How Sarah Renae Clark Built a $5 Million Business Without a Brand Deal

In a world where most creators depend on brand deals for income, Sarah Renae Clark stands out. The Australian creator built a $5 million business selling the Color Cube, a product that sold over 100,000 units by focusing on audience needs rather than sponsorships. Her journey is a blueprint for how smaller creators can successfully make money – just with products. She started by testing the market through digital products and community-driven marketing long before launching her YouTube channel.

Choosing not to explore brand deals

While many creators pursue sponsorships to diversify their income, Clark has found success with a product that has made him more financially independent.

“I’ve built something that serves my audience directly,” she says. “The Color Cube allows me to make a living helping my community in a way that doesn’t depend on outside sponsors.”

By not focusing as much on brand deals, Clark maintains full creative control over her content and business. As Clark explains, “Selling the product gave me the freedom to pull back from the videos, which gives me the freedom to make better videos that I’m really proud of instead of feeling like a burden. Now I can design the business I want without having to make videos about the algorithm or keep things just to save money.”

Why do creators rely on brand deals?

The question remains: why don’t more creators follow in Clark’s footsteps? Perhaps this is because brand deals offer a low-risk way for creators to monetize their platforms, especially for those with large audiences. For most, it’s the fastest way to generate revenue without having to develop their own product or manage complex logistics like production and distribution.

But the downside? Brand agreements come with limitations. Creators often sacrifice creative freedom to meet the demands of sponsors, and their income becomes dependent on outside brands—a fragile foundation if those deals dry up.

Why don’t more creators develop products?

Developing a product like Color Cube is not easy. It requires upfront investment, time and expertise. Many creators are reluctant to dive into the complexity of product development because it’s risky, and they face questions like: what if no one buys? What if you invest thousands in production, only to be left with unsold inventory?

Clark avoided these pitfalls by starting small. It didn’t jump right into a physical product. Instead, she first tested her idea with digital products, using the Color Catalog to gather feedback and gauge demand before committing to larger-scale production.

Clark’s journey began with digital downloads, not video content. In 2018, she created and sold her first product, The Color Catalogue, a digital resource that provides curated color palettes for artists. She used Facebook groups, Pinterest and blogs to market her products, without the help of a brand deal or even a significant online following.

“I didn’t have a huge audience when I started selling the Color Catalog,” Clark explains. “But I knew from sales and feedback that people needed more help with color selection. That’s when I knew I could create a physical product.” After proving that there was demand for her product, Sarah invested 100k in the first color cube print, after proving that there was demand, her final price was 350k.

This step-by-step approach minimized her financial risk and gave her the confidence to move forward.

Thoughtful design for form and function

One of the main reasons for the Color Cube’s success was Clark’s meticulous attention to design. She wanted the product to be more than just functional – it had to be visually appealing. The idea was to create something that people would be proud to display in their homes. “I didn’t want it to look like another tool that people would throw in a drawer,” she says. “I wanted it to be something that could sit on a bookshelf and look good.”

Her thoughtful approach paid off. The Color Cube is designed to be compact, colorful and aesthetically pleasing, making it a product that not only serves a purpose, but also becomes a decorative piece in people’s creative spaces.

Organic growth and a viral product

Interestingly, the Color Cube wasn’t something Clark marketed much at first. She would just use it in her YouTube videos without even trying to sell it. “People started asking about it in the comments,” she says. “That’s when I realized there was real demand.” That organic curiosity fueled initial sales, and today, Clark often spots her Color Cube in other people’s videos, even joking that “it’s more famous than me.”

As a result, she didn’t need massive advertising campaigns to make “Color Cube” a hit – it became a viral product, driven by the enthusiasm of its audience and their word of mouth recommendations. Now, she buys ads to take her sales to the next level, but only after she figures out how to reach her audience organically.

The Power of Niching Down

Clark’s success illustrates the importance of creating hyper-targeted products. Unlike merchandise that fans buy to support a creator, niche products are designed to solve a specific problem. That was the key to Clark’s success with Color Cube—her audience needed a tool that made choosing colors easy and enjoyable. Instead of generic goods like branded hoodies, Color Cube offers help to creative communities, from artists and illustrators to painters, to choose colors that go together.

For example, Color Cube serves a community of miniature figurine enthusiasts who often struggle with choosing the right color combinations to bring their intricate designs to life. Color Cube solves this by providing predefined color palettes.

What makes her story even more remarkable is that she sold over 100,000 units and $5 million in revenue with a relatively small YouTube audience. As of 2024, Clark’s YouTube channel has over 340,000 subscribers and she only posts once a month, proving that a massive following isn’t everything.

As Clark notes, being warm helps differentiate a product from the more generic products that creators like MrBeast or Logan Paul often sell, such as food or energy drinks that appeal to a broad market. “They’ve generally gone with things like food because they can afford it. But niche creators can’t succeed by just offering something for fans to support them – you have to solve a real problem for your audience,” she explains.

By focusing on a narrow and specific need, creators like Clark are able to connect more deeply with their audience and build a sustainable business that is driven by value, not just support.

Lessons for creators: Building a business beyond brand deals

Sarah Renae Clark’s story provides valuable insight for creators. While brand deals are often seen as the fastest route to making money, Clark’s path shows the power of developing your own product that directly serves your audience.

By investing time and effort into understanding her community, Clark was able to create a product that not only solved a real problem, but also turned into a profitable and sustainable business.

Its success shows that creators in niche markets can compete with larger companies if they focus on solving specific problems for their audience. By avoiding dependence on outside sponsorships, Clark has maintained full creative and financial control, ensuring the longevity of her business.

For creatives looking to build a long-term career, Clark’s journey is a reminder that thoughtful growth, rooted in understanding your audience, can be more rewarding than chasing short-term brand deals. Whether you’re a fitness guru, gamer, or artist, Clark’s story proves that creating products based on audience needs can lead to greater and more lasting success.