Why Tana Mongeau Is Impossible To Cancel (Interview)

God if I could just redo that moment five years ago Tana Mojo was behind one of the biggest disasters in YouTube history Botanical Hannah monjo held her own event competing with VidCon 20 000 people showed up for a venue that only fit 5 000 people so how did she bounce back to win creator of the year ahead of Mr Beast and build an eight-figure Empire I was receiving multi-million dollar offers to hundreds of thousands of units over eight figures in this interview Tana opens up about how she did it and the biggest red flags most YouTubers don't even know to look out for for years I was like oh you're actually smart oh you're actually you know it's like actually you're very good at what you do foreign [Music] thanks for having us over at your home I really never do things in the house but this was like special so I was like come over you're a champ well you are the goat I wanted to ask so your Twitter bio uh really caught my eye uh you said you're not bad for a five with no Talent that's what I thought it was do you really believe you're a five and do you believe you actually have no Talent um I think it's more so kind of playing on you know a mass opinion of what the world thinks about me I guess um but at the same time it's while I am self-deprecating I kind of mean it in a in a motivational way as well for my followers I mean over time I feel like I just kind of had to figure out everything as I go that's probably why I had a million scandals and stuff because it was all just at the Forefront of the camera figuring out how to navigate life and adulthood and this business as I go one of the ways I feel like you entered mainstream media was with tanacon can you take me through why did you start tanacon absolutely and what you learned from it let me get back in the mindset of an impulsive frustrated girl who did not have enough people around her to tell her no what the [ __ ] are you doing girl I had gone to a couple different vidcons because I was working with other brands there but I wasn't invited by VidCon and then there just ended up being some situations where it was like when you know I they weren't going to give me the past they they didn't want me there but it was like but I was there working with the brand and then I'm getting mobbed by people and it's this big mess and you know what I mean it would have been nice to have security or be able to stay in the hotel or be able to and obviously looking back again they don't have to invite you to their event Hannah like I don't know I don't know what was going on in young entitled Tanner brain but I made a video about that and like the struggles and frustrations that I was having with VidCon and I was just I was far more unhinged than I am now I I think I called the CEO out by name and said some Choice words that I should not have said I made a joke in the video like maybe I should just have my own convention and then it was like it became a real thing where a lot of people wanted to go and wanted to attend and then creators were reaching out like are you doing this let's do this and you know what I mean Shane Dawson was on board and all these huge people were on board and then it was like well let's do it I've always been one that I think taking a risk and doing something that maybe not everyone else is doing and trying is a good thing and had that been well executed I think the trajectory of my career would have been very different not that not different better just different um and I I just enlisted very much the wrong people and underprepared people to help me execute this event and it just it went I mean we all saw it went awry and I think I really really needed that mentally at the time and emotionally like as a person I needed to be like I needed someone to knock me off that high horse but obviously I wish it would have been something that happened at the expense of only me so that's really what it is dumb girl tried to have convention no it's crazy 20 000 people estimated showed up the tanacon so funny because the the phrase 20 000 will always be such a joke original meme um no I think that I was on an Instagram live and I said something airing to 20 000 people and I have no idea how many people actually came in or out that's my problem it's like I'm always speaking and hyperbole I'm so dramatic I've toned that back but at the time it was like get off Instagram live don't speak in hyperbole in reference to your convention right now you know go go figure it out if I could go back in time that would be the one thing where I'd be like don't do that don't do that girl Tana your honesty is honestly so refreshing uh in talking about it because I think as creators grow up and more people try to join the business you ultimately have to find Partners either you hire to help out with events to help out with products and I wanted to ask what are the things that you learned about like vetting who's around you in your inner circle from that experience in tanacon and who you chose and and what would you have done differently if you knew what you knew today I mean tanacon definitely just taught me that even when you've triple checked you haven't triple checked triple check again triple check again and again and again and it's ironic because tanacon brought me so much business in the event space I was receiving directly after tanacon multi-million dollar offers to have a tanacon too from the best companies in the world like that when you think ticketing when you think shows you think these companies like we will put it on we will do everything we just need you to be the face of