Shira Lazar Has Grown What's Trending to Seven-Figure Revenue
The digital media brand has achieved significant financial growth while maintaining a lean team of three employees.
Updated on Sept. 30, 2026 in Media
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Digital media pioneer Shira Lazar has successfully scaled her brand, What's Trending, to reach seven-figure annual revenue. The venture maintains a total of 4 million followers across social platforms.
Why it matters
Lazar has transitioned from media production to industry advocacy, seeking to scale her business model while championing creator mental health and labor rights.
What's Trending reports 4 million total social media followers, with 2 million of those located on TikTok. The business currently operates with a staff of only three people.
The players
Shira Lazar
She is a digital media entrepreneur who has navigated a 15-year career in the creator economy.
Ro Khanna
He is a U.S. Representative who partnered with Lazar to help launch the Creator Bill of Rights.
The details
Lazar manages What's Trending by avoiding high overhead costs and external infrastructure, relying instead on a diversified revenue model that includes brand partnerships, advertising, events, and licensing. Her work now extends into policy, including the launch of a Creator Bill of Rights aimed at improving labor standards.
Timeline
2011: Lazar launched the What's Trending media brand.
January 2026: The Creator Bill of Rights was introduced alongside Representative Ro Khanna.
2026: Lazar was recognized on the TIME 100 creators list.
Market Landscape
Lazar's focus on sustainable business growth reflects a broader trend of independent creators moving toward professionalized, integrated models. This shift challenges traditional media dominance by utilizing the Creator Bill of Rights to formalize labor protections for a new generation of talent.
Readers and viewers of independent digital content may see a shift toward more professionalized creator platforms and improved labor standards. These changes could impact the accessibility and quality of content across social media channels.
The takeaway
Lazar's success demonstrates that lean operations can achieve significant commercial viability while actively improving industry standards. Future business models in digital media are likely to increasingly blend content creation with formal labor and mental health advocacy.
Further reading
Learn more about the evolving Media landscape in the United States.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Digiday.
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Should digital content creators be entitled to formal labor and workplace protections by law?
