YouTube and Buzzfeed (2013 - 2019)
Lim started his own YouTube channel in 2013. Wanting more Asian representation in media, [3] he quit his job and began making videos weekly, exploring various Asian-American cultural issues. [4] In 2014, Lim's videos "Asian Parents React to I Love You" and "Things Bilingual People Do" went viral, catching the eye of internet media company Buzzfeed. [5] [6]
The company reached out to Lim and offered him a job. He served as an Executive Producer, often producing videos on Asian culture or food. [7] [8] Lim eventually came up with the premise of Worth It, a food series where he and his co-hosts would visit three different restaurants of varying prices to taste a particular dish and determine which one version was most "worth it" for the given price. The series was co-hosted by Lim and Andrew Ilnyckyj, with cameraman Adam Bianchi appearing in every episode as well. Worth It became one of Buzzfeed's top viewed series, with NBC Sports commissioning an original episode of Worth It to air before the 2018 Super Bowl. [9] [10] [11] The series ran from September 18, 2016, to April 8, 2023. [12]
Worth It won the 2017 and 2018 Streamy Award for best online food show. [13] As of October 2017, the series had been viewed more than 300 million times for a total of over 2 billion minutes; in 2018 alone, viewers watched 1.5 billion minutes on the show. [14] The show's popularity has led to it being described by BuzzFeed as a Zagat guide for millennials, [15] and has created extreme upticks in patronage for some restaurants featured on the show. [16] [17] Lim left the company as full-time employee in 2019, staying on contractually to finish out Worth It.
Watcher Entertainment (2020 - present)
In 2019, Lim co-founded a digital production company, Watcher Entertainment, with fellow ex-Buzzfeed employees, Shane Madej and Ryan Bergara. The trio credited their departure to their desire to found a company with more "creative opportunities" and the ability to have "actual ownership of the content" made. [18] [19] The channel reached over 300,000 subscribers within the first month of launching in January 2020. [20]
Lim, Bergara, and Madej served as co-CEOs until 2023, when both Bergara and Madej stepped down to focus on content creation. [21] [22] The channel features a variety of comedy, paranormal, gaming, cooking, and educational shows – typically hosted by Madej and Bergara. The Watcher main channel has over 400 million views and 2.9 million subscribers. [23] [24] The company launched their own subscription-based streaming service, WatcherTV, in April 2024. [25]
In 2024, Lim launched a spiritual successor to Worth It with Ilnyckyj and Bianchi named Travel Season. It premiered on WatcherTV. [26] In May 2025, the YouTube channel 'Andrew, Steven, and Adam' was launched with Lim, Ilnyckyj and Bianchi, focusing on food reviews and behind the scenes on the food's production. The channel is a subsidiary of Watcher Entertainment and amassed over 100,000 subscribers within the first four days of being announced. Travel Season continues to premiere on WatcherTV, and is later posted onto this channel.
