Nara Smith, Jake Sweet, Brianna LaPaglia, Erica Kulberg, and Leilani Green sit down with Forbes Assistant Managing Editor, Steve Bertoni at the 2025 Worlds Government Summit to discuss building an authentic brand that translates to dollar signs.
This Summit brought together governments, international organizations, thought leaders, and private sector leaders from around the globe to foster international cooperation and identify innovative solutions for future challenges, ultimately inspiring and empowering the next generation of governments.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00So, thank you everyone for joining us.
00:02Wow, this is a big, big panel.
00:03Yes, it is.
00:04We haven't even met you.
00:05How are you?
00:06Hi, I'm good.
00:07How are you?
00:07Thanks for joining us.
00:08Of course.
00:09So, this is all about,
00:10we talked about authenticity, credibility.
00:12Everyone here has like their unique own ideas
00:16and letting their own personalities come out
00:19and I think that's really important in trust.
00:21What, like, how do you build trust with your audience?
00:25How do you stay, you know,
00:27authentic to yourself when people are chasing algorithms,
00:31chasing money, all that sort of stuff?
00:33There, give us the, tell me about first.
00:35Oh, you want me to take it away?
00:36You take it, you're closest.
00:37You're in the hot seat right now.
00:38Yeah, I love that.
00:39Yeah, like what would you say your brand is
00:41and like how do you kind of express yourself
00:43to the audience?
00:44I think it's all about staying as true to yourself
00:47as you can and doing what you love.
00:49Like, I love cooking.
00:50I love being in the kitchen.
00:51I love doing what I do on a daily basis
00:54and I think to me it was,
00:55I wasn't doing anything I wasn't doing
00:58in my day-to-day life.
00:59I was cooking for my husband.
01:00I was cooking for my children
01:01and I was making them what they were craving,
01:03so I just decided to post it and wear a cool outfit
01:08and that either pissed people off or they loved it
01:11and I just keep doing it.
01:13That's good, you don't care about the haters
01:14and you just keep on going forward.
01:15No, weirdly enough, I don't.
01:17I feel like when it got really intense,
01:20of course, you read the comments
01:21and you kind of feel weird about it
01:24and you start questioning yourself,
01:26but then they're paying my bills.
01:29That is good.
01:31They're buying the beautiful clothes,
01:32so that is cool.
01:34Jake, how about you?
01:35You look like you're definitely a rugged individual.
01:37Yeah, I think,
01:41I think when it comes to authenticity,
01:43especially in social media,
01:45there's many different things you can think about.
01:49For me personally, I've learned over the years,
01:51when I first began making videos,
01:53I probably wasn't as authentic as I wanted to be,
01:56but as time has gone on,
01:58I've realized that this is actually what people want.
02:01In a world that's evolving so quickly,
02:03authenticity is really shining through right now.
02:06And how would you describe your brand today?
02:09When people tune in for your personality,
02:11what is the Jake Sweet personality?
02:12My brand is, I think, very almost childish.
02:16It stands out a lot and very bright and vibrant.
02:20No, very cool.
02:21Bri, you're a life vlogger,
02:24kind of podcast host.
02:27Did you, how do you let your,
02:29like when you decided to be on the show with Josh,
02:32like were you worried about like,
02:34I need to be this,
02:35like the version of me on the podcast,
02:37or did you just like let your personality fly
02:39and that took off?
02:40And tell me about that kind of evolution, if there was.
02:42Yeah, for sure.
02:43When I first started on social media,
02:45I was really young,
02:46so I was really scared of the perception of myself online.
02:50And as I got older,
02:51I kind of take an approach
02:52that I don't think many creators want to.
02:55I'm honest about the good, the bad, and the ugly.
02:59So I share hardship,
03:00I share mistakes that I've made,
03:02and I've gained just a following
03:06that feels like they're kind of reading their own diary.
