One day u will watch this video and will see how far have you gone and how big your business has come! This is what I can promise u! Just keep going regardless of these people
I love how you deal with that!! And that you shared that!! Really! Makes me like you even more than I already did bevor! Keep up just being the way you are and thank you so much for inspiring and sharing your journey with all of us 🙏🏼🫶
Thought you should read my response - As a fan of both of you guys, I disagree with your conclusion Ali. You're both focused on a different audience. I don't think it's on you to make the best mechanical keyboard at the best price. That would be on him if he made one. Which is why he won't, because it's not really feasible at his scale. You have a different audience that expects something completely different. For example, I'm a record producer. If my audience bought a cooking pan from me, they should expect a cooking pan that makes sense for another record producer at a fair price. That's not your lane. It's his. Just as if he made productivity videos, no one would expect them to be like yours. Don't beat yourself up. What you did makes sense and being reviewed by someone like him is an unfair place to put yourself in. I'm not a cook. You're not a custom keyboard builder. - And to be clear, what HipyoTech did wasn't wrong either. It was perfect for his audience. No reason you both need to please the other's subscribers.
@@REAPERMania The pan analogy doesn't really make sense as a pan has nothing to do with what you do. If you were to produce a peripheral related to what you do, I'd hope that you'd make it good and not just market the shit out of it while being a very poor value offering in comparison to the rest of the market. For instance, if you made a MIDI keyboard, priced it to compete with the higher-end of the market, and your product had the quality of a competitor at half the price, you made a bad call. It doesn't matter if you aren't making it for "MIDI Keyboard enthusiasts", you made a bad product that your audience is going to buy because your name is attached to it. No one expected Ali to create a keyboard for keyboard enthusiasts, but he definitely could have done better in providing a fairly priced peripheral that he approved of to his audience. Respect to Ali for facing criticism head on, he clearly cares about making the right decisions, but let's call a spade a spade here, he made a mistake.
@@thatmfdiego A pan is still something I use in my life. Record producers also need to eat. A mechanical keyboard isn't something that you need for productivity either. If it makes you more productive, use one. But this product does what it claims to do. It's a good mechanical keyboard, it looks nice and if you like it, it may make you more productive. It's a bit expensive but so are other luxury items. I paid $80 for a desk pad that is made of felt. Way overpriced but the difference between $30 and $80 isn't that big of a deal for me. Just as a $159 keyboard isn't a big deal for me. My daily driver was $105 but I have about 6 keyboards and many of them are over $250. All overpriced if you ask me. If mechanical keyboards are your hobby, you probably wouldn't buy this keyboard unless you happen to love the choices and look. But it's not a bad product. Had he made a great mechanical keyboard, it would have easily cost $350 with the way things scale for a creator like him. And I would argue asking your fans to spend $350 would be a real scummy thing to do as great keyboards are available for around $100. This one costs more because it's coming from a smaller creator. Not a huge corporation.
Show me a man who hasn't failed, and I'll show you a man who has never tried. It takes a lot of courage for someone to share their own mistakes, and I really appreciate you doing that as many others can learn from your experience. Thanks Ali.
I do agree, but absolutely not clever to open up numbers, and specifically make the argument that price is due to scale. Price is value people pay for it. Hermes sells expensive bags to the right customer at the right volume, not because they only can make 10
Right. 3 months later and the product is still listed for sale at the exact same price with the same issues. This is obviously a fairly calculated move and the real item he's trying to protect is the 5k courses which the keyboard video and comments also ragged on. Ali obviously needs to neutralize this commentary because if there's enough negativity it'll eventually attract scrutiny upon his 5k courses and those are his actual bread and butter.
Hey Ali! Been following you for a long time since you were a medical doctor but never commented. However, this transparent and candid video of you sharing your side of the story is one I need to comment. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, being transparent, and not belittling your critics. Your resilience to push forward despite so many challenges is admirable as most of us would've just folded. I totally agree with the key-man risk part of the business. All the best in Lightmode!
I am not interested in tech whatsoever but this was really refreshing. Everyone who tried to start a business knows you will fail and fail repeatedly and its very discouraging to see people on social media who only show their highlights and success. And if it makes you feel any better, I really like the design of that keyboard lol.
This my be one of my favourite videos from your channel. I know it's commonly said to turn a mistake or failure into a learning opportunity, but to see it in as close to real time as possible, is truly inspirational. Kudos to you for your candid openness and willing to face criticism head on. While at the same time, also standing for where you disagree on the points of difference.
Such a good video! The lessons learned are A+++. It's also so important to detach personally from a "failed" launch/product so you can instead get curious in trying to figure out how to improve the product. You'll also get way more backing if you do a future launch now that we're bought in on your integrity + self-awareness on this!
I love that you shared this, as a full-time content creator myself I'm in exactly the same position as you - I don't want my business to rely on me for everything but that's the current situation. As a result, I've also been looking into creating a brand with physical products in my niche so all your learnings are incredibly helpful. Please keep sharing! I wonder if building a brand seperate to you, low-key not talking about it and establishing reviews from customers not knowing it's anything to do with you in the first place might build a stronger brand with feedback first, so any negatives don't come back on your personal brand but it would make marketing much more expensive. It's a tricky one! Look forward to hearing updates and to be fair, the keyboard looks great
Okay here's my thoughts on this: you tried something you had never done before, something you had no experience with, you did a reasonably good job but it wasn't perfect. You admitted to making mistakes, you responded to criticism in a reasonable way without getting defensive, despite the fact that you felt embarrassed. Somebody as smart and successful as you, Ali, not only made mistakes but admitted to them. That gives hope to me and to everyone who isn't quite there yet. It's okay to try something new and not be perfect. I'm about halfway through the video so I may have more comments later. Anyway, good job!
The transparency and vulnerability on display here is so inspiring in a refreshing way!! There’s so much to learn here about how to grow from valid criticism and using failure as a springboard for future success 🙌🏾🙌🏾 thanks for making this video man, really appreciate what you’re doing here!
I love how vulnerable you are in this video. it shows how you really put into practise what you "preach" you traid, you failed, and i hope you will try again!!! love your work and thank you for opening up like this. it was palpable how difficult this video was for you to make! love your work, your authenticity and how you are just...you!
I vicariously experienced the discomfort in making this video, and I truly appreciate your honesty in sharing what you've learned from this experience. If it's any consolation, this video stands out as one of the most impactful and insightful ones I've seen on your channel. Your willingness to confront challenges head-on only deepens my respect for your work.
I appreciate you confronting this in a very objective and open way, so that we all can learn from it. Coincidently I’m launching my own keyboard, and I’ve felt similar things. Thanks for sharing your unique insights and lessons. Wishing you the best Ali!
The first time a friend mentioned your channel to me was somewhere around 2019, 2020 - before COVID. So longitudinally, seeing your rise to success on RUclips and in business has been something I’ve followed for many years. But it’s videos like this that give the feeling of “ah, that’s why I remember subscribing to Ali.” Not for being the #1 most followed productivity guru, or very successful in online business, or even for the fellow doctor status…but for just being a dude trying to do his best to create something cool, on an uncertain journey. That’s what I relate to the most, and also learning the most vicariously from. So the video is much appreciated 🙏
Agreed 100%. Ali has formidable academic and entreneurial accomplishments, yet shows up on his channel humble, raw, and honest, but also without diluting his content down to trite affirmations or long winded personal narratives without any lessons to glean. I love when people achieve exponentially more than the average person yet stay relatable and grounded throughout their climb.
100%. I don't watch any of his normal uploads, which are usually the same fundamentals repackaged into a new video (not always though; he does share fresh ideas). I tune in for these life and business updates which shows the reality of things and how he is continually learning. Even the productivity expert doesn't have everything figured out - that's what gives me relatability and is the core reason why I am still subscribed.
As one of those 206, I love this video. Ali, you're not scummy. I bought this keyboard because you made it. I have a few others - including a Keycron - and I wanted another type of switch. So I was excited when you launched the yellow switches. In your previous videos, you frequently review tech products at different price points and features and what works for which person. I like mechanical keyboards but I don't have hundreds and hundreds to spend on them. So yeah, I trusted you. And for me personally, you didn't let me down. I love the keyboard. I also love that you did this video in the first place and that you're vulnerable and open-- that is your brand. That is why people are drawn to you. Thank you for this keyboard. Thank you for this video. Thank you for this channel. Thank you for these feelings that we all have on different scales. This is why viewers stay with you. Not because a product makes profit or doesn't. Hope you have some compassion and pride for yourself today and going forward.
I agree, honesty, empathy and compassion for his audience is Ali’s brand! I am glad he is willing to be so honest and transparent. This video sets such a great example for all creators, aspiring creators and the general audience. Thanks Ali!! 🙏🏼
Amy is right on the money. I am on the website purchasing a keyboard now. Not because it's the "best", but because it's maker is trustworthy and wants to do better. That's a story I want to be part of.
I watched your integrity driven, honest , fair and deeply humbling assessment of your journey with this product and I was so humbled myself by your openness, grace and humility in facing this difficult situation, hand in hand, side by side openly and fully with us. I have been referred to you from my stoic exploration and have just seen a magnificent example of the fundamental values by you demonstrating true stoicism at its best, in your outlook, intention and drawing of healthy, truthful, unbiased, stringent, deeply considered and bravely unfiltered conclusions here. This is not simply about the keyboard dilemma, this is bigger picture revelation that I or anyone else lucky enough to see this can remember and apply thoroughly to our own stumbles and failures. Most especially your comment in the gut feeling you had that you put to the side - so relatable and so powerful. So refreshing. Thank you thank you thank you. I’m looking forward to ordering my keyboard and when you have designed and endorsed the new bag I will be preordering one of those. Go well. Onwards and upwards sharing your gifts, inspiration and insights.
I was going to write a comment asking if you had gotten any feedback from those that purchased your 206 keyboards and what did they think? Then I read @amyyoder768 and thought well there is one and the purchaser was satisfied. I am not in the need for a keyboard, but honestly, I came very close to just purchasing just because I don't have a mechanical keyboard, although I have been considering getting one for several years now. Maybe I would give this a go as a test bed to see what I like and don't like. Ultimately, didn't because I am a wireless keyboard user, I like the freedom of being not being tethered. But I was close:)! Lastly, I think this product development and launch was well worth the lessons learned. You are young, and the knowledge you and your team gained from this launch is priceless. Best of luck on all future endeavors!
The efficiency of this *DaleValskov* is next level. To juggle walk throughs of various angles on the topic delivered to-camera, differnet content per topic from various folks underneath the umbrella of the track list of the larger big band concert itself is engaging and refined. To make a dense taccess like this so digestible is really something. Awesome work jack!!
