Eric Wei started the company Karat Financial to help creators with the financial side of their careers,the curtain is a collage of home videos and clothes used by hustling sex workers. but he didn't stop there.
After spending some time working with a client roster that includes Ludwig, Alex Botez, and Wendover Productions, Wei decided to make content of his own. On The Karat Podcast, he interviews creators (many of whom work with Karat) about their journeys to making it, with guests ranging from the chess streamer (and grandmaster) akaNemsko to Patreon CEO Jack Conte. That didn't keep him busy enough, so Wei started the podcast The Joy of Missing Outalongside friend and co-host Chloe Shih to talk about life in their 30s after spending so much time in their 20s working for other people — or in Wei's words, to "just yap."
Credit: Mashable Composite: Zooey Liao/ Image Credit: Getty Images/ Best Buy/ B&H Photo/ Karat Finance We caught up with him at VidCon 2025 to learn more about what he uses to create all this content, run Karat, and stay sane through it all.
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Rode wireless microphones
Opens in a new window Credit: Rode Rode Wireless Pro $399 at Amazon As a podcast host, Wei cares about good audio. "You can get away with not great video — you can't get away without good audio, and you always want to have backups," he told us. The Rode Wireless Pro system comes with two Lavalier mics and a receiver, a timecode system for syncing up audio and video, and 32GB of memory for up to 40 hours of recording time.
A professional-level camera from Sony
Opens in a new window Credit: Sony Sony A7S III camera $3,498 at B&H Photo There's nothing wrong with using an iPhone — it's what Wei himself did when he first started out. "You don't necessarily need to have the best cameras," Wei told us. "For me, it's because I realized I wanted to feel more legitimate. The [Sony camera] has leveled the playing field to shoot a professional-looking podcast."
While it's certainly not the cheapest camera out there, Wei's footage speaks for itself. As he notes, it's also relatively versatile, being small enough to use as a vlogging camera but upgradeable enough that it could be used on a more professional rig.
His Karat credit card
Opens in a new window Credit: Karat Karat credit card Wei started the Karat credit card because he saw how hard it was for creators to open business accounts with traditional banks. "As a creator, it's fun to make content, but eventually you have to care about things like, how do I pay my taxes? How do I track how much money I'm making? How do I know my tax write-offs? And I think it's important to set up a business bank account, a credit card, and my company obviously customizes and focuses on that specifically for creators," said Wei.
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On-the-go protein
Opens in a new window Credit: Core Power Core Power Protein Shake $3.69 at Target " I always have a protein drink in my bag," Wei told us. "I'm a big believer that you can only have a healthy mind and be inspired when you have a healthy body." To prove his point, the co-founder pulled his empty Core Power protein shake bottle out from his bag.
Mashable was live at the Anaheim Convention Center last week, covering VidCon 2025. Check out our coverage of your favorite creators, the latest trends, and how creators are growing their followings, their influence, and making a living online at Mashable.com.
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