Good morning and happy Sunday! 🌍💡🔋⭐⛰️💛

This week, we explore how Zoë Foster-Blake’s experience as a beauty-blogging-creator laid foundation for the success of Go-To, her skincare company valued at $177M. It’s pretty cool…and it all makes sense knowing the skills she was building. We'll then explore the key factors behind the rapid growth of Australia's creator economy, now standing at an impressive $9 billion.

From 21-Year-Old Blogger to $177M Beauty Founder; The Story of Zoë Foster-Blake

In December 2023, Zoe Foster Blake bought back 60% of her skincare brand, Go-To, for $8.5M, after originally selling to conglomerate BWX for $89M in 2021. By regaining majority ownership for a tenth of the price 2 years later, Zoe has returned to the helm of Go-To as board director & Chief Creative Officer.

But scrap the last 3 years, let’s go back - how did a former beauty editor turned blogger become one of the most respected cosmetics entrepreneurs in Australia?

A brief summary: After finishing a Bachelor of Media & Communications from UNSW in 2002, at 21-years old Zoe began writing for children’s magazines “Smash Hits” and “Mania Magazine”. Upon writing a fake recommendation from Rupert Murdoch, Blake progressed to beauty editor at Cosmopolitan and even further as beauty director at Harper’s Bazaar in 2009.

Her knack for writing witty beauty segments helped her build a small following of women captivated by her personality. But it didn’t stop there;

• She started her own blog “fruitybeauty” in 2006

• Wrote more columns for Sunday Style between 2013-2015

• Released 12 books (5 non-fiction, 4 novels, 3 children’s books)

It was in 2014 when Zoe was ready for a new challenge - accelerating her career trajectory sky high.

Easing out of the magazine game, she focused on her own blog, revamping fruitybeauty into ZoTheySay.com. Brands such as Revlon, would pay her for cosmetic consulting and she’d host in-store appearances, where incredible amounts of products were sold through her.

For 15 years, Zoe had cultivated a community of women trusting her cosmetics advice, yet found herself helping sell the products of other brands. So? In 2014 she assembled her dream team; Paul Bates (director), Peter Lehrke (formulator) & Stefan Drury (Ecommerce) - who were all convinced with “sweat equity” to help create “Go-To Skincare”.

Why Zoe’s life as a creator helped her succeed?

Her creative writing ability set her apart, so why not utilise this in her new venture. Go-To became her new blog. The skincare company created the “Go-To Guide” - consisting of 6 unique blogs, all supporting & nurturing a community of skincare loving customers. It’s genius.

What other Aussie skincare companies put so much emphasis on community building & personal connection? It’s a skincare brand, but a thriving media outlet too.

People trust people, not brands. It’s simple. And for 15 years, Zoe’s brand was her fun but trustworthy beauty advice. Her affable writing created a playful space for women to trust her cosmetics advice. By the time Go-To launched in 2014, Zoe had established her community by being a writing creator, she had industry credibility & people already loved her. Fast forward to the 2020 lockdowns, according to the Australian Financial Review, “Go-To was selling 1 of its Transformazing Face Masks every minute”, turning over $36M that financial year.

Zoe said “I wanted to disrupt an industry that I felt had become overly complicated” and her superpower was simplicity. Her experience as a successful media creator was so important.

She started as a 21-year old creator, writing columns for different magazines, now she’s one of Australia’s most respected cosmetics entrepreneurs.

If there’s anything that people can learn is that the best creators build community. When it was time for Zoe to launch her own brand, it was her community that helped launch it to the powerhouse it is right now.

Can Australia’s $9b creator economy compete in the big leagues? Well, the data says yes.

The Australian Creator Economy has seen a tidal wave of growth over the last three years and is one of the largest developing creator economies globally. Worth a cool $9 billion annually, this is only going to get bigger.

You may instantly think of The Inspired Unemployed, Celeste Barber, Hamish & Andy, Spanian, The Irwin’s, Brodie Moss and other popular creators but there is something impressive growing beneath the established leaders.

The Australian Creator Economy in numbers: Adobe Future of Creativity Report

• There are 6 million creators in the Aussie space. (23% of population)

• 3 million new creators emerged between 2020 – 2023.

• 48% of Aussie creators had monetized their content by 2023.

• 79% of those who have monetized did so in 2022

• 46% of monetized creators anticipate significant increases in earnings by 2025.

• 58% of Australian creators earn half of their monthly income from content creation.

• 1 in 4 (49%) of Gen Z monetisers say they would prefer to start their own creative businesses rather than attend university.

• The average hourly earning of Australian creators is AU$115 an hour.

• $890 million: the share YouTube content added to Australian GDP in 2022.

These numbers show the significant trajectory that the Australian creator economy is on. The fact that virtually half of Australian creators are monetized is staggering to consider. It reveals that Australia has both a market, and a society that allows for content entrepreneurs to thrive.

The digital economy & the creator economy are now closely intertwined. Just as online banking, Ecommerce & telehealth have been normalised, the way people perceive businesses, make daily choices and experience culture has been heavily impacted by the internet. Creators are becoming vessels of information & building an online presence is, for better or worse, the new path to success in many industries.

A new decision for young-adults; Creator Economy or University?: The success of the economy and local creators is having a significant effect on the emerging Generation Zs entering the workforce. 1 in 4 (49%) of Gen Z monetised creators say they would prefer to start their own creative business rather than attend a university. Currently 61% of Gen Z aged creators in the country anticipate greater content earnings in the next two years.

The Aussie Creator Economy still has major growth ahead. With almost a quarter of the population creating content, the Australian creator economy is not just about big-name celebs. Micro influencers with loyal communities and niches are serving up the authentic and desired content demanded by local Aussies and creating a sustainable market for many to enter; benchmarking it alongside unique local culture.

Since internet creativity isn’t restricted by financial barriers, the competitive edge of Hollywood is fading, allowing many talented creators to be recognised - a concept being proven every year with the break-out of new Australian creators

Happenings in the creator space 💡

1. Meta recently declared its intention to start affixing "Made with AI" labels to deepfake content, commencing in May.

2. Dude Perfect secure a $100M+ investment from Highmount Capital to build a disney-inspired sport theme park in Dallas, Texas. Reports reveal it could be named “Trick Shot Town”.

3. 19-year old American streamer IShowSpeed competed in Wrestlemania 40 supporting creator Logan Paul

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The STORY STREET spotlight 💫⭐

Up & Coming Creators To Watch

• Jack & Finn Whitaker - two brothers who initially gained popularity after documenting their lives travelling the world on a sail boat. Now creating more lifestyle content, building communities on YouTube.

• Bec Putna - “sydneys running gorl”, documenting her journey in competing an ironman after quitting her job & posting relatable lifestyle videos

• Daniel Dalen - a 26-year old entrepreneur crafting YouTube videos about his journey as a founder, taking him from Europe to the US and now China