Nicholas Carlson, the former Global Editor-in-Chief of Business Insider, is building Dynamo, a TV network designed to help viewers understand how the world works through clear, educational storytelling. Founded in 2024 following Nicholas’s departure from Business Insider, Dynamo creates video content that explains complex business and global phenomena, remaining politically neutral but informative.

“Video storytelling is the future, and that’s what people were spending the most time with us on at Business Insider,” Nicholas explains. “I thought to myself, ‘If I ever had the shot to start a company, I would start it in that space.’”

The Philosophy Behind Dynamo

Dynamo’s flagship show, “Business Explains the World,” embodies the company’s core belief that human progress is driven by cooperation and trade.

“Humans rose out of the muck to form civilization by working together and trading with each other. And that’s actually how they developed a shared sense of humanity,” says Nicholas, articulating the philosophical foundation of his new venture. “We also believe that the world needs more storytelling. People need to understand how the world works better.”

This perspective informs Dynamo’s approach to creating content that helps people understand how the world functions while inspiring them to improve it. At a time when trust in journalism is at historic lows, according to a new Gallup survey, Nicholas sees an opportunity to reconnect with audiences through stories about business, markets, careers, and technology.

“A lot of that has to do with it all feeling political,” Nicholas notes. “I did see an opportunity for us to talk about how the world works in a way that informs people, but also be able to surprise them with new information.”

Unlike many contemporary media outlets that have become politically polarized, Dynamo aims to rebuild trust by focusing on topics that transcend political divides. 

“It’s really important that people, media brands, creators, and journalists be able to do that. But it’s very difficult,” Nicholas says. “I think one way to do it is to talk about business markets, careers, machines, and making things. Through that lens, people are more receptive to how the world actually works.”

From Puzzling Observations to Insightful Explanations

The content creation process at Dynamo begins not with business concepts, but with curious observations about the world. The team seeks phenomena that prompt viewers to scratch their heads and wonder why things are the way they are.

Nicholas cites an example: “On the border of China and Kazakhstan, there is a growing rail yard. And it’s one of the largest land ports in the whole world. From it, nearby in China, there’s a city springing up. What’s going on here?”

These intriguing starting points lead to investigations where Dynamo’s team goes into the field, talks to experts, and develops rich explanations that connect to human history, business trends, and practical implications for viewers.

“We investigate it by going out in the world and talking to experts and people who are there, but also by seeing it for ourselves,” Nicholas explains. “We come back with a rich explanation for that thing that you immediately see. We also connect it to human history and business and situate it so that you can say, ‘Oh, I get what’s going on.'”

This approach creates content with lasting value. “All of our episodes are designed to be evergreen,” says Nicholas. At the same time, the team has learned that they can also address current topics of interest, as they did with an episode called “What Made in America Really Looks Like,” which connected with ongoing conversations about reshoring manufacturing.

The Production Process and Team Structure

Dynamo collaborates with a network of contractors, including producers and hosts, who share the company’s enthusiasm for explaining complex phenomena. After identifying an intriguing topic, the team conducts extensive research, develops scripts, and films on location.

“We work with a lot of talented contractors, and we’re always looking for more. We work with producers and hosts,” Nicholas explains. “The host is definitely someone who shares in our excitement about something that needs explaining.”

The process begins with research and scriptwriting: “We pair [the host] with a producer who helps turn that research and thinking into a script. And then we send him out into the world, and we shoot it. The script changes with what we learn from being in the world.”

Post-production involves a team of specialists who work together to create a polished final product. “We hire talented editors, animators, and graphics artists, and then we turn it into a highly polished, delightful 10-to-15-minute explainer,” says Nicholas.

Currently, Dynamo publishes approximately two episodes per month of “Business Explains the World” and its second series, “Real Big Machines.” The company takes a quality-over-quantity approach, as Nicholas notes: “We want to make sure everything we ever deliver is going to be worthy of our audience’s time. So if a video is nearing its endpoint and we need to say, ‘This one’s not working,’ we’re not going to just publish it anyway.”

