I've just hit $200K on Stan. And John Hu built the platform that made it happen.
John is the founder of Stan, the platform that has now made over $500 million for creators, and he started it because he needed it for himself 😲
In this episode, John gives us his full take on why your first digital product is probably already sitting in your Google Drive, why the creators making the most money on Stan aren't the most talented ones, and why asking your audience what they want to buy is always the right first move.
We also get into why employee-generated content is one of the most slept-on growth strategies for founders right now, what being in rooms with Gary Vee and Steven Bartlett has actually taught him about obsession and hiring, and why watching your team members leave to build their own thing is a flex, not a failure.
Oh, and he walks us through Stanley: Stan's new AI head of content, and what it's already doing for engagement in the first three days of using it.
If you've been stuck in your head about your niche, your first offer, or your content strategy, this episode is going to shake all of that loose.
📌 Try Stan free for 3 days → stan.store
📘 Career Cheat Codes - IT'S OUT!!!
My new book Career Cheat Codes is now available to order. It’s a practical guide to building career leverage, growing your visibility, and turning your expertise into real opportunities.
Order yours → penguinrandomhouse.com/books/807588/career-cheat-codes-by-courtney-johnson/
03:10 The employee-generated content strategy every founder is sleeping on
06:28 What to tell the leader who's afraid their team will get too big and leave
08:17 The Taylor Swift strategy: niche first, expand later
10:07 Why "I help everyone" is why no one follows you
11:00 What Steven Bartlett taught him about obsession and hiring
13:57 The one thing every billionaire, athlete, and top comedian has in common
32:10 How to figure out what your audience wants to buy
33:07 Why your DMs and comments already have the answer
40:00 What to do when your first product isn't selling
43:00 Introducing Stanley: Stan's AI head of content
47:00 What Stanley is already doing for engagement in the first three days
About John Hu
John Hu is the founder of Stan, the all-in-one creator store platform that has generated over $500 million for creators worldwide. He built Stan originally for his own account and grew it into one of the most trusted platforms in the creator economy. He's also the creator of Stanley, Stan's AI head of content built to help creators scale their content without needing a full team.
Connect with John
👍 Instagram: @jayhoovy

🎶 TikTok: @jayhoovy
💼 LinkedIn: John Hu

🎙️YouTube: @jayhoovy
Stay connected with me
📧 Contact: courtney@smoothmedia.co
👍 Instagram: @builtinpublicpod
👍 Instagram: @courtlynnjohnson
💼 LinkedIn: Courtney Johnson
🎶 TikTok: @courtney..johnson

In this week’s episode, I’m answering your questions and digging into something that comes up over and over again in my work: why social media feels so uncomfortable for so many people, and why that discomfort is often the very thing that leads to growth, opportunity, and money.

At its core, this episode is about visibility. But not in the “post more” or “just be confident” way it’s usually framed. We talk about visibility as a lived experience, the fear of being misunderstood, the pressure of being seen, the cringe that shows up right before momentum, and the internal resistance that makes people want to stop posting right when things are about to work.

One of my favorite parts of this episode is talking about how action creates clarity, not the other way around, and why most people stay stuck waiting for certainty instead of moving while things still feel messy. We also touch on creativity, procrastination, and the role your environment and community play in how safe it feels to show up.

02:45 Why visibility feels uncomfortable before it feels rewarding
06:18 Being misunderstood as a sign of growth
09:33 Why attention leads to opportunity (and money)
14:37 Speed, momentum, and moving before you feel ready
18:55 Fear, cringe, and staying in the game
23:40 Why most people stop right before things work
29:10 Consistency, identity, and long-term expansion
Stay connected with me

📧 Contact: courtney@smoothmedia.co
👍 Instagram: @slaythegatekeeper
👍 Instagram: @courtlynnjohnson
💼 LinkedIn: Courtney Johnson
🎶 TikTok: @courtney..johnson

She became a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and a Penguin Random House author, and neither of those things came from a talent agent, a manager, or a plan. They came from a LinkedIn post and a cold DM.
Gigi Robinson has been building her personal brand since she was 12 years old with a Squarespace portfolio and a competitive swimming injury. Now she's a speaker, a creator, a published author, and the founder of Hosts of Influence, and she's done all of it without a manager, without niching down, and without “waiting until she was ready” 😑!!
In this episode, Gigi explains why niching down is destroying your brand, why you ARE the niche, why a talent manager might be costing you more than they're making you, and the exact way she pitches journalists to get featured in Forbes, DigiDay, and AdWeek.
She also gets into why LinkedIn is the most untapped platform right now (if you are here is because you already heard this!!!), how she hit 100 million impressions in 2025 just by responding to trending news, and the LinkedIn banner strategy that makes people decide whether to trust you in under 3 SECONDS.
Oh, and she also just casually tells us how she ended up shooting with the photographer who shoots Vogue covers, the same photographer she used as inspiration when she was a kid.
📌 Get Gigi's children's book A Kid's Book About Chronic Illness on Amazon, Target, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you get your books → gigirobinson.com
📌 Want to learn more about Hosts of Influence, Gigi's platform for creators and professionals building real careers? → gigirobinson.com
📘 Career Cheat Codes - IT'S OUT!!!
My new book Career Cheat Codes is now available to order. It’s a practical guide to building career leverage, growing your visibility, and turning your expertise into real opportunities.
Order yours → penguinrandomhouse.com/books/807588/career-cheat-codes-by-courtney-johnson/
11:32 Why having a talent manager is probably not the business move you think it is
14:55 Why niching down is a trap, and what to do instead
17:44 You don't have a niche. You ARE the niche.
22:09 How she became a Penguin Random House author overnight, without a traditional book deal
27:33 She literally became a Sports Illustrated model from a LinkedIn post
28:20 Why she posted herself in a bikini on LinkedIn and didn't think twice about it
13:11 Less than 2% of LinkedIn's 1.1 billion users post weekly. That's your opening.
16:49 How to get press: the exact stalking strategy she uses to get into Forbes and AdWeek
23:46 The LinkedIn news hack that got her 100 million impressions in 2025
About Gigi Robinson
Gigi Robinson is a speaker, creator, author, and founder of Hosts of Influence, a platform helping creators and professionals build personal brands that actually turn into careers. She's partnered with 100+ global brands, including Adobe, Spotify, Unilever, and LinkedIn, spoken on 100+ stages, and wrote A Kid's Book About Chronic Illness, a bestselling children's book published by Penguin Random House. She's been featured in Forbes, DigiDay, AdWeek, Business Insider, and the New York Post, and hit 100 million impressions on LinkedIn alone in 2025.
Connect with Gigi
👍 Instagram: @itsgigirobinson
🎶 TikTok: @itsgigirobinson
💼 LinkedIn: Gigi Robinson
🌐 Website: gigirobinson.com
Stay connected with me
📧 Contact: courtney@smoothmedia.co
👍 Instagram: @builtinpublicpod
👍 Instagram: @courtlynnjohnson
💼 LinkedIn: Courtney Johnson
🎶 TikTok: @courtney..johnson