A colorful selection of HiFi Cookies
Best Influencing Hustle in Nashville 2026: HiFi Cookies and Killjoy (Tie)
Everything is expensive, so businesses are becoming their own influencers. (As HiFi Cookies’ Sean Newsome puts it, “On today’s episode of ‘I Can’t Afford a Social Media Manager.’”) Armed with his signature spatula/microphone combo, Sean has become a charming and relatable spokesperson for the brightly colored, delicious cookie shop on the East Side, and it doesn’t hurt that his cookies are beautiful and love the camera. Then enter Killjoy, the nonalcoholic superstore that has gone all-in with quirky music videos and catchy songs emphasizing their human touch (no AI here!). Co-founders Stephanie Styll and John “Goody” Caldwell star in these off-the-wall videos — they skate around the store, make up ear-wormy tunes about Tomato Art Fest and share their inventory in quirky new ways. Both HiFi and Killjoy bring the personality to their socials, but they’re also very candid about the struggles of running a small business in Nashville, and really make you feel like you make a difference by buying their cookies and drinks. Support local!
