A year after its launch, Dynamo’s Nich Carlson joined me to discuss what he’s learned in starting a YouTube-first video programmer. Dynamo is home to “Business Explains the World,” a documentary-style show on interesting business and economics topics. We’d spoken soon after Dynamo’s launch, so I had Nich back to reflect on Year 1.  Nich was candid about the difficulties inherent to running a fledgling business. The thread I see in the new crop of media startups like Dynamo is, even if they raise small amounts like Dynamo, they focus primarily on getting content-market fit. There's leverage in having makers, not monetizers or strategists, running the business. Instagram is critical. When Dynamo launched, Nich thought LinkedIn would be a natural complement to YouTube. Only he’s not found that. Instead, Instagram is a critical channel, particularly in reaching a female-skewed audience. Plus: Instagram’s ad ecosystem is strong. Getting your hands dirty. Nich ran a large newsroom at Business Insider. That’s a lot of management and meetings. With Dynamo, Nich’s original conception of being more of an executive producer guiding the process became being very involved in making the product.  Creators are the comp. Dynamo is looking to build a media company that’s creator-native. He looks at what YouTubers like Jonny Harris and Cleo Abram are doing rather than established media companies.  Accept uncertainty. Running a company is a nonstop stream of decisions, small and big. On the small, Nich focuses on speed over certainty, and even on large decisions, he’s accepted he’ll rarely be more than 60% sure. Waiting for certainty usually means waiting forever. Lean by default. Rather than 700 people like BI at its peak, Dynamo is 1/100th  the size. That means everyone needs to be a doer and the focus is on improving the work rather than coordination.  Chapters: 00:00 Beehiiv Spotlight 01:29 Welcome 02:08 Lessons From the Scale Era 08:02 Where Media Energy Is Now 09:34 Are Journalistic Creators Legit 13:17 Platform Bets 14:48 Why Instagram Is Winning 17:21 Monetization and Outsourced Sales 20:50 What Works on YouTube 23:11 Short Form and Clipping Strategy 25:54 Well-made Objects 28:10 Unit Economics and Profitability Goals 33:07 Doubling Down on Series 34:15 Selling Host Read Ads 37:04 Creative Edge in Ads 38:14 Founder Lessons and Decisions 41:16 Year Two Big Bets 45:06 Back in the Kitchen 48:23 Scaling Beyond the Founder 52:29 Cinematic Universe Strategy 55:18 Staying Lean as You Grow 59:13 Creators With Momentum