How Do You See the Future of Independent Creators?

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Pundit: How are people going to monetize? It's even shakier on YouTube. The easy answer is just be PC and be super clean, but at a certain point that's not where you want to be. So you have to diversify your income. You can ask dedicated viewers who really want to support what you do directly if they want to contribute more.

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