Welcome to From the Gold Room, our dispatch shaped by the people, ideas, and moments moving the creator economy forward.

There's something special about this time of year in San Francisco.

The city comes alive with builders, creators, founders, investors, brands, and technology leaders all bringing new ideas, new businesses, and new possibilities into the room.

And this year, Creator Gold is excited to be part of it. We're thrilled to officially be an SF Tech Week partner, and even more excited to bring our community together for Creator Gold Live on October 9. This isn't just another event to add to your calendar, it's a room where great conversations happen, new relationships begin, and opportunities have a chance to take shape.

Expect thoughtful panels. Expect great people. Expect plenty of time to connect beyond the stage. Because that's what we believe at Creator Gold: the right room can change what happens next.

 And speaking of what happens next…

This week, we're shining our Creator Gold Spotlight on someone who knows a thing or two about starting over. Before Dhar Mann was a Forbes #2 Top Creator, before the millions of followers and partnerships with companies like FOX and Disney, there were failures, financial struggles, and moments when his next chapter felt anything but guaranteed.

He didn't have a guaranteed path forward. He bet on himself anyway.

Sometimes the setback is the education. Sometimes the failure is the pivot. Dhar Mann didn't just build an audience he built a mission, and today he's using it to tell millions of people what he once needed to hear himself: keep going, believe in yourself, and never underestimate the power of getting back up.

So this week, we're talking about resilience, the power of betting on yourself, the signals shaping the creator economy, and the people you want to know.

Let's get to the gold.

💛
France & Monica
Creator Gold, Co-Founders

What Dhar Mann’s journey teaches us about failure, resilience, and betting on yourself.

This week, we are shining our Creator Gold spotlight on a story that every single founder, storyteller, and digital builder needs to read.

It’s easy to look at Dhar Mann today and see only the numbers: ranked #2 on Forbes’ Top Creators list, named to the TIME100 Creators list celebrating the most influential voices in media, commanding a global digital network of 170+ million total followers, and generating nearly 300 million views every week across platforms.

But behind every success story is a reality every creator knows too well: building something meaningful is hard. We talk endlessly about the highlights, but we rarely talk about the hardships, the silent stumbles, and the moments you wonder if you should keep going. Before Dhar Mann became one of the world's most influential creators, he experienced something far less glamorous: complete, overwhelming failure.

Dhar’s drive was forged in the Bay Area. The son of Indian immigrants, he grew up in Oakland in a crowded one-bedroom apartment shared among multiple families. Watching his parents work exhausting, endless hours to build a local taxi company and real estate portfolio taught him the power of work ethic early on. By his late teens, while attending UC Davis as a Political Science and Economics major, Dhar was already launching his own real estate brokerage firm at just 19 years old.

He was obsessed with the hustle but the road was far from smooth.

Throughout his twenties, Dhar launched venture after venture in the Bay Area. Some showed early promise; others collapsed under partner disputes and financial strain. His high-profile Oakland hydroponics venture weGrow famously shut down amidst heavy media scrutiny.

By his early thirties, Dhar hit total rock bottom. Broke and battling deep depression, he found himself sitting in a state of personal and financial defeat. Feeling down on his luck, with no momentum and his confidence shattered, he faced the hardest truth an entrepreneur can face: he had to start completely over.

Most people would have called that the end of the story. Dhar Mann called it the turning point.

Instead of letting failure define him, Dhar treated it as tuition, realizing his early ventures were built purely to make money, not to make an impact. He first pivoted to the beauty space, launching an influencer-driven subscription platform called LiveGlam in 2015. Lacking big ad budgets, he immersed himself in social algorithms, creator dynamics, and digital audience retention.

As LiveGlam grew, Dhar felt a deeper calling. Having sat in the absolute dark, he knew what it felt like to be hopeless, judged, and feeling like the world was against you.

In a small apartment, with zero film experience and no grand studio plan, Mann started recording simple motivational videos directly to the camera, nearly a hundred of them. Almost no one watched.

Undeterred, he tried a different approach: instead of talking at the camera, he had a few friends act out a short, scripted story centered on empathy and second chances. One of those early narrative videos, about a stay-at-home mother, generated more than a million views within a few hours and ultimately went on to surpass 200 million views. That was the moment Mann began to see the power of storytelling and his small apartment became his first makeshift film studio.

