ABOUT US

We’ve had a lot of new subscribers to our bi-weekly newsletter, so we figured it would be a good time to re-introduce ourselves!

Our mission is to build a thriving ecosystem where creators, brands, startups, and investors connect to collaborate, innovate, and grow. Through curated events, workshops, and industry insights, we keep you ahead of the curve—while opening doors to new opportunities and sharing tips to help you succeed in today’s fast-moving digital landscape.

At our core, we’re here to unite the Bay Area creator community—fueling collaboration, creativity, and momentum.

All are welcome at our events - whether you live in the Bay Area, visiting, or making a special trip. 

Thanks for being part of it. We’re so glad you’re here. Let’s keep building the future of the creator economy—together.

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

JESSE ENGLE - FOUNDER AND CO-DIRECTOR XPDTN

Rachel Masters, Contributor

In this week's member spotlight, we're featuring Jesse Engle who has spent the last 20 years in the creator economy.  After successfully leading CoTweet to an acquisition by ExactTarget/Salesforce and a move to LA, he's back in the Bay focused on building XPDTN, a community for Creator Partner Managers, who often have an undefined role and career path within companies.

If this interests you, you can join Jesse at the upcoming Creator Marketing Unconference happening at the Creator Camp Film Fest where he'll bring the online community to life for the first time with participants from Notion, BetterHelp, and more.

Get to know him a bit more here:

Q:   What do you see as the biggest opportunity for creator partnership managers today?

The biggest opportunity is the skill to become strategic scouts for their brands — identifying emerging talent early, building long-term relationships with creators, and helping their companies tap into the creator channel as a core growth engine. They can turn scouting into a superpower and help their teams invest in creators the way a VC might invest in startups: with insight, intentionality, and a long view. I’ve no doubt that the ones that do this well will become the leaders of their orgs.

Q:   What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest personal accomplishment is having convinced my wife to marry me. Nothing I’ve done in the 35 years since has produced anywhere near the kind of return it has. 

Professionally, it’s easy to point to CoTweet, a company I co-founded in 2009 to help brands manage Twitter. We launched just as Twitter’s growth went vertical and addressed the first pain point that brands experienced: how can we do this as a team? We raised our first round with an incredible group of early stage investors (Baseline Ventures, First Round Capital, Founders Fund, Freestyle Capital, SV Angel, and Mike Maples) and moved to the Bay Area, setting up shop at Pier 38. CoTweet was acquired by ExactTarget just seven months later and our office moved to 2nd and Brannan. We helped build ExactTarget’s social media capabilities over the next two years as ExactTarget went public. A year later they were acquired by Salesforce and became the Salesforce Marketing Cloud. 

Q:  What is going to happen at the Creator Marketing Unconference at Creator Camp Film Fest?

We’re flipping the script. No panels, no pitches — just real talk among in-house creator partnership managers. It’s the first in-person event for XPDTN, the community I run, but it’s free and open to all. Attendees will help shape the agenda in advance using Miro (our host at their Austin HQ), and we’ll dive into small-group sessions based on what matters most. High-signal, no gatekeeping.

It’s happening alongside Camp Film Fest, which aims to be the “Sundance for creators.” Backed by Patreon, Epidemic Sound, and Notion, they’ve invited 12 rising “bedroom filmmakers” to debut original shorts. I’ve followed this crew for years — this feels like a breakout moment.

Folks are welcome to RSVP for the Creator Marketing Unconference. April 25, 12-4pm, Miro HQ, Austin, TX.

Q:  Who in the Bay Area creator community do you most admire?

Kelsey Rodriguez stands out to me not just as an artist, but as a content creator, educator, and entrepreneur. She brings so much clarity and generosity to the space — breaking down the business side of being a creator in a way that’s approachable, honest, and actually useful. She’s built an incredible following by teaching what she knows and sharing her journey transparently, and I admire how deeply she cares about helping other creators succeed. In a world full of noise, Kelsey’s voice is grounded, smart, and refreshingly real — a true asset to the Bay Area and the broader creator economy.

Q: What's a Bay Area event you look forward to each year?

So many great traditions. I love Bay to Breakers, Hardly Strictly, and Outside Lands — events that bring out San Francisco’s wonderfully quirky, creative nature. My wife and I recently moved to the Berkeley hills (from the “far east bay”). We’re recently "empty-nesters" and exploring new traditions. After spending several years building a community around creators in Venice, I’m excited to be building here again. So many major players here and yet the creator community feels new and fresh.

