I Started a New Business. It Didn't Go Well...

Also, apologies for the weird looking zoom call and some audio being out of sync, it's because we're noobs and the grain recording only showed 1 person at a time so we did our best to make it look more natural. Anyway, enjoy! xx

By the way, you can watch this video in a few other languages by changing the audio settings xx

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WHO AM I?
If we haven’t yet before - Hey 👋 I’m Ali, a doctor-turned-entrepreneur and I’ve somehow become the world’s most followed productivity expert. Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast Deep Dive and writing, I share evidence-based strategies and tools to help you be more productive and build a life you love.

PS: Some of the links in this description are affiliate links that I get a kickback from 😜

⌚️Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
1:27 - The Context
3:52 - Why Did I Make the Keyboard in the First Place?
7:56 - How Long Did It Actually Take to Make?
10:27 - Why Did I Price It at $159 Dollars?
16:09 - Is This Actually a Good Product?
18:08 - What Was Hipyo’s Biggest Problem?
22:19 - How Much Money Have We Made From It?
22:42 - Lessons Learned
32:18 - Call with Hipyo
35:41 - What is one thing that you're taking away from this?

[aliabdaal]

I hope you enjoyed this video, was tough to make 😆what did you guys think?

[HipyoTech]

Thank you for having me on and facing this in a transparent and productive way!

[adamr]

Posting a video about a product gone wrong and being completely honest about it is a very respectable move 👍

[handerberg]

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.

[NEZABUDNIHESLO]

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.

[ChuckDart]

Failing this early means you learn quicker and win faster. Good luck with your next products!

[crepuscularwintersky]

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!

[Nirinaaaaa]

The humility in this video is refreshing

[AjayKumar-hff]

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

[nanughosh]

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.

[amyyoder]

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.

[MattDiffey]

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.

[dabi_]

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 YouTube 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 🙏

[AryanPatel-urkx]

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

[vijayxxsati]

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!!

[KennyEatsWorld]

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!

[MatthewEncina]

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!

[kunthshah]

He is probably one of the only YouTubers 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

[MatthewKozovski]

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.

[sbourf]

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.