lennyperni: How Co-Working Streams Boosted Growth | Episode 15

Lenny started streaming in 2022 with a handful of friends watching. Four years later she hit Twitch Partner all while studying veterinary medicine, working as a vet's assistant, and raising over $6,000 for charity through her community, the Cat Café.

In this episode we talk about how co-work streaming changed everything for her, what it actually takes to balance a demanding degree with content creation, the personal reasons behind her charity work, and what Partner really feels like when you finally get there.

Find Lenny:
https://twitch.tv/lennyperni

https://lennyperni.carrd.co/

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Transcript

Teaser

SPEAKER_02 0:00

How can I help? Like, I'm a student. I don't really earn money. So I can't really do anything. But like, if we could do like a special stream together, maybe people are willing to support a course that's close to my heart.

Patty's Note

Patty 0:22

Before we begin today's episode, I just wanted to give a big shout-out and a big thank you to everyone that has shown any kind of support through the podcast. Not only with commenting and liking and sharing, but also going into the streamish streams and saying anything about the podcast or just checking them out. It really means a lot. And I want to thank all of the guests. I know not all the guests watch the podcast, but I want to thank all of my guests for talking with me because I feel like I wouldn't have been able to do this for this long if it wasn't for you guys. And if it wasn't for everyone supporting and saying kind words. And as I was editing this episode, I noticed that I was having a really bad day. At the start of the episode, I was having like the biggest brain fog. So I'm just gonna re-record the intro here for you guys. I hope you understand. I will just redo it now. But two months later,

Intro

Patty 1:33

welcome to the Growth Rates podcast where we dive into real streamer stories and find out what is behind the streamer. Today's guest was the first one that comes recommended from a previous episode. Today we have Lenny, who was recommended on episode two by Ellie. Lenny is a co-work and cozy game streamer. She is studying veterinary and she's a certified veterinary assistant. And together with her community called the Cat Cafe, she has raised thousands of euros for charity causes since 2023. Welcome on in, Lenny. Hello, thank you so much for having me.

Discovering Twitch and Streaming Beginnings

Patty 2:16

So, Lenny, why don't you tell us how did this all start? How did you find Twitch? Why did you decide to start streaming?

SPEAKER_02 2:24

Um, so back in was it 2022? I think I started streaming in 2022. Yeah, it's been four years now. I was, you know, playing Animal Crossing on my Switch, and I don't know how, but I discovered the website Nookazan, which back then was for like trading like villagers and like items on Animal Crossing. And featured there was a streamer called The Embear. And I don't know, they they kind of hooked me, and then I hopped to the website they were featured on, which was Twitch, and I started frequently watching her um and her streams. And then in 2022 in July, I was on a trip to Amsterdam with my partner, and I also found out that TwitchCon was at the same like time period where we were there. Um, and so I sent Amber a short message and I was like, hey, if I run into you at TwitchCon, um, is it okay if we take a picture? And Amber was being so kind and so sweet, and that like we met there and we took pictures, and that really, really inspired me. And so in August 2022, I started streaming as well.

Patty 3:38

That's so cute. I did not go to the Amsterdam TwitchCon, but it's it was a very different vibe, I think, from uh the the other the Rotterdam. It's a different yes, actually. Every time every time it's like in a different city, it totally changes the the whole thing. Yeah, it's incredible. But yeah, you're you're not the first streamer to have started with Animal Crossing here on the podcast, which is very funny. But I love that you know you had like this other streamer being your inspiration for starting. How was it like at the beginning? Were you just streaming to no one? Were you doing Animal Crossing?

SPEAKER_02 4:19

In the very beginning, I was basically just streaming to myself, my partner, and my best friends. So we were basically two to three people. I started with Animal Crossing and then later switched over to Dep Idealide, and then I would like play Dep Idealide with my friends on stream, and through that I would slowly get to know more people. But yeah, in the beginning it was just me and a handful of friends um that were there. Did you have any expectations going in? Not at all, not at all. I wanted to try it out. I when I was in high school, I had like a YouTube channel where I did like videos and I found this really fun, but I never really stuck through with it. But this kind of like content creation thing has always been something that I found very, very like intriguing because it tickled my creativity in a way. And so when I found streaming, I found that really, really inspiring. And so I wanted to try it. I didn't think that I would, you know, still be here four years later because I have an ADHD brain. I very quickly get burned out from hobbies that I pick up, so I did not expect to be here.

Patty 5:36

I think uh me and a lot of viewers and listeners can relate to that. I feel like with Twitch, the amazing thing is that you can just you know switch game or other thing and continue streaming. It's it's

Transitioning from Gaming to Co-Working

Patty 5:50

all good. But you started with games and that now you do you do more co-work than games, right? You still do cozy games, but I see you more co-working. How was that transition?