03:09And it's some things that I don't want to share,
03:11but at the end of the day,
03:12I think I've created a fan base for life
03:15where they feel like I'm their older sister,
03:17or their younger sister,
03:19and they're looking out for me,
03:20and they're sharing advice.
03:21And I think sharing things that people steer away from
03:26helped me a lot and have grown my fan base a lot.
03:29And it's a lot different with podcasting,
03:31because a lot of people here, I feel,
03:33just have short form content,
03:35which sometimes I wish I only had short form content,
03:38because my whole life is out there.
03:40It's like two hours a week.
03:42But it's really important, I think, for podcasters
03:45to kind of be open and honest about everything.
03:48And it builds just a connection like any other.
03:53Is that scary at first, to kind of really open yourself up?
03:56Yeah, it's scary every day.
03:57Well, it's weird being out on the street
03:59and people coming up to you
04:01and basically, essentially reading your diary.
04:04They know everything about you.
04:05They know who you're dating, who your exes are,
04:07who your best friends are.
04:09It's intimidating.
04:10Sometimes you wish you hadn't done it,
04:12but at the end of the day, it's a job,
04:14and nothing about anyone's job is perfect,
04:17and we don't all love our jobs.
04:19Very cool.
04:20Erica, you're a recovering corporate lawyer.
04:24Tell me about how you found your voice, your brand,
04:28because again, corporate lawyer doesn't really sing,
04:31stand out with the social media stuff,
04:33but you found, you built an incredible audience.
04:35Tell me about that.
04:36I think I did something not many corporate lawyers would do,
04:40which is I put myself out there
04:42in these kind of quirky videos
04:44where I'm playing two characters.
04:46I think most lawyers judged me
04:48when I initially started on TikTok,
04:50and they said, you know, this is so unprofessional.
04:52You're never going to be taken seriously,
04:54but I feel like for people to be able
04:56to take these financial and legal concepts
04:59that I talk about and understand them,
05:01you have to make them digestible
05:03and make them interesting to watch,
05:05and no one is going to listen to a lawyer
05:06speak legalese for 60 seconds,
05:09but they will watch a fun skit
05:10that essentially teaches them an actionable step
05:12to get better with their money or their finances.
05:15Very cool.
05:16And then, what's been your experience?
05:18My experience has started with authenticity, I believe.
05:21When I first started,
05:22I didn't even know you could make a dollar
05:23doing what I did.
05:25I started when I was 13.
05:26I'm 23, so around 10 years.
05:28Wow, you're still so young, but you're also old school.
05:30Yeah, it's weird.
05:32But I began watching my big sister get ready in the morning.
05:35I would wake up every single day at four in the morning
05:37before she got ready for school,
05:39and I would study her and go back to sleep.
05:41Four in the morning?
05:42Yes, four in the morning.
05:43She would go to school around six.
05:44She would get up and do her makeup,
05:46and when she left, I would practice with it.
05:48I've always done makeup,
05:49but I focused on it around four years ago,
05:52and I give my name similar to what you said,
05:54like a big sister.
05:55I give makeup tips, makeup videos,
05:58and it all started with authenticity,
06:00which is why I feel like I connect
06:01so deeply with my audience.
06:03Wow, that's so cool.
06:04How do you all balance sharing so much,
06:06being yourselves online,
06:09but then also keeping a barrier
06:11for your real life, private life?
06:12How do you kind of,
06:14or maybe Brie doesn't have any barrier.
06:16Like, what's that like?
06:17But how do you kind of balance the private you
06:20versus what the public sees?
06:22I think it depends on how comfortable you are
06:25sharing parts of your life
06:26and also what you want out there,
06:27because once you put stuff out there, it's out there,
06:30and everyone will know, and you can't really erase that.
06:32And I kind of learned the hard way with my kids.
06:35I used to post them all the time,
06:37and I used to be proud, obviously.
06:39And then I saw this video of my daughter on TikTok
06:42just sitting on the couch,
06:43and it had millions upon millions of views,
06:46thousands, so many saves, comments.