Where others saw an unconventional format, Dhar saw a mission. He bet everything on himself, reinvesting every dollar into building a dedicated production team in Los Angeles because he believed deeply that people needed stories reminding them they could get back up.

That core belief transformed into Dhar Mann Studios, a 125,000-square-foot facility in Burbank operating at the absolute cutting edge of digital entertainment. In 2026, his studio reached heights that redefine what a creator-led media company can achieve:

Dhar Mann’s journey isn't just a story about video views or big studio deals, it is a masterclass in resilience, self-belief, and mission-driven building.

In an industry often obsessed with short-term trends and overnight success, Dhar proved that failing isn't the end of your career; it’s often just the prerequisite for your real work to begin. He took his lowest moments, turned them into stories of hope, and built a global media empire around a simple premise: be kind, help others, and never be afraid to get back up.

For every creator reading this who feels stuck, overlooked, or down on their luck, remember that your current setback might just be the opening scene of your comeback.

The Moves, Moments, and Momentum to Know

📱 TikTok Locks In the NFL for the Long Haul

TikTok and the NFL just renewed their partnership ahead of the 2026 season and the numbers back it up. NFL posts on TikTok are already up 32% year-over-year, and the deal expands TikTok GamePlan (the same tool used for the NBA, WNBA, and World Cup) into full NFL game-day hubs, with new ad placements and real-time fan features.

Why it matters for our community: TikTok is racing to defend sports-fan attention against YouTube, which now hosts NFL Sunday Ticket. As platforms compete harder for sports content, expect more creator access and monetization opportunities to follow. Sources: Social Media Today, Tubefilter

🤖 Meta Is Launching an AI Agent That Can Shop and Book For You | Inside WhatsApp and Instagram

Meta is reportedly set to release "Hatch," a consumer AI agent that runs inside WhatsApp and Instagram and can perform autonomous tasks like making purchases and restaurant bookings, according to an internal memo. It's launching alongside a separate settlement that could clear regulatory hurdles for a wave of new Meta AI products, even as the company faces up to $145 billion in 2026 AI infrastructure spending.

 Why it matters for our community: If Hatch can autonomously complete purchases inside Instagram, that's a direct new layer sitting between a creator's product recommendation and the actual sale potentially disrupting affiliate links, swipe-ups, and "link in bio" as the primary conversion path. Brands and creators running Instagram commerce should be watching closely: an AI agent making the purchase decision for the user changes who (or what) is actually being persuaded by a creator's content. Source: CNBC

🛒 YouTube Adds Amazon to Its Shopping Affiliate Program

YouTube announced a major expansion of its U.S. Shopping affiliate program: eligible creators can now natively tag Amazon products directly in videos, Shorts, and livestreams, not just drop links in the description box. Creators need an active Amazon Associates or Influencer account linked to YouTube, and Amazon supplies a curated (not full) product catalog, with auto-tagging available to reduce manual work. YouTube says early tests showed on-video product tags drove roughly double the click-through rate of description links.

Why it matters for our community: This closes a real friction gap for creators monetizing product recommendations no more sending viewers hunting through a description box. It also signals YouTube is serious about competing with TikTok Shop's commerce momentum by making shoppable video easier to execute natively. For brands, this is a new, higher-converting placement worth testing with creator partners who already drive Amazon-adjacent purchases (reviews, unboxings, tutorials). Sources: YouTube Blog, Social Media Today

🎾 The U.S. Open Has an Influencer Problem | And It's Bigger Than One Ring Light

 A content shoot in a luxury suite briefly halted play during a Naomi Osaka match this week, reigniting a bigger conversation about how many creators is too many at major live events. The USTA has ramped up creator credentialing fast from 54 creators in 2025 to nearly 100 this year as part of a broader push to turn the tournament into an all-day entertainment destination. It's not isolated: the NBA brought 200+ creators to All-Star Weekend, and the ATP just held its first creator "Talent Summit." With U.S. creator ad spend projected to hit $44 billion in 2026, leagues have every incentive to keep leaning in.