SPEAKER_02 6:00

I don't know exactly who I found co-working through, but I know that I encountered someone who did co-working and I didn't know the concept beforehand. I used to study Light with Study With Me videos, but through like the this the shift from going from like my apprenticeship to university really also enforced that switch. At some point during my apprenticeship, I started doing co-working streams because I found them, but I didn't really stick through with them because it is like every time that you branch out, the viewership drops. And from day one, honestly, it has affected me and it still does. And so I just stopped at some point because I also couldn't really focus because I was only looking at what chat did, and then I got distracted. But at some point, when I went over to go to uni and start studying, the workload just became so much more. And suddenly I found that having people look at what I do really helped me. Like the peer pressure from having other people do the same things I do, um, and being watched also. That really changed um my perception of coworking. And I started doing it more. It also helped me stay more focused. Um, and so last year I made a switch from gaming and co-working to almost only co-working because we had like really huge exams in summer. And through that, I just had such a big workload that I really needed this coworking. So yeah, it was basically just university being university. Yeah.

Patty 7:34

Forced co-work through having too much work. Yeah.

Growth and Community Engagement

Patty 7:39

What about your growth? Because you've been on Twitch for four years now and you only really focused on co-working for like this past year. Were your numbers very small when you were gaming and it grew more steadily with cowork?

SPEAKER_02 7:55

I think that's really hard to say. It took me a long time in the beginning to grow. I think it roughly took two years to get to like 500 uh followers. But I don't really know what it was. So coworking played a huge part. Honestly, like co-working is my niche where I have most viewership and I also gained most followers from because it's just what felt most natural to me. And and it was just something that I could do, like we're also focusing on other things. It's really nice to like through that meet people that also like need to do something in their life, and like the connections you built through that are very, very unique. But what really like when it really started the growth, that was in uh June 2024 when I was accepted into my first uh stream team, which is uh Pinecone. And from there, I don't know what exactly changed. Maybe it was also like the co-working that I got more into co-working, but from there it started changing.

Patty 8:57

So, what actually kept you going on those first two years? You said two years to get to 500 followers. So, what kept you going? Were were the numbers always like did it get to you not not having like faster growth?

SPEAKER_02 9:12

Yeah, absolutely. Like some friends started like after I started the streaming and they grew much faster. And unfortunately, I depend a lot of ex on external validation, and so it did really get to me. But I also had I found so much joy in streaming. It was really the first hobby in a long time that I could really stick to and that I was also looking forward to coming to stream, you know, playing a game or doing co-working. It was really something that I found enjoyable and also not an easy time in my life. So I think it gave me a lot of stability and also like a lot of like rhythm and schedule because I really need to have like a certain like what feels like a habit to feel stable and secure. And so this really, really helped with that.

Patty 10:05

Which stream, you need to have a set schedule so people know when you're on. And I feel like for I don't know, I don't know if you also are like on the autism side, but I feel like having like knowing what I'm gonna do that week at that time, it just frees up like my brain for other years. Yes, and I don't have to think about it. And usually stream is just more it's like a relaxed time of the day that I can hang out, play a few games, or do sometimes I get lost talking to chat. I don't even play the game.

SPEAKER_02 10:41

Same. There are days where I, you know, we we want a game and like the gaming streams are not as long as the co-working streams because they're usually in the evening. And then I hop on a gaming stream and we just chat for two out of three hours. Um because that's just so much to talk about, but it's just so wonderful. And I really, really like this. But I don't think I could do just chatting streams because when I'm put on the spot and I need to come up with something, I don't think I could. So it's really nice to just be like, hey, how's everyone doing? And then we hop from one topic to the next and then we forget the game.

Patty 11:17

Yeah.

Tips for Effective Co-Working Streams

Patty 11:19

For people that might want to try co-working streams, because you said in the beginning you would get distracted. Do you now can actually focus on the task? Do you have any tips for people that you know find it as confusing as you did at the beginning? And, you know, actually be able to get things done while co-working.