He is probably one of the only RUclipsrs who thought about his actions and audience more than just monetary gain from the keyboard sales. I am 100% sure that majority of the audience would have not even know about this keyboard failure, but the fact that he still addressed it, knowing that this might harm the brand image (at least in the short term) really shows honesty
and the beautiful thing is that this is the most authentic take that makes people connect magnetically to you. selling = helping and not all ventures are successful and that is ok
Your honesty is appreciated. It's quite a bold move to address the constructive criticism head-on. Keep growing into the best version of the man you can possibly be, and the rest will fall into places. Best wishes!
Watching this video felt like talking to a good friend, while I didn't even have to say anything, the friend just asked himself all the right questions and made the right conclusions. So wholesome... 😇🙌
I think there's nothing more educational to beginner entrepreneurs (which I would guess is a subset of your overall audience) than hearing a story like this and learning from the mistakes. I think it's awesome that you were transparent and shared the ups and downs of this venture. Keep up the good work!
Hey Ali. I love that you took this whole experience and put it out there as a lesson learned and how to improve in the future. We are all learning and growing everyday. I love your insights into Feel Good Productivity and strive to add it into my daily life as much as I possibly can. I also love that you are always transparent in how you work your business as well. You have taught me so many things through your videos and tbh you are my favorite youtuber. I love the look of the keyboard and if I was into mechanical keyboards would totally buy it. I am so excited about the possible release of the bag! I have a major bag problem and have never been able to find one that meets all my needs so can't wait to see what you will design and release.
Product strategist here. Enthusiast communities can often start holding products to very weird, seemingly arbitrary and constantly evolving standards. Mechanical keyboard enthusiasts in particular can get really caught up in gasket mounts, or types of lube, or whatever the latest hotness is. HOWEVER, that doesn't absolve your responsibility to understand that market and where your product sits in it. Re: The whole 'is it scummy' discussion... I think it comes from not really having defined who its for, beyond "someone who doesn't know enough to choose something better". You get to define the target market as "They care about and want different things than the enthusiast" with absolutely no problem, but I think half-baking it by saying "Oh that group /isn't/ the market" is probably unhelpful as it's basically just saying "If you don't like it, you're not the market". The MKB enthusiast /loves/ value-for-money and spec-sheet comparisons, so will interpret "I can get these specs/materials elsewhere for less" as "You're ripping people off because you're famous", and will get righteously indignant about that feeling. Saying "You're not the market then" will just come off like saying "You're not dumb enough to fall for it, but someone else will". It's tricky with an early product/company to carve out a meaningful proposition (especially in something that can feel as commoditised as MKBs), but I'd encourage you to really think about who the user really is, who could know about every other competitor on the market and still pick yours. That I think will give you a clearer idea of a path forward.
Awesome break-down! It sounds like it was maybe not a good enough job of doing market research in the productivity niche and not understanding what his audience wants? Super cool comment.
@@thelifewithnate In effect (and you can hear it a lot in how Ali talks about the genesis of this project) he's started with a solution (a business that can outlast him and monetise his audience) and gone looking for a problem (I guess minimalist-ish vibe keyboards), rather than starting with a problem and gone looking for a solution. Like he said - businesses are just organisations that charge money for solving problems. In this case it feels like they started with the charging money part, not with solving problems.
@@MattDiffey Thank you for pointing to what I feel a lot of marketers promote - Priority #1: building an income through a business Priority #2: Solving people's problems. I'm not naïve enough to think that people should just start businesses out of the good of their hearts. And this is something I've struggled with myself and having FOMO about not having passive income or products in addition to my services. But the focus really has to be on what the customer needs/wants and to pursue THAT with the heat of a thousand suns. Perhaps there were a few hundred suns missing on this endeavour? Or the Priority #1 was equal or stronger than Priority #2. Regardless I am impressed by Ali's candour and reflectiveness and appreciate his willingness to share how he failed forward.
@@MattDiffeyyes, and I think this is what Ali has done wrong. He should try to fix people's problems first and then if he can monetise it, that will be a bonus. He didn't start his RUclips channel to make millions; he wanted to educate & help. I think he should stick to that.
Not “scummy”. Personally I don’t care enough about keyboards to want to spend lots of time researching keyboards. From my perspective, if I wanted to buy a keyboard, I’d look at the lightmode one since if it’s good for you it’s probably good for me too. I’d be thankful that you saved me having to go and spend a bunch of time learning all the geeky details about keyboards… and that lines up with your productivity purpose. I respect your honesty and I love your book!
It's rare to see honesty this genuine these days. As a mechanical keyboard nerd, I guess I'm subscribing for more than just keyboards. I'm interested to see more vids like this
things I learned - admitting your mistakes is very nice; builds trust - I relate to the trusting your gut thingy - when starting a project or something you need bias towards action and in the middle you need bias towards quality
Thank you for sharing your experience so openly with us. I love that you built the keyboard not for a "strategic" business reason, but because you actually found it cool and just to see how the experience would be like. That's my definition of building a business around your dream life rather than the other way round. Keep doing what aligns with you Ali. You are an inspiration :)
This honesty is the main reason why I subscribed to your channel couple of years back! Success and failure of a product is also a part of learning process. Keep going and stay the same as you are! ❤
This is brilliant, you are doing the exact right thing! take it for what it is. learn and grow with failures! most of us have a hard time with accepting defeat, but its how you rise from it that shows who you are.
Ali, the thing that makes you so genuine human being is that you are really ok with being vulnerable! Many people would hide the confusion and embarrassing feelings from the camera! This is what I used to and trying to share in my own RUclips channel!
You see lots of people having temper tantrums about this sort of thing but you haven’t, Ali. In the words of Dieter F. Uchtdorg “It's your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life's story will develop.” That’s why you’re a role model to so many and will surely grow from this and achieve a lot more going forward. Thank you Ali.
my take aways: -don't have the first business be a product if the goal is net profit early on - different strategies are needed at different business stages - being a real human is okay and being able to communicate that effectively gets people to watch until the end of a video
Solid and refreshing response. To the "Is it scummy?" question, I think the answer is nuanced. Intent would clearly swing the needle one direction or the other, but I think understanding the competitive value of a product is important, especially when selling to an audience that probably won't put in the leg work to find the best value for themselves.
Love your insights on how you guys approached this side of your business. Refreshing to hear a person honestly dissect something that hasn't gone to plan. It's certainly not a failure, as you’ve all clearly learnt from the process. My takeaway from this video is that, in some circumstances one type of approach works (e.g. a bias to action), but one approach that's been reliable over a prolonged period, is not a panacea for all circumstances/ periods.
Great video. It's nice to see the real and not just the curated image. As someone who does music production gear videos I always try to frame things as "I'm not telling you what is best for you, I'm telling you what is best for me that you might take a look at to see if it is also good for you." If they blindly trust me, they will grab something, but I'm also saying they should see for themselves if they have any doubts. THanks for everything you do. I've watched since you were at about 200K subscribers and it's been inspiring to follow along. CHEERS!
@@thelifewithnate I've been using the gear to produce and perform electronic music for decades and I decided to make the videos I wish I'd had when I was learning. I still produce and perform a lot and the RUclips videos is a way to try to help others enjoy it as much as I do.
I think it's very cool that you had a call with this guy. The version 2 has to involve his expertise. You may even collaborate with him as a professional or designer and share the costs (so he can also promote it).
Ali, you are the best. We love you!! I have loved this channel because it really doesn’t feel like a RUclipsr trying to make clickbaity videos. It feels like a friend who learns new things, from exciting people and experiences, and shares it with me. This video, you sharing about this failure, its totally visible how hard was it for you, but you still did it and have been transparent. You have no idea how much you have inspired by just doing that. Love you Ali! You are the best and you are a champ! We trust you.
In 2021, I started watching your videos, and actually started a productivity based brand. It ultimately failed due to a falling out with my business partner and I, but I must say that my biggest inspiration was also ugmonk. We were looking at creating a writer's productivity smart desk, essentially, and the tech space is definitely tough to get into. I have now transitioned myself to a lifestyle brand - without tech involved - due to the shortcomings within my own financial abilities to get this kind of feedback or be able to leverage an audience as you have. I definitely have noted these pitfalls you've faced and will utitlize the knowledge going forward in my own career. I believe sharing failures is more important than sharing successes, and for that, i truly thank you. All the best - and I'm looking forward to buying V2 of your keyboard :)
Wow... it's my first time watching a video of yours... and I must admit I have a lot of respect for what you did. I'm starting a new brand as we speak and took so much out of this video. Hard to name just one. Took a lot of notes and tips that I will implement right away. But wow, man, we need space to make mistakes. That's how we learn. Don't ever wish you didn't do it! That keyboard is nice! And the fact that you created a new business for things you love and enjoy, that is simply amazing and so inspiring for us creators out there! Kudos to you for wanting to go the extra mile to make is even better next time and learn from it. Please don't feel bad or embarrassed about it. Embrace it. That's what we all have to do as creators.
It’s really refreshing to see large creators talk honestly and openly about their failures. It was clear that you were a little uncomfortable talking about certain topics at times but you did for transparency and we respect you for that. I am tempted to buy the keyboard as a reminder that even the great people I look up to fail, and failure is just a jump start to learning. Thank you for making this video.
At the beginning I thought that I would skip on the video as it doesn't relate to anything I do. And then you said: "Watching this video made me feel bad. ... Thank you for making the video." That stopped me and glued me to screen. I love the way you went through everything. The ability to look at mistakes, taking in the feedback, and making conclusions on what to do next time - that was off the chart. Excellent 👍🏻. Thank you for making this video.
Props to you bro, it took a lot of courage to put this out there. I really appreciate how honest and organic this whole video is. It's also fascinating to see the business side of things, especially coming to terms with the shortfalls and learning through your mistakes. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger right? Specifically on the keyboard, I don't follow anyone on socials so this is my 1st time hearing about it. TBH my opinion if someone like you were to put out a keyboard would just be that, it's just an "Ali Abdall" keyboard. In no way am I expecting this to be the best choice of mechanical keyboard, cos I know for sure people who's been making keyboards for years would be so far ahead of you. So if I do buy it, it's to support you and cos I like the design.
I have watched many of your videos, but this is honestly the best one. We all need to know how to learn from our mistakes but few people share the details of how they actually learn from their mistakes. At best, people share it several years later, eg "I did this it failed, so I did that, and then it succeeded". When lessons are shared several years later, they lack the nitty-gritty details. So thank you for sharing your failure while it's still very raw. As for the main lessons here, don't spread yourself too thin and don't skip user testing, those are transferable to all businesses.
