Welcome back to The Spark, IDEA GENERATION’s weekly newsletter and your source for all things creative entrepreneurship.
Spark Nation,
About that headline. We try to avoid hyperbole here at The Spark, and NYC’s best food source is whatever you use to find your next meal when the line at the new hot spot is too long and the rest of the crew is hangry and looking to you to run point on securing dinner.
But if the idea of “best” includes contributing to the greater good, it’s hard to argue that Righteous Eats isn’t in the conversation. Its secret? Compassion and new media savvy.
The brand was founded in 2020 with the goal of showcasing small restaurants, mostly in New York’s outer boroughs, that were in danger of going out of business during the pandemic. Righteous Eats’ co-founder Jaeki Cho used his knowledge of the media space to grow a personal brand for himself, but also give back to the lifeblood of the city he loves. It’s a cool story, no matter how you slice it.
Read our interview with Jaeki below for an inspiring look at turning social media influence into a force for good, or for practical advice on how to grow and not go crazy maintaining a creator business. Or both.
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HOW'D YOU THINK OF THAT?!
Jaeki Cho on turning food content into a force for good.
Jaeki Cho is a 34-year-old content creator, but he’s already had a career’s worth of gigs in the creative economy. After graduating from Fordham University, the Queens native started out as an intern at Complex, before working for a since shuttered agency and spending a couple years as an editor at XXL Magazine.
A hip-hop obsessive, Jaeki was also managing the career of Queens rapper Rekstizzy, and in 2016 Jaeki produced the documentary Bad Rap, detailing the careers of up-and-coming Asian rappers, including Awkwafina.
In 2020, as the pandemic hit, Jaeki started posting cooking videos on TikTok, walking followers through recipes from his native Korea. After amassing a cool couple hundred thousand followers, Jaeki decided to leverage his audience for social good, co-founding Righteous Eats, a media brand devoted to highlighting mom and pop eateries in NYC, with seasoned media executive Brian Lee. They’ve featured 343 eateries to date (253 are NYC-based).
And Righteous Eats isn’t just leveraging social media clout. The brand has put over $250,000 total in the pockets of the businesses they’ve showcased through brand partnerships, donations, an audience voucher program, and their own tabs (they never accept free meals). They also offer an accelerator program that helps with investor outreach and content strategy, among other things.
We caught up with Jaeki to hear about making the transition from behind the scenes to in front of the camera, and how to ride the wave in a constantly changing media landscape. And of course we asked for some restaurant recs. Scroll to the end of the newsletter for Jaeki’s own 24 hours in NYC restaurant list.
You’ve had a varied career, especially for someone so young. What was the transition like going from doing behind the scenes work like managing and producing and writing to being talent?
As a producer and a writer and a manager you're essentially dependent on the career trajectory of other people. You never really get to own your own narrative. I think there was intrinsically something in me that I felt confident that I could be someone that is in front of the camera as well.
During the pandemic I started dabbling with making cooking videos on TikTok for fun. It wasn't something that I did thinking it was going to be a career transition. But a lot of the knowledge that I accumulated over the years, whether it was programming or headline writing or basic storytelling, all the little skills that I accumulated helped me have a few initial videos pop. And that gave me the confidence to make more during the time when everybody was glued to their phones.
“I felt confident that I could be someone that is in front of the camera as well.”
How did Righteous Eats come about?
It was really just wanting to do something good for the community. There were reports saying one out of three restaurants were going to close permanently in New York. At the time I’d accumulated a humble couple hundred thousand followers on TikTok. And I thought, First off, I’m a home cook. I stumbled on this cooking TikTok algorithm randomly, I don't really have the authority to tell people how to cook. I also thought about how some of my favorite, beloved restaurants are being affected and losing business—how can I just contribute as a member of the community?
Throughout the process I accumulated a lot of info and intel on where I saw the media landscape going. I noticed that within a span of fifteen years the whole notion of a distribution channel has completely gotten disrupted, and anybody who has access to a phone can just turn it on and essentially become their own media channel. And I was like, “OK, this is my calling.”
And to be honest, since my short time in what people call traditional media, I haven’t wanted to ask for permission. That’s why I made an independent documentary and was broke for a year. I didn’t want to have to ask for permission like, “Oh, I need to have this greenlighted to make a film. I need to have a film degree to produce something. I need to go to fashion school to be a buyer for a store.” I just don’t like to have to ask for permission and what better way for me to do that now than to be a content creator.
“Since my short time in traditional media I haven’t wanted to ask for permission.”
When did it become a sustainable career for you?
I had my first big brand deal toward the end of 2021. It was a sizable six-figure check that gave me the confidence to say I want to invest this money back into building a standalone business where I can hire helpers.
My operation is no different than running a bodega. I didn’t go out and raise anything. I have a line of credit that I use with regular bank interest rates, and it’s really no different than owning and operating a small business of any kind. Right now I’m just sustaining and everything I make goes back into the business.
