Zach Kornfeld and Keith Habersberger of the Try Guys
JD RENES
The Try Guys, one of YouTube’s most established creator groups, have successfully abandoned their reliance on Google’s algorithms and advertiser revenue by launching a standalone streaming service called 2nd Try. And it’s already starting to pay off.
Brand partnerships, sponsored content and advertising have long been key revenue channels for creators, but some are turning away from the unpredictable world of algorithm-driven platforms to subscription services for more stable income.
“Having a business that is reliant on ads is very unstable and very unpredictable,” Try Guys co-founder Zach Kornfeld told CNBC in an interview. “There’s just so much that’s out of your control, and we certainly experienced the worst of that. It’s tenuous at best. Corrosive and explosive at worst. And it also forces you creatively to constantly optimize for things that are not always in your audience’s best interest.”
With a potential TikTok ban threatening to wipe out nearly $15 billion in annual revenue for small and medium businesses, and YouTube’s ad revenue growth slowing, creators are seeking more reliable income sources in an increasingly volatile advertising market.
The Try Guys now have over 8 million subscribers and 2.7 billion views on YouTube. They announced in May the launch of their streaming service, 2nd Try, where most of their new videos are behind a paywall and subscribers can access exclusive content for around $5 a month without ads. In the three months since launching 2nd Try, the company says it is on track to reach profitability.
Other creators are trying to recreate the Netflix subscription model, too. Watcher Entertainment and Dropout are two other popular YouTube channels that launched subscription-based streaming services to avoid the volatility of social media algorithms.
Social media platforms rely on algorithms to decide what content users see, based on their past interactions and preferences. The algorithms analyze user behavior to create personalized content feeds, which often prioritize posts that are likely to generate engagement, like likes or shares. As a result, many creators feel pressured to make content that caters to the algorithm, even if they believe it lowers the quality of their work, just to stay visible.
“We are really happy with how it’s going so far. It’s more than we probably thought we’d have at this point,” said co-founder Keith Habersberger. “We have a long road ahead. The goal isn’t to get to this number. The goal is to keep growing and also to keep learning, and we’re going to be making mistakes.”
Subscription platforms like Patreon allow creators to bypass the algorithm entirely, connecting directly with their most loyal fans who are willing to pay for exclusive content.
“It’s just not a reliable source of income for creative people, and so I think over the years, creators have learned that, and they’re seeking something more stable,” said Patreon founder and CEO Jack Conte in an interview with CNBC.
Try Guys found early success with BuzzFeed before starting their independent creative venture in 2018. However, they faced a career-defining internet scandal in 2022 when one of their co-founders and main talent was caught having an affair with another employee. It damaged brand relationships and the company hemorrhaged money making new YouTube videos.
“Our company was operating at a loss for essentially two years. We got to a point where it cost more money for us to make the shows our audience loved than we got in from YouTube,” said Kornfeld.
Revenue from 2nd Try makes up about 20% of the company’s total sales. The Try Guys will continue posting content on YouTube. The platform’s ad payments remain an important part of its business model. However, Kornfeld and Habersberger emphasize that their main focus is growing 2nd Try to be their biggest income stream, alongside merchandise sales and live touring.
