From software engineer to $125K/year niche YouTuber

Executive overview

Shervin Shares left a six-figure software engineering job to pursue YouTube full-time, earning just $300 in his first year. By cutting costs aggressively, focusing on search-based product reviews, and building an affiliate revenue stream, he now earns $125K/year living in New York City.

Revenue is roughly 80% affiliate marketing, 20% AdSense. Timing and topic selection drive viral potential more than production quality.

Consistency and hunger — not talent or budget — separate creators who make it from those who don't.

Quitting the job

• Quit twice: first from software engineering, then from a product manager role
• Inspired by Gary Vee: pre-family life is the lowest-risk window to take big bets
• Had $5–10K in the bank but held investment assets as a backstop
• Already earning $2–3K/month from YouTube before quitting full-time
• Moved back into parents' house to eliminate rent, food, and car costs

Building the channel from zero

• Started with daily vlogs and 30/90-day challenges; had ~100–200 subscribers at the time
• Optimal publishing cadence: once a week, twice a week, or twice a month
• First $300 earned through AdSense before hitting the 1,000-subscriber monetisation threshold
• Getting to 1,000 subscribers took two to three years of posting without analysing what was working
• Growth snowballs: each milestone gets progressively easier as the audience compounds

Finding and growing affiliate revenue

• First affiliate deal came organically — a fitness tracker gave referral links, then the brand invited him to a paid program
• Realised search-based product reviews convert well: viewers actively deciding whether to buy
• Affiliate now makes up ~80% of total revenue; two companies account for ~50% of that
• Avoiding sponsorships deliberately to protect watch time and viewer trust

What makes a video go viral

• Most-viewed video: "I replaced my iPhone with an Apple Watch Ultra" — 1.56M views
• Three factors: timing (launched alongside Apple Watch Ultra hype), proven topic format, prior data showing the concept worked
• Prioritises consistent engagement over one-off viral spikes — prefers 100K views per video reliably to one 10M-view outlier

Finding video ideas

• Searches YouTube to test topic framing: same subject can perform very differently depending on how it is packaged
• Follows personal curiosity — if he wants to learn something, that becomes a video
• Goes down rabbit holes of related videos to identify the highest-demand angle

Living cheaply as a NYC creator

• Shares a $4,500/month apartment with two other creators — his share: $1,600
• Biggest discretionary costs: coffee shops (for environment change) and gym/wellness
• Cut food costs by cooking fast homemade meals rather than eating out

Building a team and creator network

• Hires editors via creator referrals, in-person events, and Upwork
• Offshore editing rates: $7–10/hour — significant cost saving
• Surrounds himself with other creators: five chimps theory — you become who you spend time with
• Found first creator connections through Meetup events; network grows by word of mouth from there
• Creator community is small; meeting others who are "hungry" creates instant bonds

Advice for aspiring creators

• Dedicate one day a week (e.g. Sunday) to creating content before quitting your job
• Build momentum and habits first — consistent output is the proof of commitment
• Real desire shows in what you publish, not what you say
• Ask for feedback; willingness to learn signals genuine hunger