YouTube’s Angela Courtin Has A Better Career Hack Than “Fake It Till You Make It”

Angela Courtin grew up with a deep love for sports — so much so that watching football felt like a religion. It may come as no surprise, then, that she’s the driving force behind YouTube’s partnerships with the NFL, NBA, and MLB, as well as the launch of YouTube TV.

More recently, Courtin, who’s the vice president of connected television and creative studios at YouTube, led the charge on the company’s events with creators during Super Bowl 2025 weekend in New Orleans — everything from a flag football game where viral YouTubers faced off against musical artists and NFL legends to a live stream of the official Super Bowl YouTube tailgate concert where Post Malone performed.

For Courtin, who’s held marketing leadership roles at Fox Broadcasting, Relativity Media, and MTV, the weekend was a total “pinch-me” moment. “I’m sitting across from the commissioner of football, calling my dad like, ‘This is amazing,’” she says. “You do certain things in your career and you reach a pinnacle, and maybe you get a few times to do that. This feels like one of those for me.”

Bustle caught up with Courtin during Super Bowl weekend to discuss how creators are shaping sports culture, why women being sports fans benefits everyone, and the skill all young professionals should have.

YouTube creators had a big presence in New Orleans over the weekend. How did that feel?

It felt like a big culmination of a cultural moment that’s always resonated on YouTube. Now, we’re bringing it to the masses, with our creators playing a starring role in making it happen. It’s not just about the game itself — it’s about so many other things around it.

Yeah, it feels like there’s so much interest right now in the experience of attending a game, even for those who aren’t die-hard fans.

Creators are broadening the culture of football. All these stories are being told, from WAGs to fashion, to how hard it is to be an athlete, to what happens when you’re done playing.

It’s been so interesting to watch creators step into these worlds like the NFL and create a level of accessibility that makes it feel like you don’t have to know everything about football to love football and to be a fan.

Last year saw record viewership in women’s sports, and the NFL just announced that nearly half of its audience is women. What’s it like to be a part of this moment?

There’s been a 40% year-over-year growth in sport content uploaded by women. Women are part of the story now. And it’s not just in female-centric sports; it’s actually in all sports. We have a lot to say, and people are tuning in to hear it.

I really want to see more women succeed in sports. I think the more women who get into sports fandom [make it] better for everyone because it translates to more equity in pay, more broadcast, more viewership, and more creators. More is more.

My 13-year-old daughter watched the Super Bowl because of Taylor Swift. Whether it’s Taylor or a creator, whatever draws them in, we should be grateful for it because it’s expanding the culture around the sport. People are coming to games more. I think it’s beautiful.

I don’t think it’s “fake till you make it.” I think it’s “do it till you believe it.”

I spoke with Katie Feeney earlier, who’s carved out this amazing niche for herself within social media and broadcasting.

Katie, I think, is part of the phenomenon. She’s an athlete herself, and she loves this. We’ve given her access as a college student that puts her side by side with the pros. A lot more people are interested in what Katie has to say about the sport and her unique point of view.

Tell me about some of your proudest achievements at YouTube.

They all center around sports. When I came to YouTube TV in 2017, we did our first-ever World Series sponsorship with the MLB. And it was a storied MLB World Series — seven games, to the end. YouTube was front and center at Dodgers Stadium. Our sign showed up right behind the pitcher, and it was the YouTube play button. Everyone thought it was a YouTube video for the entire series!

That’s amazing. I bet people were trying to click it.

We actually had to create a site, and you could tap it to break the screen. We were bringing YouTube TV to the masses and we wanted it to be where live TV was — sports. And we just happened to have a moment.

Then we went on to do it with the NBA, which had never been done before. There we were, on the court, YouTube TV. And we did the Super Bowl prekick, which we’re still doing today. Now, we’re bringing live sports to YouTube as well. And then there’s Sunday Ticket, which is what you dream of in a job, as a marketer and a fan.

We’ve been showing up in these culturally relevant moments, and it’s been this evolution of creating and storytelling, clips of highlights, and legitimate fandom.

What are some of your goals right now?

To continue to do this. I’d love to see what we’re doing in flag football with FIFA and the World Cup. I want to see more creators get access, not just to the field or behind the scenes, but to the footage itself. For example, our partnership with the NFL is one of the best. We give creators access to NFL footage, and they can monetize it. What’s the story you want to tell? How do we help you get the right footage to tell it?

I’d also love to partner with more leagues to see how we can help smaller ones find their fandoms and build that cultivated audience, because they’re there. YouTube is like a campfire of a thousand different micro-communities sitting around a big campfire. That’s what I love. You can find your people and find your fandom.

Don’t be afraid to ask what something means. Not everybody in the room knows what it means.

You said in an interview that you’ve always taken jobs that were “well above your skis.” What’s your advice to women with impostor syndrome, or those who feel like “I don’t know how to ‘fake it till I make it.’”

I don’t think it’s “fake till you make it.” I think it’s “do it till you believe it,” you know what I mean?

I was smart and I worked hard — it was in me. I just didn’t believe that I could do it until someone said “You can do it.” I didn’t fake it. I had to learn it, literally on the fly at times. And the thing that I learned most from our former CEO, Susan Wojcicki, was rather than faking it until you know it, ask the question to become informed in the moment and make you smarter. Susan was the first person to stop a meeting and say, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what that means. Could you explain that?” I feel like I still learn every day. That’s why I’m still here.

I love that.

I learned it too late in my career. It doesn’t actually reveal anything other than strength and curiosity. So I tell other people, “Don’t be afraid to ask what something means. Not everybody in the room knows what it means.” In fact, they’re probably secretly thanking you for asking, because now they’re more informed than they were when they walked in.

What makes you feel confident at work?

When I walk into a meeting and I feel confident, it’s usually because I care deeply about what we’re doing. That confidence comes from a lot of time leaning into learning. I grew up a football fan, but I didn’t know everything about every sport. I’m confident because I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I trust myself more. I still trust my intuition, but I marry that now with a real deep appreciation of data, really understanding how things lead you.

Confidence is like aging. It’s a privilege to age. It gives you confidence because you’ve done the work and seen what you need to see to know what decisions to make.

What’s a skill you think young professionals today should have?

I don’t think my generation knew this, but you should know how to tell your own story.

I watch my daughter on YouTube, and I’m astounded by her ability to navigate the platform, know what questions she’s seeking an answer to, and then find it. And then how she expresses that in terms of her fandom, subscribers, and everything. The way she shares it with her friend group is so beautiful. It can be anything from a Pokémon hat, to a new lip gloss by Laneige, to a new artist they should be following. It’s remarkable.

Learn how to tell your story, and remember that it’s always evolving. You’re never stuck in that story.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.