There is a logical fallacy when you say you don't want to compete with the more budget friendly keyboard so you price yours higher. If you want to place a product into a certain price range it also has to offer features that justify said price range, this base level of performance has to be properly researched and your "feelings" don't matter. It may very well be that it's the best keybord you tried but that doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things... You being a public figure earned you the trust of a group of people (the fact it's warranted or not is irrelevant) that will trust this is a keyboard worth the admission price which makes it more disappointing when it's revealed not to be the case... Also, the fact you have high expenses is TOTALLY irrelevant to the quality of a consumer product, if all you can offer is x$ quality and your expenses suggest a price of x + x/2 $ that's a you problem, you can't dump the problem onto the consumer, that's a remarkable bad business practice for a productivity guru... That may work if you offer something innovative but you chose to dive into a pretty crowded pool with a bog standard product... The fact that the usual mechanical keyboard consumer is a pretty methodical and dedicated nerd doesn't help either.
Everything he did was directly against the reason he wanted to even do this in the first place, which is to launch a product that’s independent of him.
I think the foundational "mistakes" here is not prioritising the customers perspective. The lack of brand positioning makes this business confuses itself. Because customers dont care if you are a new business that need to up the price because of the limited scale of economics. At the end of the day, majority of people wanted to buy the best value from a product that they get. Kudos for sharing all this story though. Always love all your content. Cant wait for the next great business!
I'm only halfway through but it really sounds like "Yeah the product isn't great, but we're not targeting people who know what a great product is." If you're admitting it's not priced well, it can't compete with products half its price and your justification for that is "We're not targeting people who know that", should this product exist? I get you want to start a self-reliant business but what's the benefit for your consumers? What makes this a good product for them? It's really good the amount of transparency in this video though. I don't think it's a "scam" or a "cash grab" but I do think every product needs to begin with "Do people need this?".
Agreed. He’s not bringing anything new to the market and as much as he’s trying to argue it’s not a cash grab, it is. If he’s not actually drawing up the designs himself and a factory is doing the work, then he’s just white labelling it.
@@boostaconfiance Well your point of him selling a mediocre product based on his name alone is... exactly everyone's criticism? Okay, I don't know anything about marketing. You don't know anything about the product in question. We aren't talking about two identical products with different colours. He didn't release a different colour version of a different keyboard. He released a worse product for the price compared to other products on the market. Imagine an iPhone 15 costs £1000. Now imagine I release an iPhone 13 for £1300 and I'm selling it to my audience. Would you argue the same thing you're arguing now? (If you would, you'd be wrong). That's what he did. He released a product with fewer features (gasket mounting, foam padding, different connectivity options, different key switch options) for about 50% more than it would cost to get all of this stuff. So I ask, why does this exist? If it doesn't exist to be a good product, it exists to be sold based on his name (something he said he doesn't want) and to be sold to people who don't know any better. Exactly everyones criticism. Welcome to the party.
+1 Think about the consumer value if you want this to be a standalone business. Otherwise it’s just a merch business where fans will buy products to support you but the product doesn’t add value to the consumer. Which is fine too but that didn’t sound like the genesis of this business.
I think one challenging part of the keyboard and tech space is that there are a lot of metrics on "performance" and "feel" that are very difficult to quantify. Product weight, texture, sound, movement - all are so subjective and so dependant on the environment its being used in. And youre competing against brands that have either built followings and trust, or built their business to the point of having the scale to provide lower prices/better value. Its a challenging space to break into, and I applaud the effort. I haven't followed your business or journey, and my first exposure to you was from Hipyos video - but what I saw wasnt scummy or a cash grab. It was a faltering first step, and your video here really addresses many of the issues I sensed from Hipyos video. I think your commitments and understanding of where things went wrong, and identifying where you'd solicit feedback in future opportunities, really shows that you're being mindful of your audience and your brand, and are willing to be humble regarding your own biases. For future launches, I would consider reducing your own presence on the recommendation of the products, and letting reviewers champion the product instead - to reduce the implicit "productivity authority" bias that suggest a boost /improvement simply by your involvement. Your points with Hipyo at the end around a great feel/experience/aesthetic were great. Sell it for what it is - the right keyboard for YOU, here's what that keyboard is, if a customer likes that then they should buy it. Treat yourself like an influencer for your product and share why its good for you specifically. I appreciated the humble approach, and the honesty, and the rawness of the video. I hope to see more forays into tech and solutions for people - building a sustainable brand, that doesn't depend on the Key Man, is an uphill battle. This is a good start, even if it doesn't feel like it.
This experience resonated with me as a product designer. There are times when you think you can take on multiple projects and do it all well but in the end quality suffers. And it's sometimes hard to see that that's happening in the moment. Also, it's really refreshing to see someone who is an expert in so many domains respond with curiosity and openness to critical feedback. I enjoyed hearing what you learned during this process and hope you share more about the journey to v2.
thank you, Ali, for being open even about the failures! I'm sure you will put it on track! Could you please call the war in Ukraine "the war", not "the stuff in Ukraine", people are dying daily from Russian missiles there :(
I always respected your views and the interesting topics you talk about. I follow you since years, but you became my "hero" with this video. Thank you so much to be so brave and honest! Everyone talks about owning their mistakes, and learn from them, but sharing these publicly...you really lead by example. I undersand that this must have been difficult for you, but for me, your video ment a lot in processing my own fear of failure in a healthy way and (not just knowing how I should approach, but) really practicing growth mindset!!! Thank you so much, it gave me a lot of courage to get up and continue workig towards my goals. (Similarly to your previous "how i failed" videos, but this was....different)
Thank you for your story I learned a lot from it. I think that failure is the very best way to learn. You do not denying your mistakes, blaming others or attempting to spin your way out of trouble. Its just like in the book "Black Box Thinking" - you have a healthy relationship with this failure, and I admire that. I wish you best!
I don’t have any one specific takeaway but I really appreciate your transparency in what your thoughts were throughout the process of making the board. I don’t think you’re a scummy person at all, and it’s clear to me that this project was not a cash grab (I’m positive there are many ways for you to make more money with way less effort haha). I think the mechanical keyboard hobby can be a really tough place to do business and I think you did your best in navigating that (and you seem to have a better idea of how to move forward if you try again!).
Much respect man came here from Hipyos Review it's amazing to see you owning it love to see this we all make mistakes, and it is from those mistakes we learn the most
The insights from this video were truly enlightening. Being in my early 20s, I was under the impression that I needed to conceive an idea that would be an instant success upon launch. However, after hearing about your journey of launching your product, I’ve come to understand that it’s a more prolonged process. It may take years to establish a brand image or come up with a well performing product. This realization has been quite valuable to me.
Great lesson: Realizing the importance of getting feedback from others (when happy enough yourself) as part of the design. And asking feedback (offline first) both from the enthusiasts/ experts and the "ordinary" people. p.s. ability to take feedback and criticism like you're doing is a huge asset and shows character to do it publicly. Respect.
Ali , my first comment ever on your channel and reason is: I got so much from your honesty, your humility and your introspection ( almost more then the countless other videos of yours that I watched ). We often look at people from the out thinking that they take action and they win without seeing some of the struggles they also have in the process. As a young entrepreneur myself this helped me more than you could ever imagine. Thanks for the share Regards Thomas
To me, your discussion about the price sums it all up. When I saw Hypio video (I’m what you can call a keyboard enthousiast) I was like « this keyboard is ok if it’s sold for something between 80 and 100 dollars ». And there you are : the keyboard itself is worth 70 dollars. The thing is, you are asking for 150 $ for a product anyone can have on Amazon for 80 $. Throw in a nice set of keycaps you’re at a 100. My point being, you’re not bringing any value to your consumer or to the market. Not because you’re scummy. But because your ideal is flawed from the start : you’re building from scratch a product that massive companies built ten years ago. To make a comparison, imagine launching a company that invested billions of dollars to create a smartphone with the specs and characteristics of the very first iPhone in 2024. The result would be a 2500 $ phone that gets smoked by any budget smartphone. That would not make sense to anyone and unless it’s hyped by influencers no one would buy it. And I think that Hipyo’s premise is that he thinks you know you’re selling a very bad value product and endorse it anyway. I get why it hurts you but the thing is : either you know this keyboard is a very bad value and endorse it and sell it anyway and in this case this is a scummy move, either you don’t know or realise how bad value this product is. But in that case it’s a problem too because you and your team made a very bad job analysing the market. And it’s not bad value because enthousiast say it is but because if you type « cheap mechanical keyboards » on Amazon and buy the very first you one you see you basically have a product that has the same specs and characteristics as yours. Randomly buying a 50/60 $ keyboard brings to the customer the same value as your keyboard that’s sold for 3 times that.
This is why you’re my own online mentor and favorite content creator. You are so honest and transparent. This is also a reason why I bought your book “Feel Good Productivity” because you’re one of the people that makes everything personable and easy to follow for those who are also on their own journey. Your failed product doesn’t reflect you as a person but you sharing your insight, giving conclusions and sharing the negative feedback and building off from the feedback shows me you’re a trust-worthy person. I’m not interested in tech accessories but thank you for showing your process for this product. I’m sure your next product will be a great one! Love from the Philippines, Ali!
I learned a nice thing "When a person become more successful than others, people will not appreciate him on his success but if he did one thing wrong even mistakenly, they will just leave no stone unchecked in harassing them" These things should not discourage the successful one cuz from 99 percent success he only got 1 percent failure
I feel that the last bull run was bolstered by all the money being printed. Major returns next bull run but I think they will be tamer in my humble opinion. A 10x on *DaleValskov* and a 15x on polygon are fair considering how much those two coins are interwov
This is why I subscribe to you. The value we get from every piece of content is really great. I really hope your brand takes off (that is keep putting the effort and then it will). Love you Ali!
Thank you for the honesty and sharing. Choosing whether to “Move fast and break things” or “Go slow to go fast” is a tricky one. My mentor told me when I took on a new project: rely on your experts!
Sourcer here. The customer doesn't care how much it costs to manufacture. They look at the purchase price vs features. It's your job to pick product cases that has a high margin before engaging the project. Imagine you had to sell the keyboard to a distributor, who then had to sell it to dealer, before it reached the end user. How would the MSRP look then? I would guess north of 250USD. Cutting out the distributor and dealer in the pricing model is a huge advantage and allows you to spend even more than normal on manufacturing costs (better materials, components etc), OR have higher profits so the product case can cover for other products that didn't work, or be put towards additional company growth. You priced it at 130usd MSRP (ex. vat) from a manufacturing cost of 70usd, but imo that's a good 40usd higher manufacturing cost than you'd normally see on a 130usd ex. vat product. Sometimes, you have industries where the big players have the volume, but only the low volume companies (often solo developers / power users) know what features the end user wants. In these cases, if you're a product expert, you can seize the opportunity to make a product that is designed better than the high volume competitors. But you have to be GOOD at the products and understanding the market trends. I think there are these opportunities in the tech scene.
