WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, the House Committee on Small Business held a hearing examining the rise of content creators as entrepreneurs and the obstacles they face as the next generation of entrepreneurs.

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“INTERVIEW: The Small Business Committee brought creators to Congress. Here are their messages."

Washington Reporter

Matthew Foldi

September 24, 2025

Rep. Roger Williams (R., Texas) and the Small Business Committee brought three creators to testify to Congress about “small businesses in the age of digital influence.”

Following Williams’s hearing, in which the witnesses testified about the importance of everything ranging from LLC configuration to the tax code to tariffs and more, the three GOP witnesses spoke with the Washington Reporter about their message to Congress and to the nation.

Williams, for his part, told the Reporter that “the creator economy represents the new generation of American entrepreneurship — building companies, supporting jobs, and driving innovation across every industry.”

“But digital small business owners face unique challenges,” Williams continued, “from unpredictable revenue streams to costly intellectual property protections. To keep America competitive, we must ensure creators have the freedom and opportunity to thrive in the digital economy.”

The three witnesses he brought — Kayla Moran, an attorney; Christina Brennan, the president of Renegade Talent Mgmt; and Nick Luciano, the CEO and founder of Tratter House — all embodied the new generation that Williams spoke about.

Moran, who has wanted to be involved in politics since she was in fourth grade, told the Reporter that testifying in front of Congress was a “full circle moment.” She went from watching Scandal to telling lawmakers about the need for “Congress-backed support and protection for creators and creative entrepreneurs in this industry. They need the same protections that Main Street mechanic shops, restaurants, and mom and pop stores have.”

“We talked a lot today about tax breaks for business owners and small business owners, because we don’t have the same resources as the big tech companies and the big monopolies,” Moran said. “For me personally, having guidance on who to go to when I need professional services dedicated to the creator economy is important.”

Moran got involved in the creator economy during her time in law school, which was derailed by the coronavirus pandemic.

“I was on Zoom School of Law all day, and I would share a day of my life about getting ready with me to go to law school, and other law students started connecting, and it kind of just went from there,” she explained. “I realized there was a need for creators, dedicated service professionals, lawyers, accountants, wealth managers, creatives, and creative entrepreneurs. And I thought I could combine my legal career and my interests and passions. And why not?”

Now, law schools are starting to adapt to the need for classes that will accommodate the industries of tomorrow, today. “There’s starting to be a lot more entertainment law or intellectual property classes, trademark, copyright, things like that,” Moran said. “Entertainment law is a great start. I would love to see a social media class. There are universities now starting to offer those.”

Brennan, for her part, left corporate America for a career in the creator economy. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get some looks when I went to represent an influencer, especially when people didn’t even know what an influencer was,” she said. But now, “it’s been really cool to see its growth and see its expansion.”

One of the policy issues that Brennan grapples with in her day-to-day job is name, image, and likeness (NIL) debates. The main questions she handles with NIL are “who’s using this? How long have they been using it? Are you earning revenue on it, and are they changing it?”

Moran noted that the Small Business Committee describes itself as a “happy” committee; Brennan experienced something similar. “Everyone took notes on what we were saying, and what the fellow witnesses were saying when we’re talking about creators in relation to small business and small business growth,” she said of her time testifying.

Luciano, for his part, emphasized to lawmakers that “creatorpreneurs” like influencers aren’t that different from traditional small businesses.

He wanted “to show our congresspeople that we are small businesses…We create jobs, we influence the economy, just like any other small business.”

“I just really hope that we as creators are more represented, more understood, because I’ve had to do a lot of teaching moments; they tend to run when they hear the word influencer,” he said. “We do just what every other small business does. Just because you don’t see us on a corner as a brick-and-mortar store, that doesn’t mean that we’re not in our living rooms going live and making sure that we’re paying our bills and, in turn, affecting the whole economy.”

The message those witnesses brought to Congress resonated with those in attendance. Maria Giannopoulos, the founder of Right Click Advocacy, told the Reporter that “creators powering small businesses from their phones is the ultimate American Dream. I’m thrilled that lawmakers are dialed in to the power of the creator economy.”

“Now,” Giannopoulos said, “digital creators have the platform to discuss and shape policies that will affect businesses, culture, and media for years to come.”

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