06:49Like, it was really bad,
06:50and it was all these creepy men being like,
06:52I can't wait for her to grow up,
06:54but her eyes are so pretty.
06:55And I was like, oh, I'm actually not protecting.
06:58They took a video of yours
06:59and made a video of the video kind of thing?
07:00No, I posted it on my story
07:02when I had a really small following,
07:04and I didn't really think much of it
07:06because it was years back.
07:06I don't even know how they found it
07:08because she was two in that video.
07:10She's a lot older now.
07:12I don't really understand where they got it from,
07:14but that just made me realize,
07:16oh, I can't post those parts of my life
07:18because then I'm not protecting my kids properly.
07:21And I think that's where I draw the line,
07:24my personal life with my family,
07:26my siblings, my parents, my kids.
07:29That's something I don't really share,
07:31and I think that's also why I love cooking so much
07:34because in a way, you get to connect with your audience.
07:36You get to help them.
07:37You get to relate to them in ways,
07:39but you also get that sense of privacy,
07:41not knowing who I dated,
07:43not knowing who I texted yesterday,
07:44not knowing who my friends are,
07:46and then I also get to live a more quote-unquote
07:50normal life where I can still hang out with my friends
07:53and no one knows who they are.
07:54No one can ask them questions.
07:55I think that there is a balance for me
07:57of really being intentional with what I share
08:00and having learned that the harder way,
08:03but that's kind of how I do it.
08:04That's fascinating.
08:05It's scary, but interesting.
08:06No, it is.
08:07Now it's just like you and the food.
08:08It's good.
08:08Jade, do you feel like you play a character online
08:12and then you're a different person outside of it
08:13or how do you kind of create that separation?
08:16Definitely.
08:17I'm quite fortunate in the sense that
08:19I don't actually share a lot of my personal details online.
08:21You know, I create funny, quirky videos for kids
08:24and that's it, but that does definitely come,
08:27I'll say, with downfalls.
08:28You have to kind of set boundaries on the outside world.
08:31Like, you know, I've had kids show up at my house
08:33and stuff like that,
08:34and so you do really have to be careful,
08:37but yeah, that's kind of how I handle things.
08:39That's good.
08:40Yeah, the kids show up at the house.
08:42Not good.
08:43Not good.
08:44How do you manage it?
08:45Like, especially how do you, if you're an open diary,
08:47like how do you deal with your friends, family?
08:50Are there some things that you just say,
08:51like, I'm not gonna share because I'm gonna keep that?
08:53Yeah, of course.
08:54There's definitely boundaries that you have to create,
08:55and also, I've been doing it for so long
08:58where a lot of my friends are open to,
09:01like, they're in the space,
09:02so you have to be able to have the people in your life
09:07that are willing to be on camera,
09:08that are willing to be in your stories,
09:09but also, if they're not,
09:10codenames are my favorite thing in the world.
09:12Like, there's a lot of stories I tell
09:13where the names aren't who they really are,
09:15or I won't give out too many details,
09:17and I don't want anyone that's not asking for it
09:19to be a part of it.
09:20What's your favorite codename for somebody?
09:22Oh, my favorite codename,
09:24it's just, like, a different name,
09:25so I would say, like, Bob,
09:26because, like, I don't know any Bobs.
09:27No one's named Bob anymore.
09:30That works.
09:31Any Bobs in the room?
09:34Erica, do you find, like,
09:35you focus luckily on, I mean, not luckily,
09:37but it's on finance and law and stuff,
09:39so you're not opening yourself up to,
09:40it's like, how much do you share,
09:42and kind of, how do you, like,
09:43where does the character start,
09:45and, like, where does Erica really begin kind of thing?
09:47My rule is, my personal life, I keep personal.
09:51No one knows where I live,
09:52no one knows who my husband is.
09:54I keep that very private, but.