As someone who likes mechanical keyboards I probably wouldn't buy your keyboard specifically. But also I don't feel like I am your target audience. Any consumer considering purchasing something should do their own research to see if there is anything better and at the end of the day purchase the product that they like. You made something that looks good and put effort into that you think your target audience would buy. I hope you manage to break even on the keyboard and make an even better V2 in the future! The way that you have turned this into a learning experience is an encouraging thing to see as learning from failure and seeing failure as a good thing is something I personally try to keep as a core principle myself.
whole comment section of this vid is so positive even though any1 who knows anything about what he did and the keyboard space knows how blatant of a shameless cash grab this product was from start to finish. How do grifters get away with this so easily is beyond me.
I admire your transparency here Ali. Thank you for being vulnerable! Physical product businesses don't sound easy, I have tried it on a small scale. Best of luck with it all 😃
Hey Ali, this is by far the most gutsy video I have ever seen from anybody talking business on YT. The biggest lesson for me personally is not everything that works in a creators economy (fail fast for example) would necessarily work everywhere especially when you have already built a cult in one specific niche and have high stakes. I can feel very strongly that this experience has made you even more stronger to make Lightmode a successful brand. I wish you all the best your journey is a university for me. God Bless ❤ ~ Your moist eyes summed up your intentions just before you stopped recording. ~ Anshul Tiwari (IT k Funde)
Just bulk it to a course. The highest course payers get a keyboard. The next 10 people who buy a top-tier course will be sent a keyboard. Not the end of the world. Use it as a course bonus.
Can't deny the fact that *DaleValskov* is the strongest bet to bring power back to this industry after we suffered FTX, Celsius, Tera and so on. Sure if they fail it's done for good, but I don't see that the biggest tech company in the world would put everything at risk just for that.
The rawness and authenticity of this video can be felt beyond the screen. Your transparency and honesty in your business approach can be seen. Much respect. Heck... I'm thinking about buying one of your V1 keyboards JUST to support you.
Ali, on and off follower from years ago here. You're an absolute legend. How you can publicly do this in such an authentic and open way shows your immense courage. Most people would just try to bury something like this and forget it even existed. You decided to face it straight and own up to it. Kudos on your big balls, it's awesome that we still have people like you in this world. One minor thing you didn't really discuss, but I'm sure you'll be familiar with. You wanted to do this keyboard and brand because you wanted to build something that existed outside of your day to day. That's not a good reason to build anything. The world doesn't care that you want to detach your time from your earnings. A good reason to build something is that you're going to make the world better by doing so. Do that for the next product, and I'm sure your earnings and personal integrity after the path will be happy. BTW, maybe you shouldn't have listened to the naysayers and should have continued doing stationery. Stationery is awesome, and people pay insane amounts for what is essentiali ;) a notebook. If it's good quality and makes me feel good I also do it. I'm sure there's potential to turn that into a solid brand if you FOCUS. All the best in your journey, and thanks for what you've given everyone so far
I thing that what he was trying to say was that you have a very large audience and many people (including me) truly admire you. So if you made a keyboard those people would buy it without doing much research as they have the feeling. Apple fanboy type something. BTW thank you very much for the amount of value you added to my life.
yeah but I guess Ali's opinion is - so what? if people don't want to do research, that's on them. he's not scamming them, he's selling a product he's proud of and uses himself. I personally know more than the average person about mechanical keyboards, but much less than an enthusiast, and if I liked the aesthetic of this, would be happy to get it. people can choose how they want to spend their money and the onus isn't on the person marketing to spell out all the research for them. it's simply to market the product. e.g. show the best attributes and why they should buy it. to that end, ali did a great job, and even went further and talked about some of the cons, which is totally unnecessary and seldom done by most companies.
Let me summarize. Ali is a successful productivity youtuber who wants to produce a physical product. But he faces the challenges of producing a physical product. All of them are justified, but at the end of the day, a product with a low price-performance ratio for the consumers. Hipyo, a youtuber specialized in keyboards, evaluates the product and states that it is a failure. He says that the reason for this is that from the beginning this product was not intended to be a competitive product but to capitalize on the Ali Abdaal name, which is often a correct proposition. In conclusion, even if Ali didn't intend to do so, this type of product comes with the baggage of being a youtuber's product. At the end of the day, even if Ali resents some of Hipyo's criticisms, Hipyo's criticisms are spot on and brand loyalty (even personal brand loyalty) is nonsense.
I just have to say I have the utmost respect for your honesty, transparency and humility. This is an amazing example of a great person learning on this journey. As an entrepreneur myself I can absolutely relate to what you have to share and I honestly teared listening to your experience through this process. And as a keyboard enthusiast personally I could absolutely understand and see what Hipyo Tech was coming from (I also follow him). I love it that this is turned into a learning lesson. Just wanted to share a pattern that I've noticed that can add to your thought process around move fast and break things - you can do so if you're dedicated and learn fast. In the space of two years the keyboard scene has drastically changed and you weren't able to keep up as it was not the core focus. When it comes to move fast break things, one needs to always be on top of the market and figure out what the customers want to stay relevant. Meanwhile go slow to go fast can be leveraging on current brand value to find best feedback from others who are already moving fast and breaking things to find the best collaborative leverage. I love what you're saying about getting others to review before launching and seriously respect your business acumen from this lesson. You are an absolute legend with this video in my eyes.
Most software companies actually do help their customers do research and often publish comparisons on their blog between their product and competitors. It's pretty standard practice.
Video is so good that I had to subscribe immediately. I am doing dropshipping because it will always be viable since people need to buy things. If you can find good products and make your store appealing, you will be really successful. My strategy is to use some product search tools (my favorite one is using a little bit of winnerzila. I love how affordable their lifetime plan is, and I paid it off in one week). If someone is wondering, my favorite niches are pets and electronics. You can always have good money in these.
The problem I have with your reasoning is that you are trying to make it separate from you. That is fine but you used The Rock as an argument for why your keyboards don't have to be amazing. The Tequila brand is about The Rock and that is why the fans buy it. I thought you wanted to be separated from your brand, so act like it. If you can't compete on price or quality, you should have gone for a more unique aesthetic or something because otherwise people will only buy this keyboard as long as *you* keep promoting it.
the argument was because the video said it was scummy of him for people not doing research? totally bs argument. Is apple suggesting consumers to do research comparing with microsoft? doesn't make sense tbh
@@allangamez94 19:55 He says people don't buy The Rocks Tequila because it is the best and "that's not the point". Well, what is the point then? The *celebrity* behind it. Apple had a vision, a unique feature, and an idea. People didn't buy it because Steve Jobs said they should, but because the product competed in the market and won. There is a clear difference between influencer and normal brands; Ali initially stated, he wanted a normal brand. In that case, he shouldn't get butt hurt when someone reviews his keyboard and compares it with other keyboards and calls out that the price is too high for what it is. The problem is that Ali brings nothing to the table besides his name in this case. I understand a planner and his courses, but this time it feels like he invested a lot of money into something he doesn't know enough about and tries to compete with experts that he can't beat on features or price. Btw: 34:02 sums up why it might feel scummy for an influencer to promote an expensive, subpar item. People don't use Excel because Bill Gates said they should. Kids buy an overpriced, unhealthy drink because Logan Paul says they should. Influencers have more of an influence and should act responsibly.
Honestly we need more people like Hipyo, Mrwhoseboss, MKBHD calling out products that are plain and simply just not good. Pricing matters now days, quality and reliability needs to be reflected on it. You have to ask, what am I do doing that will make me stand out from the competitors and what can I do to improve what is already available. It can be price, functionality, asthetics but it has to bring value to your target demographic.
Hi Ali, Long time subscriber of yours. My main takeaway from this video is: Just because you already have en established business, persona and/or brand doesn't mean that any new business idea you have will work, even if you pour money into them. I very much appreciate the transparency and openness you showed us in the video.
The argument Hippo is trying to make to you is that you are essentially acting as an influencer promoting a brand as "great and best" when you really don't know anything about the hobby or topic. Every influencer ultimately gets ripped for doing that, you are no different. You shouldn't do that. It is predatory to your audience because you KNOW there are people that will just buy it because you say so.
I first watched Hipyos video, then saw this video was recommended and here I am. I just wanted to say that this is a very respectable thing you’ve done. I think it’s really important to learn from “the haters” since they tend to be the most vocal. Getting positive and negative feedback is crucial for any product that goes to market. While this first keyboard may not have been as good as you wanted for all of us, but that just means I’ll be looking out for v2!!
I honestly believe its all lies, you've been caught red handed and you just try hard to not get canceled. In reality you sold chinesse garbage worth 20$ for 160 to a gullible audience❤
I hope you enjoyed this video, was tough to make 😆what did you guys think?
Hey Ali!
One day u will watch this video and will see how far have you gone and how big your business has come! This is what I can promise u! Just keep going regardless of these people
I love how you deal with that!! And that you shared that!! Really! Makes me like you even more than I already did bevor! Keep up just being the way you are and thank you so much for inspiring and sharing your journey with all of us 🙏🏼🫶
🐐
I felt really sorry seeing you out of your comfort zone.
Thank you for having me on and facing this in a transparent and productive way!
Howdy Hey
LEAVE ALI ALONE!!!!!!😸
Thought you should read my response - As a fan of both of you guys, I disagree with your conclusion Ali. You're both focused on a different audience. I don't think it's on you to make the best mechanical keyboard at the best price. That would be on him if he made one. Which is why he won't, because it's not really feasible at his scale. You have a different audience that expects something completely different. For example, I'm a record producer. If my audience bought a cooking pan from me, they should expect a cooking pan that makes sense for another record producer at a fair price. That's not your lane. It's his. Just as if he made productivity videos, no one would expect them to be like yours. Don't beat yourself up. What you did makes sense and being reviewed by someone like him is an unfair place to put yourself in. I'm not a cook. You're not a custom keyboard builder. - And to be clear, what HipyoTech did wasn't wrong either. It was perfect for his audience. No reason you both need to please the other's subscribers.
@@REAPERMania The pan analogy doesn't really make sense as a pan has nothing to do with what you do. If you were to produce a peripheral related to what you do, I'd hope that you'd make it good and not just market the shit out of it while being a very poor value offering in comparison to the rest of the market. For instance, if you made a MIDI keyboard, priced it to compete with the higher-end of the market, and your product had the quality of a competitor at half the price, you made a bad call. It doesn't matter if you aren't making it for "MIDI Keyboard enthusiasts", you made a bad product that your audience is going to buy because your name is attached to it.
