Electrify Co-CEO Owen Maher reflects on almost three years working with Veritasium

I still remember the nerves and excitement in December 2022, the first time my co-founder Ian and I spoke to Derek Muller after being connected by former YouTube partner manager, Sanoop Luke. It was our chance to work with Veritasium, one of the best and most respected channels on YouTube. 

‍

Electrify had been in business for about 18 months at that point. Our vision was, and still is, to help informative and inspirational creators scale their businesses. We knew Veritasium was a huge step up in terms of impact, influence, and importance. We had both watched many Veritasium videos over the years, in awe of their depth and clarity.

‍

I have long admired Derek’s straight talking approach to working together. No fluff, no fuss, just content of highest quality, informing and inspiring tens of millions of people around the world. Derek has often said that Veritasium is about making “the best science videos on the internet.” Now, we can safely broaden this to “the best science videos in the world,” no disclaimers or caveats. 

‍

I know our talented team shares this ambition and passion. YouTube is taking over the living room, and our team is at the forefront of this trend.

‍

It’s a big responsibility, but one that we all relish. Growing the scope and impact of Veritasium alongside Derek and our team has been some of the hardest, but also most rewarding, work of my life. The rush of pressing Publish and seeing months of work come to light never gets old. 

‍

These days, each Veritasium video can take anywhere from two to six months to make, and there are more than 30 people involved. Writers, directors, researchers, editors, illustrators, animators and production managers all play a role. 

Veritasium is just getting started in terms of what it can become. There is so much passion and talent within our team. Millions of people grew up watching Veritasium and personally we know the impact we can have on people’s lives. We want to keep the fun, curiosity and learning alive for generations to come, both on YouTube and beyond, continuing Derek’s mission to increase the level of critical thinking in the world.

‍

Owen Maher

Sydney, Australia

‍

• Favourite Veritasium video since working with Veritasium: This game theory problem will change the way you see the world (something I studied at university)
• Favourite Veritasium video before working with Veritasium: The Science of Jetpacks and Rockets! (fire extinguisher on a skateboard demonstration fail 😂; source of much used footage of Derek crashing a jetpack)

• Special mention: Gravity (Scientific Version of John Mayer's Gravity) (for nostalgic Sydney shots, not the singing)

‍