Monetized

EP 09 - From Dialect Comedy to 169K Followers: Gini Lampl on Creator Life

She has 169,000 followers on TikTok, 61,000 on Instagram, her own pumpkin seed oil and an album in the drawer — all as an alter ego that was never planned. In this episode, Gini Lampl, better known as Billie Steirisch, joins us: singer, actress, comedian and arguably Austria's most unconventional content entrepreneur. Gini studied music and acting, was about to launch her stage career — and then the pandemic hit. What followed: comedy sketches on TikTok, a viral breakthrough with Styrian dialect content, 30,000 followers in three months, and somehow an alter ego called Billie Steirisch that grew bigger than anything she had ever planned. We talk about how to be a musician, comedian and actress at the same time without completely losing the algorithm. How brand deals actually work when you're bold, unconventional and completely unfiltered. Why she refuses to accept a single script. How a pumpkin seed oil merch line was born because a farmer left a comment on TikTok. And why her upcoming album is the most vulnerable thing she has ever made — while the rest of the world only sees her making people laugh. Plus: algorithm tricks, shadow-banning on TikTok, why posting breaks cost up to four weeks of reach, and what she urgently advises every aspiring creator to do — and what to absolutely avoid. If you make content, work with creators, or simply want to know how to genuinely build something in Austria with dialect, humor and heart — this episode is a must. 🔗 Follow Gini Lampl aka Billie Steirisch: TikTok: tiktok.com/@billiesteirisch [http://tiktok.com/@billiesteirisch] Instagram: instagram.com/billiesteirisch [http://instagram.com/billiesteirisch] Website: billiesteirisch.at [http://billiesteirisch.at] 🎙 Listen to Monetized: Spotify: search "Monetized Lukas Diner" 🎵 Music credits Intro: "Fragments" by Rusanda Panfili & Johannes Winkler Outro: "Know My Number" by Lucy Dreams ---------------------------------------- 🎙 TIMESTAMPS * 00:00 – Welcome & the Billie Steirisch alter ego explained * 01:37 – Pandemic kills the stage — comedy sketches are born * 04:03 – Musical journey since childhood: guitar, singing, musical theatre * 05:24 – Two accounts, two personas — and why they stay separate * 08:36 – Staying true to yourself with brand deals * 12:20 – How 90% of brand requests come in on their own * 16:20 – The pumpkin seed oil: how a TikTok comment turned into a product * 20:50 – The upcoming album: vulnerable, emotional and nothing like what fans expect * 25:12 – When a song became a fan's last memory of her late stepfather * 30:46 – Shadow-banning, feminist content & tricking the algorithm * 35:37 – Why a posting break costs you four weeks of reach * 41:08 – Tips for new creators & clear no-gos * 45:01 – Closing thoughts & one last pumpkin seed oil joke

EP 08 - Understanding GenZ Marketing with @vlakis_life

She moved to Vienna alone, not knowing anyone — and turned that loneliness into a community of 35K+ on Instagram and 39K+ on TikTok with 4.4M likes. In this episode, Vlada (@vlakis_life) — content creator, digital bestie, and Latvia-born Vienna local — opens up about what it really takes to build an audience from scratch, how a video about university condoms launched her career, and why she's now in the middle of reinventing herself completely. We talk about the pressure Gen Z faces online vs. offline, why brands keep getting it wrong when they try to talk to younger audiences, what she absolutely refuses to do in brand deals, and the painful reality of invoices, payment delays, and creative control as a creator. Plus: her honest take on the mid-20s crisis, why she wants to go full-time on YouTube, and the moment real-life strangers told her she changed their lives. If you're a creator trying to grow, a brand trying to reach Gen Z, or just someone figuring out what's next — this one is for you. 🔗 Follow Vlada: Instagram: instagram.com/vlakis_life [http://instagram.com/vlakis_life] TikTok: tiktok.com/@vlakis_ [http://tiktok.com/@vlakis_] YouTube: youtube.com/@vlakislife [http://youtube.com/@vlakislife] 📩 Listen to Monetized: Spotify: search "Monetized Lukas Diner" 🎵 Music credits Intro music: "Fragments" by Rusanda Panfili & Johannes Winkler Outro music: "Know My Number" by Lucy Dreams 🎙 Timestamps 00:00 – Intro & who is Vlada? 01:04 – Building a Vienna community from zero 04:02 – The viral university goodie bag video that started it all 07:09 – Moving from Latvia to Vienna based on Pinterest pictures 09:35 – Posting 3 TikToks a day and the early growth strategy 11:55 – Rebranding beyond student life: figuring out what's next 17:03 – How Gen Z communicates online — and what brands get wrong 19:39 – Generation Alpha creators are already beating everyone 23:14 – Gen Z going offline: the movement against social media pressure 29:45 – Social pressure, comparison culture & the mental health spiral 33:04 – What companies get wrong when targeting Gen Z 36:04 – Rejecting scripted ads & negotiating creative freedom 37:54 – Payment delays, invoices & the creator economy's broken side 42:13 – Advice for new creators: reach out 100 times, get 5 replies 43:05 – YouTube dreams and starting from zero again 44:05 – Closing thoughts & what comes next for Vlada