No one expected Ali to create a keyboard for keyboard enthusiasts, but he definitely could have done better in providing a fairly priced peripheral that he approved of to his audience.
Respect to Ali for facing criticism head on, he clearly cares about making the right decisions, but let's call a spade a spade here, he made a mistake.
@@thatmfdiego A pan is still something I use in my life. Record producers also need to eat. A mechanical keyboard isn't something that you need for productivity either. If it makes you more productive, use one. But this product does what it claims to do. It's a good mechanical keyboard, it looks nice and if you like it, it may make you more productive. It's a bit expensive but so are other luxury items. I paid $80 for a desk pad that is made of felt. Way overpriced but the difference between $30 and $80 isn't that big of a deal for me. Just as a $159 keyboard isn't a big deal for me. My daily driver was $105 but I have about 6 keyboards and many of them are over $250. All overpriced if you ask me. If mechanical keyboards are your hobby, you probably wouldn't buy this keyboard unless you happen to love the choices and look. But it's not a bad product. Had he made a great mechanical keyboard, it would have easily cost $350 with the way things scale for a creator like him. And I would argue asking your fans to spend $350 would be a real scummy thing to do as great keyboards are available for around $100. This one costs more because it's coming from a smaller creator. Not a huge corporation.
Show me a man who hasn't failed, and I'll show you a man who has never tried. It takes a lot of courage for someone to share their own mistakes, and I really appreciate you doing that as many others can learn from your experience. Thanks Ali.
"*Person" ???? 🙄
Posting a video about a product gone wrong and being completely honest about it is a very respectable move 👍
Showing how you turned a tough situation into valuable lessons -refreshingly honest and super helpful. Appreciate you keeping it real!
40 minuets ?
I do agree, but absolutely not clever to open up numbers, and specifically make the argument that price is due to scale. Price is value people pay for it. Hermes sells expensive bags to the right customer at the right volume, not because they only can make 10
I totally agree
Right. 3 months later and the product is still listed for sale at the exact same price with the same issues. This is obviously a fairly calculated move and the real item he's trying to protect is the 5k courses which the keyboard video and comments also ragged on. Ali obviously needs to neutralize this commentary because if there's enough negativity it'll eventually attract scrutiny upon his 5k courses and those are his actual bread and butter.
Hey Ali! Been following you for a long time since you were a medical doctor but never commented. However, this transparent and candid video of you sharing your side of the story is one I need to comment. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, being transparent, and not belittling your critics. Your resilience to push forward despite so many challenges is admirable as most of us would've just folded.
I totally agree with the key-man risk part of the business. All the best in Lightmode!
I am not interested in tech whatsoever but this was really refreshing. Everyone who tried to start a business knows you will fail and fail repeatedly and its very discouraging to see people on social media who only show their highlights and success. And if it makes you feel any better, I really like the design of that keyboard lol.
This my be one of my favourite videos from your channel. I know it's commonly said to turn a mistake or failure into a learning opportunity, but to see it in as close to real time as possible, is truly inspirational. Kudos to you for your candid openness and willing to face criticism head on. While at the same time, also standing for where you disagree on the points of difference.
Failing this early means you learn quicker and win faster. Good luck with your next products!
This is big inspiration. Getting something out there is key. Some folks get so scared that they end up shipping nothing.
It's me... I'm some folks
No pun intended
@@jjf0478 I'm not sure I see the pun ?
@@MatteoMarra3 key like on a keyboard 🤣🤣
@@jjf0478 hahah omg how did I miss that
Such a good video! The lessons learned are A+++. It's also so important to detach personally from a "failed" launch/product so you can instead get curious in trying to figure out how to improve the product. You'll also get way more backing if you do a future launch now that we're bought in on your integrity + self-awareness on this!
I love that you shared this, as a full-time content creator myself I'm in exactly the same position as you - I don't want my business to rely on me for everything but that's the current situation. As a result, I've also been looking into creating a brand with physical products in my niche so all your learnings are incredibly helpful. Please keep sharing! I wonder if building a brand seperate to you, low-key not talking about it and establishing reviews from customers not knowing it's anything to do with you in the first place might build a stronger brand with feedback first, so any negatives don't come back on your personal brand but it would make marketing much more expensive. It's a tricky one! Look forward to hearing updates and to be fair, the keyboard looks great
The humility in this video is refreshing
Okay here's my thoughts on this: you tried something you had never done before, something you had no experience with, you did a reasonably good job but it wasn't perfect. You admitted to making mistakes, you responded to criticism in a reasonable way without getting defensive, despite the fact that you felt embarrassed.
Somebody as smart and successful as you, Ali, not only made mistakes but admitted to them. That gives hope to me and to everyone who isn't quite there yet. It's okay to try something new and not be perfect.
I'm about halfway through the video so I may have more comments later. Anyway, good job!
I mean, Linus, a tech guy, took years to release a fkn screwdriver.
Best response! This x1000
The transparency and vulnerability on display here is so inspiring in a refreshing way!! There’s so much to learn here about how to grow from valid criticism and using failure as a springboard for future success 🙌🏾🙌🏾 thanks for making this video man, really appreciate what you’re doing here!
I love how vulnerable you are in this video. it shows how you really put into practise what you "preach" you traid, you failed, and i hope you will try again!!! love your work and thank you for opening up like this. it was palpable how difficult this video was for you to make! love your work, your authenticity and how you are just...you!
I vicariously experienced the discomfort in making this video, and I truly appreciate your honesty in sharing what you've learned from this experience. If it's any consolation, this video stands out as one of the most impactful and insightful ones I've seen on your channel. Your willingness to confront challenges head-on only deepens my respect for your work.
I appreciate you confronting this in a very objective and open way, so that we all can learn from it. Coincidently I’m launching my own keyboard, and I’ve felt similar things. Thanks for sharing your unique insights and lessons.
Wishing you the best Ali!
The first time a friend mentioned your channel to me was somewhere around 2019, 2020 - before COVID.
So longitudinally, seeing your rise to success on RUclips and in business has been something I’ve followed for many years.
But it’s videos like this that give the feeling of “ah, that’s why I remember subscribing to Ali.” Not for being the #1 most followed productivity guru, or very successful in online business, or even for the fellow doctor status…but for just being a dude trying to do his best to create something cool, on an uncertain journey. That’s what I relate to the most, and also learning the most vicariously from.
So the video is much appreciated 🙏
felt this one in my soul as someone who's been here since 2019 too
Agreed 100%. Ali has formidable academic and entreneurial accomplishments, yet shows up on his channel humble, raw, and honest, but also without diluting his content down to trite affirmations or long winded personal narratives without any lessons to glean. I love when people achieve exponentially more than the average person yet stay relatable and grounded throughout their climb.
100%. I don't watch any of his normal uploads, which are usually the same fundamentals repackaged into a new video (not always though; he does share fresh ideas). I tune in for these life and business updates which shows the reality of things and how he is continually learning. Even the productivity expert doesn't have everything figured out - that's what gives me relatability and is the core reason why I am still subscribed.
love this take. we're all human, ali included :)
As one of those 206, I love this video. Ali, you're not scummy. I bought this keyboard because you made it. I have a few others - including a Keycron - and I wanted another type of switch. So I was excited when you launched the yellow switches. In your previous videos, you frequently review tech products at different price points and features and what works for which person. I like mechanical keyboards but I don't have hundreds and hundreds to spend on them. So yeah, I trusted you. And for me personally, you didn't let me down. I love the keyboard. I also love that you did this video in the first place and that you're vulnerable and open-- that is your brand. That is why people are drawn to you. Thank you for this keyboard. Thank you for this video. Thank you for this channel. Thank you for these feelings that we all have on different scales. This is why viewers stay with you. Not because a product makes profit or doesn't.
Hope you have some compassion and pride for yourself today and going forward.
I agree, honesty, empathy and compassion for his audience is Ali’s brand! I am glad he is willing to be so honest and transparent. This video sets such a great example for all creators, aspiring creators and the general audience. Thanks Ali!! 🙏🏼
Amy is right on the money. I am on the website purchasing a keyboard now. Not because it's the "best", but because it's maker is trustworthy and wants to do better. That's a story I want to be part of.
I watched your integrity driven, honest , fair and deeply humbling assessment of your journey with this product and I was so humbled myself by your openness, grace and humility in facing this difficult situation, hand in hand, side by side openly and fully with us.
I have been referred to you from my stoic exploration and have just seen a magnificent example of the fundamental values by you demonstrating true stoicism at its best, in your outlook, intention and drawing of healthy, truthful, unbiased, stringent, deeply considered and bravely unfiltered conclusions here.
This is not simply about the keyboard dilemma, this is bigger picture revelation that I or anyone else lucky enough to see this can remember and apply thoroughly to our own stumbles and failures.
Most especially your comment in the gut feeling you had that you put to the side - so relatable and so powerful.
So refreshing.
Thank you thank you thank you.
I’m looking forward to ordering my keyboard and when you have designed and endorsed the new bag I will be preordering one of those.
Go well.
Onwards and upwards sharing your gifts, inspiration and insights.
I was going to write a comment asking if you had gotten any feedback from those that purchased your 206 keyboards and what did they think? Then I read @amyyoder768 and thought well there is one and the purchaser was satisfied. I am not in the need for a keyboard, but honestly, I came very close to just purchasing just because I don't have a mechanical keyboard, although I have been considering getting one for several years now. Maybe I would give this a go as a test bed to see what I like and don't like. Ultimately, didn't because I am a wireless keyboard user, I like the freedom of being not being tethered. But I was close:)! Lastly, I think this product development and launch was well worth the lessons learned. You are young, and the knowledge you and your team gained from this launch is priceless. Best of luck on all future endeavors!
thing is he said he want to remove himself from a business so you buying it because of him isn't really his vision.
The efficiency of this *DaleValskov* is next level. To juggle walk throughs of various angles on the topic delivered to-camera, differnet content per topic from various folks underneath the umbrella of the track list of the larger big band concert itself is engaging and refined. To make a dense taccess like this so digestible is really something. Awesome work jack!!
He is probably one of the only RUclipsrs who thought about his actions and audience more than just monetary gain from the keyboard sales. I am 100% sure that majority of the audience would have not even know about this keyboard failure, but the fact that he still addressed it, knowing that this might harm the brand image (at least in the short term) really shows honesty
and the beautiful thing is that this is the most authentic take that makes people connect magnetically to you. selling = helping and not all ventures are successful and that is ok
You are so real for this. Such an inspiration! The way you are handling this “failure” is really powerful and shows more of all your wins.
