Master Nico: Building Independence Since 2018

The reason I started

On 15 March 2018, Jamie and I started YoungCouple9598. My motivation was straightforward: I wanted to work for myself and build something that did not depend on being in one particular place. Freedom and independence were the goal from the beginning.

For me, creating our own project was a way to put that idea into practice. It brought creative work together with the decisions involved in running a business: what to produce, how to present it and how to reach an audience.

The first response made it real

Our very first video attracted many paying customers as soon as we uploaded it. The start went very well. Looking back, it felt like an overnight success.

Within that first week, I could already see the possibility of the independence I wanted. Receiving the first payout was another important moment. It confirmed that this was real: people were choosing our work, and our idea was becoming a business.

How the names developed

Jamie came up with the name YoungCouple9598 at the beginning. A few months later, I had the idea for the name Jamie Young. Nico Nice followed, and then Master Nico.

The names emerged at different stages of our work. Master Nico is the main public identity on this website; Nico Nice is another professional name I use. Both belong to the same personal story.

My work behind the project

My responsibilities included concepts, technical setup, direction, websites, marketing and organisation. Alongside producing content, I was involved in the practical work of developing and presenting our own brands.

Around seven or eight months after we started, we launched our first dedicated web presence. We initially used a hosted solution before moving to a fully independent website.

That step gave us more control over what we published and how we presented it. We could also retain a larger share of the revenue from our work. Building our own websites became an important part of creating more independence.

A further milestone

The collaboration with Tomatolix was another important milestone for us. It brought additional attention to our project and is something I remember as a particular success.

What I value today

What makes me proudest is that we dared to begin. We took the step towards working for ourselves, and the early response showed that our idea could become a reality.

Today, I am more selective about which collaborations I take part in. I look more carefully at the approach, the context and whether an opportunity fits my goals. Freedom, independence and being able to work from different places remain central to why I started.