#118 - Marques Brownlee

Y Combinator

Marques Brownlee is a YouTuber. He has over 8 million subscribers to his channel MKBHD where he reviews electronics, drives electric vehicles, and interviews people such as Kobe Bryant and Bill Gates.
You can find Marques on YouTube and on Twitter at @MKBHD.
The YC Podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
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Topics
00:00 - Intro
00:26 - What does Marques attribute his channel's success to?
2:41 - The early days
5:11 - How does he go about evaluating a product?
7:31 - Features that Marques thought were great that didn't catch on
8:41 - Peak smartphone?
10:31 - Folding phones and new trends
11:26 - Tesla and the EV market
15:46 - Getting older and staying relevant
17:06 - New kinds of videos and podcasting
22:26 - Does Marques feel limited by gear?
26:11 - Storytelling techniques
28:16 - Tech vs Marques as the star of the show
29:56 - Marco Castro asks - What advice do you have for new creators on YouTube?
30:56 - When did Marques find his voice as a creator?
33:56 - Overcoming perfectionism
34:56 - Gut instinct vs data
37:26 - YouTube comments
39:31 - Austin Ryder asks - In the early years of his channel, Marques took a several month hiatus from YouTube, but then came back with a new video format and seemingly renewed drive. What happened during those months off that led to the channel becoming what it is today?
40:41 - Winston asks - What’s your daily schedule?
43:06 - Ultimate frisbee injuries
43:26 - Amad Khan asks - Are there any problems that you see or face that you really wish engineers/developers would solve?
44:51 - Christian Giordano asks - Any tips on how to engage/work with influencers when you are a very early stage startup with little or no money?
46:41 - The future of creators supporting themselves financially
49:31 - His biggest challenge as a creator
50:31 - Long-term goals