Q:  What is your favorite podcast or YouTube channel?

By “favorite” I’m sure you mean top three, right? Who can choose just one? That would be Pivot, Colin & Samir, and Acquired. (fun facts: Colin & Samir were part of my Good Work House community in Venice pre-covid and Ben Gilbert was a CoTweet intern!).[byline]

UPCOMING EVENTS

Inside the Bay Area

MARCH

March 29-30
Renegade Craft Fair (Fort Mason Center, San Francisco)

APRIL

April 2
COMMUNITY PICK! Bay Area Creator Economy x Creator Economy Live Podcast Mixer
Don’t miss our exclusive spring mixer and live podcast recording in downtown San Francisco, hosted by Bay Area Creator Economy and Creator Economy Live. Join Brendan Gahan (CEO, Creator Authority) and Keith Bendes (Chief Strategy Officer, Linqia) as they feature Marina Mogilko (Silicon Valley-based creator and entrepreneur) as a guest speaker. This is the perfect opportunity to connect with creators, marketers, brands, and founders shaping the Bay Area creator economy. The event runs from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. Space is limited, and spots are filling up fast—RSVP now at this link to secure your place at this must-attend event! (San Francisco)

April 3
Aziz Ansari's 'Hypothetical Tour' Performance Don’t miss the chance to catch this award-winning comedian live! (Oakland)

April 24-27
Napa Valley StreamFest 
Napa Valley StreamFest is redefining the festival experience with a dynamic celebration of podcasts, series, films, and social content. (Napa)

April 29-30
The Startup Grind Conference 2025 is a premier event for the global startup ecosystem, bringing together founders, investors, and innovators to connect, collaborate and discuss the next big things in the future of technology. (Redwood City)

Beyond the Bay Area

MARCH

March 25-27
Shoptalk Spring in Las Vegas (Las Vegas)

March 27
B&H Creators Presents: DC Cherry Blossom Photo Walk Join the B&H Creators team for a sunrise Photo Walk with photographer and creator, Kristi Hemric (@khemric). (Washington D.C.)

APRIL

April 1-3
ADVERTISING WEEK EUROPE Advertising Week and IAB Australia have partnered with some of Australia’s top marketing, advertising and media companies for a Careers Fair during AWAPAC. (Europe)

April 5-9
The NAB Show (National Association of Broadcasters) is just around the corner, with the Creator Lab as one of the top highlights. Produced by Jim Louderback, and featuring experts like Cassandra Bankson, co-founder of BACE, and Dylan Huey, founder of REACH and a Bay Area native, the Creator Lab is a must-attend for content creators. Other creators speaking include Dhar Mann, Uptin Saiidi, Jason Nash, Zach Justice and many others. Sessions include deep dives on AI, podcasting, the future of the creator economy, live-stream shopping, gear, gadgets, algorithms and more. And with daily AMAs and networking receptions on Sunday and Monday night, creators and industry professionals can learn, connect and explore the latest trends. BACE community members can gain free entry by registering at this link and using the code CreateNAB. (Las Vegas)

April 9
April's ShopSocial Summit This month's ShopSocial is all about Home is Where the Heart Is. Lowe's and HexClad will be there to give you the inside scoop on what to sell and how to gear up for Memorial Day sales! (Los Angeles)

April 9-11
Google Cloud Next 2025 Get a front-row seat for Google’s latest and greatest AI innovations and product launches, and learn new ways to drive growth and efficiency. (Las Vegas)

April 11-13
Coachella’s Valley Music and Arts Festival is one of the biggest music festivals in the world, featuring top artists, fashion, art installations, and vibrant influencer-driven content creation. (Indio, CA)

April 23-24
Grow LA GROW is an established community of 80,000 online retailers, tech providers, agencies, investors & eCommerce stakeholders. (Los Angeles)

Have an event you’d like us to include here? If so, please send the event URL to community@bayareacreatoreconomy.com.