It’s not scummy, Ali. We love your sincerity.
Your honesty is appreciated. It's quite a bold move to address the constructive criticism head-on. Keep growing into the best version of the man you can possibly be, and the rest will fall into places. Best wishes!
Watching this video felt like talking to a good friend, while I didn't even have to say anything, the friend just asked himself all the right questions and made the right conclusions. So wholesome... 😇🙌
I think there's nothing more educational to beginner entrepreneurs (which I would guess is a subset of your overall audience) than hearing a story like this and learning from the mistakes. I think it's awesome that you were transparent and shared the ups and downs of this venture. Keep up the good work!
Hey Ali. I love that you took this whole experience and put it out there as a lesson learned and how to improve in the future. We are all learning and growing everyday. I love your insights into Feel Good Productivity and strive to add it into my daily life as much as I possibly can. I also love that you are always transparent in how you work your business as well. You have taught me so many things through your videos and tbh you are my favorite youtuber. I love the look of the keyboard and if I was into mechanical keyboards would totally buy it. I am so excited about the possible release of the bag! I have a major bag problem and have never been able to find one that meets all my needs so can't wait to see what you will design and release.
Product strategist here.
Enthusiast communities can often start holding products to very weird, seemingly arbitrary and constantly evolving standards. Mechanical keyboard enthusiasts in particular can get really caught up in gasket mounts, or types of lube, or whatever the latest hotness is. HOWEVER, that doesn't absolve your responsibility to understand that market and where your product sits in it.
Re: The whole 'is it scummy' discussion...
I think it comes from not really having defined who its for, beyond "someone who doesn't know enough to choose something better". You get to define the target market as "They care about and want different things than the enthusiast" with absolutely no problem, but I think half-baking it by saying "Oh that group /isn't/ the market" is probably unhelpful as it's basically just saying "If you don't like it, you're not the market". The MKB enthusiast /loves/ value-for-money and spec-sheet comparisons, so will interpret "I can get these specs/materials elsewhere for less" as "You're ripping people off because you're famous", and will get righteously indignant about that feeling. Saying "You're not the market then" will just come off like saying "You're not dumb enough to fall for it, but someone else will".
It's tricky with an early product/company to carve out a meaningful proposition (especially in something that can feel as commoditised as MKBs), but I'd encourage you to really think about who the user really is, who could know about every other competitor on the market and still pick yours. That I think will give you a clearer idea of a path forward.
Awesome break-down! It sounds like it was maybe not a good enough job of doing market research in the productivity niche and not understanding what his audience wants? Super cool comment.
@@thelifewithnate In effect (and you can hear it a lot in how Ali talks about the genesis of this project) he's started with a solution (a business that can outlast him and monetise his audience) and gone looking for a problem (I guess minimalist-ish vibe keyboards), rather than starting with a problem and gone looking for a solution.
Like he said - businesses are just organisations that charge money for solving problems. In this case it feels like they started with the charging money part, not with solving problems.
@@MattDiffey Thank you for pointing to what I feel a lot of marketers promote - Priority #1: building an income through a business Priority #2: Solving people's problems.
I'm not naïve enough to think that people should just start businesses out of the good of their hearts. And this is something I've struggled with myself and having FOMO about not having passive income or products in addition to my services.
But the focus really has to be on what the customer needs/wants and to pursue THAT with the heat of a thousand suns. Perhaps there were a few hundred suns missing on this endeavour? Or the Priority #1 was equal or stronger than Priority #2.
Regardless I am impressed by Ali's candour and reflectiveness and appreciate his willingness to share how he failed forward.
@@MattDiffeyyes, and I think this is what Ali has done wrong. He should try to fix people's problems first and then if he can monetise it, that will be a bonus. He didn't start his RUclips channel to make millions; he wanted to educate & help. I think he should stick to that.
Not “scummy”. Personally I don’t care enough about keyboards to want to spend lots of time researching keyboards. From my perspective, if I wanted to buy a keyboard, I’d look at the lightmode one since if it’s good for you it’s probably good for me too. I’d be thankful that you saved me having to go and spend a bunch of time learning all the geeky details about keyboards… and that lines up with your productivity purpose. I respect your honesty and I love your book!
Gained a lot of respect for you from this video. It takes a lot of humility to put something like this out.
This is commendable Ali. Even in failures there are lessons to be learnt.
Thank you for your transparency and honesty. It’s refreshing
It's rare to see honesty this genuine these days. As a mechanical keyboard nerd, I guess I'm subscribing for more than just keyboards. I'm interested to see more vids like this
things I learned
- admitting your mistakes is very nice; builds trust
- I relate to the trusting your gut thingy
- when starting a project or something you need bias towards action and in the middle you need bias towards quality
Thank you for sharing your experience so openly with us. I love that you built the keyboard not for a "strategic" business reason, but because you actually found it cool and just to see how the experience would be like. That's my definition of building a business around your dream life rather than the other way round.
Keep doing what aligns with you Ali. You are an inspiration :)
This honesty is the main reason why I subscribed to your channel couple of years back! Success and failure of a product is also a part of learning process. Keep going and stay the same as you are! ❤
This is brilliant, you are doing the exact right thing! take it for what it is. learn and grow with failures! most of us have a hard time with accepting defeat, but its how you rise from it that shows who you are.
I think the problem is that you started by building the product you want, not by solving the problem we have with productivity.
Ali, the thing that makes you so genuine human being is that you are really ok with being vulnerable! Many people would hide the confusion and embarrassing feelings from the camera!
This is what I used to and trying to share in my own RUclips channel!
because your vulnerabilities will be misused
You see lots of people having temper tantrums about this sort of thing but you haven’t, Ali. In the words of Dieter F. Uchtdorg “It's your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life's story will develop.” That’s why you’re a role model to so many and will surely grow from this and achieve a lot more going forward. Thank you Ali.
my take aways:
-don't have the first business be a product if the goal is net profit early on
- different strategies are needed at different business stages
- being a real human is okay and being able to communicate that effectively gets people to watch until the end of a video
Solid and refreshing response. To the "Is it scummy?" question, I think the answer is nuanced. Intent would clearly swing the needle one direction or the other, but I think understanding the competitive value of a product is important, especially when selling to an audience that probably won't put in the leg work to find the best value for themselves.
Love your insights on how you guys approached this side of your business. Refreshing to hear a person honestly dissect something that hasn't gone to plan. It's certainly not a failure, as you’ve all clearly learnt from the process.
My takeaway from this video is that, in some circumstances one type of approach works (e.g. a bias to action), but one approach that's been reliable over a prolonged period, is not a panacea for all circumstances/ periods.
Great video. It's nice to see the real and not just the curated image. As someone who does music production gear videos I always try to frame things as "I'm not telling you what is best for you, I'm telling you what is best for me that you might take a look at to see if it is also good for you." If they blindly trust me, they will grab something, but I'm also saying they should see for themselves if they have any doubts. THanks for everything you do. I've watched since you were at about 200K subscribers and it's been inspiring to follow along. CHEERS!
Music production gear videos is an awesome niche! How did you get started in that?
@@thelifewithnate I've been using the gear to produce and perform electronic music for decades and I decided to make the videos I wish I'd had when I was learning. I still produce and perform a lot and the RUclips videos is a way to try to help others enjoy it as much as I do.
I think it's very cool that you had a call with this guy. The version 2 has to involve his expertise. You may even collaborate with him as a professional or designer and share the costs (so he can also promote it).
Ali, you are the best. We love you!! I have loved this channel because it really doesn’t feel like a RUclipsr trying to make clickbaity videos. It feels like a friend who learns new things, from exciting people and experiences, and shares it with me.
This video, you sharing about this failure, its totally visible how hard was it for you, but you still did it and have been transparent. You have no idea how much you have inspired by just doing that.
Love you Ali! You are the best and you are a champ! We trust you.
In 2021, I started watching your videos, and actually started a productivity based brand. It ultimately failed due to a falling out with my business partner and I, but I must say that my biggest inspiration was also ugmonk. We were looking at creating a writer's productivity smart desk, essentially, and the tech space is definitely tough to get into. I have now transitioned myself to a lifestyle brand - without tech involved - due to the shortcomings within my own financial abilities to get this kind of feedback or be able to leverage an audience as you have. I definitely have noted these pitfalls you've faced and will utitlize the knowledge going forward in my own career. I believe sharing failures is more important than sharing successes, and for that, i truly thank you. All the best - and I'm looking forward to buying V2 of your keyboard :)
Wow... it's my first time watching a video of yours... and I must admit I have a lot of respect for what you did. I'm starting a new brand as we speak and took so much out of this video. Hard to name just one. Took a lot of notes and tips that I will implement right away. But wow, man, we need space to make mistakes. That's how we learn. Don't ever wish you didn't do it! That keyboard is nice! And the fact that you created a new business for things you love and enjoy, that is simply amazing and so inspiring for us creators out there! Kudos to you for wanting to go the extra mile to make is even better next time and learn from it. Please don't feel bad or embarrassed about it. Embrace it. That's what we all have to do as creators.
This is exactly why I like your content! You always share your journey with highlights and lowlights. I appreciate you!
Yes Mee too
It’s really refreshing to see large creators talk honestly and openly about their failures. It was clear that you were a little uncomfortable talking about certain topics at times but you did for transparency and we respect you for that.
I am tempted to buy the keyboard as a reminder that even the great people I look up to fail, and failure is just a jump start to learning.
Thank you for making this video.
At the beginning I thought that I would skip on the video as it doesn't relate to anything I do. And then you said: "Watching this video made me feel bad. ... Thank you for making the video." That stopped me and glued me to screen.
I love the way you went through everything. The ability to look at mistakes, taking in the feedback, and making conclusions on what to do next time - that was off the chart. Excellent 👍🏻. Thank you for making this video.
Props to you bro, it took a lot of courage to put this out there. I really appreciate how honest and organic this whole video is. It's also fascinating to see the business side of things, especially coming to terms with the shortfalls and learning through your mistakes. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger right?
Specifically on the keyboard, I don't follow anyone on socials so this is my 1st time hearing about it. TBH my opinion if someone like you were to put out a keyboard would just be that, it's just an "Ali Abdall" keyboard. In no way am I expecting this to be the best choice of mechanical keyboard, cos I know for sure people who's been making keyboards for years would be so far ahead of you. So if I do buy it, it's to support you and cos I like the design.
I have watched many of your videos, but this is honestly the best one.
