This story was initially published in The Creators — a newsletter about the people powering the creator economy. Get it sent to your inbox.
Sienna Casas has been creating content for as long as she can remember—literally. She first went viral at 3 years old. Now 7 years old and in second grade, she has been on the Ellen Show three times and has 15.2 million followers on the TikTok account she shares with her dad, Nick Casas.
A single parent, Nick began posting videos in 2019 of him singing with his daughter to Instagram and TikTok under the handle @nickandsienna. In March 2019, the Jonas Brothers shared a video on Instagram of the father-daughter duo singing “Burning Up.” Shortly after, the pair posted a clip singing “Señorita” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. Both artists shared the video to their social accounts, which led to Ellen DeGeneres inviting Nick and Sienna on the show for the first time. “Overnight, our lives changed,” Nick said.
Nick had previously worked as a sheriff’s deputy in Orange County, California. He quit his job two years ago and now works full time creating content with his daughter. The pair post videos singing and dancing together, teaching science lessons and vlogging—video blogging—which includes making day-in-the-life videos and talking to the camera. They also post about Nick co-parenting with Sienna’s mother, which includes Nick’s FaceTime calls with Sienna before bed when she is with her mother.
Nick and Sienna are signed with Select Management Group, a firm that helps them find advertising and sponsorship agreements. They father and daughter have worked with Nintendo, NASA, Journeys and Bugs Bunny Builders, a Cartoon Network Show.
Why do you think your content exploded like it did?
Nick: As I look back, I think it’s because it was genuine. And we were relatable, I think. The goal was always to be real and be honest and have fun. One thing that was easy for people to connect to was music, because I’ve always thought music is that one universal language. It’s something everybody can express themselves through.
What was it like being on the Ellen Show?
Sienna Casas: I was really young so I don’t remember a lot of it. I think I was nervous at first.
Nick: I was a wreck. I was so nervous. I was breathing so hard they had to mute my mic. Sienna was cool as a cucumber. It opened up a lot more opportunities for us. We got to meet Demi Lovato. We got to sing for her. We went to a bunch of Disney movie premieres and toured the Warner Bros. lot. It was awesome. And I was still a cop the whole time.
How exactly did your following grow? Was it gradual or did grow after these big events like going on talk shows and meeting celebrities?
Nick: We’ve been chilling at 15 million on TikTok for the last year. It went from literally 1,000 to 5 million by the end of 2019. Every month, we were buying new balloons to celebrate another million. I’d wake up one morning and see 500,000 new followers. But it was just because of those videos. Once Shawn and Camila shared those two videos and tagged us in it—I don’t know man. It’s just crazy.
What about on YouTube? I know it’s a lot harder to gain a following there.
Nick: We didn’t really start on YouTube until we started working with our team in 2020. They helped us with finding an editor, creating a schedule and ideas. At the very beginning, the only thing we had on YouTube was the same videos (as on TikTok and Instagram). They had a good amount of views, but there was no long-form content, except one Q&A I edited myself. I’ll be honest, it took me like three weeks to edit it. I had no idea what I was doing. Once we started working with Select, we started vlogging normally and we went from maybe 20,000 subscribers to 300,000.
What’s the biggest difference you’ve noticed since you hired a management company?
Nick: I can go on and on. (Financial) security is really important. I did our first brand deal by myself with no help, and it was so complicated. I had no idea what I was doing with legal. Once I started doing them with management, they knew all the terms—that was a really big relief and stress off my shoulders.
Who do you think your followers are?
Nick: I think families follow us. I know a lot of single parents follow us as well. A lot of single parents will reach out with questions. And I think a lot of older teenagers that are kind of growing up with us.
How do you balance working together and also being a family?
Nick: Well, we try not to make it work. That’s for sure. We try to keep it fun. It’s never like Sienna is working for me or I’m working for Sienna. We are always working together.
Does creating content take longer than a 40-hour work week?
Nick: It’s a combination, because it’s not always work. It’s just living. Yeah, you’re documenting stuff, but compared to my old job, it’s way less physically demanding, way less stressful.
How have you monetized your accounts?
Nick: Brand deals have been the main way for sure. We’ve gotten them all kinds of ways—(companies) reaching out to us, our team putting out feelers to certain brands that we’ve told them we want to work with.
What are some of the dream companies you’ve been able to work with?
Nick: Nintendo is huge. We’ve been with them for almost two years.
Sienna: NASA.
Nick: Yeah, about six or seven months ago, we started a new series because Sienna has been really into school. We did “S.T.E.M. With Sienna,” making educational videos. For those specific videos, we got to meet an astronaut a couple weeks ago.
What platform do you prefer?
Sienna: YouTube. The videos we do are really fun and the fun goes on for longer because YouTube videos are longer.
How has creating content changed since you started in 2019?
Nick: There’s a lot more celebrity presence and brand presence on some of the apps. Sometimes it can feel a little crowded. Nothing has really changed in terms of making the content. You have to take it slow, space it out, don’t burn yourself out—look at it as more of a long game.
What’s the best part of creating content?
Nick: Obviously spending time with her. But also, when I quit my job, leaving a stressful environment and being able to be a part of her school. It would be very, very different doing it by myself (without Sienna).
Where do you see this going?
Sienna: More S.T.E.M. With Sienna.
Nick: As she gets older, I hope to do something along the lines of music production or owning some type of business that revolves around social media or music and letting her do her own thing. I don’t think it’s going to be a “Nick and Sienna” thing forever. I want her to do whatever she wants with her life, whether that’s music, social media, dancing, working for NASA. If she wants to go to college or work after high school—whatever.
Sienna: If I want to be an astronaut and work for NASA, wouldn’t I have to go to college?
Nick: Yes, you would have to go to college.
