→ Nominated by Nathan Graber-Lipperman, writer
Sam Denby is the creator behind Wendover Productions, a media company that tackles questions you didn’t know you needed the answer to.
Wendover publishes informative video essays across several YouTube channels with over 7 million combined subscribers. Denby also creates original premium content for creator-owned streaming startup Nebula, including the IRL travel competition series “Jet Lag: The Game.”
"Sam has become more of a household name in the creator world since launching 'Jet Lag' in 2022. Yet it still feels like the outside world hasn't truly picked up on his incredible story, as well as the business success of Nebula, which is nearing 700,000 paying subscribers with zero venture funding."
– Nathan Graber-Lipperman
→ Sam is a regular in the “Jet Lag: The Game” series / Jet Lag: The Game
He innovated by…
Co-founding Nebula in 2019 as an independent creator…and helping pioneer an ownership model that rewards all creators who publish on the platform with equity.
This August, Denby took a more active step in Nebula. The streaming startup named 25-year-old Denby its chief content officer based on his track record of producing hit shows across genres, from “Jet Lag” to documentaries like “The Final Years of Majuro.” As CCO, Denby is 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).
How does Denby know what kind of content will resonate with both creators and audiences? His years of posting niche content 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.
→ “The Final Years of Majuro,” Wendover Productions (August 2020)
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Where Sam Got His Start
Denby grew up in Washington, D.C., and uploaded his first video to his trademark Wendover Productions YouTube channel in 2015. He 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, since it launched in 2022—the Nebula Original show instantly clicked with Wendover’s existing fans while winning over new ones with its “Amazing Race”-style format, and tickets to movie theater showings of recent season finales sold out in minutes.
Denby now employs a team of seven, including editors, writers, and producers, across his Aspen and New York City offices.
→ “Jet Lag’s” content library
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. 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: 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? All participating creators would be paid accordingly.
🔗 Sam’s Links:
Watch
“The main way I think Nebula is innovating is just hitting that [mid-budget production] sweet spot that’s not yet being fulfilled. The best evidence that we had that this works is the fact that it worked on YouTube…strip away costs, and people are engaged just as much.”
— Sam Denby
