A new talent shop aimed at livestreamers, gamers, VTubers and lifestyle creators is open for business. According to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Alex Weprin (Nov. 5, 2026), former UTA Creators gaming and livestreaming head Mike Lee and former FaZe Clan chief talent officer Darren Yan have launched ISO, a creator management and representation firm backed by Influence Media Partners.
Lee is CEO. Yan is head of music. The name stands for “in search of,” Tubefilter‘s Sam Gutelle reported on Nov. 6, 2026.
A roster built for streams, games and lifestyle
Weprin reports that ISO says it has more than 90 clients, with a heavy focus on livestreamers, gamers, artists, VTubers and lifestyle creators across beauty, food and other verticals. Named talent includes PlaqueBoyMax, Jasontheween, Ironmouse, Lacy, Vanillamace, Kyedae and RDCWorld. Brand clients listed in the same report include Electronic Arts, Discord, Underdog and Icenova.
Gutelle adds jessechrisss and Angelo Marasigan to the roster coverage, and notes that PlaqueBoyMax and Lacy previously were with FaZe while Ironmouse and Vanillamace have UTA history. International names highlighted in Tubefilter’s account of a press release include Vietnam’s Sơn Tùng M-TP and China’s Xin Liu.
The people behind the desk
Beyond Lee and Yan, Gutelle reports that Matt Alsberg is head of talent, with past roles at PlayStation and Twitch. Tubefilter also says ISO’s core team has experience at the NFL, Red Bull and Fanatics as talent partners.
According to Net Influencer‘s Dragomir Stojkov (Nov. 6, 2026), citing Variety, the firm has about 24 employees across Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta, and the founders spent roughly a year building operations before launch. Stojkov also notes — again via Variety — that Lee and Yan previously worked together at Press X and Everyday Influencers, agencies UTA acquired in 2018.
Five services, and a commission twist
Net Influencer lists five ISO services from the announcement: talent management and development, brand partnerships, music and licensing, performance marketing, and clipping.
The compensation model is designed to reward collaboration. When a teammate brings an opportunity to a colleague’s client, ISO funds an extra commission from its own share without cutting the client manager’s commission, Stojkov reports. Variety, as cited by Net Influencer, also says ISO pays bonuses throughout the year rather than once annually, and that the founders describe the approach as “radically transparent.” Lee told Variety, per that same write-up: “every six months there is a new defecting faction out of some talent agency starting their own management company.”
Influence Media Partners’ investment size was not disclosed. Stojkov notes Influence is supported by strategic partnerships with funds and accounts managed by BlackRock.
Algorithms as gatekeepers — and Asia as a growth lane
Lee framed the firm around creators who already run real businesses. “The next household name is already online, building an audience, and ISO was built for that talent,” he said, according to Weprin. “Today’s gatekeepers are algorithms, so understanding discovery, engagement and how content travels is essential. Every creator we work with is running a real business, and our job is to give it room to grow through original IP, products, live events, and expansion into China and platforms like TikTok Shop, where most of the industry still isn’t set up to compete.”
Yan, in the same Hollywood Reporter piece, said talent development used to sit at the heart of representation and that ISO is “bringing it back” with a model built for a generation where musicians and creators share the same playbook: build an audience directly, then build a business around it. He added that the A&R team applies that lens to artists by building global fandom online before the market catches on.
Lylette Pizarro, founder and co-managing partner of Influence Media Partners, told Weprin that Influence looks to invest in partners with an innovative approach to culture and entertainment, and that Mike, Darren and the ISO team are “reimagining talent representation for a creator economy that has fundamentally transformed how audiences are built, culture is shaped and revenue is generated.”
Net Influencer reports that Asia-Pacific and China are built into ISO’s model from day one through regional partners for local-platform distribution, collaborations, brand work and live experiences.
A crowded management market
ISO is arriving in a consolidating category. Stojkov’s Net Influencer piece places the launch alongside Fixated’s seven-figure buy of a Roblox-focused agency, Night’s $70 million raise for gaming and live-events expansion, and acquisition moves by Launchd, UnderCurrent and Winclap. The same report notes that KOMI Group caps managers at eight creators each so they can invest time in every client.
The takeaway
Lee and Yan are betting that livestreamers, gamers, VTubers and lifestyle creators need the same full-stack representation music and Hollywood talent have long taken for granted — plus a clearer path into China and TikTok Shop. With Influence Media Partners behind them, a 90-plus roster already on the books, and a commission structure pitched as collaboration-first, ISO is another signal that creator management is professionalizing fast. Whether “radically transparent” bonuses and Asia-Pacific partners are enough to stand out in a market full of defecting factions will be the next chapter to watch.
Image: Downtown Los Angeles skyline at night from Griffith Observatory, photo by Camiloarenivar, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
