Everybody makes mistakes, but not everyone is willing to share them in the way Eric Wei, Devin Lytle, Sidney Raskind, and Evan Britton did at their VidCon 2025 panel called "F*ckups, Fixes, and Lessons Learned."
Lesson 1: Start creating with a clear mind and strategy
Devin Lytle, a creator who grew her YouTube channel to an audience of 179,000 subscribers, opened with a simple piece of advice: "Do not start a YouTube channel when you're depressed." After finding herself burnt out, struggling to find the joy in content creation, and without a clear strategy for her channel, she decided to step away from the front of the camera. " When you're starting a YouTube channel, you need to start off with a strategy. You need to start off with a clear mind and a clear head if you want to have long legs," Lytle said.
So, how did she fix it? " I really leaned into producing and directing, and I've never been happier."
Lesson 2: Work smarter, not harder — repurpose content
No longer making content herself, Lytle now works with Sidney Raskind, a short-form creator who posts life hacks. Raskind similarly found himself in a state of burnout. It wasn't because he didn't enjoy the process of creation, but rather that three years of daily uploads left him exhausted and uninspired. Shortly after starting to work with Lytle, he decided to try re-uploading some of his content, a move he'd seen be successful with other creators in the life-hacking niche. " It was absolutely terrifying," Raskind shared.
Yet, he found that his audience didn't mind; one of his most viral videos, which had received about 17 million views upon its first upload, received 15 million more on its re-upload. " I learned how many eyeballs can be on a single piece of content that has never been seen," he said. The experience also gave him the chance to test his content with different captions and posting times to see which garner more engagement.
Lesson 3: Balance creativity with business awareness
Eric Wei, the co-founder of Karat Financial and host of the Karat Podcast, learned in his role as business owner and content creator that the two don't always mix easily. For Wei, though the Karat Podcast focuses on long-form interviews, it is also an extension of his business, Karat Financial. After putting out an episode where one creator was critical of MrBeast, whose companies Wei had been in discussions with for collaboration with Karat, he decided to take the episode down.
While he felt that the podcast was part of a creative endeavor, he also acknowledged the business implications of his decision, saying, " I occupy a role in industry where the podcast I put out can also become an implicit endorsement of what I'm doing, which can also affect the business side."
All three creators talked about the impact of burnout, with Lytle advising the audience not to announce any hiatus they may take.
"Something I like to always tell myself is that the internet is where everyone spends their free time. And so one day they may spend time with you, one day they're gonna spend time with another creator or in another space," she said. "And if you're not there, it's OK. You'll be there next time."
Lesson 4: Let audience behavior guide your direction
Britton, the founder of Famous Birthdays, also shared a piece of advice we've heard throughout VidCon: follow the audience interest. " The best way to see what people want is by seeing what they search for," Britton said.
When he started Famous Birthdays, he imagined people would be interested in finding out A-list celebrities' birthdays, but the on-site search engine showed people were curious about their favorite online creators — people who Britton and his team had never heard of. He was worried about the site losing credibility, but decided to make sure the content of the site catered to the user base. Famous Birthdays didn't become the site he wanted it to initially, but it did become one that garners 30 million monthly users.