COMMUNITY NEWS

With Linkedin headquartered in Sunnyvale, WSJ highlights how LinkedIn is evolving beyond traditional networking, becoming a platform where influencers blend personal narratives with career insights. Candid discussions on work, layoffs, and industry trends are reshaping how professionals engage.(WSJ)

Menlo Park based Facebook has announced a new monetization program that will let creators make money simply by sharing photos or videos on the Facebook site. (Fortune.com, Facebook.com)

Reddit, a San Francisco based platform is the fastest-growing social media platform, with U.S. adult users spending 3.5% more time on it daily compared to Q1 2024. This brings average daily usage to 34 minutes per user, according to eMarketer. (Tubefilter.com)

Niantic, the San Francisco-based developer behind "Pokémon Go," has agreed to sell its gaming division, including titles like "Pikmin Bloom" and "Monster Hunter Now," to Scopely for $3.5 billion. This strategic move allows Niantic to focus on its geospatial AI platform. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Bay Area Innovation Takes on the Cosmos! The world’s largest digital camera, built at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, is now installed in Chile, capturing an extraordinary time-lapse of the universe for the next decade. From dark matter to galaxy formation, this tech marvel is unlocking cosmic mysteries—another incredible milestone for Bay Area innovation! (abc7news.com)

The iconic 12-foot Twitter bird logo from its former San Francisco headquarters is up for auction, with bids exceeding $21,600. Once part of Elon Musk’s 2023 rebranding auction, the sign is now featured in RR Auction’s "Steve Jobs and the Apple Revolution Auction." (abc7news.com)

Digg, the pioneering social news platform, is making a comeback under the leadership of its founder Kevin Rose and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. The relaunched Digg - which was based in the bay area for much of its past life -  aims to leverage AI to enhance content curation and moderation, fostering a community-centered social platform that emphasizes meaningful online interactions. (The Verge.com)

With Bay Area tech giants like Meta and X (formerly Twitter) leading the shift toward paid verification, content creators are concerned about its impact on authenticity. Twitter’s decision to charge for two-factor authentication and Meta Verified’s pay-for-visibility model signal a move toward a pay-to-play system—one that many fear could disadvantage smaller creators and reduce organic engagement. (cbsnews.com)

TikTok - with a large footprint in San Jose and possibly a new parent partly located in Redwood Shores, continues to develop wellness features. Its new wind-down feature will prompt teens under 16 with full-screen reminders and calming music after 10:00 PM, encouraging healthier bedtime routines. TikTok is also testing meditation exercises, set to roll out in the coming weeks. (abc news)

Jobs

• Director of Social Media @Adobe (San Francisco)

• Senior Audio Algorithm Engineer, Multimedia Arch Live @ TikTok  (San Jose)

• Senior YouTube TV Partner Engineer @Youtube/ Google (San Francisco)

• Global Citizens Partnership Lead @Youtube/Google (San Bruno)

• Sr. Influencer Partnership Manager @Sony Interactive Entertainment (San Mateo)

• Brand and Digital Marketing Lead @Waymo (San Francisco)

• Engineering Manager, Social @Doordash  (San Francisco)

  Have a job you’d like us to include here? Send the job posting URL to community@bayareacreatoreconomy.com.

“HELLA BAY AREA” CREATOR PICK - Ross Pomerantz (Corporate Bro)

What started as a scrappy social media sketch has officially become a full-blown movie.

S.A.D. Sales Are Dope, the satirical take on the absurd world of sales culture, is now streaming on Amazon Prime—marking a major milestone in a decade-long journey from viral videos to a film release.

At the heart of it all is Ross Pomerantz, the San Francisco-based creator best known as Corporate Bro. What began in 2013 with a single YouTube sketch evolved into a movement—and now, a movie.

By 2017, Pomerantz had coined “S.A.D.N.E.S.S.” (Sales Are Dope Never Ever Stop Selling) and began crafting a TV pilot. The 2019 shoot in LA was self-financed and famously chaotic, involving a fired director and accidental casting of adult film actors as extras.

The pilot dropped in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, drawing 3,000 virtual viewers for its premiere. From there, it was years of rewriting, fundraising (~$500K), and shooting an eight-episode web series with support from Bravado and Scratchpad. The 2023 YouTube release and SF premiere drew attention—and in 2024, Amazon reached out about adapting it into a movie.

Fast-forward to 2025, and the film-cut version of S.A.D. is now streaming on Amazon Prime as of this past week.

More than just a comedy, S.A.D. is a raw, hilarious, and painfully accurate depiction of modern sales life. As Pomerantz says, “We never did this for money… We just had a need in our souls to create something authentic.”

The lesson? Don’t wait for permission. Just make the thing.

🎬 S.A.D. Sales Are Dope, created by Ross Pomerantz (Corporate Bro), now streaming on Amazon Prime: https://lnkd.in/eyCafFjV

See you at our event next week!  Don’t forget to register here!

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If you are a Bay Area Creator and have a piece of content you’d like for us to share, email it to us at community@bayareacreators.com

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Email us at community@bayareacreatoreconomy.com