Why YouTube's Biggest Channel Sold for $0 (Smosh Interview)

I interviewed Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, the co-founders of Smosh who recently bought back their historic YouTube channel after 12 years. In 2011, Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox were one of the first to sell a YouTube channel long before the likes of MrBeast started on YouTube. 12 years later, they’ve become the first to buy a channel back. We discussed Smosh’s evolution from sketch comedy to a production power house with over 35 employees, 5 channels, and 45 million combined subscribers. We also covered the duo’s 2017 split, their solo journeys as creators, and their ultimate reunion to buy back Smosh from Rhett and Link (Mythical Entertainment). Chapters 00:00 - 00:57 Who Is Smosh? 00:57 - 01:42 Presented By HubSpot 01:42 - 02:20 The Untold Story of Smosh  02:20 - 10:55 Why Smosh Sold Its Channel...And What They Got 10:55 - 19:07 Growing A Creator Business 19:07 - 28:31 Creative Frustration & Breakthrough 28:31 - 35:47 Why Anthony Left Smosh...But Ian Stayed 35:47 - 39:40 Rules for Working With Best Friends 39:40 - 48:53 Anthony's Solo Creator Career 48:53 - 52:18 Ian Re-defines Smosh  52:18 - 52:52 HubSpot Presents: Finding Founders 52:52 - 56:35 How Smosh Nearly Ended 56:35 - 1:05:55 Finding Smosh A New Home 1:05:55 -  1:08:34 Ian & Anthony's Secret Meetings 1:08:34 - 1:22:09 Buying Back Smosh 1:22:09 - 1:32:38 How Big Is Smosh Today?  1:32:38 - 1:41:34 Economics Of Smosh & Memberships  1:41:34 - 1:45:11 Creating Sustainable Content 1:45:11 - 1:49:56 Smosh’s Production Process 1:49:56 - 1:55:35 Sketch Writing Process 1:55:35 - 2:02:19 Adapting To The Algorithm 2:02:19 - 2:09:17 What’s Next For Smosh? Subscribe to my newsletter: https://created.news/ Join my Discord community: https://created.club/ Follow me on: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram