DDeep Dive with Ali Abdaal
← All episodes
MKBHD09 September 2022

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

6Frameworks
12Insights

Episode overview

Ali Abdaal interviews Marques Brownlee, better known as MKBHD, about sustaining a leading technology channel through curiosity, consistency, and continual improvements to production. Brownlee explains that his business exists to fund better videos, with selective sponsorships, a skilled in-person studio team, and investments in distinctive production capabilities. They also discuss analytics, search versus browse discovery, short-form platforms, fame, team management, the Waveform podcast, and Brownlee's ambitions for a larger studio.

Key ideas

  • Brownlee's longevity comes from genuinely enjoying both new technology and the craft of making videos.
  • The MKBHD business prioritizes making videos the team would want to watch, using revenue to improve the work rather than maximizing sponsorship volume.
  • Brownlee's octopus analogy frames hiring as transferring specialist tasks to people who can perform them better, while adding people management as a new responsibility.
  • A well-equipped, in-person studio reduces production friction and enables spontaneous collaboration, rapid execution, and distinctive shots that competitors cannot easily copy.
  • Analytics act as guides rather than the sole definition of quality; creative judgment and the overall feel of a video still matter.
  • Clear, descriptive titles can serve both subscribers and later search traffic, while opaque clickbait may sacrifice long-term discoverability.
  • Brownlee sees TikTok as valuable for reach but keeps YouTube central because viewers use it when researching technology and making purchase decisions.
  • Waveform provides a more casual outlet for studio conversations, supported by a fixed weekly cadence, a dedicated Slack channel, and a turnkey recording room.

Transcript available · source text is retained privately and is not published

Frameworks in this episode

People & resources mentioned

Attributed to the moment in the episode. Timestamps are approximate.

People · 17

  • Marques BrownleeMentionsMarques Brownlee also goes by the name MKBHD on the internet and he's one of the world's largest tech YouTubers.

    Marques Brownlee also goes by the name MKBHD on the internet and he's one of the world's largest tech YouTubers.

  • Ali AbdaalMentionsthe ongoing podcast where every week I get the chance to sit down with inspiring authors, entrepreneurs, creators, and other inspiring people.

    this is an interview between me and Marques Brownlee.

  • iJustineMentionsmentioned

    you and iJustine are, like in the tech YouTuber space, have been around for such a long time

  • PewDiePieMentionsmentioned

    the only people it seems who have serious longevity on the platform outside of like people like PewDiePie

  • Matt D'AvellaMentionsmentioned

    if Matt D'Avella has a cold shower video, then it's likely to be suggesting Nathaniel Drew's cold shower video.

  • Nathaniel DrewMentionsmentioned

    if Matt D'Avella has a cold shower video, then it's likely to be suggesting Nathaniel Drew's cold shower video.

  • Casey NeistatMentionsmentioned

    this is something that Casey said um we're at the NAS Summit in Dubai.

  • Tim FerrissCoinedramit sethi or tim ferriss guy kawasaki a lot of these guys i just helped promote them and connect with them really early on

    They even have summaries of enormous books like Tim Ferriss's Tools of Titans.

  • Elon MuskMentionsmentioned

    I imagine you've come into contact with some pretty wealthy people, you know, Elon Musk aside.

  • Linus SebastianMentionsmentioned

    Have you ever considered going down the sort of Linus Media Group 17 videos a week, multiple channels, multiple hosts kind of thing?

  • Andrew ManganelliMentionsAndrew runs the studio with me.

    first time technically hiring someone was uh a former teammate of mine, Andrew. He he currently runs the studio here.

  • David ImelMentionswriter, researcher, script supervisor. David will help me with a lot of the research

    writer, researcher, script supervisor. David will help me with a lot of the research

  • Arun MainiMentionsmentioned

    something I spoke to um Mr. Who's the Boss about, who I know is a friend of yours

  • Walt MossbergMentionsmentioned

    the Walt Mossbergs and David Pogue's of the New York Times and Wall Street Journals.

  • David PogueMentionsmentioned

    the Walt Mossbergs and David Pogue's of the New York Times and Wall Street Journals.

  • Lele PonsMentionsmentioned

    teenage girls just like waiting for I think it was Lele Pons or something

  • Mark RoberMentionsMark Rober who used to work at Apple, used to work at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab and now is a full-time video creator

    Mark Rober who used to work at Apple, used to work at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab and now is a full-time video creator

Resources · 35

  • Deep Dive with Ali AbdaalCoinedpodcast · Ali Abdaal

    Hey friends, welcome back to Deep Dive, the ongoing podcast where every week I get the chance to sit down with inspiring authors

  • Y Combinator PodcastMentionspodcast · Y Combinator

    I remember you were on the Y Combinator podcast and they asked you something around the lines of

  • NAS SummitMentionsevent

    this is something that Casey said um we're at the NAS Summit in Dubai.

  • DubaiMentionsplace

    this is something that Casey said um we're at the NAS Summit in Dubai.

  • New York CityMentionsplace

    we're in New Jersey. We're right across the river. You can see New York from our window.

  • Hoboken, New JerseyMentionsplace

    I went to a a school called Stevens Tech, which is in Hoboken, New Jersey.

  • Stevens Institute of TechnologyMentionsplace

    I went to a a school called Stevens Tech, which is in Hoboken, New Jersey. It's a technical school

  • New JerseyMentionsplace

    we're in New Jersey. We're right across the river. You can see New York from our window.

  • ShortformRecommendswebsite · Shortform

    ShortForm is by far the best one out of all of them.

  • Tools of TitansMentionsbook · Tim Ferriss

    They even have summaries of enormous books like Tim Ferriss's Tools of Titans.

  • ShortformUseswebsite · Shortform

    For me personally, the two ways I use ShortForm is firstly, I use ShortForm if I'm thinking of reading a book

  • KindleUsesproduct · Amazon

    it tends to save me a lot of time along with looking at my Kindle highlights.

  • Linus Media GroupMentionscompany · Linus Sebastian

    Have you ever considered going down the sort of Linus Media Group 17 videos a week, multiple channels, multiple hosts kind of thing?

  • CESMentionsevent · Consumer Technology Association

    it was like uh it was a CES, I remember one year. And CES is always one of those weird stressful times

  • iPhone SEMentionsproduct · Apple

    there's a thousand different tech videos that you can watch now about the new iPhone SE that just came out

  • ShopifyUsessoftware · Shopify Inc.

    We've been using Shopify for over a year now to host Essentially, which is my stationery line.

  • ShopifyRecommendssoftware · Shopify Inc.

    Shopify is by far the easiest way to sell anything on the internet.

  • EssentiallyCoinedcompany · Ali Abdaal

    We've been using Shopify for over a year now to host Essentially, which is my stationery line.

  • NotionMentionssoftware · Notion Labs

    we're going to be selling digital products, including website themes and Notion templates

  • GymsharkMentionscompany

    Gymshark, incredibly huge brand, runs runs on Shopify.

  • ZoomMentionssoftware · Zoom Video Communications

    I imagine, is more productive than having to do a Zoom call every time.

  • WeWorkMentionscompany

    maybe the team would come occasionally or we'd sign them to a WeWork.

  • Google Pixel 6aUsesproduct · Google

    we're going to make a video with the Pixel 6a.

  • New York TimesMentionscompany

    the Walt Mossbergs and David Pogue's of the New York Times and Wall Street Journals.

  • The Wall Street JournalMentionscompany

    the Walt Mossbergs and David Pogue's of the New York Times and Wall Street Journals.

  • YouTubeUseswebsite · Google

    When I'm going to search for the new iPhone comes out, where do I go look for that video? I go to youtube.com

  • LG WingUsesproduct · LG Electronics

    The most viewed piece of content I have ever made in 15 years is a 12-second TikTok of me unfolding the LG Wing.

  • TikTokUsessoftware · ByteDance

    The most viewed piece of content I have ever made in 15 years is a 12-second TikTok of me unfolding the LG Wing.

  • AppleMentionscompany

    this guy loves Apple. Oh, he can't stop talking about how much he hates this company.

  • SamsungMentionscompany

    Oh, he's biased. Oh, Samsung paid him.

  • NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryMentionscompany · NASA

    Mark Rober who used to work at Apple, used to work at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab

  • Waveform: The MKBHD PodcastCoinedpodcast · Marques Brownlee and the MKBHD team

    the podcast was started for two reasons. One, because we had all these conversations in the studio that we realized were very interesting

  • SlackUsessoftware · Slack Technologies

    We have a Slack channel literally just called Waveform where we'll just dump thoughts in there.

  • Shark TankMentionstv show

    I've watched so much Shark Tank that to me it's like, I see a pitch and immediately I go into shark mode

  • Club World ChampionshipsMentionsevent

    I'm leaving for a week starting tomorrow to go compete at the club world championships

Spot an error or want something removed? Request a correction or removal.

Insights & moments

The myth-busts, hot takes, explainers, and tools worth keeping.

Hot Take· 4

Hot Take05:00

Tech YouTubers aren't competitors, they're an ecosystem

Brownlee frames rival tech creators as a rising tide that lifts all ships rather than competition. He points out that years ago they were all making worse videos and were taken less seriously; collectively they raised the category to near-traditional-media respect. Because product viewers want a variety of opinions, creators aren't fighting for the same eyeballs.

  • A rising tide lifts all ships across the whole niche
  • Collectively the group earned the category more respect over time
  • Viewers actively want multiple opinions on a product
  • Creators trade techniques and collaborate rather than guard turf

So far, it's felt like a rising tide lifts all ships and I would genuinely mean that.

Marques Brownlee · 05:00
#competition#collaboration#creator economy#community
Hot Take19:30

Why he refuses the content-factory treadmill

Asked whether he'd go the multi-channel, many-videos-a-week route, Brownlee says the content-factory model is really an optimization for money and revenue that he doesn't need. Placing himself closer to iJustine than Linus Media Group, he keeps a talented team built for quality, not an assembly line. He warns that route is like hopping on a treadmill and just turning up the speed.

  • The content-factory route is an optimization for money, not quality
  • His team exists to make better stuff, not more stuff
  • As a subscriber he'd fatigue and unsubscribe from daily-upload channels
  • Scaling volume feels like turning up the treadmill speed

it also seems like you're just hopping on a treadmill and just turning up the speed

Marques Brownlee · 20:30
#scaling#quality#output#creator economy
Hot Take57:30

Why MKBHD won't chase TikTok despite a 35-million-view clip

Brownlee resists going all-in on short-form even though his most-viewed content ever is a 12-second TikTok of the LG Wing with 35 million views. His reasoning is demographic: TikTok reaches the youngest slice of his audience, but his real target is people making a tech purchase decision, whose age doesn't change. If searching for the new iPhone ever moves to TikTok, that's when he'd feel the pressure.

  • His most-viewed piece ever is a 12-second, 35-million-view TikTok
  • Chasing TikTok optimizes for fame and eyeballs, which he doesn't want
  • His target is buyers making a purchase decision, an age-stable group
  • He'll shift when people start searching for new-phone info on TikTok

The most viewed piece of content I have ever made in 15 years is a 12-second TikTok of me unfolding the LG Wing. It has…

Marques Brownlee · 58:00
#short-form#tiktok#audience#strategy
Hot Take1:13:30

His 'cardinal sin' as a business major: being the single point of failure

Brownlee openly admits he's fine being necessary for the whole engine to run, calling it the number one cardinal sin for a business major. If he took a year off, the main channel and podcast would fall off the face of the earth, and he accepts that. His comfort comes from knowing he's very unlikely to step away for more than a week or two.

  • He's fine being essential to the main channel and podcast running
  • He calls this the biggest cardinal sin for a business major
  • A year-long break would collapse the operation, and he accepts that
  • The risk feels safe because a long absence is highly unlikely

I am totally fine being the one that is necessary for everything for the engine to run.

Marques Brownlee · 1:13:30
#bus factor#founder dependency#risk#business

Explainer· 3

Explainer03:00

Why tech creators get a longer career arc than most YouTubers

Brownlee argues tech YouTube lends itself to unusual longevity because the pressure to stay interesting sits on the tech companies, not the creator. A new product always arrives to point the camera at, so people will always seek out an owner's-perspective review. That lets him worry far less about staying relevant year to year.

  • The tech companies, not the creator, carry the pressure to keep things spicy
  • A new product always arrives to review, refreshing the content supply
  • People will always seek an owner's-perspective evaluation of new tech
  • Even without being the number one reviewer, the ecosystem endures

the pressure's not on me to keep it interesting or keep it spicy or whatever. It's actually just up to the tech companies

Marques Brownlee · 03:00
#creator economy#longevity#tech#relevance
Explainer41:30

The first-person aesthetic that makes a huge studio feel like a bedroom

Brownlee describes a deliberate visual choice: his videos feel first-person rather than third-person. Pulling the camera close with a wide angle, sometimes touching it, avoids the look of someone else filming him. Shooting in corners rather than against blank white walls and building small homey sets inside a 7,000-square-foot space keeps the OG-YouTuber feel even at pro production levels.

