Creators On The Rise: Matty Benedetto Makes A Living By Making Things No One Needs

Welcome to Creators on the Rise, the place—in partnership with world creator firm Jellysmack—we discover and profile breakout creators who’re within the midst of extraordinary progress. 


Matty Benedetto makes issues nobody wants.

A keyboard that may solely kind your passwords? He’s got it. An alarm clock that additionally holds your morning O.J.? You bet. Want to measure one thing and nonetheless not understand how lengthy it’s? The “vague ruler” has you covered. All of those and plenty of, many extra devices and gizmos are on provide at Benedetto’s YouTube channel Unnecessary Inventions, the place, since 2019, he’s been making fauxmercials and behind-the-build movies for his most whimsical and nugatory (or so he says!) concepts.

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These days, the overwhelming majority of Benedetto’s innovations won’t ever grow to be full-fledged on-the-shelf merchandise, however that wasn’t at all times the case. Benedetto launched his first client model as a 15-year-old, turning his ardour for snowboarding into an attire firm. He managed that model all through faculty (his maybe unsurprising main: advertising and marketing), then launched a second firm, this one a tech accent model that was offered in well-known retailers like Urban OutfittersRestoration HardwareBrookstone, and J.Crew.

Benedetto adopted that firm up with a line of journey merchandise, and all three manufacturers had been nonetheless on sale when he got here up with AirSticks.



Unlike Benedetto’s prior innovations, AirSticks weren’t supposed for precise use by precise people. They had been his first pointless invention, made primarily as a result of Benedetto had simply purchased his first 3-D printer, unlocking the potential for him to make nearly something in his house workplace, simply because he felt prefer it.

And he felt prefer it. AirSticks–a pair of chopsticks that delicately cradle your AirPods and let you eat sushi at the same time–was solely the start. After posting a photograph of them on Reddit and ending up on the location’s entrance web page (which means his put up garnered a lot of consideration), Benedetto started questioning: what different long-held concepts might he flip into tangible, if not strictly usable, merchandise?

Thus, Unnecessary Inventions was born.

Unnecessary Inventions’ month-to-month view and subscriber positive aspects have risen considerably since Benedetto began importing movies to YouTube Shorts. Monthly knowledge from Gospel Stats.

Benedetto began Unnecessary Inventions on Instagram, however quickly realized static pictures didn’t exhibit his creations in addition to video did. Moving to YouTube let him make a variety of content material about his innovations, from behind-the-scenes seems to be at 3-D printing them to creating faux infomercials impressed by the But wait, there’s extra! gusto we bear in mind from 90s and early 2000s merchandise like OxiClean and ShamWow.

The similar means that shift to YouTube helped develop Unnecessary Inventions (sufficient that Benedetto shuttered his client manufacturers to deal with content material full-time), the debut of its TikTook competitor YouTube Shorts supplied one other bump. Benedetto has been posting short-form clips all through 2021, and it’s helped push his channel from 110,000 subscribers and some hundred thousand views a month to 40 million views in May, 53 million in June, 73 million in July, and 55 million in each August and September. HIs subscriber rely, in the meantime, has jumped to 758,000.

And, after all, we’d be remiss to not point out that Benedetto’s rising presence obtained him and Unnecessary Inventions nominated for a 2021 Streamy Award in science and engineering.

Check out our chat with him under.

Tubefilter: Tell us somewhat about you! You’re based mostly in Vermont, proper? Is that the place you grew up? What did you rise up to earlier than beginning Unnecessary Inventions? Did you go to school, have a profession…?

Matty Benedetto: So I grew up within the suburbs of New York City and moved to Burlington, Vermont, in 2008 to go to school for advertising and marketing. I actually loved residing up right here, so I caught round after faculty and have been right here ever since. One of the principle issues that introduced me up right here was snowboarding, so I really like the winters in Vermont.

The one factor folks won’t know is that I’ve been designing and really promoting what I name my “essential” merchandise since 2005 by way of a lot of ecommerce manufacturers that I owned. I began manufacturing my very own merchandise abroad once I was 15 years outdated with a ski clothes model I began. After faculty, I launched a tech accent model that was offered in retailers akin to Urban Outfitters, Restoration Hardware, Brookestone, J.Crew, and plenty of extra. Then, in 2015, I launched a journey merchandise model promoting baggage, journey backpacks, wallets, toiletry kits, and extra.

However, proper as Unnecessary Inventions began to select up momentum, I closed the opposite manufacturers I had and went 100% full-time specializing in constructing out my profession as a content material creator.

Tubefilter: How did Unnecessary Inventions grow to be a factor? Tell us its origin story! Have you at all times been concerned with inventing? Where did the “pointless” half are available in?

