David Dobrik’s Entrepreneurial Approach to YouTube

While scrolling through Dobrik’s YouTube channel, the headlines range from “SURPRISING PEOPLE WITH JUSTIN BIEBER!!) to “WORLD RECORD FOAM EXPERIMENT!! (INSANE).” David Dobrik isn’t just a YouTuber. First and foremost, he is an entrepreneur. With a near 17 million subscribers to entertain on his YouTube channel, his videos of crazy stunts, pranks on friends, insanely expensive giveaways, and collaborations with pop-culture icons rack up billions of combined views.

YouTube is a space where anyone with a means of recording a video can share that message with the world. To become a YouTube star though, David Dobrik proves that this title requires a lot more work behind the camera.

In an interview with Elite Daily, Dobrik’s assistant Natalie Mariduena described how he and his team of YouTubers he’s recruited, called the Vlog Squad, produce fresh content. Mariduena says that there is no such thing as a regular routine or typical day on the job, but there are distinctions between normal and posting days.

Normal days are more relaxed, consisting of business calls, meetings, planning content, and finally, filming. Dobrik, Mariduena, and the Vlog Squad take planning very seriously, as brainstorming is absolutely essential to their success. According to Mariduena, posting days are significantly more hectic – there is nothing else other than the vlog that she focuses on.

Dobrik only started his YouTube channel in 2016, but since then he’s collected millions of dollars and big-time awards like the 2019 People’s Choice Award for Favorite Social Media Star and multiple Kids’ Choice Awards. At one point in time, Dobrik was making upwards of $275,000 per month from YouTube videos alone.

In the majority of his content, Dobrik aims to keep the tone playful, fast-paced, and entertaining. However, his most viewed video captures a more emotional and vulnerable side. With around 65 million views, the video titled “we broke up” is a six minute, 19 second unfiltered conversation alongside ex-girlfriend and fellow YouTube personality star Liza Koshy. Even if it means exposing his personal life to the public, Dobrik pushes the boundaries of his content to be bolder, bigger, or better than other channels.

The platform that Dobrik realized he loved and excelled at online content-creation was the now-defunct video app Vine. Although Dobrik has always loved creating video content, when he started out he was discouraged by many people to continue down the content-creator path. No one was aware of the thriving career he could build for himself fueled by a determined mindset and a passion for his work. When he decided he didn’t want to go to college, his parents told him to either change his mind or move out. A few months later, Dobrik did just that – he took a risk and moved out to LA with three friends and barely enough money to afford basic groceries.

Motivated to make a full-time career out of YouTube, Dobrik began posting 3 times a week, every week – even during holidays. For many YouTubers, posting more than one or two videos a week is already too demanding. Defying the odds of burnout, Dobrik continues at this steady pace now four years later in addition to taking on even more projects, such as his podcast “VIEWS With David Dobrik and Jason Nash.”

Dobrik has captured the affectionate attention of millions and doesn’t plan on stopping his career in the spotlight anytime soon. Despite the money, fame, and attention everywhere he goes, Dobrik makes it clear that above all, he credits his success and work ethic to his genuine love of what he does. In an interview with Forbes, he simply states: “if people see that you’re passionate about what you’re creating, they’re going to enjoy it.”

Considering all the unbelievable antics he’s already done, one can only take a wild guess at what David Dobrik is going to hatch next.

If you like this article, check out our podcast episodes: Gstaad Guy – Comedy + Technology = LOL and Simon Huck – Monetize Your Celebrity