Here’s Why Top YouTubers Are Betting on This New $3,750 Training Program for Creators: ‘We See an Opportunity’

Want to become a YouTuber with a massive following like MrBeast? Top creators are backing Bedford, an AI learning platform that promotes mentoring and skill development, Business Insider reported this week. 

For $3,750 a year, students will have access to a six-week course, spending two to four hours a week learning how to build a content plan, track their performance and turn audience engagement into income. 

Bedford’s advisors include YouTubers with millions of subscribers, such as Jordan Matter, Michelle Khare and Samir Chaudry. Education entrepreneur Ben Newton, who worked at the private school network Avenues before founding childcare and preschool company Vivvi, is Bedford’s cofounder and CEO. The platform aims to help professionals at all levels, as well as businesses that want to boost their team’s online presence. 

Students won’t get one-on-one mentoring from big names like Matter or Khare. Instead, trained coaches will lead the teaching, per Business Insider.

Bedford is also not an accredited school. It hopes to enroll 100 students when it fully launches in July, then grow to 200 students by the fall. 

The name Bedford comes from the Old English word “ford,” which refers to a shallow point where travelers can cross a river. Bedford sees itself as that safe crossing for new creators.  

“Creator economy skills, like public speaking, are very hard to get started,” Newton told Business Insider. “And so we see an opportunity to help students cross that river or those rapids and develop a sustainable practice.”

Other Bedford advisors include psychologist and author Adam Grant, Harvard professor Sunil Gupta, former Andreessen Horowitz partner Katherine Rundell, and Google’s director of AI product Will Houghteling. 

Bedford’s ultimate aim

Matter told Business Insider that even though the influencer world has exploded, social media is now packed with lookalike posts and not enough genuine personalities. He and his son Hudson, who is also a creator, were some of Bedford’s earliest advisors. With their input, the platform focuses on helping individual creators find their own voice and create original content. 

“It’s about finding your influence in an audience,” Newton said. 

The platform will also teach students how to balance their work so they don’t burn out and how to handle negative feedback online. After the six-week course, they will get ongoing support through a speaker series, peer reviews and coaching. 

Creators brought in billions of dollars last year

Ad firm WPP estimated last year that creators brought in $185 billion in 2025, a 20% increase over 2024. The firm projected that this amount could grow to more than $376 billion by 2030. 

A 2025 report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau also found that more than 1.5 million Americans now work full-time as content creators, a nearly eightfold increase from the 200,000 recorded in 2020.