Hank Green says helping millions through Crash Course matters more than financial gain

Hank Green reflects on impact of Crash Course and why making learning accessible outweighs monetary reward

Hank Green has said that knowing his educational videos have helped millions of students learn is “so much better than money,” as he and his brother John Green enter a new phase for their media company, Complexly.

The Green brothers began sharing educational content online in 2012, with the aim of producing free, independent and reliable learning resources.

Since then, their channels, including Crash Course and SciShow, have grown to more than 32 million subscribers and over 5.7 billion views.

Speaking about the process behind the videos, Hank Green told People, “It’s a lot harder to make content that has to be right than just to make content that has to be interesting or capture attention.”

He added, “If I wanted to make a video that’s purely to get the most attention, I wouldn’t wanna have that much allegiance to the truth.”

Green explained that accuracy has always been the priority, noting the importance of fact-checking, expert input and sourcing. “You have to have the fact-checking going on, you have to have experts, you have to have sources, you have to be able to show your work,” he said.

Recently, Complexly became a registered nonprofit, a decision Green said was made to protect the company’s mission long term. “It became so clear that if we really wanted to prioritise the mission, if we wanted to prioritise our audience, that this was the best way to protect that,” he said.

Green described the most meaningful reward as hearing directly from viewers. “It’s the feeling when the nurse at the dermatologist’s office is like, ‘Oh my gosh, you helped me pass anatomy and physiology, and that helped me get my nursing degree,’” he said. “It’s amazing. It’s so much better than money.”

He added that curiosity is central to their work, saying, “Of all of your emotions, there’s no better one to indulge in than curiosity.”

Complexly’s nonprofit status, according to Green, will allow the company to continue focusing on learners rather than advertisers, while remaining accessible to audiences worldwide.