When Nicholas Carlson announced his departure from Business Insider to launch his own media company, few were surprised. What did raise eyebrows was how boldly he defined his next step: no website, no CMS, no daily article churn, just premium, cinematic video content for YouTube and social media.
Carlson’s new venture, Dynamo, is built around the idea that “business explains the world” and that video is the language people now choose to watch it in.
Carlson spent eight years leading Business Insider’s global operations and transforming it into a digital news force. Under his leadership, the publication earned major awards and became a global brand.
Yet, amid the rise of algorithmic news feeds and AI-driven content churn, Carlson sensed a broader shift: audiences were moving from reading to watching, and he wanted to build a company that met that change head-on. “We are a video-first media company for builders, entrepreneurs and curious people,” he said in a recent podcast.
In 2024-25, Carlson launched Dynamo Media with a clear mission: create “evergreen business journalism” told through documentary-style videos, rather than pieces that become outdated in days.
Dynamo’s flagship series, Business Explains the World, explores topics like major logistics systems or economic puzzles in long-form video, not on web pages. According to their website, the company wants to bring “clarity, insight and inspiration” to viewers who build, create and change the world.
The funding and backing reflect the ambition. Dynamo raised over $3.4 million, supported by investors such as Henry Blodget and Jessica Lessin, to build a team of producers, journalists and storytellers who could execute Carlson’s vision of high-end explainer content.
Why this matters: Carlson’s move highlights a wider trend in the media. Legacy print and article-based publishers are increasingly vulnerable in a world where attention spans are shorter, and video dominates.
Carlson believes that if you want to build a durable audience, you need content that keeps working for years, not just one hit article that loses relevance within hours. In his own words: “We’re going to make things that are relevant ten years from now, not just next week.”
While still early, Dynamo’s approach has sparked interest. Media analysts say the model tests whether traditional journalism values deep reporting, narrative structure, trust can succeed when re-imagined for modern platforms and video-native audiences.
The name Carlson chose, Dynamo, mirrors this ambition: it suggests energy, motion, change, and the drive of creators who build.
As media landscapes shift, Carlson’s bet is simple: if you stop treating news as something to chase and start treating ideas as something to explain and film, you might just build the next great media brand for the internet age.
