Career Path of a CEO and Co-Founder at Boring Stuff
After studying film and political science and interning in entertainment, a career professional began bookkeeping on the side, which led to an unexpected full-time role with a YouTube skateboarder during the pandemic, offering a granular view of creator businesses. This experience, combined with a part-time MBA and internships in management consulting and social strategy, ultimately led to a role managing operations for YouTube creators, culminating in co-founding a business aimed at "bring[ing] some order into the creator economy."
Entrepreneurship, Creator Economy, Bookkeeping/Finance, Career Pivots, Operations Management
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Varun Bhuchar
CEO/Co-Founder
Boring Stuff
Dartmouth
UCLA Anderson: MBA
Film, Media Arts, Visual Arts, Political Science, American Studies
Consulting & Related Professional Services
Consulting
Honors Student, Took Out Loans
Video Highlights
1. Early exposure to the creator economy through working with a YouTube skateboarder, highlighting the potential and challenges of this emerging field.
2. Simultaneously balancing part-time MBA studies at UCLA with full-time work, demonstrating the importance of continuous learning and adaptability.
3. The unexpected convergence of diverse experiences, from film and entertainment to bookkeeping and social strategy, ultimately leading to a fulfilling career as a CEO/Co-Founder in the creator economy.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Did you have any internships or jobs before your current role?
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college, any internships or jobs you had before your current role?
I've taken a somewhat circuitous path to where I am now. I initially studied film and political science in college, as those were two subjects I was really interested in. The world felt like a much different place then, but I always really enjoyed film and entertainment.
My internships in college were mainly focused on entertainment, like screening for film festivals or reading scripts. I always found myself to be a creative person and never really indulged my analytical side. After college, I moved to Los Angeles to work in entertainment and spent a few years in low-level administrative roles.
Simultaneously, my dad, an accountant, taught me how to bookkeep. I did bookkeeping on the side for extra money for various businesses like Chinese restaurants and laundromats. Everybody needs bookkeeping, so it was an interesting variety of companies and businesses.
During the pandemic, these two worlds collided when I was introduced to a YouTube skateboarder who needed help with his books. His content was doing well, and he was making a lot of money from it. He also had an e-commerce clothing company, so he had two large revenue streams and was overwhelmed.
That was really my introduction into the creator economy. It was a good way to see how businesses work on a granular level. I started working for him part-time, and he eventually gave me more responsibilities, leading me to join him full-time in a role I hadn't foreseen for myself in college.
Simultaneously, I was pursuing my MBA at UCLA part-time so I could continue working. During my time there, I thought the creator economy was wild and wasn't sure if I wanted to stay in it. I spent most of my time at UCLA trying to pivot into management consulting.
I managed to get an internship, but was unfortunately not invited back. Then, I decided to pivot to more general strategy roles. I completed two internships: one at Madison Wells, a VC/production company, and another at Fox Entertainment on their social strategy team.
After graduating, I was still looking for a job, and the market wasn't great. I found my current position through LinkedIn. I saw an opening for a YouTube manager looking for someone to come in-house for some of his clients to manage their operations.
The experience fit me perfectly, so I decided to try it. Through working with him, I realized I'm really good at this. It's about bringing order to chaos. Essentially, all my experiences have led me here.
Now, I run my own business doing this with my former boss, who is now my business partner. We're looking to grow the business and bring some order to the creator economy.