it and I was just it didn't feel right and I was very much too scared as well to what double down and do it again are you kidding me like where's you know you know what I mean but I mean even just through that like working with those people and talk just talking to them about it like I I would take the meeting and talk about it I knew I wasn't going to do it but I wanted to learn more like where did I go wrong and and now my red flag radar is crazy you can sneeze wrong and I'm like you're gonna sue me like I just know a lot of those emotions toward tanacon were very much so spiteful I was angry at VidCon I did it on the same day I did it across the street you're insane Anna you're insane it's a lot of self-awareness I feel like people may walk away from different experiences and I remember even there's a moment in the Shane Dawson documentary where like you're taking a lot of the ownership in blame if I agreed I should have listened to people who told me not to work with him I should have done something at her research yeah I can spend all day blaming them and we've had our battles in court and we've exchanged our words and they know how I feel but at the end of the day it wasn't Tana's partner's gone it was tanagon and you you chose that so it's I feel like I would just be especially now you know what I mean it would be embarrassing to not just be like yep I was an idiot there yeah and grow and move forward what are the biggest red flags that new creators Overlook I mean first and foremost with new creators I think that when you're when you're coming up and you amass your first you know great bit of views and attention and followers everyone in the industry is going to be biting at the bit like piranhas to sign you to get you to do this deal to get you to go on this trip to get you to tour to make you Merchant you know because that's all you are to the people in the industry they're great people with Great Hearts but at the end of the day you are a dollar sign and a signature on a check and that is just the reality of it and I think that it's very exciting you know especially when you've never done this before and you get that first call from the brand or that first call from a merchandise company or that first call from a manager but you have to and it's something that you don't know until you learn and you trip and you fall and you get up so many times but you have to be aware that that's all people want and that the only person who really has your best interest in this is you and maybe people hopefully people close to you and loved ones and I barely have that so it was like you know I just make sure that when you're working with someone they're professional and they're treating you right especially as a woman that people aren't trying to do some crazy [ __ ] because that's what this industry is so full of there are studies that show that women only account for 30 percent of creators directors a lot of creative positions in Hollywood what do you think that the other 70 don't understand about that 30 and why do you think that number isn't as high as it could be you know when you're living in a world where everything caters to you you're not people aren't always thinking about the 30 they're like I am the 70 and this is great which sucks but it's the reality and it's been a man's world for a long time and now we're finally trying to even that out are there examples that come to mind when you were starting out that you're like this feels like a double standard it there's so many I can think of really like it's I would be here for two hours one or even just in the industry being so young 16 17 18 you're showing up to stuff and you're you're getting hit on left and right and left and right by the directors and the producers and the people you're working with and other creators and it it's just normal it's it's just something that you it's normally I shouldn't say it's normal but it's normalized and I the people just play into that so much they're like sexualization of everything that you do and you know what you have to say it's for years I think it's maybe from 22 to 24. I have gotten the recognition for being smart and good at what I do or whatever you want to say about that but until it was like oh you're actually smart oh you're actually you know it's like actually like it's just it's just the way that it works people people are going to underestimate you and as a woman in pretty much everything and you're gonna have to claw your way up a little harder than most men are but I wanted it and I did it and I don't give a [ __ ] if it's hard you know let it be hard let's I want to be that girl who shows other girls they can do it and they can come from nothing and do it you had this great quote on Paris Hilton's podcast where you said I went through a phase where I was uh you said you were you were attention [ __ ] I'm just quoting I wanted to wear the craziest [ __ ] on the red carpet and get the most attention possible absolutely I didn't care if I was a worse dress or best dress I just wanted to be there and make a statement absolutely are there anything as you look back that you made a statement about that you regret a lot of creators have probably talked about this with you but you become very addicted to that cycle of you know filming something and you know not editing it not really thinking about it putting it out there and seeing how it does and you're sure I was I was at least surrounded by so many people who you know put the thought in your head that your worth is based around that around the attention you're receiving and what you're doing and I was also doing reality