The 'Explain It Like I'm Five' Content Pillar

There's a content pillar almost no founder uses, and it's one of the most powerful: explain it like I'm five. Take the complex thing you know deeply and make it understandable to a beginner.

Why it builds authority

Teaching is the ultimate authority signal. When you can explain something simply, it proves you understand it deeply. Audiences infer: if they can make this clear, they really know their field.

It's the opposite of the "use big words to sound smart" trap and it works infinitely better.

Why it reaches more people

Complex content is niche. Simplified content is universal. A video that makes a hard idea accessible reaches beginners and impresses experts. That's a rare double.

How to do it

• Pick one idea per video. Not a topic a single, specific concept.
• Use an analogy. The analogy is what makes it "five."
• Cut the jargon. Every industry word is a person you lose.
• End with the "why it matters." A simple explanation without stakes is a lecture. With stakes, it's content.

Examples for a founder

• Explain your business model in 60 seconds.
• Explain the one metric that determines your industry's health.
• Explain the decision your customers are really making (it's usually not the one they think).
• Explain a common misunderstanding about your space.

The compounding effect

An "explain it like I'm five" series becomes a library. People return to it, share it, and send it to colleagues. It's the pillar most likely to produce your evergreen content the videos that keep getting views months after you posted them.

Teach simply. The authority follows.