Engine-and-Experiments Portfolio
Protect the proven engine while testing new formats beside it
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 99%
The Engine-and-Experiments Portfolio separates dependable production from creative exploration. The engine is the proven format that reliably serves the audience, supports the team, and generates business momentum. It must continue running and improving. Experiments occur alongside it with bounded time, budget, and expectations, rather than being inserted into the engine's critical path. A successful experiment may eventually become part of the portfolio or replace the engine, but only after demonstrating audience fit and operational repeatability. The framework prevents format FOMO and novelty-seeking from destroying consistency while still preserving room for documentaries, new shows, or other creatively fulfilling work.
Origin
Extracted from Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal through Colin and Samir's explanation of how their interview show enabled documentary experiments.
Core principles
- 01A stable engine finances and protects creative experimentation
- 02Experiments should not disrupt the engine's dependable cadence
- 03The engine must be strong before substantial side experimentation begins
How to run it
- 1
Stabilize the engine
Confirm the core format can ship reliably with known costs, roles, and quality standards.
Pro tip Do not call a format an engine until it survives ordinary weeks.
Watch out Experimenting heavily before stability can prevent the engine from forming.
- 2
Create an experiment lane
Assign separate time, budget, and people to a clearly bounded creative test.
Pro tip Define what learning or creative need the experiment should satisfy.
Watch out Do not borrow resources that place the next core release at risk.
- 3
Keep the engine running
Maintain the established cadence while the experiment is developed and released.
Pro tip Use collaborators to preserve the engine during labor-intensive tests.
Watch out A shiny experiment can quietly become the whole production schedule.
- 4
Evaluate promotion
Judge whether the experiment is repeatable, enjoyable, valuable, and strategically strong enough to become a larger format.
Pro tip A one-off project may be worthwhile without becoming a new engine.
Watch out Creative pride alone does not establish operational viability.
In the wild
A weekly interview show sustains the business while its hosts spend bounded time filming a documentary with a major creator. An editor helps complete the documentary as the regular show continues.
→ The team satisfies a filmmaking ambition without abandoning its dependable engine.
Common mistakes
Experimenting inside the engine
Changing the core mechanics too aggressively can damage the consistency, audience expectation, and economics that make experimentation possible.
Is it for you?
Best for
Creators who have found a working format but still need novelty and creative development.
Not ideal for
Beginners who have not yet established any repeatable audience-serving format.
From the transcript
“don't experiment without an engine. And don't experiment in the engine.”
“because we have an engine, we now have allowed ourselves space to experiment a little bit more freely.”
“the engine is what unlocked the rest of the world to us”
From the episode
The Full Story of Colin and Samir