He’s making NYC the creator economy capital

^{Making a living as a creator shouldn’t be some elusive thing. And what’s the best way to learn how creators are making it work? To go behind-the-scenes. These bi-weekly interview issues are like having coffee with your favorite creators. If we haven’t met before, I’m Amanda Smith. I write about solopreneurship and the creator economy.}

Good morning. If LA is the home of the influencer, NYC is the HQ of the creator – according to this week’s guest. Fun fact: I’ve been to one of his events. It was epic.  

Let’s jump into the issue.

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If you live in New York City and you’re in the creator world, you might’ve been to one of Brett Dashevsky’s events. He hosts events across the city for creators, marketers, media and founders to meet. Swag, stickers and drink vouchers usually included. 

Dashevsky came up with the idea for Creator Economy NYC after exiting his first business, a creator-led media company, to another creator-led media company. Around that time, the creator economy was starting to kick off, and he wanted to meet other folks on the scene. 

His first soiree was very New York – a vibey bar in the Lower East Side near his apartment. He committed to hosting one event per month, but there was no business plan behind it. But people continued showing up and the event series gained traction alongside the industry, especially post-pandemic when people were desperate for IRL. 

Four years in, Creator Economy NYC is getting bigger by the month. 

“In the beginning, most of our growth came from Twitter and my existing network. I started using Partiful for events before eventually moving to Luma,” Dashevsky said. 

At the start, it was almost exclusively word of mouth. People would attend, tell their friends, and the community grew from there.

“As Creator Economy NYC expanded, we launched a newsletter and built out our social presence, which became major drivers for event promotion. We also benefited from platforms like Luma becoming more discoverable and surfacing events happening around New York City,” he added. 

Creator Economy NYC events are curated and application based. The primary business model is brand partnerships. Brands sponsor the events to connect with Dashevsky’s community. Additional revenue streams include educational resources, affiliate partnerships, and other premium offerings that support creators. 

Dashevsky operated solo until last year, when he put on a small team in order to scale. This currently includes: 

The focus is to remain deeply rooted in New York, while leveraging digital channels to create impact beyond the city itself. However, they do regularly host events elsewhere around larger industry moments, such as SXSW or VidCon. 

Dashevsky said they’re always experimenting with new formats to bring people together and help them learn. 

“Last month, for example, we launched Creator Jeopardy. It had the same networking and educational elements as our traditional events, but instead of a panel discussion, we turned it into an interactive game show format.” 

Dashevsky said building genuine relationships has been one of the highest-leverage things he’s ever done. It’s helped him land jobs, as well as facilitate that for many others. 

Trust built in person often goes much deeper than what can be built through a large social following alone. 

“A great example is when I was laid off from a startup in 2023. One of the people I had met through Creator Economy NYC was the Chief Strategy Officer at Kickstarter. We had built a relationship through the community, and when I found myself looking for my next opportunity, that connection ultimately led to me joining Kickstarter as Head of Content Creators in 2024.”

Today, Dashevsky straddles event hosting and is back in the founder seat at his new creator-adjacent start-up, Siftsy.

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Amanda

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