We all need to know how to learn from our mistakes but few people share the details of how they actually learn from their mistakes. At best, people share it several years later, eg "I did this it failed, so I did that, and then it succeeded". When lessons are shared several years later, they lack the nitty-gritty details.
So thank you for sharing your failure while it's still very raw.
As for the main lessons here, don't spread yourself too thin and don't skip user testing, those are transferable to all businesses.
There is a logical fallacy when you say you don't want to compete with the more budget friendly keyboard so you price yours higher. If you want to place a product into a certain price range it also has to offer features that justify said price range, this base level of performance has to be properly researched and your "feelings" don't matter. It may very well be that it's the best keybord you tried but that doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things... You being a public figure earned you the trust of a group of people (the fact it's warranted or not is irrelevant) that will trust this is a keyboard worth the admission price which makes it more disappointing when it's revealed not to be the case...
Also, the fact you have high expenses is TOTALLY irrelevant to the quality of a consumer product, if all you can offer is x$ quality and your expenses suggest a price of x + x/2 $ that's a you problem, you can't dump the problem onto the consumer, that's a remarkable bad business practice for a productivity guru... That may work if you offer something innovative but you chose to dive into a pretty crowded pool with a bog standard product... The fact that the usual mechanical keyboard consumer is a pretty methodical and dedicated nerd doesn't help either.
Everything he did was directly against the reason he wanted to even do this in the first place, which is to launch a product that’s independent of him.
I think the foundational "mistakes" here is not prioritising the customers perspective. The lack of brand positioning makes this business confuses itself. Because customers dont care if you are a new business that need to up the price because of the limited scale of economics. At the end of the day, majority of people wanted to buy the best value from a product that they get.
Kudos for sharing all this story though. Always love all your content. Cant wait for the next great business!
I'm only halfway through but it really sounds like "Yeah the product isn't great, but we're not targeting people who know what a great product is." If you're admitting it's not priced well, it can't compete with products half its price and your justification for that is "We're not targeting people who know that", should this product exist? I get you want to start a self-reliant business but what's the benefit for your consumers? What makes this a good product for them?
It's really good the amount of transparency in this video though. I don't think it's a "scam" or a "cash grab" but I do think every product needs to begin with "Do people need this?".
Agreed. He’s not bringing anything new to the market and as much as he’s trying to argue it’s not a cash grab, it is. If he’s not actually drawing up the designs himself and a factory is doing the work, then he’s just white labelling it.
@@boostaconfiance Well your point of him selling a mediocre product based on his name alone is... exactly everyone's criticism?
Okay, I don't know anything about marketing. You don't know anything about the product in question. We aren't talking about two identical products with different colours. He didn't release a different colour version of a different keyboard. He released a worse product for the price compared to other products on the market.
Imagine an iPhone 15 costs £1000. Now imagine I release an iPhone 13 for £1300 and I'm selling it to my audience. Would you argue the same thing you're arguing now? (If you would, you'd be wrong). That's what he did. He released a product with fewer features (gasket mounting, foam padding, different connectivity options, different key switch options) for about 50% more than it would cost to get all of this stuff. So I ask, why does this exist? If it doesn't exist to be a good product, it exists to be sold based on his name (something he said he doesn't want) and to be sold to people who don't know any better. Exactly everyones criticism. Welcome to the party.
+1 Think about the consumer value if you want this to be a standalone business. Otherwise it’s just a merch business where fans will buy products to support you but the product doesn’t add value to the consumer. Which is fine too but that didn’t sound like the genesis of this business.
Exactly!
Not necessarily. As they build the brand people will trust it for the convenience, and also the price will get more competitive as their sales go up.
I think one challenging part of the keyboard and tech space is that there are a lot of metrics on "performance" and "feel" that are very difficult to quantify. Product weight, texture, sound, movement - all are so subjective and so dependant on the environment its being used in. And youre competing against brands that have either built followings and trust, or built their business to the point of having the scale to provide lower prices/better value. Its a challenging space to break into, and I applaud the effort. I haven't followed your business or journey, and my first exposure to you was from Hipyos video - but what I saw wasnt scummy or a cash grab. It was a faltering first step, and your video here really addresses many of the issues I sensed from Hipyos video.
I think your commitments and understanding of where things went wrong, and identifying where you'd solicit feedback in future opportunities, really shows that you're being mindful of your audience and your brand, and are willing to be humble regarding your own biases.
For future launches, I would consider reducing your own presence on the recommendation of the products, and letting reviewers champion the product instead - to reduce the implicit "productivity authority" bias that suggest a boost /improvement simply by your involvement. Your points with Hipyo at the end around a great feel/experience/aesthetic were great. Sell it for what it is - the right keyboard for YOU, here's what that keyboard is, if a customer likes that then they should buy it. Treat yourself like an influencer for your product and share why its good for you specifically.
I appreciated the humble approach, and the honesty, and the rawness of the video. I hope to see more forays into tech and solutions for people - building a sustainable brand, that doesn't depend on the Key Man, is an uphill battle. This is a good start, even if it doesn't feel like it.
This experience resonated with me as a product designer. There are times when you think you can take on multiple projects and do it all well but in the end quality suffers. And it's sometimes hard to see that that's happening in the moment.
Also, it's really refreshing to see someone who is an expert in so many domains respond with curiosity and openness to critical feedback. I enjoyed hearing what you learned during this process and hope you share more about the journey to v2.
thank you, Ali, for being open even about the failures! I'm sure you will put it on track! Could you please call the war in Ukraine "the war", not "the stuff in Ukraine", people are dying daily from Russian missiles there :(
Totally agree.
I always respected your views and the interesting topics you talk about. I follow you since years, but you became my "hero" with this video. Thank you so much to be so brave and honest! Everyone talks about owning their mistakes, and learn from them, but sharing these publicly...you really lead by example. I undersand that this must have been difficult for you, but for me, your video ment a lot in processing my own fear of failure in a healthy way and (not just knowing how I should approach, but) really practicing growth mindset!!! Thank you so much, it gave me a lot of courage to get up and continue workig towards my goals. (Similarly to your previous "how i failed" videos, but this was....different)
Thank you for your story I learned a lot from it. I think that failure is the very best way to learn. You do not denying your mistakes, blaming others or attempting to spin your way out of trouble. Its just like in the book "Black Box Thinking" - you have a healthy relationship with this failure, and I admire that. I wish you best!
I don’t have any one specific takeaway but I really appreciate your transparency in what your thoughts were throughout the process of making the board. I don’t think you’re a scummy person at all, and it’s clear to me that this project was not a cash grab (I’m positive there are many ways for you to make more money with way less effort haha). I think the mechanical keyboard hobby can be a really tough place to do business and I think you did your best in navigating that (and you seem to have a better idea of how to move forward if you try again!).
Much respect man came here from Hipyos Review it's amazing to see you owning it love to see this we all make mistakes, and it is from those mistakes we learn the most
The insights from this video were truly enlightening. Being in my early 20s, I was under the impression that I needed to conceive an idea that would be an instant success upon launch. However, after hearing about your journey of launching your product, I’ve come to understand that it’s a more prolonged process. It may take years to establish a brand image or come up with a well performing product. This realization has been quite valuable to me.
Great lesson: Realizing the importance of getting feedback from others (when happy enough yourself) as part of the design. And asking feedback (offline first) both from the enthusiasts/ experts and the "ordinary" people.
p.s. ability to take feedback and criticism like you're doing is a huge asset and shows character to do it publicly. Respect.
Ali , my first comment ever on your channel and reason is: I got so much from your honesty, your humility and your introspection ( almost more then the countless other videos of yours that I watched ).
We often look at people from the out thinking that they take action and they win without seeing some of the struggles they also have in the process.
As a young entrepreneur myself this helped me more than you could ever imagine.
Thanks for the share
Regards
Thomas
To me, your discussion about the price sums it all up. When I saw Hypio video (I’m what you can call a keyboard enthousiast) I was like « this keyboard is ok if it’s sold for something between 80 and 100 dollars ». And there you are : the keyboard itself is worth 70 dollars.
The thing is, you are asking for 150 $ for a product anyone can have on Amazon for 80 $. Throw in a nice set of keycaps you’re at a 100.
My point being, you’re not bringing any value to your consumer or to the market. Not because you’re scummy. But because your ideal is flawed from the start : you’re building from scratch a product that massive companies built ten years ago.
To make a comparison, imagine launching a company that invested billions of dollars to create a smartphone with the specs and characteristics of the very first iPhone in 2024. The result would be a 2500 $ phone that gets smoked by any budget smartphone. That would not make sense to anyone and unless it’s hyped by influencers no one would buy it.
And I think that Hipyo’s premise is that he thinks you know you’re selling a very bad value product and endorse it anyway. I get why it hurts you but the thing is : either you know this keyboard is a very bad value and endorse it and sell it anyway and in this case this is a scummy move, either you don’t know or realise how bad value this product is. But in that case it’s a problem too because you and your team made a very bad job analysing the market.
And it’s not bad value because enthousiast say it is but because if you type « cheap mechanical keyboards » on Amazon and buy the very first you one you see you basically have a product that has the same specs and characteristics as yours. Randomly buying a 50/60 $ keyboard brings to the customer the same value as your keyboard that’s sold for 3 times that.
It's amazing what you do *DaleValskov* We need a lot of people with your skills and set who have good intentions and spread love
Thanks for being honest and giving us a glimpse into behind the scenes. Wish there were more people like this!
This feels like the right, mature response. Arguably the way for a company and brand to handle this. Kudos and keep on improving.
This is why you’re my own online mentor and favorite content creator. You are so honest and transparent. This is also a reason why I bought your book “Feel Good Productivity” because you’re one of the people that makes everything personable and easy to follow for those who are also on their own journey. Your failed product doesn’t reflect you as a person but you sharing your insight, giving conclusions and sharing the negative feedback and building off from the feedback shows me you’re a trust-worthy person. I’m not interested in tech accessories but thank you for showing your process for this product. I’m sure your next product will be a great one! Love from the Philippines, Ali!
I learned a nice thing
"When a person become more successful than others, people will not appreciate him on his success but if he did one thing wrong even mistakenly, they will just leave no stone unchecked in harassing them"
These things should not discourage the successful one cuz from 99 percent success he only got 1 percent failure
I feel that the last bull run was bolstered by all the money being printed. Major returns next bull run but I think they will be tamer in my humble opinion. A 10x on *DaleValskov* and a 15x on polygon are fair considering how much those two coins are interwov
This is why I subscribe to you. The value we get from every piece of content is really great. I really hope your brand takes off (that is keep putting the effort and then it will). Love you Ali!
