{"id":1734,"date":"2015-10-13T21:20:48","date_gmt":"2015-10-13T21:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/?p=1734"},"modified":"2015-10-25T21:22:06","modified_gmt":"2015-10-25T21:22:06","slug":"why-this-25-year-old-marketing-star-left-his-job-at-youtube-to-launch-a-philanthropic-youtube-channel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/why-this-25-year-old-marketing-star-left-his-job-at-youtube-to-launch-a-philanthropic-youtube-channel\/","title":{"rendered":"Why This 25-Year-Old Marketing Star Left His Job at YouTube to Launch a Philanthropic YouTube Channel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Why<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Geoff<\/a><\/p>\n
GEOFF WEISS<\/div>\n
ENTREPRENEUR STAFF<\/div>\n
Staff Writer. Frequently covers digital media.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Image credit: Raymond Braun | Twitter<\/a><\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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In the summer of 2013, shortly after landing a plush gig at YouTube in the company\u2019s marketing division, 23-year-old Stanford grad Raymond Braun teetered into his boss\u2019s office near tears and with a lump in his throat.<\/p>\n

Braun had arranged a meeting with YouTube CMO Danielle Tiedt to pitch a marketing initiative that would break wholly new ground for the platform — and that was also wrought with personal resonance.<\/p>\n

He had hatched the proposal during his \u201c20 Percent Time,\u201d a Google perk that allows employees to devote one-fifth of their work efforts to any passion project with a\u00a0business tie-in. The catalyzing policy, outlined by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in Google\u2019s 2004 IPO letter<\/a>, has resulted in such blockbuster products as Gmail, AdSense and Google News.<\/p>\n

On his off-time, Braun had noticed that a disproportionately influential faction of LGBT creators was proliferating across YouTube. Bold-faced names like Tyler Oakley<\/a>, Hannah Hart<\/a> and Davey Wavey<\/a> were amassing millions of viewers, and serving\u00a0as digital lifelines for kids in ostracizing households the world over.<\/p>\n

\"raymound-braun-tyler-oakley\"<\/div>\n
Braun and YouTuber Tyler Oakley.<\/div>\n
Image credit: Raymond Braun | Twitter<\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard from teens who say, \u2018At night, before bed, I go under the covers, I put my headphones in, I open the YouTube app and that\u2019s my connection to this world,\u2019\u201d recounts Braun, who is now 25. Having grown up gay in a small, conservative town in rural Ohio, this was a sentiment that hit close to home.<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0An Unlikely Icon: With ‘Drag Race,’ RuPaul Rounds Another Victory Lap<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

And so, standing before Tiedt that day, Braun made an impassioned pitch for #ProudToLove — his concept for YouTube\u2019s first\u00a0LGBT-themed consumer marketing campaign. The idea was to be the first brand in the world to respond to the Supreme Court\u2019s DOMA decision. YouTube\u2019s logo would be reimagined as a rainbow for the day, which would also link to a page of LGBT-centric content, including this touching compilation:<\/p>\n