EP 07 - The UX Rebel Fixing Accessibility in Tech

Fifteen percent of the world lives with a disability—but most products still ship with barriers built in. In this episode, accessibility specialist and UX researcher Laura Wissiak explains why “if it’s not accessible, it’s not usable” and how treating accessibility as an add‑on is costing companies real money. We go from her early UX days and the question “why is this not accessible?” to her work at HopeTech, where she co‑builds Sixth Sense, a shoulder‑worn navigation aid for blind and low‑vision users that augments (instead of replacing) the white cane. Laura shares how she turned her research notes into A11y News, a blog and newsletter that grew into conference talks, government citations, and a Forbes 30 Under 30 nod—despite her initial fear of “not knowing enough” to publish. We talk about why startups ignore accessibility until it’s too late, what “community‑led” assistive tech actually looks like, and how to hire disabled talent in a way that improves both your product and your team. Then we dive into practical playbooks for creators and tech companies: from better captions and audio descriptions to rethinking input methods beyond the mouse and baking accessibility into every role instead of one overwhelmed specialist. If you work in product, UX, or content—and you want your next “growth lever” to be actually including more people instead of excluding them—this episode will give you concrete steps, mindset shifts, and lots of real‑world examples you can apply immediately. 🔗 Follow Laura Wissiak Website: https://www.laura-wissiak.com/ [https://www.laura-wissiak.com/] A11y News newsletter: a11ynews.substack.com [http://a11ynews.substack.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-wissiak/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-wissiak/] Listen to Monetized on Spotify: Music credits Intro music: “Fragments” by Rusanda Panfili & Johannes Winkler. Outro music: “Know My Number” by Lucy Dreams. 🎙 Timestamps 00:00 – Intro and Laura’s background in UX and accessibility 01:01 – What accessibility really means (and why it’s the foundation of usability) 02:33 – Disability statistics, market size, and why 15–24% is still overlooked 05:48 – Why startups ignore accessibility and treat it as a “cost factor” 08:12 – HopeTech, assistive tech, and finding product‑market fit with blind users 19:36 – The origin of Sixth Sense and why replacing the white cane failed 28:39 – Structural barriers, extra costs, and mission‑driven investors in accessibility 40:02 – A11y News: from first blog posts to conferences and government shout‑outs 45:18 – Accessibility tips for content creators: captions, visual descriptions, brand voice 51:35 – What’s next for HopeTech and Laura’s vision for accessibility in tech

EP 06 - The Man Behind Reinier Zonneveld

Reinier Zonneveld trained an AI on 80 days of his own music and then took it on stage for marathon live sets with robots, holograms and a Guinness World Record in the bag. In this conversation, we go from his childhood between Metallica and classical piano to becoming one of the most streamed techno artists in the world and founder of Filth on Acid. We talk about how he walked away from a “safe” econometrics career, why big labels first passed on his tracks, and how that led to a label, a collab with Carl Cox, and music that ended up in major TV and streaming placements. Then we dive into the wild part: Reinier’s AI setup trained only on his own catalog, playing back-to-back with him for up to 10–11 hours. If you care about techno, live performance, or what AI is really doing to music right now, this episode is a must-watch. 🔗 Follow Reinier Zonneveld Spotify: [search “Reinier Zonneveld”] SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/reinier-zonneveld [http://soundcloud.com/reinier-zonneveld] Instagram: @reinierzonneveld Music credits Intro music: “Fragments” by Rusanda Panfili & Johannes Winkler. Outro music: “Know My Number” by Lucy Dreams. ------------------------------------------------------- learn more about Talentir and what we are building here: https://www.talentir.com/home [https://www.talentir.com/home]

EP 05 - From Hyper Hyper to AI Hits: Jens Thele on Building Scooter and Reinventing Dance Music

In this episode, we sit down with Jens Thele, the mastermind behind Kontor Records and the long-time partner of HP Baxxter (Scooter). Jens isn't just a label boss; he’s an architect of the electronic music scene. He talks about hustling in the physical era of vinyl and MTV, navigating the shift to digital and YouTube, and why long-term success comes from betting early on electronic music, trusting young talent, and going the extra mile when others won’t. The conversation also dives into wild early Scooter stories, the realities of live touring, and how AI, catalog deals, and TikTok are reshaping A&R and the future of hits. Music credits Intro music: “Fragments” by Rusanda Panfili & Johannes Winkler. Outro music: “Know My Number” by Lucy Dreams. ------------------------------------------------------- learn more about Talentir and what we are building here: https://www.talentir.com/home [https://www.talentir.com/home] #Scooter #HPBaxxter #HyperHyper #KontorRecords #TechnoHistory #Frontschwein #ElectronicMusic #90sTechno