An Honest Conversation with Mai Pham

00:00 Who is Mai Pham?
02:18 Starting YouTube at 7
04:58 The evolution of Mai’s channel
06:00 Was she ever self-conscious filming herself while growing up?
09:29 Mai’s relationship with money
13:37 When she first started making money on YouTube
15:50 Moving out at the age of fifteen
18:36 Online friends and the para-social relationship
22:27 Signing with a manager at 16
28:33 Signing contracts
31:28 Getting her first brand deals
35:37 Mai’s competitive advantage
39:39 The story of the Alchemai hoodie
44:17 The Mai Pham Business Pie Chart
47:22 Marketing through her spam account
54:04 Alchemai’s future products
55:30 What are the challenges of producing apparel?
58:15 What if you fail?
59:25 Brand deals: TikTok vs YouTube
1:03:05 Content: TikTok vs YouTube
1:04:26 Learnings from Mai’s past business challenges
1:09:05 What’s next for Mai?

Today we speak with creator and entrepreneur Mai Pham. She's one of our youngest guests but also one of our most unique. After running away from home at 15 she started out on YouTube and never looked back, building a strong community and clothing brand called Alchemai.

Check out Mai's channel:

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ABOUT US
We’re Colin and Samir, creators based out of Los Angeles California. We make videos about the creator economy, and the lessons we’ve learned over 10 years of being on YouTube. We also interview creators and try to get to the bottom of what’s working on YouTube and where the creator economy is headed.

[JuneKhine]

Been following her for years and the only reason that keeps me following her is the fact that she is always so grounded and humble. She deserves all the success she is getting now

[TechOutAdam]

The business and legal side of being an influencer is so fascinating. That’s what I love about this podcast is they cover it.

[zoesanford]

WE ARE SPAMMILY!!! So proud of you Mai 🧙‍♂️❤️

[christinaashley]

Hearing her talk about her business model, you can tell she is so intelligent. She deserves all the success she’s gotten and more

[miti]

As an Asian from an immigrant family, I can relate to her so much. From never wanting to be home, to trying to sell anything I could. I grew up watching her and were also the same age. It was great bc I never saw an Asian face growing up and she represented us when nobody else did. She seems like a humble and great person. And I’m happy she has a good relationship with her family. I never had support, I actually cut my whole family off. I’m sorry for the random rant, but thank you for reading.

[myamorin]

Mai’s honesty and confidence is refreshing (compared to a lot of influencers) Growing up with her and seeing her success gives me motivation and inspiration especially when I’m down

[kelaenos]

mai is an icon because she's relatable as hell. she succeeded because of her being vulnerable about her depression, not despite it ♡♡♡♡

[marylogue]

i’m not even half way through this but this video is so heartwarming and so real i’ve watched mai for so long now and she helped me in so many ways, so seeing her being raw and real is a comfort to me we all love mai and we always will i will watch her videos till the day i die ❤❤🧙‍♂️🧙‍♂️🧙‍♂️🧙‍♂️🧙‍♂️🧙‍♂️

[elghazal]

Man I've always been a huge fan of Mai and followed her through her journey but seeing her at this age of maturity and growth is so fascinating to me it makes me so proud of her❤️

[tayynicole]

I absolutely love Mai, and I’ve been watching her for probably 10 years. She is amazing.

[nicolearviso]

Mai’s heart and soul got her here. She has a genuine outlook on life, and it’s beautiful to see her grow. ❤

[livvybug]

This is so eye opening about Mai. She's always been open but to hear her full story truly makes me understand her more. She is truly an amazing person and content creator. She is so passionate and determined and it truly inspires me everyday. You're doing amazing Mai ❤🧙‍♂️

[mctcurious]

One of the smartest, most driven, and realest creators out there. This was an amazing conversation, Colin and Samir. Thank you.

[Tinaxo]

she’s such an outgoing and amazing person..she’s just a joy to watch ❤

[anastasiabondarenko]

Would never say she's only 21y.o. Such a mature, reasonable and inspiring talk about her way as a creator and business around it. Shiny smile and beautiful serious eyes🤩 
Wish you all the best, Mai!

[Intisar]

Mai is my fav youtuber 💗
Glad you guys had her on here 😊

[alesamaa]

I'm only 12 mins in and I'm in AWE at Mai just BEING the atomic habits book person instinctivelly since she was a child, and explaining the concept of embodying the identity of that which you want to become from the book intelligently 🤯👏

[marsgal]

I came back to comment again after watching the video and im so proud of mai. Ive been following her since before she hit 2 million subs on youtube and just watching her platform grow and being apart of the spam account has been amazing. Plus, now i have a new podcast channel to watch since i really loved the hosts and their calm, but freindly energy

[aveonamoen]

Spam Pham was here!😘 Been watching Mai for about 4 years and have 2 hoodies! I can’t wait for the next drop!!

[hajarjardi]

Mai is really one of the best youtubers true to herself and true to everyone else, I JUST LOVE HER ❤️❤️