SPEAKER_02 11:40

I think it really depends on the person and like the the studying or working style that you have. I had to change up my entire style of studying due to uni because the workload was a different one. And the the amount of detail that would was expected suddenly changed and increased dramatically. So I was basically not left a choice other than to actually get shit done. But what really helped me was I have an exclamation point focus command that I use when I'm in exam period that I turn off both of my monitors. I have um like the stream running, but I during the promos, I will turn off the monitor, I will keep chat at the point where we left, and then I will slowly focus on what I have to do. And when break comes, I will turn my monitors back on, I will read through chat, and then we app. And this really helps me not get distracted because I have black screens. Uh, there's nothing that that can really um take my focus away. And then I use like I also get distracted by my phone. Shame on me, but I use forest. I think Ellie does use forest too during her co-working streams, and this really helps me keep my hands away from my phone. So then my hands are away from my phone and my eyes can't like I turn. I also that's something I sometimes do, is that I take my mouse and I put it out of my reach so that I will actively have to like take it so that I can do something on my computer. And that really also helps with the distraction. I would just say, like, if you want to start co-working, just try if that's your vibe. If you can go into focus without those things, or if you like if you're too distracted from like other people talking in chat, maybe that's not for you. But also something that I learned along the way was when people come into chat, they obviously say hi, they ask, How are you? How is live? And then you start, you know, chatting along. And that's something that took a lot of time out of my co-working palmos. And that's something I try not to do as much anymore if I'm not in like focus, um, but just still have something to do. I will just say hi, it's good to see you, maybe ask how they are, but then I will try to cut it short. Not because I don't care, but quite frankly, if I if I don't cut it short, I will not get anything done.

Patty 13:57

There's also not that many people that you know come into a cowork stream and start, you know, small talking because they know we're working and they usually come and join and work with us.

SPEAKER_02 14:09

Yes. Especially I feel like since the category was introduced, like the co-working category, uh, there's a lot more people that just come for the work. Like they know what is happening, they know what to expect. So they just come in, they say hi, and then they get to work. When we were in the just chatting category, there were so many trolls. It was so hard because like every other minute someone came in and was like, Oh, you're not talking. Why are you not talking? Can you even speak? What is this? This is such a boring stream. And I would go on and on to explain what we're actually doing. Uh, that was really frustrating. So I'm glad we have the category now. This really helps.

Panel Experience and Overcoming Fear

Patty 14:46

Still in co-work. Last year you and Ellie did a panel about body doubling. How did that go?

SPEAKER_02 14:52

It was so cool. Honestly, Ellie reached out to me and was like, Hey, um, are you going to TwitchCon? Do you perhaps maybe want to, you know, do a panel together? And I was like, nope, nope, not happening. I'm not talking in front of people at TwitchCon. That is not happening. And then I thought about it for a little while and I was like, okay, I'm terrified of this. Maybe I could actually try this just because I'm terrified to like overcome the fear of talking in front of people. Because like being in front of a screen is one thing, but like having actual real people sit in like an audience is a whole different thing. But it was so awesome. It was such a cool experience. We all put a lot of work into it, but I feel like it is more Ellie's baby because Ellie came up with the idea. Ellie had like the the rough run of show, and we all just uh contributed to it, and it was just beautiful, it was so cool.

Patty 15:49

I love like the enthusiasm you had just talking about.

SPEAKER_02 15:53

It was an awesome experience. It's not something that I expected, like that I would enjoy. But I'm really glad that I did it.

Factors Leading to Partner Success

Patty 16:03

So you have uh a couple of things that you we talked about uh in your growth because you recently got partner and you said you joined a team, you switched to co-work and it did it more consistently. What do you think was like the biggest factor to getting to partner numbers?

SPEAKER_02 16:25

Honestly, I cannot pinpoint it for like one specific fact. I do think the co-working is one of the most important things that I did. I do think that the co-working propelled it the most, but also just getting to know people. Like I I was very shy in the beginning. Like I would not really talk to people. I I I'm also still very, very lurky turkey, and I just don't chat because uh it's something that I have from like my my teenage years. I always felt like when I have something to say, people don't care. And so I had like not to say anyone out there doesn't care, but it's just something that I experienced as a teenager that still really sticks with me, that people don't care what I have to say. So I usually don't chat in a lot of people's chat. But at some point that changed and I got more active, I met more people, and through that, I also got like more confident in myself in the streams. And I think that really changed a little bit. Like that changed the entire narrative of how like the streams worked. If that makes any sense, yeah, I think so.

Patty 17:34

I think we might have had a very similar high school experience because it came to mind, you know, the expression like children should be seen, not heard. I feel like growing up, I I did have a lot of that where you know, every time I tried to voice my opinion, it was either wrong or I should just not say it. And I think that also shaped me a lot, but at the same time, I feel like Twitch is the space where I can make the the biggest variety of friends, and you know, there's always someone that will have the same interest that we can, you know, just talk about. Yes. But yeah, more streamers, more people is definitely uh the most amazing part of Twitch.

