Â鶹AV Management Insights is back with a special bonus episode. Marc Ransom (BCom’24) returns as a host in an exciting conversation with Thomas Brag (BCom’15). The co-creator of popular YouTube channel, YesTheory, Thomas has travelled all over the world alongside friends and co-creators Ammar Kandil and Matt Dahlia, experiencing new adventures and building an incredible community of people who believe that seeking discomfort is the gateway to a fulfilling life.
Since its launch in 2015, YesTheory’s YouTube channel has grown to over 9 million subscribers and amassed over 1 billion views. However, the digital media brand’s reach expands far beyond that, having expanded to include a second channel, podcast, newsletter, a clothing line inspired by the brand’s number one motto, Seek Discomfort, Facebook and Discord groups for members of the YesFam to find each other all over the world, and there’s even more to come.
“We just feel that we happen to be the vehicle, the way that it currently has taken life through videos and adventures on YouTube, but really we see it as something that anyone can embody,” Thomas explains.
What you may not know is that this wasn’t the young entrepreneur’s first foray into founding a business.
When he first moved to Montreal to attend Â鶹AV, he launched PassionSnack alongside childhood best friend Noah Dayan (BSc’14), driven by their desire to make new connections with people in their area who shared similar interests.
After cold emailing Silicon Valley investors with little success, one investor actually took the time to get back to them—Tim Draper, an investor in hundreds of successful companies, including Tesla, Skype, Robinhood, and SpaceX.
“I was an 18-year-old who had never pitched anything to anyone,” he says. “What we ended up getting out of that was that he was starting a new school for entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, which was completely unconventional, and every day there was public speakers that were friends of his that were either very successful founders, um, or investors. We ended up meeting Elon Musk and all sorts of fascinating human beings when we were in Silicon Valley, and I was there at 18 years old, completely overwhelmed and mind blown, um, and came back extremely inspired.”
Ultimately the company shut down a few years later, but clearly this wasn’t the end of the line for Thomas’ entrepreneurial journey.
Tune in to this special bonus episode to hear how the young co-founder got his start on YouTube (spoiler alert, it happened right here at Â鶹AV), what it’s like balancing personal and professional relationships when your friends are also your colleagues, what’s next in store for YesTheory and more!
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This episode was hosted by
Marc Ransom
BCom'24