  • Videos aim to feel first-person, as if he's making the video not being filmed
  • Close, wide-angle framing sells the first-person cue
  • They shoot in corners more than against blank white walls
  • Small homey sets inside a big studio avoid an unrelatable white box

they feel first-person instead of third-person

Marques Brownlee · 42:00
#cinematography#aesthetic#production#set design
Explainer58:30

Name it what it is: titling for search vs browse audiences

Brownlee explains that clickbait titles optimize for the browse and subscriber audience but lose the searchers. Growth comes from browse and suggested, but a distinct crowd searches for a topic days or weeks later. Because a searcher looking for a phone review skips the blurred, you-won't-believe-this thumbnail, he names videos plainly so viewers get exactly what they came for.

  • Clickbait weights optimization toward browse and subscribers
  • A separate, later crowd finds videos through search
  • Searchers skip click-baity titles and pick the plainly named result
  • Naming it what it is guarantees the viewer isn't let down

if you just name it what it is, can't lose, right? You're going to get what you came for.

Marques Brownlee · 1:00:00
#titles#seo#audience#distribution

Story· 3

Story13:30

How MKBHD dodged lifestyle creep after going full-time out of college

Brownlee recounts realizing in college that he just wanted to make videos, skipping the expected internship path when the channel was already earning enough that he never had to optimize for money. Despite living near New York, he says lifestyle creep has little effect on him: he wears T-shirts, jerseys and sneakers, and his hobbies happen to be what the business already does.

  • He skipped the structured internship track to make videos full-time
  • The channel earned enough that he never had to optimize for money
  • Living in New Jersey keeps cost per square foot down versus New York
  • His hobbies overlap with the business, limiting expensive temptations

The channel was making enough money that I didn't have to optimize for money

Marques Brownlee · 15:00
#money#lifestyle creep#career#personal finance
Story1:07:30

Why the Waveform podcast exists and why the room is always turnkey

Brownlee started the Waveform podcast for two reasons: the interesting conversations already happening in the studio deserved recording, and the polished main videos left no room for casual, off-the-cuff thinking. The team dumps thoughts into a Slack channel all week and records every Wednesday. He stresses the podcast room is the most turnkey space, so a guest or a thought can be captured with almost zero friction.

  • Interesting studio conversations were worth recording for others
  • The podcast offers a casual counterweight to over-produced videos
  • Thoughts are collected in a Slack channel and recorded weekly
  • A frictionless, always-ready room is key to capturing ideas fast

This is the most turnkey room in the whole studio.

Marques Brownlee · 1:10:00
#podcast#content strategy#workflow#studio
Story1:16:30

MKBHD's angel investing: shark mode and only four deals

Brownlee shares that angel investing is new for him, starting in the past couple of years, and shaped by watching so much Shark Tank that he instinctively enters shark mode on a pitch. He's invested in just four companies total, backing products he believes in and can add value to. He values being able to influence something he thinks can grow from behind the scenes rather than in front of them.

  • Angel investing is recent for him, within the last two years
  • Heavy Shark Tank viewing put him in instant 'shark mode' on pitches
  • Only four investments so far, kept deliberately small
  • He backs products he believes in and can personally add value to

I see a pitch and immediately I go into shark mode

Marques Brownlee · 1:17:00
#investing#startups#angel#personal finance

Tool· 1

Tool44:00

His no-teleprompter method: read, put the phone down, deliver

Brownlee shoots A-roll alone with the camera on a tripod and the monitor beside it, no person behind it. He avoids teleprompters because they feel less natural. Instead he keeps the script in a doc on his phone, reads a couple of paragraphs, puts it down, internalizes them and delivers in his own words, hitting every point without being verbatim.

  • A-roll is just him, a tripod and a monitor, with no camera operator
  • Teleprompters are avoided because they feel unnatural
  • He reads a chunk from his phone, then delivers it from memory
  • Delivery hits every scripted point without being word-for-word

I'll pick up the phone, read the first two paragraphs, put it down, internalize it, and then just deliver it.

Marques Brownlee · 44:30
#filming#workflow#delivery#authenticity

Takeaway· 1

Takeaway11:30

He makes money to make videos, not videos to make money

Brownlee endorses Casey Neistat's framing that a lot of creators make videos to make money, but he makes money so he can make more videos. The craft is the intrinsic goal and the business exists to fund it. Ambitions like a dream studio require more revenue, but the money is always in service of better videos.

  • The business exists to serve the craft, not the other way around
  • Money made is turned back into making better videos
  • Ambitions like a dream studio are why revenue matters at all
  • Making the videos is the intrinsic joy, not the means to cash

The thing that we do with the money that we make is turn around and make better videos.

Marques Brownlee · 12:00
#craft#business model#motivation#values