SPEAKER_02 18:21

Definitely. I've met so many like people that I would now call like one of my closest friends, um, at least on the internet, that I've met through Twitch and through different like genres and um categories. And it's really, really beautiful to like know that these people are there and have those connections that are really meaningful, also.

Patty 18:45

Um, so that is really, really nice. And in the network area that we're talking about, you're a part of a like a few different teams. Do you think they have like similar values or do you see difference like between different teams that you're on?

SPEAKER_02 19:03

That's a good question. So I feel like so I'm more like the first two teams that I joined, like Pine Crone and Faye and Fauna, they are more tight-knit. Um, not that the other two aren't, but I feel like more of a connection to the people in Pine Crone and Fanfauna than I do to the other two. I still love like everyone in the other teams, but I'm just closer to the people in the first two teams. They maybe Faye and Fauna was just like I was one of the first members in FanFauna, so we were all like new and new together. And so I think that shaped us more. Whereas the other teams I joined later while people already had a connection. So for me personally, it's always harder to join like existing groups, um, other than like coming into a new group where everyone is new. Um, so maybe that really influences how I see the other two teams. I love them dearly, and I'm so grateful to be a part of them. But I feel like the connection in Faye and Fauna and Pinecone specifically, they're just closer, like more tight-knit.

Patty 20:09

And do do the people like in those teams, do they do the same things? Like it's like a lot of co-working, a lot of the same types of games, or is there like a variety and it's like the vibe of the people that makes the connection?

SPEAKER_02 20:25

It's more the vibe of the people, really. There are some co-workers in there, but I think most of the uh most of the teams are really gaming heavy. And there's a variety of people really. There's a lot of cozy gamers, but there's also a lot of like more um like a lot of story games, there's a lot of like source games also. Like there's a lot of people that do a variety of things, so it's really more the vibe between us that connects us, but also like the same values, really. But yeah, there's also some co-workers, but I don't think it's the majority. But I see I feel like a lot of people now also switch to co-working. Like, I feel like a lot of people that before only did gaming also now do like both, which I think is really great. Hold to our side, join us.

Patty 21:15

So it's a very cozy and it's a good commun, a good category to get to know people because you're focusing, but on the break times, you know, unless you play a game during those 10 minutes, you're you know, you're making connections and talking with yes, yes, absolutely. Since you recently did uh your partner push and you were actually successful, do you think rates play a big part in uh getting to the numbers, or do you think just you know your normal streams you would have gotten to partner number?

SPEAKER_02 21:54

So for me it was really a lot of rates. So in February, I had like a lot of friends. Come over with quite some viewers. And so just I wasn't actually planning on pushing just yet. But out of nowhere, I suddenly had four out of six like required streams because mainly because of rates. Like I I think my co-working streams were pretty close to the to like the required number, have been for quite a while. But since they are my main thing and like my niche, gaming streams like didn't perform anywhere near as well, which is okay, right? I have this niche. I know that people mainly come for the co-working, which is perfectly fine. And so it it really came down to rates. Like looking back, I don't think number-wise, I was ready to get partner, but definitely due to the support of like everyone. When I announced the push, everyone was there and they were supportive as hell. Like they've always been, but just specifically so. So I think that was the main component into why it worked.

Patty 23:01

Do you also think because the the way you you reached the numbers changed around I think December, January? They changed how you can apply for a partner because it used to be just the average of the month, and now you have just to hit the average a certain amount of streams. Do you think that helped as well?

SPEAKER_02 23:22

For me, that really helped. Theoretically, I would have made the average in those two months, but it takes like a lot of pressure off of your shoulders if you only have to do like those required streams, but they're not requiring a general average viewership anymore because there will be streams that don't perform the way that you might expect them to, right? There will be streams that underperform and they could really drastically pull down like the average viewership. And so it's really nice that they don't count this like, or that they don't take this into account as much anymore as they did back in the D. It's still not easy like to get to the six streams, but I think it makes it less challenging in terms of like more criteria that you have to look into. So it's really, really nice.

Patty 24:13

I also think it's a very positive thing because imagine you streamed a whole month and you were sick one of the streams, and you have to end early or something, and the numbers weren't there. That would make a big difference. So yes, absolutely. Yeah, I'm really happy

Charity Work and Community Impact

Patty 24:29

about that change. Changing a little bit, but still staying the same. You do a lot of charity and you have your numbers in your panels. You did 12 or so events. Was this like since you started streaming? How did you start doing charity? What was you know the thought behind this?

