If you own a YouTube channel for kids and families that earns at least US$500,000 in annual revenue and are looking to grow, then Electrify Video Partners wants to connect.

That’s the message from the London-based company, which raised US$85 million from private equity fund Capital D in September to scale the production and distribution of YouTube channels that fit its model.

Founded in 2021, Electrify has invested in six channels so far with upwards of 30 million subscribers total and more than 10 billion lifetime views. Veritasium (15.3 million subscribers), Astrum (1.9 million subscribers), Simple History (4.7 million subscribers) and Improvement Pill (3.6 million subscribers) skew a bit older. But for kids, there’s LEGO fan hub SpitBrix (856,000 subscribers) and a pair of puppet-driven channels called Fizzy Fun House and The Fizzy Show (pictured, 10 million subscribers combined).

Electrify is especially interested in educational and inspirational channels for kids, thanks mainly to the evergreen nature of their content. And this likely stems from co-CEO and co-founder Ian Shepherd‘s professional background. He was a business development manager at Turner Broadcasting (including a stint at Cartoon Network) and also worked at Disney as head of business development, with a focus on its Maker Studios channel aggregator and talent incubator.

Beyond infusing its partner channels with cash, Electrify is also interested in recruiting new talent and running day-to-day operations so that creatives don’t need to sink all their energy into growth. Science-focused education hub Veritasium offers a good example of this model at work.

Derek Muller, who manages the channel’s content, says he was working 60 hours a week creating videos and running operations. But since Electrify made a majority investment in April 2023, Muller only works 60 hours a month, his team has tripled to 12 people, and two million more subscribers have joined.

“When you’re working for yourself, work can end up taking over your life,” says Muller. “I knew that the pace I was going at in 2021 was unsustainable. I would much rather focus on how to explain and illustrate a complex physics topic, than on figuring out who to hire and how to obtain insurance and permits and deal with finances.”

When Electrify invested in astronomy channel Astrum three years ago, owner Alex McColgan was making all of the content himself and wasn’t able to grow. His new partner has since hired seven people to help run things, and McColgan says Astrum’s revenue has more than tripled. It’s also starting to be seen as a leading media brand in the field of astronomy.

“I can make longer and more ambitious videos, and I would say the value of them has increased,” adds McColgan. “An additional benefit has been the possibility to collaborate with other big channels that are part of Electrify’s network.”

The investment process usually starts with two to four months of due diligence while Electrify develops a better understanding of the channel, its audience and the owner’s goals. In go scenarios, the company typically pays channel owners between 50% and 80% of their business value, works with them to expand and create new revenue streams, and then shares in the profits. Owners looking to simply accelerate growth may bring Electrify in as an equal partner (for a 50% stake). Or if they are looking to step back and do less, Electrify can pick up more equity and take the lead on managing day-to-day operations and growth.

And there’s always the option for owners to exit their channels entirely by selling them to Electrify—although fewer than 10% of the prospective partners the company has talked to have been interested in this, Shepherd notes with some surprise. When he saw the success Moonbug had after acquiring CoComelon, he thought full buyouts would become a more prominent part of the business. But in reality, most YouTube creators love the work of making content and running a channel—they just need more support to build them into businesses.

Heading into the back half of 2024, Electrify plans to unveil two new investments and is looking to start a pipeline of discussions with other prospective partners. Shepherd encourages interested owners whose channels are at the US$500,000 annual revenue threshold—or close to it and growing quickly—to reach out to him directly (ian@electrify.video).

This story originally appeared in Kidscreen’s May/June 2024 magazine issue.