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Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal

MKBHD: The Story To 16 Million & The World Of YouTube

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Marques BrownleeguestAli Abdaalhost

Sep 9, 20221h 20mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Staying Consistent and Relevant as a Tech Creator
Ali asks how Marques has stayed consistent on YouTube for over a decade. Marques says it's fun, and that as a product-focused creator the pressure to stay interesting falls on tech companies. He doesn't worry about fading relevance because people will always seek out new tech.
- •Marques enjoys tech and video-making, and tries to improve each time
- •He describes creator careers as having a short lifespan, but says product-focused creators face less pressure to stay spicy
- •Ali worries about staying relevant from year to year
- •Marques believes people will always look for takes on the latest tech
Competitors, Community, and Choosing What Videos to Make
Marques describes other tech YouTubers as an ecosystem where a rising tide lifts all ships. He explains how the videos he knows will perform well usually overlap with the ones he finds interesting. He says he learned over time that he can justify making almost any video he wants.
- •Tech YouTube is now taken more seriously, and creators make each other better
- •Ali compares it to productivity creators making similar cold shower videos
- •Hot gadgets and interesting collaborations tend to be both popular and fun to make
- •Marques learned in the second half of his channel's life that he can justify almost any video
The MKBHD Business Model: Craft First, Money Second
Ali asks about the business model given the few sponsorships and little merch promotion. Marques says everything follows the idea of making what they'd want to watch, with AdSense covering a lot and sponsors chosen very selectively. He agrees that making money exists so they can make better videos.
- •The guiding principle is making what they'd want to watch and subscribe to
- •Marques says no to many sponsors and only takes ones that make sense
- •Ali cites Casey saying he makes money so he can make more videos
- •Marques has a dream video studio in mind that will need funding
Money, Lifestyle Creep, and Leaving College for Videos
Ali asks how Marques manages his relationship with money and lifestyle creep, given living near New York. Marques explains he lives in New Jersey, skipped an internship to focus on videos while at Stevens Tech, and spends little. Ali asks about cautionary tales, and Marques says he's seen mostly positive examples.
- •Marques is based in New Jersey, which is cheaper than New York
- •He dedicated himself to videos instead of interning during college
- •The channel earned enough that he didn't need to optimize for money after graduating
- •His hobbies overlap with the business, so lifestyle creep isn't a concern
- •He sees no real cautionary tales among creators he knows
Why Not a Content Factory? Scaling Philosophy
Ali asks whether Marques has considered a Linus Media Group-style operation with many videos per week. Marques says he applies his own subscriber mindset, explaining that daily uploads cause fatigue and that a content factory optimizes for revenue he doesn't need. He places himself closer to the solo-operator end of the spectrum.
- •Marques subscribes to about 120 channels and gets fatigued by daily uploaders
- •A content factory is an optimization for money and revenue
- •He asks what makes a good video rather than needing a new video
- •The team exists to improve quality, not to increase output
Building the Team, Org Chart, and the Octopus Analogy
Marques recounts hiring his first teammate after a stressful CES and lists the roles on the team. He explains the octopus analogy: the team members are the arms he cut off and are better at those tasks. He says managing people was his biggest surprise, and that editing is slowly being handed off.
- •First hire was a former teammate who now runs the studio
- •Roles include cinematography, editing, sales, behind-the-scenes, podcast editors and graphics
- •The octopus analogy: the team takes over the arms while Marques remains the heart
- •He still edits most main channel videos but not the studio or podcast channels
- •Managing people became a whole new job
How the Team Operates and the Video Production Process
Ali asks about day-to-day management and Marques says content goes past him while he and Andrew run the studio. He then walks through a phone review from unboxing and notes to script, A-roll, B-roll, editing, extra visuals, and publishing.
- •The org has about two levels: a creative team and a business team
- •Ali shares his experience with middle managers at team size 20
- •A writer-researcher helps collect notes in one doc
- •A-roll is shot first, then B-roll and special visuals are made by others
- •The team watches the final timeline together before upload
The Robot Studio and Making Videos Hard to Copy
Ali asks why Marques spent so much on a robot studio. Marques says the idea came from a shoot with the maker, and he wanted something hard for others to copy. Intros have become an Easter egg tied to each video.
- •The idea arose from a video shoot with the robot's maker
- •Visible techniques get copied, so they wanted something hard to replicate
- •The studio team are video nerds who were enthusiastic
- •Intros reference the video's title or content, like an Easter egg
COVID, Moving Studios, and Working In Person vs Remote
Marques describes COVID as a nightmare, with the team sent home just as they were moving studios, so he moved furniture himself. Ali and Marques then agree that in-person collaboration beats Zoom for spontaneous creative work.