Why it matters for our community: Industry voices are converging on the same point: the backlash isn't really about too many creators, it's about access without purpose. Guests and creators invited into premium spaces need clear briefing on etiquette and content expectations, the same way a newsroom would brief a reporter. As more leagues lean into creator partnerships, credentialing without guidelines is becoming the real risk, not creator presence itself. Sources: Mashable, Fox News/OutKick

 ⛳ Good Good Golf's CEO Steps Down After Brand Ad Backlash Costs the Company Everything

Good Good Golf CEO Matt Kendrick and President Joe Flannery resigned this week, the latest fallout from a co-branded Callaway driver ad that depicted a male creator shoving a female creator to the ground widely condemned as trivializing violence against women. Callaway ended its three-year partnership immediately, Dick's Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy pulled Good Good merchandise, Golf Channel canceled a planned TV reboot, and Good Good withdrew as a PGA Tour event sponsor. Kendrick then went viral accusing Callaway of approving the ad, then dropping Good Good in a "coordinated media blitz" once backlash hit.

Why it matters for our community: This is a stark reminder that both sides of a brand-creator partnership carry real reputational risk, not just the creator. The ad was reportedly approved by Callaway's own marketing team before it went out. Yet, Good Good absorbed nearly all the public and business fallout while Callaway walked away largely unscathed (and donated $1M to domestic-violence charities to manage optics). For anyone brokering creator-brand deals, this is a case study in why creative approval chains, crisis response plans, and clear accountability language need to be locked in before a partnership goes live, not after it goes viral for the wrong reason. Sources: CBS News, Front Office Sports

A curated look at the rooms shaping what’s next in the creator world.

The creator economy is evolving fast and the next chapter is being shaped by the people building at the intersection of creativity, technology, business, and culture.

Creator Gold Live: SF Tech Week brings together a curated community of creators, founders, brand leaders, investors, and operators for an afternoon of conversations, ideas, and connections around where the industry is headed next.

Expect thought-provoking conversations, fresh perspectives, and the kind of connections that can turn into something much bigger after the event ends. This is more than a panel or networking event. It’s a chance to get in the room with the people building what’s next.

📅 SAVE THE DATE
Friday, October 9  11:00 AM – 4:00 PM  📍 San Francisco

RSVP details and full programming coming soon. Save the date. We’ll see you in the room. 💛

Flower Piano: 12 Hidden Pianos in Golden Gate Park, September 10–20 | Golden Gate Park, San Francisco 

A San Francisco fall tradition, a dozen pianos are hidden throughout the Botanical Garden and Golden Gate Park for anyone to sit down and play, alongside a full schedule of professional performances. A lovely, low-key way to experience the park differently.

Dreamforce 2026 | September 15–17 | Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA

Salesforce's flagship global conference brings thousands of tech leaders, builders, and media teams to downtown SF. Massive for networking, enterprise brand activations, and surrounding side-events across the city.

Autumn Moon Festival, September 19–20 | Chinatown, San Francisco 

One of SF's most vibrant cultural street festivals returns to Grant Avenue with a parade, lion dances, live music, food stalls, and mooncakes. Free and family-friendly. 

Jack White Live, September 24 | Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco 

The rock icon brings his 2026 tour to SF for one night only.

SF Giants vs. LA Dodgers, September 25–27 | Oracle Park, San Francisco 

The Giants close out their final regular-season home-stand with a marquee NL West rivalry series against the Dodgers.

Bay Area Chuseok Festival, September 26 | Presidio Main Parade Lawn, San Francisco 

The 8th annual celebration of Korea's harvest holiday returns to the Presidio with Korean food, live music and performances, traditional games, and local vendors. Free and family-friendly.

Portola Music Festival, September 26–27 | Pier 80, San Francisco 

San Francisco's premier electronic dance music festival returns for its fifth year, headlined by Robyn, Swedish House Mafia, Tiësto, Zara Larsson, and Four Tet. Produced by Goldenvoice (the team behind Coachella), Portola has become a major hub for brand activations and festival content worth watching if you're tracking how music festivals are courting creators this fall.

Folsom Street Fair, September 27 | SoMa, San Francisco 

One of the city's largest and most iconic street fairs returns to SoMa. 21+ event, not family-friendly, but a true only-in-San-Francisco institution.

