Founder stories
$100K ARRin 3 years
4 milestones
Medical Student Creates YouTube Content, $294K First Course Launch
Founder
Ali Abdaal
Solo Founder•Non-technical•USA
Commitment
Side ProjectExperience
First-timeProduct
Course teaching YouTube content creation.
Type
Info ProductIndustry
EducationModel
One-time PaymentMarketing Strategy
How Ali acquired customers
Primary Channel
Communities
Tech Stack
Tools used to build Part-Time YouTuber Academy
YouTubeKit (ConvertKit)Course platforms
The Full Story
Ali Abdaal started making YouTube videos in 2017 during his final year of medical school at Cambridge.
The Grind
He uploaded 85 videos with 0 views, 0 subscribers, $0 revenue for nine months. It took 52 videos and 6 months to reach 1,000 subscribers.
Breakthrough
After 18 months, 100K subscribers and earning as much as his doctor job. Two years later: 1M subscribers and $1M annual revenue.
- 9 months of zero revenue
- 18 months to match doctor salary
- 2 years to $1M annual revenue
Key Takeaways
1
Persist through 9 months of no revenue - it takes time
2
Side hustle while employed provides financial safety net
3
Don't tie income solely to AdSense - diversify with courses
4
Build email list alongside YouTube to own your audience
Originally published onKit
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Milestone Journey
Ali achieved 4 milestones on the path to $100K ARR
First Customer
09 months
March 2018
Avg: 3 months
+3 months to next milestone
$1K MRR
$1,000
1 year
September 2018
Avg: 11 months
+6 months to next milestone
$10K MRR
$10,000
1 year
March 2019
16% faster
vs avg 1 year+1 year to next milestone
$100K ARR
$294,000
3 years
November 2020
6% faster
vs avg 3 years3 years
Total journey time
4
Milestones achieved
Ali's Path to $100K ARRPremium
The journey, decisions, and context behind this milestone
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