Business Model and Audience Strategy

Dynamo’s business approach targets an audience that Nicholas describes as “people building careers, companies, communities, and lives. They see life as an opportunity.” These viewers, dubbed “Dynamos” by the company, are valuable to marketers, particularly technology companies and business services providers looking to reach decision-makers.

The strategy focuses on helping these marketers connect with potential customers in a different context than traditional business media. “A lot of those marketers try to reach those people through business news or trade journalism. But we try to help them reach those people in a moment when they’re relaxing and curious about the world,” Nicholas explains. “We’re bringing creator marketing to the enterprise.”

This approach enables companies to build brand awareness with “an audience of affluent, curious builders” who make purchasing decisions for their organizations. The business model hinges on the value of engaged viewership, with Nicholas emphasizing that watch time and average view duration are the key metrics for success.

“Watch time is our priority metric,” Nicholas says. “You can get people to click with tricks, but we strive to tell stories that people want to stick with and engage with and watch on their televisions.”

Multi-Platform Strategy and Content Adaptation

While YouTube serves as Dynamo’s primary platform, the company distributes content across multiple channels, including TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram, and even operates a Discord community and Substack newsletter.

“We are very focused on YouTube and big believers that beyond YouTube, we need to be everywhere where our audience is,” says Nicholas. The team has adjusted its approach by observing how users interact with their content across platforms.

“Someone ripped our videos on TikTok. And our instinct is rather than say, ‘Oh, that’s not how we want it,’ we’re like, ‘Oh, you’re teaching us a lesson,'” Nicholas shares. “You’re teaching us how people on this platform would like to see this.”

Currently, Dynamo repurposes content for TikTok and LinkedIn by breaking longer videos into chapter-sized segments, a practice they learned from watching how users naturally shared their content. “Now we’re following their lead. We’re providing chapterized versions of our videos on TikTok and LinkedIn,” Nicholas explains.

Expansion and Technology

Nicholas envisions Dynamo expanding to include additional shows while building a recognizable brand identity that connects with viewers.

“Being a modern TV network, we have another five to ten shows that people love as much as they love ‘Business Explains the World’ or more,” he says of his two-to-three-year vision. “People in the world identify themselves as fans of Dynamo, the network, and each of these shows.”

On the business side, Nicholas aims for Dynamo to become “an easy button for brands trying to reach affluent business decision makers through creator-style marketing, but find it difficult to vet all the right partners and just want to work with one that they trust.”

Nicholas also sees artificial intelligence as a major force shaping the future of media. “The next thing coming is AI. It’s going to fundamentally alter the consumption and the creation of media,” he predicts.

Rather than viewing AI as a threat, Nicholas positions it as a tool that can enhance human storytelling. “We are already using AI in the creation process carefully, judiciously, responsibly, and transparently,” he says. “I encourage creators, I encourage journalists, I encourage media companies overall to embrace what they can do, to tell fantastic new types of stories, what they couldn’t do without technologies.”

The Mission: Understanding and Inspiration

After serving as global editor-in-chief at Business Insider from 2017 to 2024, and being part of the publication’s founding team dating back to 2008, Nicholas’s transition to entrepreneurship has presented both challenges and opportunities. “I had a lot of decision-making responsibility at Business Insider,” he reflects. “Nothing compares to the decision-making responsibility when you’re running a company and you own a company. It’s just quite different.”

The experience of building something new has revitalized his career. “By starting a new chapter, I feel like I added many years to my life,” Nicholas says. “When you’re fighting for your existence, like we are right now, it’s very vivid, every moment.”

For the media veteran, the daily process of building Dynamo brings intensity and purpose that was difficult to maintain after many years in the same role. “I knew that I enjoyed bringing something to life that no one had seen before, and that’s been true again.”

Summing up Dynamo’s mission in a single sentence, Nicholas offers: “We want to help people understand how the world works and leave them inspired to continue to make it a better place.”

This dual focus on understanding and inspiration underpins everything Dynamo creates. The early response Nicholas shares has validated this approach. “The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” he reports. “It’s very gratifying to see that the audience is hungry for what we’re offering, which is high effort. They’re happy to see us trying to serve them so hard.”

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