By: Aby Yusef
An interview with Rudy Mawer, Founder and CEO of Inside Success TV, on building a new category of business-focused entertainment
Inside Success TV has grown rapidly from a television production concept into a broader media company with shows distributed across platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and other streaming services.
At the center of that growth is CEO and founder Rudy Mawer, who says the company’s ambition is much larger than producing entrepreneur interviews.
Inside Success TV is building toward a multi-format network spanning documentaries, television series, movies, podcasts, mini-series, digital content and live experiences, all centered around entrepreneurship, ambition, personal development and success.
But its model is also different from traditional television.
We sat down with Mawer to discuss how Inside Success TV works, who gets cast, why some people misunderstand the business model, and what the company is ultimately trying to build.
What Exactly Is Inside Success TV?
Rudy Mawer: Inside Success TV is a media and entertainment company focused on stories around entrepreneurship, success, personal growth, and ambition.
Today, a large part of what we do is documentary-style television. We interview business owners, entrepreneurs, experts, and other accomplished people and turn their experiences into professionally produced stories.
But that’s only one part of the long-term vision.
I want Inside Success to become a major entertainment brand for people who want to improve their lives.
That eventually means television, movies, mini-series, documentaries, podcasts, animation, live events, and other forms of entertainment.
The easiest way to explain it is that we’re trying to build a network around the category of success.
Who Does Inside Success TV Cast?
Mawer: We aren’t just looking for billionaires or celebrities.
That would defeat a large part of the mission.
Entrepreneurs, business owners, doctors, lawyers, executives, experts, athletes, and others who have built something meaningful or have a story that could educate or inspire someone else are the people we’re interested in.
It’s not necessarily about how famous someone already is.
It’s whether there is a compelling story.
Maybe somebody built a successful company after losing everything.
Maybe they created a business from an unusual background.
Maybe they overcame something significant.
Maybe they’ve spent 20 years becoming exceptional in their field.
Those are often the stories people can actually relate to.
How Does Inside Success TV Make Money?
Mawer: That’s probably one of the biggest misunderstandings.
People assume television must work one specific way because that’s how traditional Hollywood worked for decades.
It doesn’t.
There are many different media business models.
Networks make money through advertising. Production companies get paid to create shows. Streaming companies generate subscriptions. Brands sponsor productions. Companies finance branded content. Producers license intellectual property.
Our model includes several revenue streams: streaming, sponsorship, ads, and, on the movie side, typical box office and downloads. On top of that, one of those more unique models involves certain brands and businesses contributing financially toward the production, media, and promotional services associated with their participation, similar to the way major brands pay for placements within movies.
While many of our revenue streams are more typical, some of them surprise people who are more “old school Hollywood” or not open to change, because they’re comparing us to a traditional Hollywood casting model where an actor auditions for a scripted role or a reality show.
That’s not what this is.
We’re producing media around real entrepreneurs and their businesses, telling their story in an epic fashion. So yes, some brands may choose to have their logo appear in a movie for one second, or to have their own TV show made exactly how they want to craft it. I think the latter, what we do, is a much more fascinating concept.
Are Brands Paying to Be on TV?
Mawer: The distinction is important.
We don’t cast somebody simply because they can pay, and we handle all the production costs ourselves. We don’t charge them to rent a studio, a camera team, or equipment.
Every cast member or brand has to fit the show, have a legitimate background, and have a story we believe works for the production.
But yes, if they tick those boxes, in some of our shows and media models, depending on the production and program, some brands may financially contribute to the production and broader media package to get extra PR, advertising, podcasts, and social media content.
If a movie is made, they still have a P&A budget (promotion and advertising), and they often go and hire a big Hollywood firm to do this. We bring this in-house, as we know what to do and can manage it directly.
That model exists across media, branded content, and business publishing in many different forms.
What matters to me is transparency.
Every brand understands what they’re participating in, what they’re receiving, what the production includes, and what it does not include before they make a decision.
Why Do Some People Struggle to Understand That Model?
Mawer: Well, two reasons. Number one, people struggle with change. Number two, because they are applying the rules of one industry to a different product.
If somebody hears “TV casting,” they might immediately think of auditioning to play a character or a reality show on Netflix.
But imagine a major company commissioning a documentary about its founder, or paying to have its logo appear in the background of a film (called product placement).
Nobody finds it strange that the company pays a production company to create that documentary, or pays a premium for a few seconds of screen time.
Business media has always had commercial models.
PR agencies charge.
Production companies charge.
Magazine campaigns charge.
Conferences charge speakers or sponsors depending on the model.
Brands finance documentaries.
Our model sits at the intersection of television production, storytelling, media, and personal branding.
Once people understand that, it normally makes considerably more sense.
And if it doesn’t, well that is ok; Uber, Airbnb, and the Internet were all called a scam at some point.
Inside the Flagship Miami Studio
Mawer: That’s one of the things I’m most excited about because it represents where the company is going and is our first of many large custom facilities.
We’ve built a large production campus in Miami, one block from the beach, designed specifically for Inside Success TV.
There are multiple studios, custom production environments, editing suites, photo studios, and different sets so we can produce a large volume of content under one roof.
For me, the studio is much more than a building.
It’s the production engine for the network, an entrepreneur playground, and the home of many inspirational stories that can impact millions.
When you walk through it and see several shows being worked on simultaneously, you start to understand that we’re not approaching this like a small content company.
We’re building serious infrastructure to hopefully impact and motivate the world.
What Is the Biggest Misconception About Inside Success TV?
Mawer: Probably that people try to put us into a box too quickly.
Some people see “business television” and assume it’s just interviews.
Others hear that some brands contribute financially and assume that means nothing is selective.
Others assume we’re trying to compete directly with traditional Hollywood with regular movies.
None of those really capture what we’re building.
We’re trying to create a new category between entrepreneurship, personal development, and entertainment.
That requires a different model, a unique spin, and a lot of innovation.
Where Does Inside Success Go From Here?
Mawer: Much bigger.
Television is the foundation; the content now is just the start, not the final destination.
Over the next five years, I want us producing bigger documentaries, unscripted television, feature films, scripted mini-series, major podcasts, animation, digital programming and live events.
We’re already working toward a model where one story can potentially live across multiple formats.
A documentary subject could become part of a larger series.
A great true story could inspire a scripted film.
A show could launch a podcast.
Characters and concepts could eventually move into animation.
That’s where it becomes a real network instead of a collection of shows.
What Does Success Ultimately Look Like?
Mawer: I want Inside Success to own a category.
Sports has ESPN.
Food has Food Network.
Business news has CNBC.
I truly believe there is room for a major entertainment company built around ambition, entrepreneurship, achievement, and personal growth.
When somebody wants to watch something that makes them think bigger, become better or pursue more, five or ten years from now, I want Inside Success to be one of the first places they think of.
That’s the vision.
We’re building the infrastructure now.
