→ Nominated by Nathan Graber-Lipperman, writer
Sam Denby is the creator behind Wendover Productions, an edutainment-focused media company.
Wendover publishes informative video essays across several YouTube channels with over 7 million combined subscribers. The company also creates original premium content for creator-owned streaming startup Nebula, as well as IRL travel competition series “Jet Lag: The Game.”
"I nominated Sam because I think he's really cool and doing very sick things. Yeah, this is totally how Nate talks! Austria is cool!"— Nathan Graber-Lipperman
→ Photo caption + Photo credits
.Store integration Style A
This August, Denby took a more active step in Nebula. The business named the 25-year-old its chief content officer based on his track record of producing hit shows across genres, from “Jet Lag” to documentaries including “The Final Years of Majuro.” In this role, he’s responsible for running the content roadmap for Nebula Originals, green-lighting exclusive projects, and assigning a growing number of partner creators with budgets up to six figures—past examples include Abigail Thorn’s “The Prince” (2023) and Patrick Willems’ “Night of the Coconut” (2022).
What’s the secret sauce to crafting medium-scale films that resonate with audiences? Denby believes the answer lies in years of posting within a specific niche on YouTube. “[Creators] are inherently, from the get-go, operating on a budget. And really, the way that we get success at all is by identifying that one core bit of a piece of content that engaged people most, and focusing on that,” he told us.
Sam built his shop, and you can build yours too on .Store
.Store integration Style B
Denby grew up in Washington, D.C. and uploaded his first video to his trademark Wendover Productions YouTube channel in 2015. The creator steadily began gaining recognition for his deep dives on topics including logistics, economics, and geography, such as “How to Create a Country.”
Denby has proven that you can build a successful business and diehard community, even when focusing on educational content (and without showing your face) for years. “Jet Lag” has taken things to the next level, however—tickets to movie theater showings of recent season finales sold out in minutes this year. The creator now employs a team of seven across his Aspen and New York City offices, which includes editors, writers, and producers.
Sam built his shop, and you can build yours too on .Store
.Store integration Style C
This August, Denby took a more active step in Nebula. The business named the 25-year-old its chief content officer based on his track record of producing hit shows across genres, from “Jet Lag” to documentaries including “The Final Years of Majuro.” In this role, he’s responsible for running the content roadmap for Nebula Originals, green-lighting exclusive projects, and assigning a growing number of partner creators with budgets up to six figures—past examples include Abigail Thorn’s “The Prince” (2023) and Patrick Willems’ “Night of the Coconut” (2022).
What’s the secret sauce to crafting medium-scale films that resonate with audiences? Denby believes the answer lies in years of posting within a specific niche on YouTube. “[Creators] are inherently, from the get-go, operating on a budget. And really, the way that we get success at all is by identifying that one core bit of a piece of content that engaged people most, and focusing on that,” he told us.
Sam built his shop, and you can build yours too on .Store
.Store integration Style D
This August, Denby took a more active step in Nebula. The business named the 25-year-old its chief content officer based on his track record of producing hit shows across genres, from “Jet Lag” to documentaries including “The Final Years of Majuro.” In this role, he’s responsible for running the content roadmap for Nebula Originals, green-lighting exclusive projects, and assigning a growing number of partner creators with budgets up to six figures—past examples include Abigail Thorn’s “The Prince” (2023) and Patrick Willems’ “Night of the Coconut” (2022).
What’s the secret sauce to crafting medium-scale films that resonate with audiences? Denby believes the answer lies in years of posting within a specific niche on YouTube. “[Creators] are inherently, from the get-go, operating on a budget. And really, the way that we get success at all is by identifying that one core bit of a piece of content that engaged people most, and focusing on that,” he told us.
Sam built his shop, and you can build yours too on .Store
.Store integration Style E
This August, Denby took a more active step in Nebula. The business named the 25-year-old its chief content officer based on his track record of producing hit shows across genres, from “Jet Lag” to documentaries including “The Final Years of Majuro.” In this role, he’s responsible for running the content roadmap for Nebula Originals, green-lighting exclusive projects, and assigning a growing number of partner creators with budgets up to six figures—past examples include Abigail Thorn’s “The Prince” (2023) and Patrick Willems’ “Night of the Coconut” (2022).
What’s the secret sauce to crafting medium-scale films that resonate with audiences? Denby believes the answer lies in years of posting within a specific niche on YouTube. “[Creators] are inherently, from the get-go, operating on a budget. And really, the way that we get success at all is by identifying that one core bit of a piece of content that engaged people most, and focusing on that,” he told us.
Sam built his shop, and you can build yours too on .Store
How Sam Denby Splits His Time
→ 35% • Developing Wendover Video Essays
“My mindset on that is, if I'm leading a team of writers, I have to be a writer myself…also, it's a somewhat opinion-based channel, so it feels like it should come from me.”
→ 20% • ‘Jet Lag’
Developing concepts for future seasons, what is the game, who is the guest
Skews up when in production — shooting up to ~3-5 straight days of filming
→ 15% • Role with Nebula
Checks in with creators every week to help brainstorm, keep productions on track
→ 15% • Business Ops
Meetings with post-production, doing payroll and taxes, getting Red Bull at the grocery store to make sure the office is caffeinated, etc.
→ 15% • Content Planning for ‘Half As Interesting’
Second channel, leaves most of the work here to team members, helps nail titles and thumbs
The Path He’s Paving
In “traditional” Hollywood, creatives often don’t have ownership over their projects once a major distributor like Netflix or Universal Pictures purchases it. Additionally, if that company decides to syndicate the project to other channels—think sitcom reruns—the creative doesn’t always get a paycheck (aka “residuals”), which was a major sticking point of the recent dual strikes.
Denby and Nebula aim to build their own, creator-first spin on that “traditional” model, which they feel is antiquated. Partner creators each have their own unique Nebula signup link; when a viewer clicks through and purchases a subscription, the corresponding creator receives a cut of the subscription revenue. Plus, roughly 50% of the company’s equity pool is allocated to creators on the platform, so if Nebula were to ever sell, the entire group would be paid out accordingly.
Watch
🔗 Sam’s Links:
“[Creators] are inherently, from the get-go, operating on a budget. And really, the way that we get success at all is by identifying that one core bit of a piece of content that engaged people most, and focusing on that,”
— Sam Denby