television at the time where it's like we don't want to see anything where you're not screaming or crying or being wild or think that that mindset kind of transcended over to everything it was like how can I get them how can I get on a red carpet and wear something that's going to make me the most talked about and eventually I think I just it wasn't it for me I realized you know it's I'm gonna do what I do and how it does is awesome but it's not what I'm living for you had your wedding with Jake can I ask you a few questions about that absolutely okay I was waiting on my tanacon check reading check it's like these these pivotal psycho moments I just really do it I had a chance to interview Jake did you yeah and I asked him what's something that he um looks back on differently that he did on camera I saw this and I wanted to get your reaction and hear your take as you play this yes I literally got fake married to tanas and like sold it like it was 100 real uh which in hindsight's like it's just crazy to think about uh and I I got the attention that I wanted from it but then afterwards I was like it would have been better to just not 100 I saw this when did this happen this happened like a year ago right I remember I was getting tagged in it all the time yeah yeah we got married for attention and that is a crazy thing to do I mean like I said like I just explained we were in that era of views doing crazy stuff and filming it and you know that was a very crazy thing to do we literally yeah like he said we sold it it was nuts and I look back at everything kind of like I don't have many like I would do it over again I would do it differently you know what I mean like I said with tanacon it's like that endangered people and I would never do that again but stuff like that are just their chapter in my book of life and it we could have done something different we could have had a fun little you know Vlog bit in LA with that we didn't have to take it there we were insane for taking it there you know when you care about someone but then you're playing it up for views and videos and when you you know like are doing stuff like that afterwards you're really like what is real what isn't real what is life like it [ __ ] up your perspective on a lot of stuff and I learned that later on after in therapy and realizing that I would never do anything that crazy for the internet again I mean just to share some of the numbers like that wedding according to Business Insider reach an estimated uh 7.75 billion people across online TV and radio which is translated to about 605 million dollars in media value which none of us got no no I I literally I I didn't make a dollar off the wedding really I mean I will say like merchandise sales were up and Views were up and those things equate to a financial value but I know the media value is crazy it was you know five million story views at the time and stuff like people were just up everything we did and I think that was the time too where I realized that I don't know if I ever wanted Fame like that like I love life now I love that I get to choose when I want to go somewhere and get to be that tana and have the cameras on me and have moments and there's still obviously you know Paparazzi creepy stalkers and weird stuff like that but at that time I we couldn't do anything or go anywhere I found this quote uh that your former manager David Weintraub said um who says Tana's a business brain I get texts and emails from her 24 hours a day saying I want to do this so I'm curious what are some of those texts and business ideas that you share because I think you also don't get enough credit for how entrepreneurial you are well I really appreciate that if I want to do something and I think it's a good idea I'm going to figure out how to execute that so when you're on my management team look if our YouTube videos ended with credits the same way Hollywood films did it would look like this where the writers actors directors producers and so much more that's where Fourth Wall comes in they power the shops as some of the biggest creators like MKBHD Dr Mike Phil DeFranco and now they want to give you the tools to launch your brand too I'm talking about a stunning website that's fully customizable to you an integrated shop with over a thousand different products you could design and sell instantly or even launch your own membership site plus fourth wall makes all the hard parts of launching your brand easy because they handle customer support sales tax and supply chain oh and here's the kicker no monthly fees no upfront costs no contracts and fourth wall only makes money when you do so go to this link and you'll instantly get 15 to order free samples of whatever merch you want to get started you only have 30 days to try now right back to the video that can be anything you know whether it's like I want to be in this magazine or I want to do this line of this product or even just with Dizzy it was like I want a wine brand I want to have alcohol I want you know at the time it was like my images party girl and I'm always partying why am I not partying with my own drink in my hand and stuff like that but it's it's everything I am when you are my manager I am definitely you know I don't hold back I'm going to tell you what I want to do and you know if I really want to do it you can't help me that's totally fine too I'm probably gonna figure out another route to get there but and I mean I guess I've always just not really leaned into showing the entrepreneurial side of who I am online as much because I feel like it can be a little boring you know you don't want to see me in a