into two major blocks: the talents and the specialists.

On one side, the talents — creators who operate like celebrities of the new era. They are masters of entertainment, dominate viral formats, and generate millions of views. Think of names like MrBeast, Whindersson Nunes, or Emma Chamberlain. Monetization? Comes from ads, sponsorships, merchandise, collaborations. All based on massive audiences.

On the other side, the specialists — creators who build authority based on knowledge. Authors, educators, consultants, coaches. They may have smaller audiences, but they know how to extract much more value from them. Examples include names like Tim Ferriss, Alicia Souza, or Ankur Warikoo, who monetize with courses, mentoring, consulting, digital products.

For years, these worlds ignored each other. Talents thought that selling courses was “uncool.” Specialists thought that vlogging was a waste of time.
But something is changing.

With the maturing market, these two profiles have started to merge.

Entertainment creators have come to understand that they need to build products.
Specialists discovered that just selling is not enough — it is necessary to create a real connection with the audience.

The result? The birth of a new type of creator: the hybrid.
Someone who delivers value with charisma, and charisma with value.

Example? Alex Hormozi.
A business educator with the visual appeal of a YouTuber. A didactic talent with strategic depth. His content goes viral — but also sells millions in products.

This movement is reshaping the map of the creator economy. And, more importantly: it is leveling the playing field.
Today, a creator with 10 thousand followers and a good strategy can monetize more than a creator with 1 million views and zero structure.

And that brings us to the next point: where is each creator on this evolution path?

The 4 phases of the modern creator (according to a16z)

A serious creator's journey today can be mapped in four stages, as proposed by a16z (Andreessen Horowitz), one of the largest venture capital managers in the world. Each phase has its opportunities, challenges — and limits.

🟢 1. Hobbyist

The novice creator. Perhaps they started a channel, a podcast, or a profile out of passion, curiosity, or boredom. They still do not know if this will become a profession.
Characteristics: inconsistent content, small audience, no real monetization.
Objective: experiment and discover their voice.

🔵 2. Full-time Creator

The creator who has managed to support themselves with what they do. They close some sponsorships, sell a course, receive from AdSense.
Characteristics: works alone or with freelancers, earns tens of thousands of reais per year, but is still bogged down in operations.
Challenge: scale without drowning.

🟡 3. Star

Here, the creator has found a model that works. They have a team, processes, and start to think like a brand.
Examples: Emma Chamberlain (with her coffee brand), Yes Theory (with Seek Discomfort).
Characteristics: earning six to seven figures per year, expanding into their own products.
Objective: build an ecosystem.

🔴 4. Mogul

The creator who became a company — and the company grew larger than them.
Examples: Huda Kattan (Huda Beauty), Jay Shetty (with his agency and podcast).
Characteristics: multiple revenue streams, structured team, own IP, global influence.
Goal: total independence from platforms.

This journey is not linear — and many creators get stuck along the way.
Not due to lack of talent or audience, but due to lack of structure, management, and access to capital.

The trick? It's not just about growing.
It's about growing like a business, not as a hostage of the algorithm.

In the next section, we will delve into exactly this: what is blocking most promising creators?

What is blocking growth: Team, capital, and focus

The truth is that most creators do not get stuck due to lack of talent.
They get stuck because they are trying to become businesses without structure.

The full-time creator wears many hats: scriptwriter, presenter, editor, social media manager, sales support, financial manager, and customer support. They work 12 hours a day, glued to analytics, waiting for the next video to go viral — and pay the bills for the month.

But what was once freedom becomes a prison.

The bottlenecks are clear:

1. Lack of reliable team

Creators are reluctant to delegate. Many still edit their own videos even with hundreds of thousands of followers. Result? Burnout, stagnation, and capped growth.

2. Lack of capital to invest

Even when there is demand, the creator has no way to expand. Want to launch a product? They lack money for inventory. Want to run a campaign? They lack funds for traffic. Want to hire? They can't pay upfront.

