Becky Wright and kelsey MacderMaid, Both 27, toronto

Their decor tutorials have led to lucrative brand partnerships with TD and Google

Kelsey: We met in 2010 at Humber College, where we studied film. We lived together in residence. When October rolled around, we planned a best-friend Halloween costume and uploaded a tutorial about it: we dressed as highlighter pens.

BecKy: Things didn’t really pick up until the next Halloween, when we made a Black Swan costume inspired by the movie. It got 80,000 views within a couple of days.

Kelsey: By then, we were in our first apartment. So we started doing apartment DIYs.

BecKy: We did a bunch of videos about how to upcycle and reuse mason jars. Another video showed users how to upcycle thrifted T-shirts into trendier styles. By August 2013, we’d reached 100,000 subscribers.

Kelsey: We graduated in 2014 and worked in the film industry for about a year. The next year, Scott McGillivray from HGTV got wind of our channel and took us out for lunch. He was like, “You guys are doing great things.” I thought, Wow, if Scott McGillivray thinks we’re doing well, we should take this channel to the next step.

BecKy: It was a now-or-never moment. We had about 300,000 subscribers by that point, and we had to upload as often as possible to keep up that growth. We incorporated as a business in August of 2015, quit our jobs and went full time on YouTube.

Kelsey: We got our first office, a 250-square-foot room near Yorkdale mall, and started treating YouTube like a nine-to-five. We set a proper schedule for ourselves to upload twice a week.

BecKy: We also signed on with a manager, Reuven Ashtar, who works with YouTubers. He helped us manage brand deals and got us new opportunities. We’ve since worked with brands like TD and Google.

Kelsey: By early 2017, we’d outgrown our office, and I was also looking for a new place to live. I came across a live-work loft rental in the west end of Toronto. After moving in, we started a new series called Loft Vibes. It was all about transforming the space into our studio. By July 2017, we had hit one million subscribers.

BecKy: We now have three full-time staffers, as well as a roster of regular freelancers. If we’re filming a room makeover, sometimes we’re starting at seven in the morning and we don’t finish until seven or eight at night.

Kelsey: We just launched a new series called Upgrade My Stay. We check into vacation rentals, upgrade the decor and reveal everything to the hosts at checkout. We got funding from the Bell Fund and Ontario Creates, so we have a larger budget and crew.

BecKy: We’ve had some cool experiences. In 2018, we went to Tanzania with ONE Campaign to see how they’re supporting female-owned businesses.

Kelsey: And last summer, we appeared on Strahan, Sara and Keke,a Good Morning America spinoff on ABC. We did DIY backyard games in Times Square. Once you’re there, you’re like, Holy crap. This is so crazy cool.