As ‘Superwoman,’ Lilly Singh was one of the most loved creators on YouTube back in the 2010s. Her charming persona and comedic skits resonated with more than 14 million people worldwide. After dominating YouTube, Singh went on to experience considerable mainstream success. She hosted a late-night talk show for NBC and even started her own production company.
Singh helped break the glass ceiling for other creators of South Asian heritage. Now, she wants to take this influence further. “When I began posting on YouTube in 2010, there weren’t many resources to create content, especially for someone that looks like me,” she explained to Entrepreneur.
This inspired Singh to launch HYPHEN8, the first influencer network made exclusively for South Asian creators. HYPHEN8 will broker brand-creator partnerships, assist with creator monetization, and help with direct advertising deals.
The Evolution of YouTube
According to Singh, platforms like YouTube have evolved. Previously, the benchmark of success for creators was virility. But these days, as argued by Singh, virility has “expired.” Instead, it’s all about authenticity.
“What we actually want is real, flawed, imperfect humans,” she explained. “I think that’s really important with storytelling. Storytelling, by nature, is humans connecting with other humans. So if you take away what makes us human, that connection inevitably disappears.”
To become part of HYPHEN8, users need to go to the platform website and enter their email address.