Thank you for the honesty and sharing. Choosing whether to “Move fast and break things” or “Go slow to go fast” is a tricky one. My mentor told me when I took on a new project: rely on your experts!
Sourcer here.
The customer doesn't care how much it costs to manufacture. They look at the purchase price vs features. It's your job to pick product cases that has a high margin before engaging the project.
Imagine you had to sell the keyboard to a distributor, who then had to sell it to dealer, before it reached the end user. How would the MSRP look then? I would guess north of 250USD.
Cutting out the distributor and dealer in the pricing model is a huge advantage and allows you to spend even more than normal on manufacturing costs (better materials, components etc), OR have higher profits so the product case can cover for other products that didn't work, or be put towards additional company growth.
You priced it at 130usd MSRP (ex. vat) from a manufacturing cost of 70usd, but imo that's a good 40usd higher manufacturing cost than you'd normally see on a 130usd ex. vat product.
Sometimes, you have industries where the big players have the volume, but only the low volume companies (often solo developers / power users) know what features the end user wants.
In these cases, if you're a product expert, you can seize the opportunity to make a product that is designed better than the high volume competitors. But you have to be GOOD at the products and understanding the market trends.
I think there are these opportunities in the tech scene.
This must be one of my favorite videos you’ve made. This was uncomfortable to do but you did it. Respect lvl 10000000000 ❤
As someone who likes mechanical keyboards I probably wouldn't buy your keyboard specifically. But also I don't feel like I am your target audience.
Any consumer considering purchasing something should do their own research to see if there is anything better and at the end of the day purchase the product that they like. You made something that looks good and put effort into that you think your target audience would buy.
I hope you manage to break even on the keyboard and make an even better V2 in the future!
The way that you have turned this into a learning experience is an encouraging thing to see as learning from failure and seeing failure as a good thing is something I personally try to keep as a core principle myself.
whole comment section of this vid is so positive even though any1 who knows anything about what he did and the keyboard space knows how blatant of a shameless cash grab this product was from start to finish. How do grifters get away with this so easily is beyond me.
I admire your transparency here Ali. Thank you for being vulnerable! Physical product businesses don't sound easy, I have tried it on a small scale. Best of luck with it all 😃
Hey Ali, this is by far the most gutsy video I have ever seen from anybody talking business on YT. The biggest lesson for me personally is not everything that works in a creators economy (fail fast for example) would necessarily work everywhere especially when you have already built a cult in one specific niche and have high stakes. I can feel very strongly that this experience has made you even more stronger to make Lightmode a successful brand. I wish you all the best your journey is a university for me. God Bless ❤ ~ Your moist eyes summed up your intentions just before you stopped recording.
~ Anshul Tiwari (IT k Funde)
Just bulk it to a course. The highest course payers get a keyboard.
The next 10 people who buy a top-tier course will be sent a keyboard.
Not the end of the world. Use it as a course bonus.
Genius!
Good one
Yes attach a scam product to another scam product!
Can't deny the fact that *DaleValskov* is the strongest bet to bring power back to this industry after we suffered FTX, Celsius, Tera and so on. Sure if they fail it's done for good, but I don't see that the biggest tech company in the world would put everything at risk just for that.
I believe the product will do great after a few adjustments
The rawness and authenticity of this video can be felt beyond the screen. Your transparency and honesty in your business approach can be seen. Much respect. Heck... I'm thinking about buying one of your V1 keyboards JUST to support you.
Ali, on and off follower from years ago here. You're an absolute legend. How you can publicly do this in such an authentic and open way shows your immense courage. Most people would just try to bury something like this and forget it even existed. You decided to face it straight and own up to it. Kudos on your big balls, it's awesome that we still have people like you in this world.
One minor thing you didn't really discuss, but I'm sure you'll be familiar with. You wanted to do this keyboard and brand because you wanted to build something that existed outside of your day to day. That's not a good reason to build anything. The world doesn't care that you want to detach your time from your earnings. A good reason to build something is that you're going to make the world better by doing so. Do that for the next product, and I'm sure your earnings and personal integrity after the path will be happy.
BTW, maybe you shouldn't have listened to the naysayers and should have continued doing stationery. Stationery is awesome, and people pay insane amounts for what is essentiali ;) a notebook. If it's good quality and makes me feel good I also do it. I'm sure there's potential to turn that into a solid brand if you FOCUS.
All the best in your journey, and thanks for what you've given everyone so far
I thing that what he was trying to say was that you have a very large audience and many people (including me) truly admire you. So if you made a keyboard those people would buy it without doing much research as they have the feeling. Apple fanboy type something.
BTW thank you very much for the amount of value you added to my life.
yeah but I guess Ali's opinion is - so what? if people don't want to do research, that's on them. he's not scamming them, he's selling a product he's proud of and uses himself. I personally know more than the average person about mechanical keyboards, but much less than an enthusiast, and if I liked the aesthetic of this, would be happy to get it. people can choose how they want to spend their money and the onus isn't on the person marketing to spell out all the research for them. it's simply to market the product. e.g. show the best attributes and why they should buy it. to that end, ali did a great job, and even went further and talked about some of the cons, which is totally unnecessary and seldom done by most companies.
Let me summarize. Ali is a successful productivity youtuber who wants to produce a physical product. But he faces the challenges of producing a physical product. All of them are justified, but at the end of the day, a product with a low price-performance ratio for the consumers. Hipyo, a youtuber specialized in keyboards, evaluates the product and states that it is a failure. He says that the reason for this is that from the beginning this product was not intended to be a competitive product but to capitalize on the Ali Abdaal name, which is often a correct proposition. In conclusion, even if Ali didn't intend to do so, this type of product comes with the baggage of being a youtuber's product. At the end of the day, even if Ali resents some of Hipyo's criticisms, Hipyo's criticisms are spot on and brand loyalty (even personal brand loyalty) is nonsense.
Is this ai summary
do not take this personally ; it's a part of the journey
I just have to say I have the utmost respect for your honesty, transparency and humility. This is an amazing example of a great person learning on this journey.
As an entrepreneur myself I can absolutely relate to what you have to share and I honestly teared listening to your experience through this process. And as a keyboard enthusiast personally I could absolutely understand and see what Hipyo Tech was coming from (I also follow him). I love it that this is turned into a learning lesson.
Just wanted to share a pattern that I've noticed that can add to your thought process around move fast and break things - you can do so if you're dedicated and learn fast. In the space of two years the keyboard scene has drastically changed and you weren't able to keep up as it was not the core focus. When it comes to move fast break things, one needs to always be on top of the market and figure out what the customers want to stay relevant. Meanwhile go slow to go fast can be leveraging on current brand value to find best feedback from others who are already moving fast and breaking things to find the best collaborative leverage.
I love what you're saying about getting others to review before launching and seriously respect your business acumen from this lesson.
You are an absolute legend with this video in my eyes.
Most software companies actually do help their customers do research and often publish comparisons on their blog between their product and competitors. It's pretty standard practice.
Video is so good that I had to subscribe immediately. I am doing dropshipping because it will always be viable since people need to buy things. If you can find good products and make your store appealing, you will be really successful. My strategy is to use some product search tools (my favorite one is using a little bit of winnerzila. I love how affordable their lifetime plan is, and I paid it off in one week). If someone is wondering, my favorite niches are pets and electronics. You can always have good money in these.
Hey! Sounds really interesting, would u mind explaining your drop shipping work in more detail? I would like to have some sort of income. Greetings
spam
@@MM-uv3vb bruh 💀
Dropshipping is washed and not a real business. Your value proposition is negative, and no advertising doesn’t count as value proposition.
The problem I have with your reasoning is that you are trying to make it separate from you. That is fine but you used The Rock as an argument for why your keyboards don't have to be amazing. The Tequila brand is about The Rock and that is why the fans buy it. I thought you wanted to be separated from your brand, so act like it. If you can't compete on price or quality, you should have gone for a more unique aesthetic or something because otherwise people will only buy this keyboard as long as *you* keep promoting it.
the argument was because the video said it was scummy of him for people not doing research? totally bs argument. Is apple suggesting consumers to do research comparing with microsoft? doesn't make sense tbh
@@allangamez94 19:55 He says people don't buy The Rocks Tequila because it is the best and "that's not the point".
Well, what is the point then? The *celebrity* behind it. Apple had a vision, a unique feature, and an idea. People didn't buy it because Steve Jobs said they should, but because the product competed in the market and won.
There is a clear difference between influencer and normal brands; Ali initially stated, he wanted a normal brand.
In that case, he shouldn't get butt hurt when someone reviews his keyboard and compares it with other keyboards and calls out that the price is too high for what it is.
The problem is that Ali brings nothing to the table besides his name in this case. I understand a planner and his courses, but this time it feels like he invested a lot of money into something he doesn't know enough about and tries to compete with experts that he can't beat on features or price.
Btw: 34:02 sums up why it might feel scummy for an influencer to promote an expensive, subpar item. People don't use Excel because Bill Gates said they should. Kids buy an overpriced, unhealthy drink because Logan Paul says they should. Influencers have more of an influence and should act responsibly.
Honestly we need more people like Hipyo, Mrwhoseboss, MKBHD calling out products that are plain and simply just not good. Pricing matters now days, quality and reliability needs to be reflected on it. You have to ask, what am I do doing that will make me stand out from the competitors and what can I do to improve what is already available. It can be price, functionality, asthetics but it has to bring value to your target demographic.
Hi Ali,
Long time subscriber of yours.
My main takeaway from this video is: Just because you already have en established business, persona and/or brand doesn't mean that any new business idea you have will work, even if you pour money into them.
I very much appreciate the transparency and openness you showed us in the video.
The argument Hippo is trying to make to you is that you are essentially acting as an influencer promoting a brand as "great and best" when you really don't know anything about the hobby or topic. Every influencer ultimately gets ripped for doing that, you are no different. You shouldn't do that. It is predatory to your audience because you KNOW there are people that will just buy it because you say so.
Huge integrity move, well done video!
Lesson learned here - you had no product market fit & you got too greedy
I first watched Hipyos video, then saw this video was recommended and here I am. I just wanted to say that this is a very respectable thing you’ve done. I think it’s really important to learn from “the haters” since they tend to be the most vocal. Getting positive and negative feedback is crucial for any product that goes to market. While this first keyboard may not have been as good as you wanted for all of us, but that just means I’ll be looking out for v2!!
Unrelated but the rotoscoping is INSANE!! Look at how well his hair is separated from the background at 1:07 fool job editors!!
He tried to scam his audience, and they all brought this excuse so sad
I honestly believe its all lies, you've been caught red handed and you just try hard to not get canceled. In reality you sold chinesse garbage worth 20$ for 160 to a gullible audience❤