meeting for six hours you want to see what that six hour meeting produced a lot of the time and Paris Hilton mentored me for a long time and she really taught me a lot about building a business based off of almost you know paying homage to my bio that we started talking about in the beginning of letting people think you are a big dumb stupid blonde idiot woman and then going behind all of them and just crushing and she really helped me perfect that and figure out that business model I shouldn't say perfect but get it the way I wanted it and now as I'm getting older I don't mind showing that side of me it's because again like we were just talking about and off camera we talked about it for a second the being an inspiration for females especially in this world to do things and go get what they want and work is something I want to do so I hope to show more of that but then on the flip side as well like we said it's a man's world and to me it's it's funny because it's like if a man wants to think I'm stupid I can't wait to be his boss I don't need to I don't need to talk to him and tell him what I'm going to do sit there and think I am an untalented five with the brain cells of a toaster and soon you're going to be bringing me a coffee and that's awesome don't ever let anyone you know what I mean treat you or tell you that type of stuff so I guess that's kind of where that comes from how do you prioritize which idea to do first I see this with a lot of creators they you know get a bit of traction they get some views and they're like I want to start a merch line I want to start a restaurant I want to do all these things how do you pick which idea you want to do first my new manager Seth even when I first started talking to him he just said something so funny to me that will forever like sit with me we were doing the launch of my dizzy red wine was coming up in like six months or whatever and we'd had we had everything done and I was sitting there to him and I was like okay well everything's ready to launch Disney like what should we do this holiday season like what about makeup skincare like what should we do and he looked at me and he's like you are not a Bloomingdale sales and I don't know if anyone's ever told you that but you don't he goes imagine one kid with their two dizzy Wines in their hand and all their Tana merch on piled up and they're you know what I mean lanyards to all your tours and shoe collabs and suitcases and whatever and it's just gonna pile him over and knock him over you don't need to do all that and that was already in the era where I was very much so realized that it's so much better to have two to three big projects and then keep focusing on the things that brought you those projects whether that's YouTube or whatever you know your origin is to have brought you the level of success to do those things tell me about dizzy I think so many of the times we see like the end product but not the process how did you end up like you know picking the product like finding the part like take me through like that process a little bit probably like a year before we decided on dizzy we thought it was going to be Tana's tacos and we thought it was going to be a ghost kitchen and we did the entire process with the same people who did Beast burger and you know tried all the foods and so I probably gained 20 pounds just trying all the freaking food for tennis tacos and we got it all the way to the finalized products and the finalized menu and where these pop-ups were going to be and it was going to be on Postmates and it reads and whatever and I was just like hate to say this but it's I I don't think it's right I don't think Tana needed tennis tacos you know what I mean and we we switched to dizzy and it was a shot in the dark being like I want to whine instead and I know everyone on my team probably wanted to kill me but I it felt inauthentic and it just it wasn't right what felt most inauthentic about the taco brand I eat tacos but I'm not gonna eat Santa's tacos every single day I just felt like it kind of was like Mr B shows a ghost kitchen so I want a ghost kitchen like it was just like kind of following the trends of what everyone in the industry was doing to make money and it didn't really feel like it was something that would be mine in five years yeah and something I cared about how many units have you or like if is there a rough ballpark like just so people can understand the gravity of what you've accomplished hundreds of thousands of units I I wouldn't I would have to ask them for an exact number I haven't in a long time but I'm lucky for the success of dizzy tell me about cannabis your new cannabis line uh how did you come up with that uh I am so excited I actually don't I don't think I came up with the name I I think it was Jake Paul and I hated the credit years and years ago he just said it as a joke and it always stuck with me and I was like I'm using that for something one day but honestly I'm completely lying Jake I don't want to give you a percent he doesn't need a percentage actually um he's doing just fine I have met with show every weed brand every weed company all of the Cannabis industry pretty much over the years trying to figure out what I wanted to do whether it was a collab with the big brand or my own thing or if it was going to be an online store and Marketplace of like my curated selects or what I wanted it to be really and I finally found the perfect partner and that's you know a great painted picture of tanacon me learning that the first partner the second or the third or the fourth or the fifth might not be the right ones was it harder in