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Elijah Khsabo
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| 6 min read

Building an Influencer Marketing Platform While Bootstrapping Through College with Elijah Khasabo

By Brent W. Peterson

In this episode of Talk Commerce, host Brent Peterson sits down with Elijah Khasabo, co-founder of Vidovo, a platform connecting brands with content creators. The conversation explores how Elijah built a thriving influencer marketplace while managing college coursework. He shares insights on the evolution of user-generated content pricing, the importance of engagement over follower counts, and why authentic human content continues to outperform AI-generated videos in driving conversions.

Key Takeaways

  • Content pricing has evolved significantly – UGC videos that sold for $10-$20 in 2022 now average $250-$300, with some reaching $1,000 per video
  • Engagement metrics trump follower counts – Comments and genuine interaction indicate a creator’s true influence more accurately than raw follower numbers
  • Consistency remains the primary success factor – Posting regularly and waiting until you have 100 videos before analyzing performance allows you to identify what resonates with your audience
  • AI video content faces authenticity challenges – While AI-generated videos attract views due to novelty, they struggle with conversion rates compared to real human creators
  • Controversy can drive viral success – Sometimes unexpected elements in content spark conversation and drive impressions organically
  • Holiday preparation should start months in advance – Testing creative approaches three to four months before peak shopping seasons provides valuable data for optimization

About Elijah Khasabo

Elijah started his entrepreneurial journey in high school by building a Discord community to 30,000 members through TikTok content. This early experience taught him the power of social media and video content. After high school, he attended community college while exploring various business ventures. Through his own dropshipping experiments, he discovered the value of quality user-generated content when a single video generated 15 million views. That revelation led him to create Vidovo.

Currently balancing college coursework with running a bootstrapped startup, Elijah has grown Vidovo to host over 15,000 creators and serve more than 200 brands. His platform sources approximately 100 new creators daily through organic channels like Reddit and TikTok. According to his LinkedIn profile, Elijah maintains a strong focus on helping others succeed, viewing personal growth as intrinsically linked to supporting those around him.

Episode Summary

The conversation begins with Elijah explaining his unconventional founding story. Unlike the typical college dorm room startup narrative, he built Vidovo from his bedroom while attending community college. His path to this business model started with building a massive Discord community in high school, which demonstrated the potential of social media influence.

After trying seven or eight different business ideas, Elijah landed on dropshipping. His third e-commerce store led to a breakthrough when he hired a UGC creator for $50 to produce content. Despite initial reluctance to pay upfront rather than his usual commission-based model, the investment paid off dramatically. “I posted it and it got 15 million views organically,” Elijah recalls. The video featured a door closer product, but what made it go viral was controversy. The creator had his toe visible in the video while demonstrating the product from his bed, sparking debate in the comments that drove massive engagement.

This experience shifted Elijah’s perspective. Rather than continuing with dropshipping, he recognized an opportunity to provide video content services to other e-commerce businesses. He built a roster of 13 creators through Instagram outreach and started selling videos for $20-$30. When he met his co-founder, who brought software development expertise, they formalized the platform into Vidovo.

Building a two-sided marketplace presented significant challenges. “Building two sides of the business, creators and brands, is very difficult,” Elijah acknowledges. However, the bootstrapping experience proved valuable for his development as an entrepreneur. The platform now operates with a job-application style model where brands post campaign briefs and creators apply to projects that interest them.

Discussing current trends, Elijah emphasizes that engagement metrics matter more than follower counts. “I personally look at the comments. What are people actually saying about this creator? Are they engaged with her video?” He cites examples of creators with hundreds of thousands of followers who lack genuine engagement because they built audiences for the wrong reasons years ago.

The conversation touches on consistency as the primary driver of success. Elijah shares advice from a TikTok social media director who recommended posting 100 videos before analyzing performance. His own brother grew from under 900 followers to nearly 20,000 in just a few months through consistent fitness content posting.

Regarding AI-generated video content, Elijah expresses skepticism about its conversion potential despite its ability to generate views. “Consumers just don’t find it authentic,” he notes. While AI videos attract attention due to novelty, brands seeking genuine connection with audiences continue to prefer real human creators. Interestingly, the rise of AI content has actually increased demand for Vidovo’s services as brands explicitly request real people and authentic content.

For merchants preparing for the holiday season, Elijah recommends starting creative testing three to four months in advance. While it’s never too late to launch campaigns, earlier testing provides data on what resonates with consumers. October 2024 became Vidovo’s best month ever, exceeding September’s numbers within just 13 days, indicating strong demand heading into the holiday season.

Throughout the discussion, Elijah maintains that his passion centers on helping others succeed. This philosophy extends beyond his platform to his approach as a founder. He values learning from other entrepreneurs, marketers, and industry professionals, viewing curiosity and openness as essential traits for growth.

Final Thoughts

The journey from a bedroom in community college to running a platform serving hundreds of brands demonstrates that timing, persistence, and recognizing opportunities matter more than following traditional paths. Elijah’s story reinforces that building genuine connections between brands and creators requires understanding both sides of the marketplace. As the influencer marketing industry matures and pricing reflects the true value of quality content, platforms that facilitate authentic relationships will continue to thrive. For entrepreneurs considering the creator economy, the question isn’t whether to start, but rather how consistent you’re willing to be in building your presence. After all, in the world of content creation and influencing, are you ready to commit to losing for 12 months before you start winning?


This has been produced in cooperation with Content Cucumber

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AI video authentic content brand partnerships content conversions creator economy engagement metrics influencer marketing social media strategy UGC pricing user-generated content Vidovo

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Brent W. Peterson

Brent W. Peterson

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