From Excel tips on TikTok to retiring her mom and building a 17-person team — Cat Norton’s rise as Miss Excel is a masterclass in creator commerce

In June 2020, Cat Norton had just turned 27. She was living with her parents, buried in student debt, and feeling stuck in her job doing securitization reviews for a consulting firm. Today, she runs a multi-million dollar online course business, has retired her mother, and leads a 17-person team — all thanks to a TikTok account she started in secret.

Known online as Miss Excel, Norton’s meteoric rise is one of the most compelling case studies in the creator economy. Armed with deep Excel knowledge, a background in education, and a knack for intuitive decision-making, she turned viral videos into a powerful, scalable business — and built it entirely on her own terms.

Here’s how she did it.

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A Viral Idea Born from Intuition and Inner Work

Miss Excel didn’t start as a calculated business move. In fact, Norton almost didn’t post at all.

“I didn’t even have TikTok on my phone at the time. I had a stigma around it… but I had this gut feeling. One morning, I woke up and was like: Miss Excel. That’s it.”

After doing deep mindset and manifestation work during the pandemic, Norton decided to follow her intuition and start posting Excel tips. Within three weeks, one of her early videos went viral, and her follower count skyrocketed to 100,000.

What set her apart? A surprising blend of spreadsheet tutorials and dance videos.

“People who didn’t even use Excel were watching. They were like, ‘What is this girl doing dancing to a VLOOKUP function?’ That polarity is what made people stop and watch.”

By combining humor, energy, and real educational value, Norton created content that transcended her niche. And she did it all anonymously at first — only her mom and boyfriend knew about the account.

Turning Free Content into a Profitable Course Business

Even after her videos gained traction, Norton didn’t monetize right away. She spent months simply helping people — no links, no lead magnets, no product.

That changed when a business coach slid into her DMs.

“He said, ‘You have a big following but no product. What are you doing?’ I was like… touché.”

Norton took two weeks off from her consulting job to build her first Excel course — a 12-hour, 100-video offering she filmed, edited, and launched herself. She released it on Black Friday 2020, and within two months, it was making more than her full-time job.

By January 2021, she quit corporate for good.

The Method Behind the Miss Excel Magic

Norton attributes much of her course success to a few key principles:

1. Build Fast and Launch Before It’s Perfect

“I can build a 100-video course in a week. The key is selling it before it’s done — that puts the fire under you.”

2. Make Learning Emotional

Using lessons from neuroscience, Norton designs courses that spark emotion to aid retention.

“Information plus emotion is what forms memories. I want people to laugh, be surprised — and actually remember what they learn.”

3. Go All In on Creativity

Costumes, analogies, themed lessons — Norton makes Excel entertaining.

“I snapped my fingers and turned into a zookeeper. Boom — we’re at Miss Excel Zoo. Then I’m a robot in the next lesson. It’s like Netflix for Excel.”

Scaling Up: From Solo Creator to CEO of a 17-Person Team

For the first phase, Norton was a one-woman show — building courses, editing videos, handling customer support. But as demand grew, she realized she had to stop being the bottleneck.

“I started hiring when I felt out of alignment with a task. Editing, social media — I knew I had to let it go.”

Today, her team includes editors, designers, a CMO, CFO, assistant, sales reps, and corporate trainers. Her partner Mike — formerly the top sales rep at a major company — leads the B2B sales division.

The result: Norton now works only a few hours a week, reserving her energy for creativity, partnerships, and big-picture thinking.

“I didn’t build this to feel trapped again. I built it for freedom — for myself, my family, and the people we teach.”

The Revenue Engine: Webinars, Bundles, and Corporate Clients

Miss Excel’s growth didn’t just come from viral videos — it was powered by smart monetization:

  • Live Webinars: High-energy, high-value 1-hour sessions that consistently convert. Norton teaches for 45 minutes, then offers exclusive course bundles.
  • Course Bundles: A $1,200+ value Microsoft Office bundle offered at a steep discount.
  • Corporate Sales: B2B clients like Microsoft, Enterprise, and Kraft Heinz now license her content and book custom live trainings.

“Once we went from selling one course to bundles of nine, that’s when the company really took off.”

She now runs 7–8 webinars per week and credits the format for creating a high-impact, scalable sales funnel.

Platform Strategy: Maximize Reach, Minimize Burnout

Despite being the face of the brand, Norton no longer touches her social media accounts. Her team repurposes content across TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and soon, YouTube.

“Posting on six platforms every day was draining. Now I just share ideas, and the team executes.”

She’s also investing in SEO and plans to grow YouTube through longer-form, searchable content — a natural evolution for a business selling educational products.

Lessons for Other Creators

When asked what advice she’d give other creators looking to launch a product, Norton doesn’t hesitate:

“Take messy action. So many people wait until it’s perfect — and that’s what keeps them stuck.”

She also emphasizes the power of intuition.

“I’ve never built a business before. Every decision came through intuition. You have to trust that you know more than you think.”

And when things go wrong?

“It’s either a blessing or a lesson. The mindset shift is everything.”

Looking Ahead: The Netflix of Excel

So what’s next for Miss Excel?

With 25,000+ customers and over 800 million Excel users in the world, Norton feels like she’s just getting started.

“My goal isn’t a revenue number — it’s a feeling. I want to keep it fun, keep it cutting edge, and help as many people as I can.”

With AI, immersive content, and an expanding team, Norton is turning spreadsheets into storytelling — and proving that niche education can be wildly creative and wildly successful.