This article first appeared in The Now, our free newsletter on what matters in culture, crypto, and innovation. Subscribe today to receive it straight to your inbox.

Creator Roberto Nickson may not be a household name. But if you’ve scrolled Instagram in the past year, you’ve probably seen his work.

Our latest Luminaries guest turned short-form storytelling about AI into seven-figure brand deals with companies like Microsoft and Meta. He’s interviewed Mark Zuckerberg and advised his comms team, becoming one of the most-watched voices translating emerging tech for a mainstream audience.

But the path wasn’t smooth. Panic attacks and creative exile defined Nickson’s twenties. He lost hundreds of thousands in the Web3 boom-and-bust. He built and sold app companies, experimented with media brands, and eventually found his lane by betting early on AI storytelling.

Now, with millions in booked revenue and influence across the tech world, he’s distilled what actually matters for creators trying to break through.

“Will this end up in the group chats of people I respect?” he asks. That’s the filter behind his work, and the starting point for a playbook worth studying.

Nickson also warns of what’s coming: the “infinite content machine.”

As he puts it: “In 2029, the infinite content machine will be invented. Content supply might 1000x. You’ll say, ‘I want a thousand different videos in every format, perfectly optimized, with different actors. Post them across a thousand accounts, automated on every platform.’”

For creators, that future means storytelling, trust, and craft become the only way to build lasting influence when the floodgates open

Positioning Beats Views

The internet is littered with creators chasing dopamine hits from algorithms. Millions of views. A moment on TikTok’s For You Page. Then silence

Nickson learned the hard way that raw views don’t pay. “Views are meaningless. Optimizing for depth and positioning is way more valuable,” he says.

Brands don’t care how many strangers swipe past a video. They care whether the right people engage. For Nickson, the goal is to create content that circulates in boardrooms and private group chats: the unseen networks where reputations are made and business actually happens.

“A VC with six thousand followers has more influence than a TikTok dancer with twenty million,” he points out.

Build Your Own Brand

For years, Nickson poured energy into faceless media accounts: Metav3rse, Eluna AI, and others. They built distribution, but when brands came calling, they didn’t want a logo. They wanted him.

“Brands don’t want faceless media. They want the person,” he says.

That shift was sobering. Faceless pages can amplify, but they rarely close deals. If your revenue relies on partnerships, authenticity is the currency. Creators who hesitate to appear on camera risk becoming indistinguishable from automation.

Storytelling Is the Skill

Most creators push content. Few tell stories.

“A good piece of content is a dance between the conflict and the context,” he says, quoting his friend Kallaway. “You have to build that curiosity loop.”

Even in a 60-second clip, the arc matters: setup, tension, resolution. It’s what keeps people watching. It’s also what signals to the algorithm that your content is worth surfacing.

Sweat the Craft

In an era of copy-paste content and AI slop, effort stands out.

“Put your heart and soul into the details. I used to think it was a waste of time, but now I feel like that compounds over time.”

It might feel small — spending two hours syncing edits to a beat — but it adds up to a body of work that people respect. Easy content disappears. Crafted content lasts.

Don’t Stay Solo Forever

Roberto built muscle memory grinding as a one-man band. But he’s clear: there’s a ceiling.

“I don’t recommend being a one-person team to anybody, because it’s just so much. Working on 10 different things at once, with 10% of your energy fractured on all 10 things, is just not a winning formula. So now what I’m trying to do is put 100% of my energy into one thing, and then build a team around that.”

His output slowed when family demands grew. The only reason revenue went up was that he finally brought on management to handle inbound. Hustle builds leverage, but infrastructure sustains it.

Use AI as a Collaborator

Nickson treats AI as a creative team.

“AI can’t write the script, but I’ll write the script and then I’ll collaborate with like four or five different AIs… What would you do with this line? Okay, you’re a McKinsey creative director. What would you do here? Okay, you’re a top Substack essayist. What would you do with this line? That’s my process where I’m working with like four or five super intelligent collaborators.”

For him, AI models become archetypes: the strategist, the essayist, the creative director. Each pushes his writing from a different angle. He keeps authorship while using AI to stress test ideas and sharpen phrasing until the script is strong enough to record.

The collaboration extends beyond words.

“AI has really replaced all of my b-roll. It used to be stock footage… now I’m generally doing text-to-image, usually still using Midjourney… and then I’m generally going Kling on image-to-video.”

The takeaway: don’t outsource creativity to AI. Use it to amplify your own.

The Compass

Roberto’s business now clears millions in brand deals, but the advice is simple:

Stop chasing virality.
Invest in your personal brand.
Tell real stories.
Sweat the details.
Build beyond yourself.
Treat AI as your collaborator.

Because when content supply 1000x’s, the creators who build brands, communities, and durable trust will own the future.

Enjoyed this? Unlock the full Roberto interview in Luminaries: our weekly members-only deep dive into the minds shaping culture, capital, and code.