MB: I’ve at all times been a inventive one who enjoys bringing an thought in my head to life in a technique or one other. Over the years I’ve had concepts that may have been thought of part of the Unnecessary Inventions world–a few of them simply stayed in my head, and others I’d get samples produced with a producer simply to see the way it seemed. I believed they could work as an April Fools’ joke for my different ecommerce manufacturers, however in the end thought they had been simply too ridiculous to supply.

Then, in February 2019, I bought a brand new 3-D printer for my workplace and began tinkering round with a few of these concepts in my head. I made what can be the primary Unnecessary Invention and posted it to my private Instagram in addition to Reddit. They had been the AirSticks, chopstick extensions to your AirPods. I awoke the subsequent morning with the put up on the entrance web page of Reddit and thought, Hmm, perhaps I’ve one thing right here.

The subsequent invention thought got here from the feedback on the Reddit put up, and some days later I posted that piece of content material, with it reaching the entrance web page once more! By the fifth or sixth invention, I believed to myself that I wanted to provide this complete mission a reputation and attempt to construct out an viewers of my very own to see the place it might go.

Two and half years later, I’m developing on 300 new innovations with no plan on slowing down.

Tubefilter: What made you resolve to begin a YouTube channel? What made YouTube look like the “proper” place to share your artwork?

MB: I first began Unnecessary Inventions on Instagram, as the primary 50 or so innovations had been strictly photo-based. As I began to create an increasing number of innovations, my followers wished to know extra about how the innovations got here to life and what my course of was. So, I believed YouTube can be the proper platform to develop to that long-form content material. On YouTube, I can present the neighborhood how an thought involves life, what instruments I exploit to construct it, and the way the ultimate product works. Similarly, I feel it’s additionally a good way to showcase somewhat bit extra of my character and the internal workings of my design studio.

Tubefilter: You introduce your pointless innovations with an enormous dollop of 90s infomercial gusto. Why did you resolve to go together with this type?

MB: One of my favourite issues is when somebody is scrolling their feed and are available throughout one among my movies, and whether or not they’re already a subscriber or not, they cease and assume, This CANNOT be an actual product. So I attempt to body my commercials to imitate that informercial type. I’m actually making an attempt to persuade you it’s simpler to make use of one among my innovations when in actuality you realize that it’s fully pointless.

I’m additionally poking enjoyable at client shopping for habits–all of us have a handful of issues we purchased on-line as a result of the advert hooked us in, used the product as soon as, and it’s simply sitting there gathering mud.



Tubefilter: While “pointless,” your innovations require a large quantity of creativity to assume up and hand-build–and also you produce a number of innovations virtually each week. What’s the inventive course of like in your finish? How lengthy does the common invention take to place collectively, from conception to workable product?

MB: My mind principally by no means shuts off developing with new concepts–it may be virtually something that conjures up a brand new invention idea. I additionally get invention concepts despatched in by my neighborhood. Roughly 65-70% of the innovations are ideas that I’ve provide you with, and the opposite 30-35% are fan submissions. I at all times attempt to make sure whoever despatched within the thought will get credit score for the unique idea, too!

However, as soon as I’ve an concept that I wish to carry to life, I usually hop proper into Fusion 360 to begin 3-D modeling the primary iteration of the invention. A lot of instances, I can principally see the ultimate invention in my head, and I simply must take that psychological image to recreate the 3-D mannequin. Luckily, I’ve a number of 3-D printers, so I can begin printing items of the invention whereas I proceed to work on different facets.

From there, it’s primarily simply tinkering with the design till it really works effectively sufficient to movie one among my product commercials. If it’s a easy idea and the thought works on the primary design, it may be as fast as eight hours from thought to invention. More advanced innovations would possibly take a number of days, however since I’m not promoting these merchandise for essentially the most half, it merely must promote the thought of product versus being a consumer-ready product. That’s the place the video enhancing can come into play typically, haha!

Tubefilter: How lengthy does the common video take you to place collectively, from conception to posting?

MB: It can differ relying on the invention I’m constructing and sort of content material I’m producing. If I’m making an invention for a YouTube Short, it could possibly be as fast as 24 hours from thought to remaining video posted, to a few or 4 days to get one reside.

For the long-form YouTube behind the construct movies, it would take every week to every week and a half to essentially get all the main points and story in place for why I’m constructing this invention and the instruments I wish to showcase. However, in an general sense of issues, it’s reasonably fast turnaround time for a brand new invention to come back to life.

Tubefilter: Do you’ve got anybody working with you behind the scenes? A staff, a supervisor, an editor? If sure, how has the staff behind the channel grown because you began? What are some challenges you’ve needed to overcome as your employees scaled?

