25-year-old Denise Teo Jia Qi is better known by her online moniker, supercatkei.
She is a full-time variety streamer, but wears many hats: she’s also a gamer, a producer, a mentor, and a hobby-musician.
An unconventional career
What’s even more impressive is that Teo is one of the top live streamers not just in Singapore, but also in Asia.
And it’s not difficult to see why she has such a following: with her soothing voice and pastel pink set up, Teo’s streams feel like a cosy cup of warm tea on a cold day.
On Twitch, Teo plays games like Valorant and Apex Legends, sings cover songs, and sometimes even do IRL(in-real-life) streams, where she brings her audience outdoors on adventures.
She occasionally switches things up, hosting live concerts and game shows, as well as producing offline events.
However, unlike most Singaporeans, an unconventional job is what Teo has always known.
When she graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Film & Media Studies in 2018, Teo declined opportunities to take up a degree at LASALLE College of the Arts, NTU and NUS.
Thinking that she would still have the opportunity to further her education at a later time, she decided to explore other opportunities and dove headfirst into developing startups in Singapore and New York.
In the midst of the pandemic in 2020, she started live streaming in her free time.
On her Instagram page, she has also worked with major brands like Love, Bonito, Samsung, OCBC Bank and Canon.
Last year, she was Singapore’s first representative at Twitchcon in San Diego.
Recently, she also ventured into live music performances.
Clearly, Teo’s life as a streamer is nowhere near mundane.
Not so “easy and simple”
While it all sounds like a lot of fun, the job isn’t a bed of roses like many might think.
“While I do agree that I get to play games and entertain people for a living – which is a huge blessing – a lot of planning and preparation goes into ensuring that each stream is entertaining for the viewers.”
Teo streams for five to seven hours each time and is continually looking to push the limits of content creation in the live streaming behind the scenes.
She makes it a point to build a strong online global community and ensure that she and her content stays relevant.
Three years on, the pressure of the job is something Teo still struggles with.
“In the content creation world, you are judged almost entirely by your numbers — how many followers you have, how many viewers you have, how many subscribers you have, or likes and shares.”
Not to mention, opportunities and income as an online creator can be less predictable.
The industry’s emphasis on numbers can easily make one feel inferior to others.
One may even forgo their values to chase higher numbers, she explains.
A double-edged sword
The biggest downside to the job? Being in the public eye.
“As a content creator, you put a lot of your life out on the internet, and you’ll have little to no privacy,” shared Teo.
Her online presence drew strangers who tried to find out where she lives and stalk her in real life.
In 2021, Teo’s 5-figure income from Twitch was leaked without her prior knowledge and consent.
Being in the limelight means that she needs to be mentally ready for public scrutiny, no matter what she does.
The cons are numerous, but Teo’s love for her work outweighs them, she says.
She thoroughly enjoys being her own boss, as well as growing and nurturing a small team.
Together, the team gets to work on projects they are passionate about, and explore new ways to create content.
Work days are never dull for her, because she never knows what opportunities might come her way.
Using her influence and success to help others
One way that Teo stays grounded is by making use of her reach to champion the causes she believes in.
Since 2020, she has helped to raise S$30,000 for charities that support youths-at-risk and mental health causes.
Teo also mentors aspiring creators by working closely with *SCAPE.
She was the appointed Programme Director for the recent iteration of *SCAPE’s Streamer Residency, a programme for folks looking to take Twitch live streaming a little more seriously.
“I work towards giving them a realistic experience as a full-time live streamer, yet providing them with all the resources and guidance I wish I had when I was first starting out,” said Teo.
She was also one of four Singaporean creatives that spoke and mentored at this year’s *SCAPE’s Career Studio Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Discovery Workshops, where participants pitched their creative career ideas.
Creating in Singapore
As a creator herself, Teo understands the struggle of making it online.
If you are also an aspiring creator, here’s what Teo has to say about jumpstarting your content creation journey:
1) Define your purpose
“What’s your why?” Teo asks.
It’s important to understand why you want to make content and what impact you want to make on people’s lives, she said.
It doesn’t have to be particularly profound, she adds, but it will provide clarity as one navigates the content world, and help you stay true to yourself and not get swayed by money or fame.
2) Try different platforms
“Just because one platform doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t mean you can’t be a content creator,” she said.
She recounts advising a friend, who had decent content but poor viewership while live streaming, to explore YouTube.
Some platforms reward certain content styles more than others, so the same piece of content can work differently elsewhere.
Her friend eventually managed to grow his community on the new platform.
“Don’t glue yourself down to one platform and be open to trying different platforms and content to see what works best for you.”
3) Be consistent
As the space for content creation has become so saturated, and with Singapore being such a small country, Teo believes that discipline is key to constantly push content out and ensure you are visible.
In her opinion, this is the most important trait of a successful creator.
Without the discipline to constantly create content and get yourself out there, you might not see the growth you are looking for even if you work on your skills and craft.
“So give yourself a timeline – maybe three to six months of constantly churning out content. I’m most certain you will see some growth as a creator!”
This is a sponsored article by SCAPE.
Top images via *SCAPE and @supercatkei/Instagram.
