Business Insider plans to double its video staff

Capital New York spoke with Julie Hansen, president and chief operating officer of Business Insider, about its expansion plans.

Here is an excerpt:

CAPITAL: How many video journalists do you employ now, and how many do you hope to employ?
HANSEN: We have 10 now, and probably 20 before long.
CAPITAL: And what kind of video are they going to be doing? Is it going to be news video, or lifestyle video, or analysis?
HANSEN: We’ve worked really hard to figure out what works well on the Web. And we’ve figured out that two talking heads around a news desk is tough in digital video formats, but there are types of video that work extremely well. Explainers … breaking down an economic concept or a news event. Hacks … productivity hacks. … They’re really helpful in explaining some of these more esoteric and powerful functions. Great storytelling definitely works.
CAPITAL: When you raised this most recent funding round, did you have a plan for what you wanted to spend the $25 million on?
HANSEN: The amount is really tied to what we think people need to finance the growth of our plan essentially. It’s tied to the ambition that we have regarding the business.

Read more here.