TL;DR: Today’s Creators don’t lack ambition—they lack support. Stan Sessions create the space to dream out loud, and Dare to Dream provides the funding, community, and belief to turn those dreams into momentum. The result? Clearer direction, stronger conviction, and real progress.
Dreaming big isn’t the hard part. Believing you’re allowed to act on that dream, especially when resources are limited, is where most Creator-Entrepreneurs get stuck.
At our Stan Sessions, we see it firsthand. Creators arrive with ambition, excitement, fear, and unanswered questions about whether they’re doing “enough” or moving fast enough. What unfolds in the room is less about tactics—it’s about permission.
Permission to want more, to say it out loud, and to believe it’s possible.
Highlights From the Stan Sessions Dare to Dream Tour
To end the year, we took Stan Sessions to five cities, bringing together Creator-Entrepreneurs to celebrate their 2025 goals and successes, while creating space to recalibrate for the year ahead. Each stop invited Creators to reflect on the experiences and learnings that they could carry into 2026.
The tour also gave members of the Stan team, from CEO and Founder John Hu to our Creator Partnerships Lead, Sean Kielar, the opportunity to share their own reflections and introduce the second year of Stan’s Dare To Dream campaign. They invited every attendee to take part and ensure they’re getting real support to make their dream business a reality.
While every Stan Sessions had its own unique look and feel, the energy remained consistent throughout—honesty, vulnerability, and support in every exchange.
The sessions revealed a shared truth: Creators know what they want. What’s been missing isn’t vision, it’s support, runway, and permission. That’s exactly where Dare to Dream comes in—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Creators to win $100,000 to pursue their dream.
Atlanta: When Creators Say the Quiet Part Out Loud
For our third installment of Stan Sessions in Atlanta, we enlisted four powerful Stan Creator-Entrepreneurs to host a holiday event: Jewel Jones, Ashley Nicole, Kierra Sade, and Stephen Jones.
Jewel kicked off the mixer by sharing how she approaches year-end as an opportunity to pause her work to reflect and set up her intentions for the new year. This moment rallied attendees to chat amongst each and inspired some to carve out time before the New Year to do the same.
This ambassador-led Stan Session truly embodied what Creator-led community really looks like. The conversation centered on sustainability, discipline, and showing up even when growth feels slow.
Attendees set the tone when asked what they were scared to admit but deeply wanted for their future. One Creator bravely shared that they saw themselves on major stages, speaking, teaching, and impacting people at scale.
Saying it out loud shifted something in the room—their dream became real the moment it was shared.
Others reflected on their earliest deals. “Money adds up,” one attendee said. “Whether it’s $10 or $10,000, I’m not leaving anything on the table.”
The conversation quickly moved away from perfection and toward long-term thinking with a number of attendees resonating with Jewel’s statement: “You’ve got to go for the long term. You’ve got to show up consistently.”
Even discussions around burnout landed with honesty, especially for women. Showing up imperfectly—without waiting for the perfect setup—was reframed as progress, not failure.
“Put a hat on and go live, nobody cares, nobody is looking what you got on until you tell them to pay attention to it.”
Toronto: Betting on Yourself Before You Can See the Full Picture
Last November, we hosted our second installment of Stan Sessions at Stan Toronto HQ, where Stan Ambassador Olivia Parker intentionally brought together mentees from her Momtrepreneur University to remind Creators—especially moms—that success doesn’t have a single timeline.
“We are on the same journey together,” Olivia shared. “We have the same goals—maybe different numbers, different days. When you have people in your corner, the outcome is inevitable.”
As the CEO of Momtrepreneur University and a mother of five, Olivia has built a business helping moms turn content into six figures. With over 250 million views across her platforms, she’s become a trusted voice for Creators balancing ambition, family, and financial pressure.
Olivia emphasized how we’re rewriting the story for Creators who have ever felt behind, overlooked, or underestimated.
The session also featured Stan Ambassador, Jalen-Juwan Nelson, who spoke candidly about the discipline behind his success. Once struggling to pay bills while working retail, Jalen’s consistency transformed his creativity into a sustainable business. He emphasized that motivation doesn’t always show up, but discipline does.
During the holiday season, Toronto Creator-Entrepreneurs were invited to the third Stan Session, centered on a powerful message: you’re not behind, you’re building.
Gathering again at the Drake Hotel, this time the event focused explicitly on what it means to fully bet on yourself. As with many of our Stan Sessions, we break the ice quite literally by breaking our fortune cookies together and encouraging each other to speak to the message inside them.
During this moment, one realization was repeatedly shared by attendees: “I realized I can build it, even if I can’t see it clearly yet.”
Another Creator shared what betting on themselves looked like in practice: creating consistently, putting themselves out there without fear, and opening doors not just for themselves, but for others who feel stuck.
“From my experience, when Creators bet on themselves, they get 1% better every day.”
