Chocolate bars, sports drinks, coffee, cosmetics and a holding company with a thousand staff: every one of these businesses began as a channel. Which founder built the most?
1MrBeastMajority owner of Beast Industries, the Feastables and Lunchly parent valued at $5 billion with more than 1,000 employees.1000pts
2ZoellaZoella Beauty, a bestselling book series and the Zoella lifestyle site, all built from a beauty vlog.744pts
3Ryan TrahanFounder of the Joyride candy brand, sold in Target and Walmart after launching through his channel.609pts
4Hank GreenCo-founder of Complexly, the studio behind Crash Course and SciShow, and of the VidCon convention.546pts
5Mark RoberFounder of CrunchLabs, the engineering toy-subscription company he runs alongside the channel.473pts
6Huda KattanBeauty vlogger who founded Huda Beauty in 2013 and turned it into a billion-dollar cosmetics company.473pts
7Michelle PhanCo-founder of the Ipsy subscription box in 2011 and owner of EM Cosmetics.473pts
8Dhar MannRuns Dhar Mann Studios, a 100,000-square-foot production company making scripted shorts for a billion monthly views.473pts
9PewDiePieCo-founder with Marzia of the Tsuki clothing and lifestyle brand, launched in 2018 and run from Japan.387pts
10Jake PaulFounder of Most Valuable Promotions, the betting app Betr and the W grooming line.387pts
11Casey NeistatCo-founded the video app Beme and sold it to CNN in 2016 for a reported $25 million.387pts
12Rhett & LinkOwners of Mythical Entertainment, which bought Smosh in 2019 and runs a studio and product lines.387pts
13KSIPrime co-founder and the force behind Misfits Boxing and the Sidemen's restaurant and vodka brands.284pts
14Emma ChamberlainFounder of Chamberlain Coffee, launched in 2019 and stocked in national grocery chains.284pts
15Logan PaulCo-founder of Prime Hydration with KSI, the drink brand that reported $1.2 billion in 2023 sales, and of Maverick Clothing.0pts
16Linus SebastianBuilt Linus Media Group, the LTT Store and the Floatplane platform out of a tech-review channel.0pts
17Rosanna PansinoNerdy Nummies host whose baking cookbooks and Wilton bakeware line became a retail business.0pts
Photo credits
- MrBeast — Tyren Redd, CC BY 4.0
- Zoella — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Ryan Trahan — jade darmawangsa, CC BY 3.0
- Hank Green — Tessa Bury, CC BY 4.0
- Mark Rober — Newhcrossaint, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Huda Kattan — Susan Alpin, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Michelle Phan — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Dhar Mann — Dhar Mann, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Casey Neistat — Tessa Bury, CC BY 4.0
- Rhett & Link — SHOWTIME, CC BY 3.0
- KSI — MILLION DOLLAZ WORTH OF GAME, CC BY 3.0
- Emma Chamberlain — John Park, CC BY 3.0
- Logan Paul — Diego Serrano, CC BY 2.0
- Linus Sebastian — Tessa Bury, CC BY 4.0
- Rosanna Pansino — Vlogbrothers, CC BY 3.0