“My operation is no different than running a bodega. I’m just sustaining and everything I make goes back into the business.”
What advice would you give young content creators?
Don't stay comfortable and embrace change. For instance, Instagram just changed their algorithm. Now they’re mirroring their algorithm similar to TikTok. Which is affecting a lot of people who have built up a sizable audience and now your engagement went from five percent to one percent. But that’s beyond your control. In this media landscape that is shifting constantly you have to be able to adapt to change as fast as you can and openly embrace it. We can complain about ChatGPT, we can complain about Gemini and Sora, but what can you do? Let’s try to figure out how to adopt it and use it to your advantage.
Tips for dealing with burnout?
I like to run, take cold showers, and meditate. I know it sounds super cliche, Austin, Texas biohacking shit but it does help. Social media is gamification for you to compare yourself to others, so when you’re in this space it’s inevitable you’re going to see other people and you’re constantly being compared. You might be doing the best work consistently, but sometimes the algorithm god might just not support you. Consistency is key. Stay consistent, take care of yourself, and focus on what you can control.
“You might be doing your best work but sometimes the algorithm god might not support you.”
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CHEAT CODES
The search you didn’t know you needed.
Want to start shooting on-the-street style content like Jaeki and Righteous Eats?
If so, you’ll probably want a microphone. Sure you could use your phone’s mic (and no shame in that, they’re getting pretty good!) but if you want cleaner audio that cuts through the noise, you’ll need a microphone.
The current industry standard seems to be the Rode Wireless GO II. It’s used by professionals and influencers alike, but a single set will run you $200.
On the other hand, Amazon offers some cheaper alternatives like this two piece lavalier set for $33.99 or this BOYA set for $100.
Do you have a question for Cheat Codes? Email it to us at thespark@ideageneration.com.
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CREATOR TO KNOW
Swoop Nebula is a graphic designer’s best friend.
Swoop Nebula is a graphic designer seeking to provide knowledge, tutorials, mentorship, and assets for other designers.
He offers helpful tutorial videos on his Instagram page, featuring tips and tricks for Adobe programs Photoshop and Illustrator.
Design assets and resources, like templates for certain effects and textures, can be found for free on his website.
Want to see your work featured in The Spark? Email it to us at thespark@ideageneration.com.
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TAKE THIS JOB!
Cool job listings for creatives.
Rostrum Records, the label behind artists like Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller, is looking for a Digital Marketing Manager. If you’ve already spent a few years in digital marketing and are looking for your next move, this might be it.
They’re searching for someone who can handle:
Campaign Development and Execution
Craft detailed rollout and release plans for artist projects, ensuring a strategic and cohesive approach for assigned artists
Execute marketing plans and rollouts, coordinating all elements to ensure timely and effective launches for assigned artists
Ideally this person has:
4+ years of experience in marketing, preferably within the music or entertainment industry.
Strong understanding of digital marketing, social media platforms, and trends.
Proficiency in using marketing tools and software, such as Adobe Creative Suite, Hootsuite, Mailchimp, Google Analytics, etc.
Sound like you? Email your resume here.
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KEEP SHOOTING
Your weekly reminder to keep going.
After working several restaurant jobs in high school, chef Mario Carbone reached a crossroads as graduation loomed: he was heading to either community college or culinary school.
He chose to pursue his kitchen dreams, though in our Season 1 interview, he suggests an official education isn't necessary.
"I'm happy that I went to culinary school, but I do not think it's necessary. What you need is 10,000 hours. And there's really no way to speed it up. It's a long path. But I believe that path doesn't need to begin with a school. That school could be a restaurant on 65th Street."
Upon finishing culinary school, students were tasked with finding their own internships. Carbone found a list of the best restaurants in NYC, and wrote a letter to each of the top 40 asking for an internship.
After dozens of "nos," Carbone finally received a reply from Babbo, a Michelin star restaurant from chef Mario Batali. At this point Carbone was still years away from opening his own world class restaurants, but he had his foot in the door.
Till next week, Keep Shooting…
But don’t shoot on an empty stomach.
Here’s Jaeki Cho’s “1-Day in Downtown Manhattan” Restaurant Guide:
Breakfast
“Stop by Wu’s Wonton to get some congee and some fried dough. In Chinese it’s called Youtiao which is like fried donut but without sugar. It’s one of those restaurants that both old school Chinatown folks love as well as newer transplants and non-Chinese folks.”
Lunch
“Golden Diner, and get their burger. It’s a diner owned and operated by a chef who is of Korean descent so he applies some of those techniques, but overall it’s just great diner food. If you’re in New York City you need to experience dinerism of some sort.”
Dinner
“Check out Fish Cheeks. It’s probably a tough spot to get a reservation unless you put in the ask early, but all the hype aside, it’s really good. In many places in the Western world Korean cuisine is having a moment but I think the next wave is going to be Thai cuisine just because of the immense amount of flavors the non-Thai audience has started to embrace. And Fish Cheeks is one of the restaurants at the forefront of that movement in New York.”