SPEAKER_02 24:50

At some point, I I think it was June 2023. So I'm queer and I heard about the Trevor project. That was our first charity. I don't know how I heard about them, but I know that I found out about them and I was like, hmm, how can I help? Like, I'm a student, I don't really earn money, so I can't really do anything. But like, if we could do like a special stream together, maybe people are willing to support a course that's close to my heart. I'm queer, there are a lot of queer people out there. Like my community is like there's a lot of queer people in the community, and in my like also my private life, there's a lot of like LGBTQIA plus people that I love dearly and that need more support and elevation. And so I thought, you know, why not try it? I've seen other people do it, I can just try it out. And it was something that felt so incredible, like rallying people for a cause that one thinks is important. And the response from the community was so incredibly positive. We did like a variety of things. I think we played some Dead by Daylight, we played some Phosmophobia together, like we did a lot of community games. Um, and I came up with some rewards, and it was just incredible. Like it was so cool to see how those people actually burned for the same things that I burned for.

Patty 26:16

Yeah, I feel like it's it's such a also a good way to bring more people together. So that's a lot of events. Do you always organize them yourself or are you like join events from the communities?

SPEAKER_02 26:29

Um so I try like every year I join Booptober, which is organized by a crafty jellyfish on Twitch. I don't know how I found them, honestly. Um, but I think they were in, there was a message. I think it was Mimi's Discord server, like Dear Mimi's Discord server, where they said, look, there's this event that raises money for breast cancer. Um, and I joined the Discord and joined this event. And I have been a part of it every year since. And it's literally the most important thing to me, the breast cancer charity. So that is organized by a crafty jellyfish and his um, like he has staff, quote unquote, like a couple of other streamers that do all the behind-the-scenes work and all the organization every year. And they've together they've raised over like $50,000 already for the breast cancer research foundation. And then two years I joined Rosanna, uh Rosanna TXT, on the Movember. That was also something that Rosanna organized mostly, that I only joined. And this year I joined the 1000 Dreams Fund and uh Girls Make Games, those were also organized for us. We only had to do like our campaigns, but the rate trains were organized. Um, we were given resources, and so that was organized. But the things that I did by myself with the Trevor Project, I did something for WWF, for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, and also for handicats. So those were things that I did like manually or on my own. So it really depends on the event that I take part in.

Patty 28:13

And the causes that you do are quite varied. Do you do you have like a reason be well when you choose each one, or you know, are you it's like some is it personal reasons or is it just because you you like doing these types of events?

SPEAKER_02 28:32

Both actually. So there's a couple of personal things, right? The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, my family's printed. Everyone's in my family. I have a couple of female family members that had breast cancer, and I also have a higher risk of it. But also I think that there's too many people still dying from it, uh regardless of gender. And it's just it's just really nice to be able to, you know, raise some money for that so that maybe a cure can be found. But also like handy cats is something that was close to my heart because that's a shelter that has like disabled cats. Um, they take care of them. Most of them are incontinent and they need special care. And other than that, they would have just been abandoned. So that was something that I also really thought this with um, I love cats and I also study veterinary medicine. So that's something that just makes sense to me. But a lot of the courses are just like something that I think is really important. I just really, really love the vibe and the energy that charity streams or charity events bring. I can't really put a finger on what it is, but it just feels different and like very, very positively different, also.

Patty 29:46

Do you think if you in the future like became full-time on just streaming content creation in general, you would do the same amount of charity? Because it's like a different mentality, right? You need the stream support to pay your bills, and then uh do you do you think you would still do it? Do would you have to rethink it?

SPEAKER_02 30:10

I don't know, honestly, because I don't think I want to be full-time. I couldn't at the moment, anyways, but I I might have to change it because I do realize that the months where I do charity, I do have less of a revenue. But this is also because I push the charity out more than I push my own things, which is perfectly fine, right? Right. Like I do this charity so that we raise money for those courses and not for myself. So I think if I really depended on the income, I might not like I've I've been thinking of doing like three major events a year and maybe one or two small ones. So major events speaking, like a month-long charity. So that would mean like two to three months a year without like the income that the other months provide. That would probably, if this was my full-time job, would probably be really hard to accomplish. Um, so maybe I would have to change it up. But since I'm not looking to go there, I don't really have to think about

Prioritizing Time and Energy

SPEAKER_02 31:10

it.

Patty 31:10

I want to zoom out just a little bit because there's something really interesting about your situation. You're doing veterinary medicine, which I'm sure it's like very, a very hard you know, degree to study. And you're streaming and you do your charity events. How do you have time for everything?

