What five years ago was still "influencer marketing" is today a different game.

Janet Pawelczyk builds alongside creators with Moongency; managing their growth, their communities, and ensuring brand collaborations only happen when the product genuinely aligns with what the creator believes in. Sophia Krauss does the same with VYSION: she manages athletes who build real communities; communities so powerful that brands have to earn their way in. Real. Offline. Trust-based.

Dejan Garz is the best example. Hairdresser. 1.5 million followers. A product line that sells out in minutes. That doesn't happen through marketing. It happens because people trust him.

In this episode we talk about the playbook that goes beyond marketing. About communities as a business strategy. About run clubs, experiences and the moment when the creator economy stopped being a marketing tactic and became a business strategy.

In this conversation you'll learn:

- how a hairdresser builds a million-euro business around his community

- why community doesn't happen digitally; it happens offline

- how sport communities work and why brands fail inside them

- what it means when community becomes a business strategy

- why brands need to think like entrepreneurs; not like marketers

- how experiences replace sponsorship

- why the creator economy has stopped being marketing

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro & what it means to be a creator today

05:47 – First steps: how to start as a creator

11:22 – Dejan Garz: from hairdresser to million-dollar brand

16:44 – Creator brands and entrepreneurship: the real picture

21:53 – Authenticity in brand partnerships

25:11 – What brands actually look for in creators

27:34 – Sport communities: the most powerful audience in the world

33:29 – Experiences over sponsorship

39:33 – Trust as a purchase decision

45:27 – Community events vs. influencer events

51:08 – How to measure long-term collaborations properly

54:06 – AI in the creator economy: tool, not replacement