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cross platforms, Gen Z creators are redefining what online influence looks like. This year’s 30 Under 30 class highlights those who aren’t just entertaining, but educating, mobilizing, building and challenging the systems around them. The creator economy, a $250 billion global industry projected to double by 2027, shows that today’s rising voices are moving beyond virality. Katie Fang, 19, had no idea that a simple video could change her life. In 2023, she was a high school senior in Vancouver, juggling long shifts as a restaurant hostess. Exhausted, she filmed a candid video of herself crying getting ready for one of her shifts. The video took off, racking up 2 million views before her shift was even over (it’s now at 52 million views).
“I felt like no one was showing real emotions while getting ready for something ordinary, like going to work,” Fang recalls. “I just recorded it. I didn’t think it would take off.” But it did. Fang realized this accidental moment could be the start of something bigger.
From that day, she made “get ready with me” videos a daily ritual, sharing her life and growing her audience. She quickly discovered that social media could be a way to build a career. Partnerships quickly followed with brands like Glow Recipe and Dior, along with billboard campaigns and a monthly beauty column for The Cut. Now an NYU student, Fang has turned those videos into an estimated $4 million in earnings last year through brand collaborations.
