Cheraud Brown, better known as Raud, is a prominent Twitch streamer with over 2 million followers across his social platforms. Now in his sixth year of content creation and fourth year of dedicated streaming, Raud recently shared valuable insights on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast, hosted by AFROTECH™ Brand Manager Will Lucas. He highlighted the crucial role of mentorship, particularly crediting Wallo267 for teaching him how to effectively manage sponsors and navigate business deals.
From YouTube to Pure Streaming
Raud began his content creation journey on YouTube, building a substantial following with 559,000 subscribers across 1,512 videos on two channels. In 2021, he transitioned to Twitch, describing it as the tail end of the “desktop era” of streaming. He now identifies as a “pure streamer,” emphasizing the ability to engage and entertain his community directly from his desktop without relying heavily on elaborate production.
He explained the different skill sets required for streaming, comparing them to character builds in video games like “2K.” Raud noted that while many streamers focus on flashy setups, his strength lies in his ability to connect with his audience organically. “A lot of streamers are not good at click-and-start and not having no plan,” he said. “I’m really good at that because before, where streaming’s at right now, the bigger streamers got it to a point where people feel like you got to put on the biggest shelf… Now we got stuff like IRL and that’s when we moving around and we creating a show on the go.”
Securing a $1 Million Deal and Sponsor Love
Raud stressed the importance of consistency and a mindset focused beyond just the immediate financial gain. He recalled a period where, despite his large following, he wasn’t securing endorsement deals because he was “dodging” offers that didn’t align with his brand. Eventually, Shopify approached him with his first endorsement deal, valued at $1 million, which he planned to share with his supporters.
He emphasized the need for creators to proactively showcase their value to potential sponsors. “Once you show a company like, ‘Hey, this is what I could do for you and these are my numbers’ — and a lot of times they’re not looking for us. So you’ve got to go to the face and say, ‘Yo, this is what it is.’” Creating a professional presentation deck has also been instrumental in securing these opportunities.
Raud specifically credited Wallo267, co-host of the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast, for teaching him the art of treating sponsors well. “You thank your sponsors overly, you overly thank your sponsors, and I got a lot of the knowledge on how to treat your sponsors and show them that love and get into a new deal and re-up with them from my man’s Wallo,” Raud shared gratefully. “So shout out, Wallo.”
Lessons from Streamer University
Raud also participated in Kai Cenat’s “Streamer University,” an educational program for content creators held at the University of Akron. He found the experience inspiring, describing Cenat as a “genius” and feeling motivated to elevate his content quality. “You shouldn’t be looking at the same numbers for a couple months. You should stop and up that quality. So ‘turn it up.’ I just mean like, ‘OK I see the scale of which he doing things. Let me up my scale. Let’s not sit in a room and do bullsh-t. Let’s get creative. Everything hasn’t been done, and if it has been done, I’m going to study it and I’m going to repurpose it,’” he explained.
What are your thoughts on Raud’s journey and his advice on sponsorships? Share your insights in the comments below!
