Entrepreneur: Michelle Khare

Tilt: Fitness and risk-taking 

Scene: YouTube (3M), Instagram (302K), TikTok (158.9K), Twitter (45K)

Snack Bites: 

  • Michelle launched her YouTube channel with Helmet Head, a sketch comedy series about a cyclist.
  • Her series Challenge Accepted, in which she takes on unique job training, helped grow her audience to the millions.
  • She recently took that challenge to the masses with her own platform, where she motivates subscribers to complete a fitness challenge in 30 days.
  • Michelle also has partnered with brands such as State Farm, Bose, and Tic Tac.

Why We Stan: Michelle found a fresh content tilt but wasn’t afraid to evolve it in order to grow her audience. She also has found unique new revenue opportunities, such as the fitness challenge platform, that still relate to her core tilt.

The Story of Michelle Khare

The highly ambitious content creator Michelle Khare made a name for herself after launching her YouTube series Challenge Accepted, a string of online episodes filled with her taking on various jobs and stunts most viewers wouldn’t attempt in their everyday lives. 

Before forming a hard-to-miss digital footprint, Michelle was an ambitious Louisianan, passionate about the arts and fitness. After graduating from Dartmouth College with a degree in digital media and technology, she became a regular in audition rooms and film sets. She moved from one creative job to the next until she took the leap, found her content tilt, and started creating her own content. 

In a piece by Team Nas Academy, the author writes, “As she thought about what kind of content she was going to create, she focused on using what she knew, and what she was passionate about.” 

She created Helmet Head, a little sketch comedy series about a cyclist. In that early stage, she quickly realized she needed to stop comparing herself to other creators because no one else was doing what she did, as the Team Nas Academy article shares. 

Helmet Head helped Michelle gain the confidence to gain a full-time job for Buzzfeed (as she detailed on her YouTube channel.) 

As she balanced both professional and personal hobbies, the accomplished cyclist quit her fast-paced office job to transition into independent content creation full time. The change in income forced her to change her lifestyle – skipping social outings with friends, cutting back her spending – to accomplish her dreams.

.@MichelleKhare quit her job at @Buzzfeed to become a full-time #ContentEntrepreneur. The change in income forced her to cut back her spending. #Stan #CreatorEconomy Click To Tweet

YouTube series that gave her more than confidence

Michelle’s series of videos, Challenge Accepted, took her content-creating career to the next level.  The videos follow Michelle as she takes on some of the most completing new challenges, training like an NFL player, 911 dispatcher, and firefighter. For completing these challenges and more, the YouTuber has been crowned one of the most daring creators around. She tells Entrepreneur, “No matter how hard the challenges are, I always come out on the other side thinking I’m really glad I did this, and I’m really glad I have a new perspective on this. I genuinely have grown so much as a person from the experiences, and it’s just a blessing that people enjoy watching it.” 

Challenge Accepted has allowed Michelle to be the shortest person (5 feet 2 inches) to strut down the walk at London Fashion Week and the first YouTuber to shoot video with the FBI Academy. 

#ChallengeAccepted turned into a big hit for @MichelleKhare, who took on unique training for jobs such as a 911 dispatcher, a firefighter, and even an NFL player. #YouTube #Stan Click To Tweet

Expansion into a fitness brand

Many of the challenges she accepted involved physical activities, leading her to grow her brand with online fitness content. Recently, Michelle launched a Michelle Khare Academy, a subscription-based platform that poses a new challenge to conquer in a month. The website includes a community to support each other. She’s also created a fitness app, MK Fit. Users can join the app for only $1 and pay up to $99.99 annually. 

She has found other ways to generate revenue, partnering with brands such as State Farm, Bose, and Tic Tac. 
Michelle knows creating a strong brand is about finding balance and staying true to your content. Among her advice for entrepreneurs growing a brand: “I would say own your space. Never apologize. And don’t be afraid to take risks and be a badass. And remember having a plan is cool. Finding that balance of taking the leap off the cliff and wearing a parachute. Everyone needs to find that balance for themselves, and I encourage everyone to push themselves to find that.”

About the author

Shameyka McCalman is a wordsmith whose work often centers around fashion, art, and other creatives of color. She earned her communications degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston and enjoys sifting through clothes in local vintage shops, frequenting nearby plays, and gazing at exhibitions on view in museums.