This week on How Success Happens, I chatted with the delightfully geeky Steve Mould, the physicist-comedian behind a wildly popular YouTube channel where he pulls off mind‑bending science experiments for 3.5 million subscribers and counting. He’s also written multiple books, toured theaters with his science‑comedy show Festival of the Spoken Nerd, and even has a physics phenomenon named after him: “The Mould Effect.” 

Steve joined me on the show to unpack how he turned curiosity, comedy, and consistency into a sustainable creative career—without losing his mind. 

Watch the full episode above or listen here, and read on for three insights from Steve that’ll help your YouTube dreams take off in three, two, one. We’ve broken down Steve’s insights to help your personal success take off in in three, two, one…

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Three Key Insights

1. Be Patient Before You “Go All In”
   Steve didn’t wake up one day and decide to be a full‑time YouTuber—he inched his way there by experimenting with live science‑comedy shows, then posting short demo videos online while still working a day job in IT. Things only shifted when one of those videos—a bead‑chain “fountain” that now physicists named after him—went viral right as YouTube rolled out ad‑revenue sharing. “​​I thought, ‘Okay, so maybe I could earn money from this.’”
   Takeaway: Before you quit your job or pivot hard, design low‑risk experiments that let the market show you what’s working.

2. Don’t Chase Numbers, Chase Genuine Interest
   Steve is brutally clear on what happens if you let metrics drive every decision: “If you just try and chase the numbers, you’re gonna have a bad time… the quality of the videos goes down because you’re doing stuff that you’re not genuinely interested in.” He knows that sponsors, upload schedules, and algorithm pressure are real, but he refuses to turn the channel into something he wouldn’t personally watch. And he devotes a lot of energy to something that he admits could be considered “counterproductive” to a robust operation. “I can spend a long time replying to emails from viewers that don’t lead to any income,” he explains. He says if someone doesn’t understand something in his video, he enjoys explaining it to them, and also gets an added benefit: “It hones my ability [to break down complex science] in my work.”
   Takeaway: Use analytics as a compass, not a commander—make content at the intersection of your genuine curiosity and what your audience consistently shows up for.

3. Don’t Do It All Yourself—or Burn Out Trying
   Success created a new problem for Steve: exhaustion. Sponsors now book his ad slots months in advance, which locks him into releasing two videos a month whether inspiration strikes or not, and every time he improves something—color grading, sound, editing—he feels he “can’t go back,” so each video takes more hours than the last. His warning to other creators and founders is subtle but serious: if you keep raising your quality bar without building a team or giving yourself slack, you’re engineering your own burnout. 
   Takeaway: As you raise the bar on your product or content, raise your support structure too—systems, people, and margins—so you don’t grind yourself into the ground.

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Two Great Ways to Learn More

1. You can follow everything Steve’s up to on his YouTube channel and on his site stevemould.com, where he shares videos, stage shows, and book links.
   
2. Read this in-depth look at the burnout struggles that creators face, and the strategies they use to stay mentally strong.
   

One Question to Ponder

Steve has a physics phenomenon named after him. What is something you’ve discovered that should be named after you? Here’s mine: The “Dan Bova Watching TV During Boring Zoom Calls Without Anyone Noticing Technique.”

Email your answer to howsuccesshappens@entrepreneur.com and we’ll share some of your responses on a future episode.

About How Success Happens

Each episode of How Success Happens shares the inspiring, entertaining, and unexpected journeys that influential leaders in business, the arts, and sports traveled on their way to becoming household names. It’s a reminder that behind every big-time career, there is a person who persisted in the face of self-doubt, failure, and anything else that got thrown in their way.