09:55Well, you said you move every two weeks, so it's.
09:57Yeah.
09:58But I think the things that I have shared
10:00from my personal life are things
10:01that I know other people are struggling with,
10:04and also feel lonely in that struggle.
10:06So, last year, I shared about going through IVF,
10:09and that was a really bonding moment with my audience,
10:11because you realize, when you share about it,
10:13like, when I first found out
10:14that we wouldn't be able to have kids naturally,
10:16I felt so alone.
10:17I had never met anyone who had had that same issue,
10:20but actually, when I started opening up about it,
10:22I realized all these people,
10:23like thousands and thousands of people,
10:25messaged me being like, I'm so glad you said that,
10:28because I'm dealing with the same, and I felt alone.
10:30So, that's where I do share my personal life,
10:32is where I feel like it can have an impact
10:34and make someone feel less lonely,
10:36but knowing about my husband or where I live
10:38is where I draw the line.
10:40Elani, like you're doing beauty,
10:42it's obviously like a lot of focus on aesthetics,
10:44your face, like there must be a lot of like great comments
10:47and a lot of hate maybe too,
10:48like how do you deal with kind of,
10:50you're vulnerable, you're putting your face,
10:53like literally putting your face on there.
10:55Yeah.
10:55Like, tell me about that.
10:56I feel like I do a good job at dividing my platforms,
10:59which is really weird.
11:01Typically on Instagram and TikTok,
11:03I show the final perfect product,
11:05and I, we were talking about earlier,
11:07with Snapchat, I've been doing it for 12 years,
11:10plus just organically posting Snapchats.
11:13Within the recent years,
11:14I found myself full-time vlogging
11:17from morning to end every single day,
11:19no days off.
11:20How long are you vlogging for?
11:21Because I enjoy doing it.
11:22Vlogging on Snapchat,
11:23probably for around two years straight.
11:25I don't remember the last day.
11:26I've never done it because-
11:27Wait, would you like to, how many, like all day?
11:29All day, morning to night, every single day.
11:31On hard days, happy days.
11:33Is that exhausting?
11:35I love it.
11:36I was just gonna say, like, I have a different experience.
11:38I find comfort in Snapchatting,
11:40because it's kind of like I'm sending a video to my friend.
11:43I don't really realize how many people are watching it,
11:45but at every moment, whether I'm sad, happy,
11:48I pull my phone out, and I just upload.
11:50Like, no edits, nothing, straight to Snapchat.
11:53So I feel like no other platform of mine,
11:56I don't connect with my audience in that way.
11:58So it's like a separate little area that I go to
12:01for comfort, as if I'm talking to a friend or a relative.
12:04I wanna talk about, again, we gotta talk about AI,
12:08because we came up with authenticity and credibility,
12:10and just jump in there.
12:12Don't feel like you have to go down the line.
12:14You can argue, agree, disagree.
12:17When it comes to people all love you guys
12:19because of your personalities,
12:20because of your openness, your authenticity.
12:24If people are starting to create fake, not fake videos,
12:28but AI-generated videos, fake avatar people,
12:32all that sort of stuff,
12:34what is gonna be your superpower
12:37if you get flooded with inauthentic, not real,
12:40kind of very superficial stuff, versus what you guys do?
12:45What's the future look like?
12:49I feel like the one thing that AI,
12:51just like everyone else said before,
12:53is the authenticity that comes with a creator
12:55can never be replicated by something that is artificial.
12:58And for example, what I do when I come to my audience
13:00and talk to them one-on-one,
13:02I don't ever see how that's possible to do
13:04with something that's artificial.
13:06Very cool.
13:10What do you guys think?
13:11Jake, what do you think?
13:11Yeah, I'm thinking.
13:12I think, like,
13:15with a lot that's been said about AI,
13:17I agree with so many points.
13:19I think AI can be so beneficial to help us,
13:21but AI doesn't have those personal traits that we all have.