your early days like given that you know you really like push the boundaries with your content to get brand deals or were there brands that approach you that you said no to because it just didn't feel aligned with who you are yeah like take me through that for people like who like want to be their full authentic selves like do you feel like you left money on the table because of that I have probably left enough money on the table because of that to buy an island foreign I was just unhinged and the other girls that I was competing with were the beauty Guru girls who were getting those Neutrogena deals and you know those Dove deals and the Coca-Cola deals and that's that's never that's never gonna come to me and I I knew that the further I kept going but at the same time I think had I been cookie cutter I would have never amassed any success and had I switched up to a perfectly brand safe businesswoman and any of that time of my growth I don't think I would have made it to the point that I'm at so I had no choice but to be myself which I'm grateful for because it could be a lot worse but it definitely made me very strategic in the regard of like okay listen like you know AdSense was good for a while and then obviously they switched the the system and now AdSense is probably my lowest earning source of Revenue so it makes you put your thinking cap on on how you're going to build your business and create your revenue and stuff like that and even back in the day when I wanted to start businesses like dizzy or tannabis or anything I remember just so many people would laugh in your face and shut the door it was like we're not building a business around you you're not a business you're a crazy girl and the the brands that I would work with versus people with my same numbers or even less you know it's always going to be the Rogue ones but shout out to the Rogue ones who take a chance on me because we will we will sell your product or we will create something amazing together you mentioned AdSense is your lowest percentage what's a rough pie of like you know how Tana Mojo makes money I make money off of obviously everyone knows and every Financial interview we discuss paywall platforms such as only fans I have an agency under only fans where I sign people and I manage them and I bring them to the correct managers to help them and do the stuff like that which is an awesome source of Revenue I do a lot of branded Integrations we have things like dizzy and we have things like cannabis we have merchandise we have the podcast space and obviously all the ad Revenue that runs around that I have Club appearances and different types of appearances really obviously any type of touring or meet and greet things that we do just the diversity of that and the fact that there's so many different ways Beyond AdSense yeah that you're making it work I think is a blueprint and roadmap for people like you know maybe I don't want to be a brand safe Creator yeah but I still want to make it absolutely absolutely I think I'm really about to surprise people this year with things I do I think I want to become a property girl and do some different stuff that nothing to do with this yes I know so but I'm excited to just continue to expand that and you know don't let people tell you you're you're so this you need to change to do this if you really want to do this by being this you don't need to change you just need to find another route if someone's telling you no you're asking the wrong person what's been your experience on only fans like there's rumors that you made millions of dollars like on your first month there like what's what's like been your experience like how do you think about that what what um like take me through like the agency that you have on it that's fascinating to hear that yes built an entire ecosystem well I am signed with unruly agency and the CEO of that she is like my best friend we decided to kind of start a little subdivision out on really called Tana's Angels agency or TAA because it people saw girls Saw model saw the success that I was having in that and the fun I was having and the money I was making and I mean it's I mean we just talked about my my level of brand safety I guess so getting to be on a platform where I can smoke my tan abyss and I can say crazy stuff and I can be authentically myself in any way and people like love it and just want to talk and chat and see every facet of my life is sick it's I always say it's the content I think the the least about you know I spent the last hour downstairs in the makeup chair censoring every time I say a swear word in my next branded YouTube video whereas for only fans I'm what's up guys you know this is what I'm doing I'm not I'm not holding anything back so it's it's easy and it's fun and people are paying for it which is awesome thank you yeah do you have a ballpark is it like over seven figures like eight like do you have a sense of like how much like only fans has driven to your Empire and your business overall yeah over eight figures I think wow yeah and I'm really lucky for that for sure over time I'm not saying I'm sitting on that right now you know I always was like I'm gonna I'm gonna make multi-millions but only fans made it easier to get there and I'm not done yet I still want to make that in so many different facets but I mean like and that it was a cool stepping stone Tana that's I mean that's so cool to hear like you left money on the table earlier in your career now it's coming full circle that is awesome I've never thought about it that way I've never thought about it that way that's so weird that it is that is so that's