Sienna Casas has been creating content for as long as she can remember—literally. She first went viral at 3 years old. Now 7 years old and in second grade, she has been on the Ellen Show three times and has 15.2 million followers on the TikTok account she shares with her dad, Nick Casas.
A single parent in 2019, Nick began posting videos of him singing with his daughter to Instagram and TikTok under the handle @nickandsienna. In March 2019, the Jonas Brothers shared a video on Instagram of the father-daughter duo singing “Burning Up.” Shortly after, the pair posted a clip singing “Señorita” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. Both artists shared the video to their social accounts, which led to Ellen DeGeneres inviting Nick and Sienna on the show for the first time. “Overnight, our lives changed,” Nick said.
Nick had previously worked as a sheriff’s deputy in Orange County, California. He quit his job two years ago and now works full time creating content with his daughter. The pair post videos singing and dancing together, teaching science lessons and vlogging—video blogging—which includes making day-in-the-life videos and talking to the camera. They also post about Nick co-parenting with Sienna’s mother, which includes her FaceTime calls with Sienna before bed when they aren’t together.
Nick and Sienna are signed with Select Management Group, a firm that helps them find advertising and sponsorship agreements. They father and daughter have worked with Nintendo, NASA, Journeys and Bugs Bunny Builders, a Cartoon Network Show.
Why do you think your content exploded like it did?
Nick: As I look back, I think it’s because it was genuine. And we were relatable, I think. The goal was always to be real and be honest and have fun. One thing that was easy for people to connect to was music, because I’ve always thought music is that one universal language. It’s something everybody can express themselves through.
What was it like being on the Ellen Show?
Sienna Casas: I was really young so I don’t remember a lot of it. I think I was nervous at first.
Nick: I was a wreck. I was so nervous. I was breathing so hard they had to mute my mic. Sienna was cool as a cucumber. It opened up a lot more opportunities for us. We got to meet Demi Lovato. We got to sing for her. We went to a bunch of Disney movie premieres and toured the Warner Bros. lot. It was awesome. And I was still a cop the whole time.
How exactly did your following grow? Was it gradual or did grow after these big events like going on talk shows and meeting celebrities?
Nick: We’ve been chilling at 15 million on TikTok for the last year. It went from literally 1,000 to 5 million by the end of 2019. Every month, we were buying new balloons to celebrate another million. I’d wake up one morning and see 500,000 new followers. But it was just because of those videos. Once Shawn and Camila shared those two videos and tagged us in it—I don’t know man. It’s just crazy.
What about on YouTube? I know it’s a lot harder to gain a following there.
Nick: We didn’t really start on YouTube until we started working with our team in 2020. They helped us with finding an editor, creating a schedule and ideas. At the very beginning, the only thing we had on YouTube was the same videos (as on TikTok and Instagram). They had a good amount of views, but there was no long-form content, except one Q&A I edited myself. I’ll be honest, it took me like three weeks to edit it. I had no idea what I was doing. Once we started working with Select, we started vlogging normally and we went from maybe 20,000 subscribers to 300,000.
What’s the biggest difference you’ve noticed since you hired a management company?
Nick: I can go on and on. (Financial) security is really important. I did our first brand deal by myself with no help, and it was so complicated. I had no idea what I was doing with legal. Once I started doing them with management, they knew all the terms—that was a really big relief and stress off my shoulders.
Who do you think your followers are?
Nick: I think families follow us. I know a lot of single parents follow us as well. A lot of single parents will reach out with questions. And I think a lot of older teenagers that are kind of growing up with us.
How do you balance working together and also being a family?
Nick: Well, we try not to make it work. That’s for sure. We try to keep it fun. It’s never like Sienna is working for me or I’m working for Sienna. We are always working together.
Does creating content take longer than a 40-hour work week?
Nick: It’s a combination, because it’s not always work. It’s just living. Yeah, you’re documenting stuff, but compared to my old job, it’s way less physically demanding, way less stressful.
How have you monetized your accounts?
Nick: Brand deals have been the main way for sure. We’ve gotten them all kinds of ways—(companies) reaching out to us, our team putting out feelers to certain brands that we’ve told them we want to work with.
What are some of the dream companies you’ve been able to work with?
Nick: Nintendo is huge. We’ve been with them for almost two years.
Sienna: NASA.
Nick: Yeah, about six or seven months ago, we started a new series because Sienna has been really into school. We did “S.T.E.M. With Sienna,” making educational videos. For those specific videos, we got to meet an astronaut a couple weeks ago.
What platform do you prefer?
Sienna: YouTube. The videos we do are really fun and the fun goes on for longer because YouTube videos are longer.
How has creating content changed since you started in 2019?
Nick: There’s a lot more celebrity presence and brand presence on some of the apps. Sometimes it can feel a little crowded. Nothing has really changed in terms of making the content. You have to take it slow, space it out, don’t burn yourself out—look at it as more of a long game.
What’s the best part of creating content?
Nick: Obviously spending time with her. But also, when I quit my job, leaving a stressful environment and being able to be a part of her school. It would be very, very different doing it by myself (without Sienna).
Where do you see this going?
Sienna: More S.T.E.M. With Sienna.
Nick: As she gets older, I hope to do something along the lines of music production or owning some type of business that revolves around social media or music and letting her do her own thing. I don’t think it’s going to be a “Nick and Sienna” thing forever. I want her to do whatever she wants with her life, whether that’s music, social media, dancing, working for NASA. If she wants to go to college or work after high school—whatever.
Sienna: If I want to be an astronaut and work for NASA, wouldn’t I have to go to college?
Nick: Yes, you would have to go to college.
This interview was originally published in The Creators, a newsletter about the people powering the creator economy. Get it in your inbox before it’s online.