13:26And I think that's something that is so precious
13:29to every single one of us.
13:32And yeah, like, every time I scroll against an AI video,
13:36I can normally tell,
13:37and I think most people in this room
13:38will be able to tell if a video is AI or not.
13:40And half the time, I do scroll past it
13:42because it doesn't have that human touch.
13:45So that's kind of my stance on AI at the moment.
13:47However, I think it can change very rapidly.
13:49Yeah.
13:50And Nara, what you do is, you know, it's food,
13:52it's fashion, it's the whole mix.
13:56Like, how do you,
13:57that sounds like it's gonna be an advantage
13:58if suddenly everything becomes,
13:59kind of feels like it's fake
14:01or it's all been done by computers.
14:04What are you thinking for the future?
14:05I mean, I'm a little old school.
14:08I love all the old school stuff.
14:09I still send my friends postcards when I go on vacation.
14:12I still write people letters.
14:14I still do all the older type of stuff
14:17that's not that common today anymore,
14:18just because I feel like it's so personal
14:20and it's so important, I feel like,
14:23also to preserve the humanness a little bit.
14:25I think everything can move so rapidly
14:27and everything is so digital nowadays
14:29that sometimes it just feels so sterile.
14:32And I think people are catching on to that.
14:34And I feel like there was also, with my content,
14:36there was a huge wave at the time when I started
14:40of the whole movement of people
14:42making things from scratch again,
14:43having more, I don't know,
14:46bringing things back that women and people
14:48used to do back in the day,
14:49like cooking and caring for your family
14:52and things like that, that AI could never replicate.
14:56You just can't.
14:57And I think the more time goes on,
15:00the more we try to connect with our roots in that way
15:03because of how digital everything's getting
15:05and people don't really have that personal connection
15:07to that anymore.
15:08How do your, the idea of trust
15:10and also just the idea of your personalities,
15:12how does that help you guys make money?
15:13Like when you work with companies,
15:14what do they say to you all?
15:16I feel like they approach creators
15:18that they know have had a longterm relationship
15:20with their audience.
15:21For example, a lot of people that I've heard today
15:23have been doing this for 10 years plus,
15:25which is insane.
15:26And I feel like no matter how your likes are doing,
15:29how your views are doing,
15:31if they see that special connection
15:33that some creators have with their audience,
15:34they gravitate towards them
15:36because they know they're not going to lie
15:37to their audience.
15:38Like my audience would straight up tell me,
15:40why would you tell me to buy a product
15:43that we know that you don't enjoy?
15:44Like they know me on a different level
15:46to where it's way more personal.
15:48And I feel like that's the moneymaker in some aspects.
15:53Yeah, do you all worry about,
15:54like when you take brand deals,
15:55do you think about your audience first,
15:57about fit yourself?
15:58Like how does that come into play
16:00when if you're offered something
16:01and how do you think about,
16:03okay, if I'm gonna partner with this product,
16:04this service, what that means for what I'm vouching for?
16:07How does that all work?
16:09For sure.
16:09I've had brands approach me where I have talked to,
16:12you kind of have to go down,
16:14at least for me,
16:14because I talk about everything and it's hours a day,
16:17but you have to go down the line
16:19of what you've talked about before,
16:21products you've already dismissed.
16:23Because I do reviews of things that I don't like.
16:25So sometimes, it's like two years ago,
16:27did I like that product?
16:28So you really have to think back
16:30and make sure that you're being honest
16:31because if you take something,
16:33when people go back three months ago,
16:35you said you didn't like this,
16:36then one, you're gonna get canceled,
16:37people aren't gonna believe you.
16:39And then, you know, it just,
16:40other brands aren't gonna wanna work with you.
16:42Unless it's a good marketing opportunity,
16:44like I won Brianna over.
16:45She, we knew Formula and we won her over.
16:48She's a big fan.
16:51If I came back on it?
16:52Yeah.
16:53Yeah, there was actually a brand that had happened.
