words Khaled Mazeedi
Khaled Mazeedi is a technology entrepreneur, YouTuber, public speaker, crypto trader, and businessman — but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Khaled is the face and creative brain of TEN XP, a YouTube channel with 3,500,000 subscribers and more than 1 billion views.
The tech-savvy influencer got his start more than three years ago making videos showcasing his lifestyle. Since then he’s created and posted more than 200 videos in the technology, automotive and the entrepreneurship field on YouTube, including working with big names like Lamborghini, Rolex, and AMD.
Khaled recently spoke at Stanford Entrepreneurship, where he shared ways to innovate as a content creator while still heading a leading technology firm. Beyond that he is quite a successful software developer, founding some of the biggest tech platforms in the Middle East. His recent start up, Autosheik, recently received 1,000,000 usd in backing. He gave a few pointers on creating and managing a brand.
Make Good use of your time
Productivity is essential when managing multiple ventures, including youtube. Filming your content, editing and rendering a single video takes five to ten hours, so space out your time effectively. Khaled says he does two hour intervals everyday for his Youtuber content. I’ll usually do youtube the first thing at the start of my day, then take a break, go to the gym, get ready and head out to my board meetings. I tend to be up to something everyday because I enjoy it, so it doesn’t bother me, I like to be productive and make good use of my time, but also never forget to enjoy life”
Most successful people are extremely systematic in how they organize their time, Mazeedi is eccentric in his approach and said “I don’t have an exact system that I go by, that’s overkill, the key is to just get it done,” Khaled said. “I go with the flow, and I don’t even jot things down, I have a master plan but I somehow am able to organize everything in my head and I prioritize on doing the important things first, you have to be flexible.”
Never forget where you came from
Overall growth for TEN XP has been remarkable, there seems to be a trend among top youtubers in that they create content to entertain and educate their audience, not just to get followers and make money. Mazeedi said, he never acts out of desperation and always focuses on putting out good quality, he said “ its your image and brand at the end of the day, so do it right”
Khaled boasts 3,500,000 subscribers today, and has won various accolades including the Youtuber Awards and MTV IMW awards.
Asked whether he outsources some of his work and how he’s able to manage creating content, Khaled says he has a strong in-house team and edits all his videos himself. “I’ll have a full time videographer soon, It’s not ideal to hold the camera myself. But I like the creative control thus I do all the video editing myself. Expressing my vision and creativity through my videos is something I hold in high regard. I like doing things in my own unique way,” he said. “Editing is a task a lot of creators dread but it’s actually something I like doing, just have a good supercomputer, build one yourself if you have to, but at the end of the day editing your own content gives it that personal feel.”
Khaled said he is always asking for feedback from his audience and other creators, but at the end of the day he does what he feels is best. YouTubers do in fact develop a personal connection with their audience, they follow the personality behind the content after all, so there sometimes can be a dilemma on whether to please the audience or your creative ideas.
“I think that if you take it too seriously and think about just the business side, just remember your creativity was what got you here, so don’t abandon it and fall to the pressure of pleasing your audience and growing your channel for revenue, just do you .”
Branding Should be Bold and Simple
Khaled said that your brand should be relatable and unique. People need to instantly recognize who you are, this is the most important thing in a brand. Make it easy to be found, if a company or a person is trying to connect with you.
“Make sure that once they find you they become interested in what it is you have to offer, which is why I emphasise the importance of creating quality content and having a very solid marketable product”
Mazeedi works with some of the largest brands out there, he said “If you want to work with large brands and companies you have to offer them value, confidence and the comfort of knowing they chose the right person to represent their brand. They have to know that they are working with the best in the game”
