Project summary

I'm building a TikTok-first channel that asks New Yorkers what they really think about AI. This project will be on camera, on the street. In between street interviews I'll post on the account, I'll also publish 15-30 second analysis/overviews of trending AI news and what researchers are actually saying.

I've built six-figure audiences from zero on two separate occasions, and a third to 30,000+; no paid promotion, growth driven by niche clarity, consistent cadence, and retention analytics. Street interviews are one of the most-watched formats on the internet. This project is the next step of my professional journey; a convergence of my passions and interests in a medium I'm confident will be well-received. \

What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?

I’ve got three tangible goals. The first goal is to bring AI discourse to communities it structurally never reaches; my established audience is Gen Z women, queer viewers, and communities of color, and I'm one of very few Black women creators in the AI space at all. The second is to accumulate 100,000 followers within six months of launch. Historically, I've hit 100k in about two months on two separate occassions. Lastly, I aim to produce 200+ videos in year one that double as a living archive of public sentiment about AI during the most consequential stretch of its development as a genuine research artifact.

I plan on executing this through a two-beat format: rotating street questions ("What worries you most about AI?", "Do you think anyone's actually in control of AI?", "Could AI become conscious?") followed by camera-direct closing videos grounding the answers in actual research. Growth comes from the playbook I've already proven: retention-first editing, question-led hooks engineered to start comment wars (respectfully), reply-to-comment videos that turn engagement back into content, and analytics-driven iteration. I treat every video as a hypothesis.\

How will this funding be used?

- Minimum: $20,000 - a three-month pilot at full cadence (4–5 videos/week): my time part-time, one shoot day weekly, equipment, and my film assistant's day rate.

- Full goal: $150,000 -  twelve months, full-time. Breakdown: $100,000 for production labor (scripting, shooting, editing, captioning, publishing, community management; I do every stage myself); $25,000 for film assistant (shoot-day support); $10,000 equipment (wireless mics, lighting, stabilizer, storage); $5,000 software and captioning tools; $5,000 NYC shoot logistics; $5,000 contingency.\

Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?

My team is lean; it's me, plus my film assistant on shoot days. I'm a full-stack creator who has personally done every stage of production at professional volume for over five years.

I interned on NBCUniversal's TODAY Show social team, where videos that I pitched, edited, and published earned 4.5M+ views in one summer. I also was a Social Media intern at the New York Post's Page Six, spent a year as a freelance social media consultant, and served as Social Media Manager for a nonprofit named ASCENDtials. On my own, I grew an account to 340,000+ followers posting climate change street interviews (@timeforfusion) in 2023, which is to say, I have already built a six-figure audience with this exact format about a complex societal issue. I grew a second account that passed 100,000 followers by focusing on personal-growth content (@bestversionproject). Zero paid promotion on either. Outside of the numbers, I’ve written two speculative fiction novels on the convergence of AI, social media, and climate change currently with literary agents, plus I write philosophical writing on AI ethics under uncertainty. I can hold the mic on the corner and go home and write it into literature.

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?

Most likely cause of failure: consistency. A channel dies when the posting rhythm does, and street content adds real-world friction like weather, permits, and strangers declining to talk about AI. Ways to mitigate this include batch shooting (one weekly shoot day yields 5-6 videos), a standing two-week content buffer before launch, my assistant reducing shoot friction, and the boring discipline that got me to six figures accounts twice. I've kept daily cadence through a national newsroom summer, so I have the discipline to do this again.

A second, subtler failure would be having high reach with low literacy. Going viral as entertainment while the educational implications get skipped. To mitigate this, the research-grounded close is structurally non-negotiable (it's on my channel, not a link in bio), and reply-to-comment videos let me correct the most-repeated misconceptions where they actually live.\

How much money have you raised in the last 12 months, and from where?

$0. I'm at the very beginning of this path, which is exactly why I'm here. For full transparency, I have pending applications to FLI's Digital Media Accelerator and Emergent Ventures for overlapping and adjacent work. If more than one comes through, the scope expands to more boroughs, more shoot days, and a second content strand. I’m so excited to start this journey and I thank you all for your help and support.\