SPEAKER_02 31:30

Um by neglecting some other things. I just um I just put priorities to certain things. I, for example, I I'm not a lecture person, so I usually take like an hour to go to university and an hour to go back. But since I don't do well on lectures, I just stay at home and I work on everything at home. I can't just listen to people for 90 minutes straight. It doesn't work. So I just do it at home. And that takes those two hours out of my day that I don't have to spend traveling. So on my breaks, I can work on like creative stuff and I can work on um ideas that are coming up in my mind on what I want to do. I also do like if I have to go to uni, I do a lot of the planning on the train. I mean, what am I supposed to do other than like sit there and listen to music? So I do a lot of planning there as well, but really it's priorities. I try to put my studies first. It's not always easy because it's really a lot at the moment and I just desperately need a holiday. But dreaming really like, while there are some days where I'm like, oh, I really don't want to stream, I'm always really happy when I do it because it gives back a lot of energy. I'm pretty introverted, so if I do this with like real people, it does not give me energy back. But like being here in front of the screen does it's different, and it really does provide a little bit of energy. I'm drained after and I will just straight go straight to bed, but it does give like some capacity back, which I think is really nice. Um, so I'm at home a lot of the time, so I can really do a lot of things because I am here.

The Intersection of Personal Life and Streaming

Patty 33:10

Do the people like in your life, especially like in uni, do they know about your streams? Do you talk about streams like outside of Twitch?

SPEAKER_02 33:19

People do know, like my friends know, but I don't really talk about it. It's just something that's really also not to family because it's really hard to explain what I'm doing. And like uh some parts of my family are pretty conservative, so they don't really understand what I'm doing. So I just say I I don't really say anything. They they are aware I'm doing this, but I don't think they know the entire extent of what I'm doing. They just know that I stream, but I don't think most of them, most of them can't imagine. There are, of course, people like my closer friends, they know what I do, and they I'm so grateful. They have like respect for it, and they they will be super understanding if I don't game with them in the Discord because I'm streaming, uh, which is really, really sweet, um, comes to think of it. But most of like my friends' friends, like not close friends, but just friends, they don't know the extent

Future of Streaming vs. Veterinary Career

SPEAKER_02 34:12

of it.

Patty 34:14

Do you see the I mean you kind of answered in a way, do you see the the two paths as separate, like the veterinarian and then the streaming, or do they uh kind of mix in for you?

SPEAKER_02 34:27

I have thought about it, how I can connect those two paths, but in the end I decided that streaming is only going to be like an era of my life. I will not always do this. I'm aware that like after my studies, I don't even know if I will have the time for this. And I also don't think I want to do this for the rest of my life. I really enjoy doing this and it gives me a lot, but I think it's mainly I think it's mainly just that I have the time to do right now and I can explore like so many different things that I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. But at some point I also want to call it a day and say that was a really nice part of my life, and I can let it rest now, and now I can focus solely on my veterinary career because that's something that I I don't know what else to do with my life, right? Of course I could I could stream, but I don't know if this would make me happy all my life, and I'm pretty sure veterinary medicine will. It has always been just that.

Patty 35:30

It's a bit like um, I don't know if you knew her rumple study. She's like not ring a bell. She's the OG queen of co-working. And uh she she did co-working, she was here every day of the week studying with us. She finished like her studies when she started the job, she stopped streaming.

SPEAKER_02 35:53

I think it will not be easy to uh let this part of my life rest, like the entire streaming thing, because I met so many wonderful people along the way, and I'm scared that if I step away from streaming, that I will lose those people. Specifically, for example, Ellie, like one of is one of the people that I would be super terrified of losing if I were to leave, but also the community members, like everyone is they are so sweet, they're so warm and kind, and they feel like a big warm hug. It also would not like I think I would struggle with it feeling fair of like going because they spend so much of their lifetime, which they will never get back with me. And if I just leave, would that be fair?

Patty 36:38

I don't like I'm struggling a little bit with the thought of just letting go, but I think it's just a growth process also, and at some point and it doesn't have to be like ripping the band-aid, you can you know gradually do it, and then now we have the disc we we all have discourser servers, especially our core communities are all there, so you know there's there's still ways of connecting with with friends that we made there, definitely

Becoming a Twitch Partner

Patty 37:04

since becoming partner. Did anything change in uh like streaming in the Twitch world? Uh anything you noticed?

