In this episode of The Content Business, Ash & Kane sit down with Ahmed Faid, founder of Dose of Society and Dose of Emirates, to unpack how he built a 6 million+ follower media company through street interview content without becoming the face of the brand.

Ahmed shares how starting in 2017 with no blueprint, pitching Snapchat with 4,000 followers, and embracing risk allowed him to turn a simple street interview concept into a global content business operating across the UK, US, and Middle East.

The conversation dives into why he deliberately chose faceless content, how introducing the branded microphone changed everything, how COVID forced a pivot to Zoom interviews, and the business mechanics behind scaling a street interview format into a recognisable, monetisable global media brand.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Starting early in an emerging format can create long-term category leadership
• Faceless brands scale faster because they are not dependent on one personality
• Investment buys time, not just growth
• Introducing a recognisable visual asset can transform short-form performance
• Street interview content can evolve into a global media format
• Building infrastructure first makes international expansion easier
• Brand trust increases when the message stays consistent regardless of guest status
• Consistency and volume matter more than perfection

BEST MOMENTS

“We pretty much start out in 2017, so there’s not many people doing the kind of street interviews.”

“I do place everything down to timing.”

“Took me four hours to speak to one person.”

“It sometimes just takes that one yes to change everything.”

“Two years later, we got our first bit of money from Snapchat.”

“I wanted to build something that lives beyond me.”

“What does the mic stand for? Hope.”

“You don’t have to go too crazy and think of something unique.”

“The celebrity stuff is always kind of surreal.”

LINKS

Ahmed: https://www.instagram.com/doseofsociety
Website: https://www.podpartnerships.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecontentbusinesspod
Email: hello@podpartnerships.com

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Hosted by Ashley Morris and Kane Baron, founders of UAE-based content sponsorship agency: Pod Partnerships.

They’ve worked with thousands of creators and hundreds of brands, helping both household names and fast-growing startups turn podcast, YouTube, and influencer advertising into a core part of their media strategy.

Alongside this, Ashley and Kane have trained over 10,000 podcasters since 2020, going on to directly mentor hundreds of creators to plan, launch, grow, and monetise independent podcasts.

In this episode of The Content Business, Ash and Kane break down why user generated content is quietly outperforming traditional paid media and why most brands are still stuck in outdated advertising models.

They unpack how UGC has evolved beyond influencer marketing into a core paid ads strategy, why imperfect content now converts better than polished campaigns, and how brands are leveraging creators’ accounts to run ads that don’t even feel like ads.

The episode dives into the economics behind UGC, including faster production cycles, lower internal costs, higher watch time, and better conversion rates. They also explore how smaller creators with almost no following are monetising through UGC and why this shift is changing the future of advertising for both brands and creators.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• UGC is outperforming traditional branded ads in watch time and conversion
• Imperfect content builds more trust in the age of AI
• Brands can deploy UGC faster than internal campaign production
• Creator accounts running ads outperform brand accounts
• Affiliate + ad budget models align brand and creator incentives
• UGC is not just influencer marketing, it is paid media strategy
• International and multi-platform distribution amplifies ROI
• Small creators can monetise without large audiences
• Trust compounds faster than polish
• Creator ad spend is now a multi-billion dollar industry

BEST MOMENTS

“It’s outperforming most forms of paid media at the moment.”

“The more bad it looks, the better it performs.”

“The age of AI has made it easy for personality to stand out.”

“Perfect becomes beige.”

“It takes you that long to realise it’s an ad.”

“Reach and views is literal currency.” (referenced conceptually in discussion)

“You only spend money.”

“It converts so much better.”

“It’s a no brainer.”

“UGC will change your paid media strategy.”

LINKS

Website: https://www.podpartnerships.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecontentbusinesspod
Email: hello@podpartnerships.com

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Hosted by Ashley Morris and Kane Baron, founders of UAE-based content sponsorship agency: Pod Partnerships.

They’ve worked with thousands of creators and hundreds of brands, helping both household names and fast-growing startups turn podcast, YouTube, and influencer advertising into a core part of their media strategy.

Alongside this, Ashley and Kane have trained over 10,000 podcasters since 2020, going on to directly mentor hundreds of creators to plan, launch, grow, and monetise independent podcasts.

ABOUT THE EPISODE

In this episode of The Content Business, Ash & Kane sit down with Tim Ruscica, software engineer and tech creator, to break down how he went from coding at 12 years old to building one of the largest programming YouTube channels in the world.

Tim shares how posting at extreme volume helped him scale to nearly 2 million subscribers, why he dropped out of university after landing a Microsoft internship, and how his YouTube channel has generated over $5 million through brand deals, courses, and partnerships.

The conversation explores AI in content creation, how technical credibility creates leverage with brands, why most creators undervalue their expertise, and the difference between building a content business and building a real business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Volume was the single biggest growth driver in the early days
• Teaching something is the fastest way to master it
• Searchable content compounds long after it’s published
• AI is best used for orchestration, not replacing personality
• Technical expertise allows creators to charge premium brand rates
• Small creator businesses often become short-term cash injections
• Building a company is different from monetising attention
• Professionalism and speed win brand renewals

BEST MOMENTS

“I started coding when I was like 12 years old.”

“I’m gonna wake up every morning at 5:30 a.m. and film three YouTube videos.”

“If you post 400 videos in a year, a few of them are going to do well.”

“I now have a backlog of 500 videos.”

“The manual coding of me sitting there and writing lines is completely removed.”

“I instantly have access to funding.”

“I’ve done YouTube for a really long time.”

“I can make a video that gets 20,000 views and make more than $20,000.”

“Money loves speed.”

“You can have so much more value as a creator than purely driving conversions.”

LINKS

Tim: https://www.youtube.com/@TechWithTim
Website: https://www.podpartnerships.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecontentbusinesspod
Email: hello@podpartnerships.com

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Hosted by Ashley Morris and Kane Baron, founders of UAE-based content sponsorship agency: Pod Partnerships.

They’ve worked with thousands of creators and hundreds of brands, helping both household names and fast-growing startups turn podcast, YouTube, and influencer advertising into a core part of their media strategy.

Alongside this, Ashley and Kane have trained over 10,000 podcasters since 2020, going on to directly mentor hundreds of creators to plan, launch, grow, and monetise independent podcasts.