MB: I’m at the moment a one-man present! From the product design, working the 3-D printers, writing the scripts, filming, enhancing, and every little thing in between, it’s all been simply me, myself, and I. For perhaps 5 or 6 of my innovations, I’ve employed a freelancer to assist with a skillset I won’t have, akin to coding a Raspberry Pi to do one thing or 3-D sculpting a face to appear to be somebody particular. Other than that, every little thing you see is simply me!

Tubefilter: Your channel lately noticed a big enhance in views and subscribers. Do you realize if anybody particular video caught on and took off?

MB: The current progress of my channel is instantly from specializing in YouTube Shorts. So it hasn’t been one explicit video over one other, however simply constant weekly uploads to YouTube. I feel it’s been a mixture of getting on the Shorts platform early in addition to having content material that works effectively with the format. I’m capable of showcase one among innovations in an interesting means in a brief time period that makes viewers wish to proceed watching extra of them on my channel.

I’m additionally getting again into my long-form movies alongside my Shorts content material, so I’ve seen robust progress in these movies as effectively with the elevated subscriber rely from constructing out the Shorts viewers.



Tubefilter: What’s your favourite pointless invention thus far?

MB: One of my favorites must by my Gator Grips (previously often known as the Croc Gloves). Those launched about six months into Unnecessary Inventions, once I started creating my behind-the-scenes YouTube creation movies. First, the product thought itself went viral, however then Crocs despatched a cease-and-desist for the product…which went 5 instances extra viral. So, it drove quite a lot of eyeballs to my new YouTube channel, and I used to be capable of create a number of extra movies across the subject. It was the actual turning level of being a full-time creator for me.

Tubefilter: What else do you rise up to exterior of YouTube/making content material? Walk us by way of the common day!

MBTo be trustworthy, I’ve constructed out a dream design studio and spend a LOT of time there. An common day for me consists of hitting the health club by 6:30 a.m. and heading to my studio by 8 a.m., principally seven days every week. Unless I’m out filming a video, I’ll be at my studio until 6 p.m. or so and would possibly drop in late-night to double-check every little thing is wanting good on the 3-D printers. I attempt to get out of the studio by midday or so to take pleasure in Vermont, from snowboarding within the winters to climbing within the summers. Hopefully I’ll be capable to journey a bit extra as issues ease up around the globe as effectively!

Tubefilter: Has your current engagement uptick modified something for you professionally? Do you’ve got any new plans or targets to your content material profession?

MB: As the channel has grown, I’ve gotten quite a lot of consideration from manufacturers desirous to work collectively. This yr, I’ve been capable of work with manufacturers akin to Canon, Shopify, Old Spice, Dunkin’ Donuts, General Mills, Call of Duty, DoorDash, and extra creating new innovations incorporating their merchandise. I additionally created a five-invention assortment for Babe Wine (the official wine of the NFL) and filmed a full industrial for the launch of the 2021 NFL season, which was quite a lot of enjoyable. I plan to proceed to construct out this side of the enterprise to assist manufacturers launch their very own Unnecessary Inventions throughout social media.

Tubefilter: What’s subsequent within the speedy future for you and your channel? Where do you see your self in 5 years?

MB: Right now, the speedy plan is to proceed popping out with fully pointless innovations. I’ve some actually enjoyable branded tasks within the works that must be going reside quickly as effectively.

I’m additionally launching my new merch brand Unnecessary today! It shall be an outlet to launch another enjoyable tasks below, from conventional merch to presumably a few of my innovations and a few surprising merchandise and collaborations.

Down the street, I’d like to carry Unnecessary Inventions IRL by way of a museum-type expertise the place you possibly can see the innovations in individual, find out how 3-D printing works, and get a glance into the content material creator facet of issues inside my world. Possibly carry it metropolis to metropolis for a restricted time–that’d be a dream!


Jellysmack is the worldwide creator firm that detects and develops the world’s most gifted video creators. The firm’s proprietary video optimization expertise and knowledge drive social viewers progress, unlocking new income streams and amplifying monetization.

Currently house to over 150 influential Creators together with PewDiePie, MrBeastBrad Mondo, and Bailey Sarian, Jellysmack optimizes, operates, and distributes creator-made video content material to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTook, Twitter, and YouTube. Jellysmack-managed content material boasts 10 billion world month-to-month video views and a cross-platform attain of 125 million distinctive U.S. customers, making it the biggest U.S. digital-first firm in month-to-month social media viewers.

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https://www.tubefilter.com/2021/10/27/creators-on-the-rise-unnecessary-inventions/

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