Jay Clouse

Jay Clouse is the Columbus, Ohio based founder of Creator Science, a newsletter, podcast, YouTube channel and membership that helps creators build sustainable businesses through observation, experimentation and iteration. Clouse grew up in a small Ohio town, got into entrepreneurship at Ohio State, organised Startup Weekend events in Columbus, and helped build Tixers, an online ticketing startup that was sold in 2015.

In 2017 Clouse went independent and started writing daily to challenge a belief of not being creative. That writing became a weekly newsletter, alongside freelancing and Unreal Collective, a small cohort-based community for creators that grew slowly and deliberately. In December 2020 Pat Flynn's Smart Passive Income acquired Unreal Collective, and Clouse joined to lead membership and community programs.

Clouse's podcast, launched in 2020 as Creative Elements and now named Creator Science, interviews well-known creators about how their businesses work. Creator Science reports more than $2M in lifetime creator revenue, 60,000+ newsletter subscribers, over two million podcast downloads and 100,000+ YouTube subscribers. Products include courses, the CreatorHQ Notion operating system and The Lab, a membership for full-time creators.

Clouse publishes candid annual reviews, including a 2025 review showing a revenue dip, and argues for maximising trust rather than attention. The Tilt named Clouse its inaugural Content Entrepreneur of the Year in 2023, and Clouse has made 10+ private investments in creator tools such as Kit, Maven and Gumroad.