49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals, September 27 | Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara 

A key NFC West divisional matchup as the Niners look to keep their dominant streak against Arizona going.

New York Fashion Week, September 10–15 | New York, NY

The official CFDA schedule for Spring/Summer 2027 runs across six days, opening with Henry Zankov's runway debut for Diane von Furstenberg and closing with Thom Browne. A great one to watch if you're tracking where fashion and creator culture are colliding this season.

Fireworks Finale: OneRepublic, September 11 & 12 | Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 

The Grammy-nominated pop-rock band closes out the Bowl's summer season with two nights of anthemic hits ("Counting Stars," "I Ain't Worried") capped by the Bowl's signature fireworks display.

Podcast Movement NYC 2026 | September 14–18 | Terminal 5, New York, NY

The world's premier podcasting and creator-led audio conference moves to NYC for the first time. It covers digital audio, storytelling formats, creator monetization, and ad tech with top audio networks and independent hosts.

IAB CreatorFronts, September 15 | Convene 360 Madison, New York, NY 

The industry's first creator economy marketplace event, bringing brand marketers, media buyers, and agencies together to preview the creator-led platforms and partnerships shaping next year's budgets. Note: invite-only for qualified brand/agency professionals.

Boston Local Food Festival, September 20 | Rose Kennedy Greenway, Boston 

A free, family-friendly celebration of Boston's food scene along the Greenway, with local vendors, live music, and tastings from the city's best restaurants and food trucks.

Iron Maiden: Run For Your Lives World Tour (with Megadeth & Anthrax), September 25 & 27 | BMO Stadium, Los Angeles 

Metal legends bring their 50th-anniversary tour to LA for two stadium shows, with support from Megadeth and Anthrax  one of the biggest hard rock stadium bills of the fall.

Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs, September 27 | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami 

The Dolphins' home opener, and a marquee matchup against the defending AFC contenders one of the best tickets in South Florida this fall.

VidSummit, September 29 – October 1 | Dallas, TX 

The premier conference for video creators and YouTubers, bringing together creators, editors, brands, managers, and production teams for practical, tactical programming on growing a video-first creator business.

Carefully chosen content that moves the creator world forward, from platform updates to standout storytelling and Bay Area discoveries.

🎬 To Watch

Feeding Starving Celebrities ft. Tyla

Quenlin Blackwell, recently named to TIME's TIME100 Creators list continues to prove her YouTube series is one of the sharpest interview formats in digital media. Her kitchen-based show invites today's biggest stars into an unscripted, high-energy hangout that strips away the polished press-tour persona. It's a masterclass in how a simple, repeatable format: one host, one guest, one kitchen can consistently outperform traditional multi-million-dollar studio productions.

→ ▶️ WATCH ▶️ Watch on YouTube

🎧 Listen

RevitaLash's Creator Strategy Built on Genuine Purpose

Keith Bendes and Brendan Gahan of Creator Economy Live sit down with Dari Cohen, VP of Global Philanthropy at RevitaLash Cosmetics, a brand that has quietly donated $10 million to breast cancer research while staying fiercely independent in a category where everything gets bought up. The conversation digs into how RevitaLash built a creator strategy rooted in genuine purpose, something most brands skip entirely. A refreshing listen on what it looks like when a brand's values and its creator partnerships actually align.

 Listen → Listen:  Creator Economy Live Podcast

🍽 EAT: Kokkari Estiatorio | (France’s Recommendation)

Located in San Francisco's Financial District, this Greek restaurant is a rustic-chic staple recommended in the Michelin Guide, legendary for its warm hearth-side atmosphere and wood-fired Hellenic flavors.

What to Order:

Tip: Ask your server about the nightly rotisserie special as the rotation frequently features slow-roasted pork belly, whole duck, or specialty game meats crisping over the open fire.

📍200 Jackson Street (at Front St.), San Francisco, CA 94111

Creator Gold is a curated creator community and experience series founded by France Tantiado and Monica Khan in the San Francisco Bay Area.

We create intentional, elevated spaces where creators, founders, brands, and platform leaders connect, collaborate, and build what's next:  turning conversations into collaborations, and collaborations into what comes next.

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