A media company that started as a couple of episodes for fun
In 2019, Brian Nam and his brother Eric sat down with a microphone and recorded a few podcast episodes for the sheer fun of it. The episodes went viral. The comments kept asking for more. Somewhere in that flood of replies was a business plan nobody had written down yet: global K-pop fans wanted to hear artists talk, unscripted, like real people.
So the brothers built the place for it. DIVE Studios launched that year to host The Daebak Show, which grew into one of the largest K-pop interview podcasts on the planet. The early guest list read like a fan's wishlist - Eric Nam, Tablo of Epik High, AleXa, Peniel of BTOB, and Jae of DAY6. What began as a hobby with a hi-fi mic became a multi-platform media company with studios in Seoul and Los Angeles.
Today DIVE describes itself plainly: a Gen Z media company born from K-pop and built for global fandoms. The numbers back the slogan - more than 500 million views, over 80 million podcast streams, and roughly 4 million social followers across the network. Brian runs it as founder and CEO, the operator translating fan energy into shows, distribution deals, and a roster that keeps expanding.
We've been able to create this safe space for the artists and the fans.
Soccer recruit, finance track, hard left turn
Brian grew up in Atlanta, the son of Korean immigrants, and spent his childhood on the soccer pitch. He was good enough to be recruited to play Division I soccer at Columbia University in New York. Then, after freshman year, he left the team - not to quit on ambition, but to chase a different field entirely.
He poured the same competitive energy into internships, stacking up roles as he explored where he fit. There was an early assistant gig to the COO at Yik Yak, analyst internships at Drake Real Estate Partners and Scout Ventures, and a summer as an acquisitions analyst at Starwood Capital Group. By junior year he had a full-time offer from an elite private equity firm and a financial economics degree from Columbia in hand. The safe road was paved, lit, and waiting.
He took the unpaved one. The viral podcast episodes had revealed a market that no spreadsheet at the PE firm was going to capture, and Brian had spent years learning exactly how to evaluate an opportunity. This one, he decided, was worth betting on himself.
The roster
DIVE grew from one breakout interview show into a network. A few cornerstones:
From audio to wellness
As the audience grew vocal about wanting more honest, relatable stories, Brian and the team launched Mindset in 2021 - a daily self-care app for Gen Z built around the power of storytelling. It crossed 800,000 users and attracted a notable cap table: Union Square Ventures, HYBE Corporation, TQ Ventures, A.Capital, SV Angel, and 500 Startups among the backers.
It is a telling expansion. The same instinct that built a podcast network - give people a real conversation and they will keep coming back - became a product. Brian has carried the Mindset message onto the road too, touring alongside Eric to talk about redefining success, and stepping onto stages like the Fast Company Innovation Festival to make the case for storytelling as connection.
Take care of your health, both mentally and physically. Stay grateful and enjoy the process!