The Sidemen, Europe’s largest YouTube collective with more than 150 million followers and 50 billion views across all its social media channels, has co-founded Upside, a venture capital firm backing consumer tech start-ups.
The group formed in 2013 and is best known for producing hugely popular videos of its members taking part in challenges, sketches and video games commentaries.
Those members have now invested some of their own money in a firm called Upside VC, which has made 12 investments of between £100,000 and £500,000 in companies including Howbout, a social calendar app to share schedules with friends; Mile, a membership app offering deals on luxury products and services; and Nimbi, which makes plastic-free razors.
The Sidemen make hugely popular videos of challenges, sketches and video games commentaries
SIDEMEN/YOUTUBE
As well as financial backing, Upside’s portfolio companies will also be promoted across the Sidemen’s social media platforms, helping them grow their own following and driving down the cost of customer acquisition.
Jamie Elliott, general partner at Upside VC, said that the Sidemen are “involved in every step” of screening new investment opportunities. “It’s very rare to find anyone in this world who knows their fans and customers as well as the guys do. When it comes to actually sitting down and dissecting a business and trying to figure out if it’s something we want to get involved in, the guys really do know what people will and won’t like,” he said.
It’s also key to get their early buy-in if the collective is going to promote the start-up on social media. “It’s terribly important because if we’re asking them to put their media heft behind a business we can’t just turn up in a year’s time and say, ‘Hey, we backed this company nine months ago. You haven’t heard of who they are or what they do, but go and put them in a video please.’ That’s not how this relationship works,” said Elliott.
These projects helped shape the collective’s perspective on the types of businesses and sectors it was most interested in investing in through Upside. “Sides is going pretty well. It’s been transformed in the last 12-18 months from an idea into a concept into a real business. Brick-and-mortar businesses are tough, and we’re lucky this one has hit the right note with customers. [But] this is why with the fund we’re looking mostly at tech. The scale and speed of technology companies, especially with creators involved, can be wicked,” said Josh ‘Zerkaa’ Bradley, a Sidemen member.
Prime, a cult energy drink, was co-created by Sidemen member Olajide ‘KSI’ Olatunji and another YouTuber Logan Paul, both pictured below at a promo event in Copenhagen in 2023
MIKE KEMP/IN PICTURES/GETTY IMAGES
RITZAU SCANPIX/IDA MARIE/ODGAARD/REUTERS
The Sidemen collective has expanded into various business ventures, including Sidemen Clothing, Sides, a fried-chicken restaurant chain, and a breakfast cereal. It’s becoming increasingly common for influencers to launch ventures outside of their day-to-day business of content creation.
Sidemen founding member KSI co-created Prime, a cult energy drink popular among teenagers, while Mr Beast launched a Feastibles chocolate bar, and the YouTube duo James Marriott and Will ‘WillNE’ Lenney launched Rodd’s, a new iced-coffee brand, in 300 Sainsbury’s stores earlier this month.
Rather than viewing each other as competition, Vik ‘Vikkstar’ Barn, another Sidemen member, said: “We all learn from each other. It’s a fast-moving space where if you don’t, you die.”
Elliott, who previously lived in New York building a fintech start-up, said he didn’t know what to expect when he was introduced to the Sidemen by a mutual friend in 2023. “I knew I wanted to embark on this entrepreneurial venture and get a fund moving, so walking in — I met them in the studio — I was nervous. You walk onto this set with cameras everywhere and all of this chaos. I stood in front of seven of them and it was the most chill conversation I’ve ever had.
“All of my fears were dispelled and I realised that unlike a lot of celebrities that I have met, these guys are real, genuine, fantastic human beings. The version of them that you see on screen is the version of them that you get in person.”