16:54I worked with Too Faced
16:56and a couple months prior before that,
16:57I'd said I didn't like the concealer.
16:59They sent me a bunch of new product
17:00and I tried it on camera
17:02and they did win me back,
17:03but I had to like prove that the product was new,
17:06that I liked the new formula
17:07and that it actually fit for my skin.
17:09Wow, very good.
17:11Now, how about you?
17:12I'm sure you get a ton of fashion and food
17:15and cooking and everything else.
17:18How do you kind of decide,
17:19I'm gonna go in with this
17:20and how do you think about your credibility
17:23and your fans before you make a deal?
17:26I think, to me, I think about myself as a consumer
17:29and I feel like all of us creators
17:31we're on the other end as well.
17:32Even though we create content,
17:34we also consume so much content.
17:36And I think, I always think about what do I like?
17:39I like working with brands
17:41that I've used for years and years
17:43and I never, I don't really love trying new things.
17:47So if I do work with a brand
17:49that I don't have a longstanding relationship with,
17:51I do make sure that I love the product
17:53and I never will put my name behind something
17:55that I don't stand for
17:56because I would never want a 14 year old girl
17:59to go out and buy a concealer that's really bad
18:01or go buy a product that I recommended
18:04if I don't stand behind it.
18:05So it's being really selective
18:07and I think that's also how you build longevity and trust
18:10and really have an audience that trusts your opinion.
18:14And then also I love having creative control over things.
18:17So when I work with brands,
18:18if they want me to sit down and do a front facing video
18:21of talking about this product for 30 seconds,
18:23I'm not gonna do that.
18:25So it's either you're gonna do it
18:26the way that I wanna do it or I'll decline.
18:30Wow, very cool.
18:30Erica, I'm sure you work with a lot of financial service,
18:34that sort of thing.
18:34How do you kind of vet and choose who you're working with?
18:37Especially because you're giving advice,
18:39you're giving, you wanna make sure your sponsors
18:41are probably following your advice, right?
18:43Yeah, definitely.
18:44So it's the same as what everyone else said
18:45is just making sure it's something that you personally use,
18:48you've vetted, you like.
18:50And something that I did, I think quite uniquely
18:53was for all of my platforms,
18:55I didn't take on sponsors at the beginning.
18:56So for TikTok, I think I had 5 million followers
18:59before I took on my first sponsorship.
19:01And I turned down, I remember turning down-
19:03Who won you over?
19:04What was the first sponsorship?
19:06I don't know actually.
19:08But I remember the one I turned down was $100,000.
19:11I was like, oh, but I have this rule that I just,
19:14I was going viral on TikTok
19:15and I didn't want to taint the audience
19:18and I wanted them to know that I was there for them
19:20to create content for them.
19:22And so when we started the podcast, we did the same thing.
19:25For the first year, we invested our money,
19:28I think $200,000 into producing and creating the podcast.
19:32And for the first year, took on no sponsors.
19:34So I think it's very important to show your audience
19:37that you are there to help them authentically
19:40and not for the cash grab.
19:41And you earn their trust that way.
19:43That way, when you are able to take on sponsorships,
19:45they know this is something that Erica
19:47is genuinely recommending to me.
19:49Wow, that's great.
19:50Jake, finally, ending up with you here.
19:52I mean, obviously you have a children's entertainment
19:55and it's very, you have a lot of responsibility.
19:58How do you work with partners?
19:59Because again, your viewership is young, impressionable.
20:02How does that kind of go through your head?
20:04All factors down to authenticity.
20:06Once again, I have to stay true to my brand
20:08and I've got a responsibility, like you said.
20:11So any brand that reaches out to me,
20:14I make sure that I do some serious research
20:16into the brand, into the product,
20:18and then we go from there.
20:21That sounds like good advice to all of us.
20:23Well, I want to thank this giant panel.
20:25I appreciate it.
20:26Thank you guys.