SPEAKER_02 37:14

Yes and no, no, because it does not feel different to before. Like I thought, like the entire journey before I started pushing for partner, I was like, oh, one day I will be partner. And then it felt like the way that when you're younger, you look at older students and you're like, oh, one day, one day I'll be like that and I will be all grown up. That's exactly what it always felt like. But now I'm here and I'm like, oh, I still feel baby. I still feel super baby. I have no clue if something changed. I still feel so amateur and like therefore nothing has changed. I'm still the same person. There's just another label to it. And I thought it would feel different. I expected it to feel different. It doesn't. It doesn't at all. One thing that changed is viewership. It will drop sometimes drastically, and it's something that, as I said earlier, it does impact me and it has impacted me, but I think it does impact me less now because now I don't have to worry anymore. Now it's just like, okay, I do have the tick. No one can take it away, and no one can take away what comes with the tick, right? It is an unspoken privilege in the end. It is also, it is this form of self-promotion when you have the tick equipped as like your batch. Everyone will know that you stream. So it is a privilege in a way that you have, and no one can take it away, which I'm I'm really happy that I don't have to look at numbers anymore. It does feel sometimes I feel like I have to justify why my numbers are not as high anymore. But on the other hand, who really cares other than myself? Like I'm constantly overthinking this, but out there's no one out there who would care as much as I do. And that's really everything that is to it. Really, nothing has changed other than that, and that's okay. Life fluctuates, the numbers fluctuate, they will always also it's becoming more warm outside. People go outside more, they don't spend as much time behind their PCs, and that's so valid, honestly. I should also do more of that.

Patty 39:20

I mean spend too much time behind. Also fair. And you said for you it doesn't feel different now that you're partnered, but does the way others perceive you do you feel like it changed?

SPEAKER_02 39:38

I like I haven't partnered for long enough to really talk about this. When I like when I got the news of partner, everyone perceived me suddenly. They were so sweet, like literally everyone was like, Oh, congratulations, so well deserved, I'm so happy for you. And on one hand, I'm like, gosh, they're so sweet. But on the other hand, I'm like, please don't perceive me. That is so much attention that I don't know how to deal with. Because I'm seriously grateful, but I never really know how to express it in words, and so I really struggle with that. Um, but they were so sweet. I don't think people have changed their perception of me because I haven't changed, just because now there's the take. But honestly, I cannot tell because no one has communicated that to me. So I don't really know if they if they changed the way they see

Finding Joy in Streaming Again

SPEAKER_02 40:31

me.

Patty 40:32

Now that you reach this, let's call it the milestone of getting partner, and now we know that you know you don't want to stream forever. Are you still going to keep working on growing on the the platform?

SPEAKER_01 40:46

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 40:47

Yes. I feel like, as I said earlier, with like viewership, it always feels like a hassle like to keep working on having a grow. But I really want to step away from that point of like needing to hit like a certain average for me to feel good about myself. I really want to step away from that, and I really want to work on um going back to how I used to stream, like when I was in the very beginning, I didn't care that much about it. And I feel like I was, I was not so like my head wasn't so crammed up and like so tight about all of this. So I really want to go back to, you know, losing a little bit of my grip because I'm just too too overthinking most of the time, and I'm too stressed out. So I really want to go back to just relaxing, letting things come my way, trying out new things, trying out new games, doing the variety that I loved doing in the beginning. That's really what I want to go back to. Meeting new people, like, you know, uh establishing the bonds with the people that I have, just learning, learning new things about this entire business, really.

Patty 41:58

Well, yeah, that's that's a really lovely sentiment, too. You know, there's a lot of like different mentalities to streaming because people that want to, you know, to make this their job, they have to view it in a different way. And I've seen people treating this as a hobby and being genuinely happy to stream growing a lot faster than the people that put pressure on themselves to, you know, have the numbers match what the streams.

SPEAKER_02 42:27

Yeah, definitely. I also feel like this is part of the of the reason why I feel like I'm not enjoying myself too much anymore because I feel like I have to perform a certain way. And I do want to step step away from this because it really puts a lot of pressure on me where that like the pressure does not need to be there. And I'm putting it on myself because I feel like others expect this, but no one does except for myself, and so that's really something I want to learn and also unlearn the entire pressure of looking at numbers, of comparing myself to others and to myself, and like that's it's just really it's not healthy, and I know this, but I'm still guilty of it.

Final Thoughts and Advice

Patty 43:09

It has been a really lovely time. I'm really glad that Ellie sent you here and you said yes to joining us.

SPEAKER_02 43:16

I'm so so grateful, literally, for both of you, for you for asking and for Ellie for recommending. That is such a cool experience. That's literally something that's also out of my comfort zone. When I was on the train here, I was like, oh, I hope everything will go well. I hope I don't say stupid things. Um, but this was such a nice time. I had a really, really great time. Thank you for the invite.

Patty 43:37

Thank you for being lovely. Do you want to say any final thing to our listeners or anything that you know you thought about talking that we didn't really or I didn't really ask?

