How to make a board-style founder explainer with AI
One paradox, five turning points, a paper-grid board. Vertical 9:16, ~60s, ready for TikTok and Reels — the Patagonia paradox explainer rendered with ivy.
why this format works
Board explainers work when one founder, one company, or one decision contains a paradox — and the best way to land that paradox is to lay out the turning points side by side on a single mental board. Think of it as a hand-drawn whiteboard: a portrait, five sticky-note moments, arrows between them, and one closing claim. Use this format when the story IS the contradiction (gave away a $3B company, fired their own customers, refused IPO money). Use a different format if the story is a single chart, a procedural how-it-works, or a hot take.
what ivy does
What's automated, scene by scene.
Reads the subject's story
Paste a URL, an article, or just the subject's name. Ivy pulls the biography, the major business decisions, and the dates. For named figures (founders, executives, public figures) it uses Wikipedia + the article you provide. The brief shows every fact's source before you render.
Finds the paradox
The hook IS the paradox. "He gave away a $3B company." "They refused to take advertising — and became the largest digital media company in their category." "He fired half his customers — and his retention rate doubled." If your subject doesn't have a paradox in their story, the format won't land. Ivy will flag it and propose a different format.
Builds five turning points
The chain-of-moments is the load-bearing structure. Five sticky-note style cards, each with a date, a label, and a hand-drawn icon. The Patagonia version chains: 1972 pitons scarring rocks → Stop Buying → 1% to Earth → $3B Giveaway → Earth as the shareholder. Arrows connect them. Each card lands in time with the voiceover.
Sources real photos for the hero card
The opening card uses a real archival photo of the subject when one exists — Wikipedia public-domain first, then the article you pasted. Black-and-white framing, magazine-style border. AI-generated portraits of real people are out of bounds for this format; if no photo is reachable, the brief flags it and asks you to upload one.
Writes the voiceover in board-explainer register
Short declarative sentences, present tense for the moments, past tense for the resolution. Deliberate pacing — this isn't a hot take, it's a thesis. The closing card lands the paradox as the takeaway, not a CTA.
Returns a brief you can edit before rendering
Swap a turning point, change a date, replace the hero photo, soften the closing line. Once you commit, ivy renders ~60s at 9:16 in about five minutes.
make one in five minutes
Six steps. Five minutes.
Pick a subject and the paradox
"Yvon Chouinard — he gave away a $3B company." "Patagonia — built a billion-dollar brand by telling people not to buy." The cleaner the paradox, the cleaner the video. Vague founder hagiographies don't work in this format.
Paste a source article or biography
An article URL, a Wikipedia link, or pasted text. Ivy needs five datable moments to chain together. If your source has fewer than five, the brief will flag it and propose what to research to fill the gaps.
Confirm the five turning points
Ivy proposes the chain. You can re-order, re-date, or rewrite any card. The arrows between cards animate in order, so the chain should read as cause-and-effect even when the connection is thematic.
Press Render
Vertical 9:16 by default. Ivy returns an MP4 in about five minutes. Roughly 55-70 seconds.
Refine via chat
"Move the 1972 card to the second slot." "Use this photo for the hero card." "Make the closing line drier." Each edit is one message; re-render takes 2-3 minutes.
Post to TikTok / Reels / Shorts
Download the MP4 or post directly to X from inside ivy. For TikTok and Instagram, download and upload there.
what to watch out for
Hard-won lessons from shipping these.
The paradox must be load-bearing
This format is built around a contradiction the viewer feels in the first three seconds. "He gave away a $3B company" earns the scroll. "He started a successful outdoor brand" doesn't. If you can't write the hook as a single contradiction in eight words, the story isn't a board-explainer subject.
Real photos, real attribution
The hero card relies on a real archival photo. Ivy uses Wikipedia public-domain first, then the article you pasted. AI-generated portraits of real named people are out of bounds — for a board explainer about a real founder, a generated face reads as deeply weird and erodes the editorial credibility the format depends on.
Exactly five turning points
Fewer than four and the chain feels thin. More than six and the pacing tightens uncomfortably. Five is the sweet spot — enough room for the paradox to build, short enough that every card earns its screen time. If your story has eight major moments, pick the five most load-bearing and let the rest live in the voiceover.
Dates and labels matter
Every card needs a year and a 3-4 word label. "1972 — STOP BUYING". "2022 — $3B GIVEAWAY". The viewer reads the board as a timeline; without dates it just reads as a list. Ivy enforces this in the brief.
Closing line, not a CTA
Board explainers land on a thesis, not a call-to-action. "And it keeps working." "This is what it looks like when a founder means it." Don't end with "subscribe for more" or "book a demo" — the format is editorial and the close should feel earned, not transactional.
What ivy won't do
Won't fabricate dates or invent a paradox where the story doesn't have one. Won't produce a board explainer about a private individual without a sourced article behind them. Won't use trademarked logos as the centerpiece — the format is about the founder, not the brand identity.
try one of these prompts
Steal these.
faq
Common questions.
A clean paradox at the center — a famous founder or company that did the opposite of what their industry rewards, and won anyway. If you can write the hook in eight words and someone reads it and says "wait, what?", you have a board explainer.
Your first one's on us.
Paste a URL, get a video back in three minutes. Two free credits to start.