- •Marques worries about forgetting skills he delegates, so still makes some thumbnails and edits
- •He moved thousands of pounds of furniture during the studio move
- •Videos in late 2020 looked more like early YouTube until the team returned
- •Nearly everyone works in the studio, enabling spontaneous collaboration
- •Ali notes remote team members add friction like scheduling calls
Studio ROI and the First-Person Look of the Videos
Ali asks whether the studio is worth the cost, and Marques says they get so much use that he doesn't worry about ROI. He explains the studio was built with smaller sets to avoid a blank white box, and videos aim for a first-person feel, with scripts read from a phone instead of a teleprompter.
- •Marques considers the studio and robot well used and ROI positive
- •The right studio depends on whether you want a cinematic or homey look
- •Camera placement close in gives a first-person feel
- •He often shoots in corners rather than against blank walls
- •He reads script chunks from his phone, internalizes them, and delivers naturally
Analytics, Retention, and Relationship with Goals
Asked about analytics and retention, Marques uses a basketball analogy about stats versus the eye test. He says numbers are bumpers on the bowling lane, not the ball. On goals, he says he focuses on controllable ones like doing more and better, and keeps channel growth steady and positive.
- •Mr. Whose The Boss obsessively scripts for retention, according to Ali
- •Marques says stats alone could cost some of what makes a video good
- •Numbers guide them but they don't live by them
- •His goal is more and better, since doing more usually means doing worse
- •He can't control how people respond, so aims for a steady positive trend
The Dream Studio
Marques describes how much of his dream studio vision already exists, with equipment and robot room on hand so a video can be finished in a day. He pictures a more organized, leveled-up version. His minimum is around 20,000 square feet, and he tours buildings to get a feel.
- •Visitors are surprised by the Red cameras and Russian arm
- •Everything needed is in one place, so ideas can be made quickly
- •The dream version would be more organized with better tools
- •His sister, a real estate agent, sends listings
- •He is considering at least 20,000 square feet
Longevity, Shorts, and TikTok Strategy
Asked what he'll do at 55, Marques compares tech YouTubers to earlier newspaper columnists and says he doesn't know what's next. On short-form, he explains that his audience's target demographic is purchasers and that people search for tech on YouTube. He notes his most-viewed piece of content is a 12-second TikTok.
- •Tech video creators are seen as a follow-up to newspaper tech columnists
- •He can't predict what media will look like in 5 or 50 years
- •Younger audiences may be on TikTok but his focus is purchase-decision viewers
- •People searching for the new iPhone go to YouTube
- •His most-viewed content is a 12-second TikTok with 35 million views
Search vs Browse, Clickbait Titles, and Fame
Marques says growth comes from browse and suggested, while search viewers arrive later, and he optimizes for both. He avoids clickbait titles and prefers naming a video for what it is. He then discusses his relationship with fame, including a hotel anecdote where he walked through crowds unnoticed.
- •Early commenters come from browse and subscribers; later ones come from search
- •Marques doesn't click clickbait titles himself and prefers plain naming
- •Ali chose a plain title for his newsletter video
- •Clickbait titles can make a video invisible to searchers
- •He's happy being recognized for tech, not screaming-fan fame
Dealing with Hate and Criticism
Ali asks Marques about hate. Marques separates legitimate feedback from unfounded comments, ignoring the latter and looking for a grain of truth in the former. Ali shares a comment he struggles with about no longer being a doctor, and Marques cites Mark Rober as an example of a YouTuber doing valuable work.
- •Marques separates real feedback from unfounded hate
- •He ignores comments like accusations of bias or being paid
- •He tries to find something to learn in criticism
- •Ali shares a comment about no longer being a doctor
- •Marques points to Mark Rober as evidence that being a YouTuber isn't a problem
Waveform Podcast and The Studio Channel
Marques explains the Waveform podcast began to capture studio conversations and offer a more casual format than polished videos. They record weekly on Wednesdays, gathering topics in a Slack channel. The Studio channel makes the studio itself the main character, as a fun and experimental channel not reliant on him.
- •Waveform captures conversations and offers a more casual format
- •One episode is recorded weekly, with topics collected in Slack
- •The podcast room is turnkey, which reduces friction
- •The Studio channel shows the studio and team in a fly-on-the-wall way
- •It's mostly for fun and experiments with a channel not dependent on Marques on camera
Being the Nucleus, Angel Investing, and Personal Goals
Marques says he's fine being necessary for the main channel and podcast, while considering brand collaborations. He discusses angel investing in about four companies over two years. He closes with personal goals, like ultimate frisbee competition, and where to find him.
- •He accepts that the business depends on him as taste maker
- •He doesn't expect to take more than a week or two off
- •Brand collaboration conversations have gone on for about five years
- •He has invested in about four companies in the last couple years
- •He plays ultimate frisbee and was heading to club worlds

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