How Hafu Go Built a 16M Subscriber Empire by Prioritizing Story, Systems, and Self-Mastery

At Cutback, we’re building Selects, an AI-powered assistant editor that helps video creators turn long hours of footage into meaningful stories faster. But we know tools don’t exist in a vacuum. Behind every edit is a human creator with unique challenges, inspirations, and workflows. That’s why we launched the Time for More Podcast: to explore the real, behind-the-scenes experiences of artists, musicians, editors, and founders navigating today’s creative landscape.

In the 6th episode, we spoke with Hafu Go about growth strategies in the content creation process, culture-first creation, and more.

Hosted by Tom Kim, the co-founder and CEO of Cutback, the company behind Selects, this episode continues a series exploring the behind-the-scenes stories of modern creatives.

With over 15 million subscribers and 450 million monthly viewers, Hafu Go is one of the most influential edutainment creators on YouTube. But behind the viral videos and high production value is a deep commitment to storytelling, clarity, and long-term cultural impact through content creation.

Missed the other episode of the “Time for More” Podcast featuring Hafu? Check it out to stay in the loop: “Time for More” Podcast Episode 5 ft. Hafu Go

Key Topics Covered

In this episode of “Time for More”, Hafu Go talks about:

Audience-first content at scale: Growing a YouTube channel to 10M subscribers in one year takes more than luck. Hafu shares how virality comes from reverse-engineering audience psychology, not just making content you enjoy, but content people can’t help but share.

Why Shorts changed the game: He breaks down how short-form content unlocked explosive growth, and why he doubled down even when others warned it could hurt his channel. For Hafu, Shorts weren’t a detour; they were the funnel.

Deliberate creation, not reactive hustle: With millions watching, Hafu describes the mental shift from “upload and hope” to intentional storytelling. It’s not hesitation—it’s respect for the audience and what they give their attention to.

Impact > numbers: Despite huge reach, what motivates Hafu isn’t the view count. It’s putting something positive back into the culture, through content that entertains, educates, and inspires.

Staying grounded while aiming higher: Whether it’s printing out heartfelt comments or dreaming of an Apple Park–style HQ, Hafu is constantly balancing ambition with purpose. He’s still chasing growth, but with clarity on why.

Whether you're building a media brand, growing on YouTube, or navigating your own creative evolution, this episode is a candid look into what it takes to grow fast, stay sharp, and create with intention.

How We Edited This Podcast Episode with Selects

This episode had it all: three microphones, three cameras, and a guest who moved seamlessly between thoughtful insights and fast-paced creative talk. This is a nightmare for those using multiple podcast editing tools. However, that nightmare doesn’t have to be a reality with Selects as one of the best podcast creation tools.

Using Selects, our AI-powered assistant editor (perfect for podcast post-production), we were able to:

• Instantly sync multiple camera angles and audio tracks with one click

• Trim silences, filler words, and tangents for a tighter, more natural conversation

• Extract short, vertical clips from the full interview, ideal for TikTok, Reels, and other short-form platforms

It turned what would’ve been hours of manual editing into a streamlined creative process focused on storytelling with AI-powered podcast editing.

Make sure to add Selects to your video editing workflow for better content creation efficiency in your podcast marketing strategy.

Watch the Full Episode of the “Time For More” Podcast

What did you think of the podcast? Leave a comment on the YouTube channel. We’d love to hear your thoughts!

For more in-depth knowledge about a podcast content strategy or video editing tips, check out our latest posts on the Cutback blog or our YouTube channel. You can also join Cutback’s Discord community of like-minded video editors.