How one teacher built a global empire solving her own problem...

Ms Rachel just became the third-most influential creator in the world according to Rolling Stone.

And as a father of three with twins on the way, I couldn't be happier for her.

Here's her story in timeline form:

2019: Preschool music teacher in NYC dealing with her son's speech delays.

2020: Creates "Songs for Littles" YouTube channel during pandemic lockdowns.

2021: Videos start gaining traction among desperate parents seeking quality educational content.

2022: Channel explodes to millions of views, becomes go-to resource for toddler development.

2023: Hits 5+ million subscribers, parents credit her with helping kids say first words.

2024: Over 10 million subscribers, videos regularly hit 50+ million views.

From her living room to billions all over the world.

Ms Rachel started with a problem she was personally facing and a skill set she'd developed as an educator.

Her son struggled with speech delays.

The pandemic limited access to in-person resources.

She had training in early childhood education and music.

So she created the solution she needed.

I absolutely love this because it’s simply the creator economy at its most powerful.

Individual creators identifying gaps that massive corporations and institutions have missed, then building solutions at global scale.

While major studios produce content like Bluey (which is brilliant), Ms Rachel represents something different entirely.

She's a one-woman operation creating content specifically designed for children with developmental challenges.

Her videos use research-backed strategies from speech pathology - modelling language, repetition, engaging musical cues.

Direct address to build connection, exaggerated facial expressions to aid comprehension, clear enunciation to support language development and interactive techniques specifically designed for children with learning differences.

Ms Rachel’s leveraged YouTube's global infrastructure to build something that rivals major educational institutions.

Go on any of her videos and you’ll see comments from parents whose children said their first words after watching her videos.

Speech therapists recommending her content.

Families feeling supported and empowered during difficult developmental phases.

And it’s not like she’s competing with Disney or Nickelodeon on entertainment value.

She's competing on educational effectiveness for a specific, underserved audience.

Parents dealing with speech delays don't need more generic kids' content.

They need targeted, research-backed strategies delivered in an engaging format.

Ms Rachel identified that specific need and built her entire approach around serving it better than anyone else.

I won’t lie, the timing was perfect.

The pandemic created unprecedented demand for educational content as parents suddenly found themselves managing their children's learning at home.

But Ms Rachel was ready because she'd been building her expertise and approach for years before the demand exploded.

Her success validates that most sustainable creator enterprises just need to understand a problem deeply enough to solve it better than anyone else.

You love to see it!

Oh, before you go…

We're looking for an amazing filmmaker to join our team at Arcade.

Someone with cinematic flair who understands social-first approaches.

You'd work closely with me and the creative team telling the Sidemen and Arcade story.

This is a London-based role. If you're interested or have recommendations, check out my LinkedIn post and drop your details there.

You can check it out here →

Remember, the creator mindset is all you need to grow 🌱

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