British-South African YouTuber turned investor and serial entrepreneur, Caspar Lee, rose to prominence with his popular YouTube channel featuring sketches, musings from his life, and celebrity interviews with many of the world’s biggest stars including Ed Sheeran, Dwayne Johnson, Chris Pratt, Kevin Hart and Anna Kendrick.

During his speech at the Start Up Festival which took place in Malta on the 13^th and 14^th of October, Lee explained that his initial idea was of making YouTube videos. This has led him to start his own business called Creator Ventures. During his time at the Start Up Festival he addressed the difficulties he faced throughout the years, while also highlighted the importance of building a channel by meeting new people, learning from them and working within a team to reach success. This transition from creator to entrepreneur was possible for Caspar as he identified what he was good at and where he encountered problems; with this, he focused on his strengths and reminding the public about such positive attributes.

“My advice to students would be to pick something before it becomes cool. I encourage innovative thinking and encourages others to direct their mindset towards being proactive rather than reactive.” Explained Lee.

Caspar has worked with various NGOs, specifically he is now working with Princess Trust which helps youths develop skills outside of school, in line with the message he sent to our local students to encourage their entrepreneurial spirit especially in the creative sector.

Caspar shared his 3 determinants that a startup must have for him to invest in. The most important is targeting a niche within the market with a potential of growth. Secondly, is the competence of the team to inspire others, believe in their offerings and are able to hire people to share such thoughts. Lastly, having a different angle to their idea that can be considered interesting and innovative. Even tough copying ideas is possible, this may not be as feasible.