3. Lack of strategic focus

Without a minimum structure, the creator lives in survival mode. They put out fires, chase briefings, deliver content, and start over. They have no time (or cash) to think long-term.

And that brings us to the challenge:

How do you scale without cash flow?
How do you become a brand if you are always starting from scratch?

That's why financial structure is as strategic as creativity.

DUX, for example, anticipates receivables from creators who already have signed contracts, proven audiences, and real results — but who need liquidity now to unlock the next level. It's timely money, without bureaucracy.

The logic is simple: the right creator, with cash at the right time, becomes a business.

And the future of this business is not just selling sponsorships. It's about building community, brand, recurring revenue, and IP.
This is what we will discuss in the next section.

The future is direct: community, recurring revenue, and proprietary products

The new phase of the creator economy has a clear logic:
less intermediary, more direct relationship.

The creator who previously relied 100% on platforms (and their algorithms) is beginning to build their own infrastructure.
It’s the movement of D2C — Direct to Community.

The logic is simple: if you have a loyal audience, you don’t need to rely solely on brands sponsoring.
You can sell your own product, your own experience, your own community.

Examples?

• Paul Millerd, author of Pathless Path, who sold thousands of books independently without a publisher — directly on Amazon.

• Ryan Holiday, who turned Daily Stoic into a million-dollar business selling… a coin. Yes, a physical coin with symbolic appeal.

• Taylor Swift, who bypassed studios and took her film directly to theaters. Because those who have an audience do not need approval.

More creators are migrating to platforms like:

• Skool, to create closed communities

• Circle, for recurring content and exchanges among members

• Hotmart, for courses and digital experiences

In these communities, the creator stops being just a content sender — and becomes a leader of a culture.
The delivery of value becomes horizontal. Engagement becomes belonging. And revenue ceases to be seasonal.

Monetizing recurring revenue with those who already trust you is much smarter than depending on someone who can cut the contract next month.

Creators who want to build with stability need to stop thinking like influencers — and start thinking like businesses that sell directly to those who matter.

But for that, they need something that most still lack: time, structure, and money to invest in their own autonomy.

This is where financial intelligence becomes a strategic differential.

AI, agility, and IP: why the structured creator wins the game

With the advancement of artificial intelligence, the creator economy enters a new era of productivity. But contrary to what many think, AI will not replace the creator — it will enhance them.

Think of it this way:

• If before you needed 5 people to run a project, now you can do it with 2.

• If it used to take 10 hours to edit a video, now you can do it with one click.

• If you needed to pay for traffic to test ideas, now you validate directly with the community.

AI does not deliver taste, does not deliver vision, does not deliver authority.
But it handles repetitive tasks, so the creator can focus on what really matters: idea, strategy, positioning.

This is the creator of the future:

• Light, agile, with a lean team and total focus on value.

• Who understands branding, product, and management.

• And who, above all, understands the value of what they create — and therefore, protects it.

The importance of having owned IP has never been clearer.

Look at the case of Taylor Swift, who re-recorded her albums to retain the rights to her own songs.
The same goes for creators who publish books, courses, products, and communities:

Those who do not hold their own IP are always hostage to the next platform, contract, or algorithm.

The difference between a creator and a business?
The creator creates.
The business retains, scales, and monetizes consistently.

And to do this, it is necessary to treat content as an asset.
Protect, distribute, transform into product.
And of course — have cash flow to execute.

The future belongs to those who master two games at the same time:
the game of attention and that of capital.

Creator economy is not about fame — it’s about business

The creator economy has grown. It has evolved.
And it now demands maturity.

Who will lead the next decade is not necessarily the one with the most views, nor the one closing the most sponsorships —
but the one who understands that creating is just the beginning.

The creators who will scale are those who structure.
Those who build audiences, products, community, and brand.
Those who dominate the game of content, but also that of business.

And to do this, talent alone is not enough. It is necessary liquidity. Time. Focus. Stamina.

If you already have the audience, the content, the demand — what is holding you back?

👉 DUX anticipates your receivables and releases capital for you to scale your creative operation. Talk to us. Let’s turn influence into expansion.