awesome I really that's all I can say yeah Dan I feel like you uh have so many relationships across YouTube um between you know you like uh and Jeff uh like you and uh you know that David dobrik and and I think you lived there for a while I and a lot of David Vlogs and stuff like that in the beginning that's how I basically met Jeff we didn't really become close until after they're falling out and um yeah for like three or four brief months when I was in between houses I did live at David's what do you what do you think about these creator houses or creators living together like it's become a trend yeah it's funny I feel like I've seen it from the very beginning with like Jake and team 10 and stuff like that and then that just kind of set a model and a precedent for it to continue to be replicated and I lived next door to the hype house for almost like a year and a half maybe even longer and that was very fun that was right as Tick Tock was coming up and it was awesome for me I was like thank God these people are my neighbor I get to stay around for another year I think content houses now like right now currently in 2023 are done they've had their moment they it's no longer exciting to me I'm not saying that there couldn't be an amazing one with an amazing group of people that then you know refreshes it and supersedes that precedent but I mean at one point in 2022 2021 there were hundreds all over La everything five people would get together and gain 100 followers and post with a Celsius and was like we need a mansion and it just got very dragged out and stuff and it also doesn't always end too well if you really think about the concept of putting five to ten people who do not really know each other from Adam or Eve in a house and telling them you guys are all best friends now forget your whole life outside of here and you have to do this 24 7. there's cameras on each I would go insane there were even even when I was at Jake's all the time and there would always be new team 10 Prospects around and stuff I got to be like I'm in my pajamas trying to make a coffee get your camera out of my face I could never I don't know but I mean it's a great business model and big Brands love to buy it so I'm sure people will keep swinging at it I want you to play this clip of your acceptance speech at the Streamys where you beat up Mr Beast Emma Chamberlain David dobrik for creator of the year and I have a few questions about that I have a lot of answers I actually don't think I've ever watched this wow can I be so honest with you yeah it's one downfall of me is I don't watch anything again yo this feels like one of those like mean girl moments where I should like break it off and give it to everybody who actually the outfit makes me so mad I just I just have to pause it and just you know I'm in my whole career if I could redo one outfit it would be this one I thought I wasn't gonna win and I was in my attention seeking era so I was like great wear a gown girl because I don't deserve this at all I'm like I don't feel like creator of the year I've never felt like creator of the year I feel like the the misfit that outcasts the following swearing on the stage in a sweatsuit Jesus I see why I've never watched that I would God if I could just redo that moment um it's funny I mean it was a fan voted award so I think that is the only reason that I that I did win I don't think I mean I immediately after walking off that stage I just wanted to run around back to the crowd and hand it to Mr Beast like I've made the joke a thousand times but the man planted a million trees and I had a fake wedding there's no comparison what would you say on stage if you could redo that speech I mean in a perfect world you know there's a million jokes I would have made about how little I deserved that and I definitely would have like excuse the fit um but at the end of the day if you redid that moment a thousand times I would be that girl you know I mean you just you transport back to the girl in her bedroom who doesn't love her life and wants out of it and wants to inspire one person and I would watch the Streamys growing up and just be like how cool is that my favorite creators winning in a war I never thought I'd be on that stage let alone in that audience so that's who I was in that moment you know and take me through five years from now where is Tana like where are you making content you're launching more businesses like where do you think you'll be it's like right now I'm in the happiest most mentally clear point of my life I think that I've ever been and I look back at Tana who struggled through a lot of this [ __ ] and I think I finally figured out my own and we all have to figure out our own personal recipe for happiness and Clarity and I mean I hope by 29 I'm like married or I'm a kid or something but I mean and if I'm not it's not you know I'm very like what's meant to be will be I hope in five years I'm healthy and happy yeah okay Anna your transparency is refreshing your story is inspiring and different and I can't wait to continue to follow your career thanks for taking time with me you're an icon thank you for having me of course that's a wrap

Channel: Jon Youshaei

Views: 153,973

Keywords: marketing, creativity, youshaei, jon youshaei, creators, creator economy, jonathon youshaei, instagram employee, youtube employee, youtube, tana mongeau, tana mongeau vlogs, tana mongeau podcast, tana mongeau jeff wittek, Cancelled, TanaCon, Dizzy, Tanabis, MrBeast, Streamys, tana mongeau and jake paul wedding

Id: aJ4vJpzLGG0

Length: 32min 53sec (1973 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 09 2023