Creators were asked to reflect on a moment when they almost didn’t post, launch, or share an experience with their community (but did anyway). How did this impact their thinking about sharing?
One Creator, who was initially set on keeping their business private, shared that showing up anyway changed everything for them. What started as a leap of faith became income, opportunity, and stability for their family.
Throughout the room, common themes emerged: trust your vision, consistency over perfection, and courage over comfort. “Closed mouths don’t get fed,” someone said. “Missing a day is okay, just don’t lose trust in your vision.”
When asked what bold move they’d make in 2026 if fear wasn’t a factor, the answers were unapologetic:
- “Go big or not at all.”
- “Be everywhere your people are.”
- “The money is out there, the question is, are you going to go get it?”
New York City: Redefining What Success Looks Like
In a city driven by metrics and milestones, the focus of Stan’s NYC Stan Session shifted to something deeper: joy. The evening was held at Libera Bar in the Ace Hotel amidst the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Attendees enjoyed a special evening where they could set their sights on their dreams for 2026 in a room filled with like-minded Creator-Entrepreneurs seeking community.
During our fortune cookie icebreaker, attendees were asked to imagine success in 2026—not as numbers or metrics, but as joy. The responses were layered and deeply human.
Some spoke about joy existing alongside frustration, fear, and stress. Others described joy as alignment, connecting with their truth and sharing it openly. Many wanted to return to joy in the process of creation itself, not just the outcome.
One guest connected the dots between various statements by exclaiming, “I like to think that joy happens when I’m able to connect with my truth and share that with the world.”
When asked what people misunderstand about the emotional side of being a Creator, one response stood out:
“There are so many ways to get to the top. And, you know, we don’t always know how we’re going to get there. And having that support system is huge.”
Our Founder, John, echoed that sentiment, sharing his own journey and why these rooms matter. “It’s so lonely doing this,” he said. “Stan Sessions exists because none of us are meant to build alone.”
Those words were powerful and a connective tissue for why the event was needed in New York to build a sense of community for Creator-Entrepreneurs, but also to know that Stan deeply understands what Creators are going through.
Oceanside: Building With Intention
December wouldn’t have been complete without a couple of intimate Creator-led Stan Sessions. Creators gathered along the California coast to slow down and reflect on why they’re building, not just what they’re building.
Hosted by Millie Adrian, the session encouraged alignment, clarity, and conviction. Millie created a grounded, welcoming environment where Creators reflected on their deeper “why” and what it would take to fully commit to it. Attendees spoke about wanting to stop playing it safe and start building with intention, the exact mindset Dare to Dream was created to support.
This Stan Session gave Creators the opportunity to connect with Millie in real life. And it gave Millie the chance to encourage fellow Creators-Entrepreneurs to slow down, build with purpose, and define success on their own terms.
Scottsdale: Playing the Long Game
In Scottsdale, conversations unfolded between swings on the golf course. Hosted by Stone Frederickson, the focus was longevity, patience, consistency, and playing the long game. Between swings and walks down the fairway, Creators shared fears, recent wins, and lessons learned from building sustainable businesses without sacrificing identity or values.
Stone’s journey into the Creator economy began early and scaled quickly. By his late teens, he had already turned his audience into a thriving business, supporting hundreds of Creators in making the leap to full-time work and driving millions in revenue along the way.
Today, his reach spans multiple TikTok communities, a growing roster of Creators he’s mentored, and his company, Stone Media, which focuses on sustainable growth without sacrificing identity or values. As Stone’s second time hosting Stan Sessions, he was focused on bringing the Arizona Creator-Entrepreneur together again to reflect on 2025 and also discuss how they’re planning for a balanced 2026.
Across every city, the theme was clear: vulnerability creates connection, and connection creates momentum.
We’re Helping Turn Dreams Into Momentum Through Dare to Dream
The fortune cookie moments revealed something powerful: Creators already know what they want. What’s been holding them back isn’t ambition, its barriers. Financial pressure. Limited runway. The fear of going all-in without support and taking that risk.
That’s why Dare to Dream exists.
The challenge is a commitment to Creator-led businesses. It offers $250,000 in total funding, including a $100,000 grand prize and five runner-up awards, alongside mentorship, Stan subscriptions, and advertising support.
Dare to Dream helps Creators stop treating their dreams like side projects, and start building them with intention, momentum, and belief.
Stan Sessions create the space for honesty. Dare to Dream turns that honesty into action. Together, they support Creator-Entrepreneurs at every stage—emotionally, financially, and operationally. This is the heart of Stan’s mission: empowering anyone, anywhere, to build an audience, monetize their expertise, and work for themselves.
If you’ve felt the same fears shared in these rooms, the doubt, the hesitation, the quiet ambition, then Dare to Dream was built for you.
Ready to Take the Leap?
You can enter the Dare to Dream Challenge for a chance to win $100K at daretodream.stan.store.
Interested in attending or hosting a Stan Session in your city? Stay tuned—this is just the beginning.