SPEAKER_02 43:50

Oh, this is uh I'm being put on the spot. There we go. Um, I would probably just say the same thing. Most people say stay true to yourself. I know it's super, super hard. I've gone through it too. Like I'm it's it's things that you need to unlearn. The entire the entire focus on performing and being better. And it's just something that takes the enjoyment out of it. So I feel like if you want to start streaming and if you want to really enjoy yourself, don't worry too much. Things will work out. They always do. Even if it feels hard. They were up, there were ups and downs. I used I thought about stopping streaming many a times, but I'm glad I didn't. And I'm so grateful about anyone I meet across along the way. So don't stop. Go for it and explore.

Patty 44:43

I feel like that that happens to all of us, you know. The it's it's really hard. I feel like Twitch can be harder than other social media because you know sometimes we try not to look at the numbers, and because we have the type of streams where a lot of people lurk, sometimes the chat is quiet, but it doesn't mean that there's no one there. But yes, at the same time, it kind of gives the vibe of I have to do something else, I have to do more because you know there's no interaction.

SPEAKER_02 45:17

Yeah, I always feel like I'm not entertaining enough, and I'm like, oh god, what can I talk about? I don't know what to talk about. And then I start coming up with the weirdest stuff, and I say so many forced things instead of just taking a slow and easy. I just I start worrying again, and I shouldn't really, because when I don't worry, I feel like I perform so much better. Like I feel so much better, I have so much more fun than when I worry. And so that's something I really want to work on because I know people are there, they've said hi before, right? I'm a big lurker myself. I don't chat in other people's chats, and that doesn't mean I don't enjoy what's going on. And so I really have to reflect that that other people probably think the exact same thing that I think when I'm in other people's dreams

Where to find Lenny and Guest recommendation

SPEAKER_02 46:03

about me.

Patty 46:04

Can you now tell our listeners where they can find you?

SPEAKER_02 46:08

You can find me on Twitch most of the times. I stream Monday and Wednesday for gaming, 7 p.m. Central European time, and Saturday, Sunday uh co-working 10 a.m. Central European time. Of course, changes whenever my schedule changes, but that is the basic schedule. Then I do fashion and set up content outside of Twitch. I have two Instagram accounts. One's that's one that's called Lenny's Cafe and one that's called Lenny Purney, just as I am called. I have a YouTube account that's also called Lenny Purney. But yeah, you will see me hop around in a lot of co-working streams, probably if you're into that. So say hi if you wanna.

Patty 46:43

The cowork streams are in every other cowork stream. I think uh the task of being in other cowork streams is always the task that we have.

SPEAKER_01 46:52

It is so fun. You will see everyone there and you're like, oh, I know you and I know you. Oh, it's so good to see you here.

Patty 47:01

The the worst one is when you're streaming and you go on someone's chat and they're like, shouldn't you be streaming?

SPEAKER_01 47:08

This has happened so many times.

SPEAKER_02 47:10

I know that. Mary, so Mattwigs, um, and I we're usually live at the same time. And then I see Mary and I'm like, Oh, I like to see here. And Mary be like, You're life. What are you doing here? Focus, and I'm like, I it's just beautiful. Ellie will also do this. Ellie will hop into my gaming streams while she's still co-working, and I'm like, girl, focus.

Patty 47:38

So rite of passage, we all do it. Now, one last question. You are already expecting this one, but if I could have any streamer on the podcast, who would you like to see?

SPEAKER_02 47:50

Oh, uh, I would love to hear about there's so many people coming to my mind. But if I if I needed to choose probably Rosanna, really, I would love to hear more like about her experience and maybe high jewels also. I really, really like that. There's a co-working streamers. Umber, like there's so many people coming to my I couldn't, I could probably send you such a list of people that I would love to see. Um, so yeah, if you give me some time, I will come up with a list.

Patty 48:25

I know Rosanna will have a lot of good things to say because she does um she has videos on her YouTube channel about her old journey. So we we already know it's it's not a good one. Yeah. But yeah, thank you, Lenny, for being here with us today. Thank you so much. It was so much fun, really.

Outro & Credits

Patty 48:44

And thank you to all our listeners at home. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to give us a follow. If you have a minute, please rate and review the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and don't forget to subscribe on YouTube. You can find the growth rate wherever pods are cast, and we'll see you next week on the growth raid. The growth raid was created, hosted, edited, and produced by me. If you like the show, feel free to rate it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. That really helps a lot. And don't forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel. If you would like to listen ad free and see all of this episode's bloopers, join us on Patreon at patreon.com slash thegrowth rate. We also have a Twitter, Blue Sky, and Instagram at thegrowth rate. And if you'd know a streamer that would have an amazing story to share, leave your recommendation in the comments.