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SixMed, Ali's medical school admissions courses (2012)

project history · status: running · last event: milestone (2024-08-13) · owner: Ali · last mentioned: 2024-10-15

Origin known from later mentions

2012 in the title is when this began; it first appears in the videos read here in 2017, so the earlier part is known only from what is said later.

Told alongside: Ali does freelance web development on getacoder.com as a schoolboy · Ali gets a part-time job as a maths tutor at Kumon at 14 · Ali and his friend James try a new money-making business every year at secondary school, and all five fail · Ali promises Skillshare classes on how he films, edits and produces his videos (2019)

About: 6med

date event what video
2017-06-20 milestone Ali, a fifth-year medical student at Cambridge University, is co-founder of SixMed, a small company running courses for medical school applicants, and has taught its BMAT Crash Course for five years. BMAT Section 1 - Everything you need to know · BMAT Tips series 00:00:00
2017-11-29 milestone Ali says that because he and his SixMed colleagues graduate next year (2018) and may not have time to run the courses, he is slowly putting the interview course content on YouTube. Medicine Interview Questions - How to answer "Why should we choose you?" 00:13:32
2018-03-21 looked back Ali says he got into medical education to make some money: in his first year at university he ran a BMAT course for students at his school, then built a website for the BMAT Crash Course and marketed it nationally, and it grew beyond what he imagined. Q & A - 5,000 Subscribers! 00:06:05
2018-05-01 setback Ali says SixMed made him a reasonable amount in the past but is declining: the Medic Portal advertises everywhere and has the private schools, new companies charge £20 a course, and at SixMed's size VAT and corporation tax rule such prices out. First Live Hangout + Rapid-fire Q&A 00:22:34
2018-05-01 milestone Ali is about to run Google AdWords ads for SixMed's BMAT and UKCAT courses the next day (2 May 2018) to try to beat the Medic Portal. First Live Hangout + Rapid-fire Q&A 00:44:29
2018-05-07 looked back Another reason for starting YouTube was driving traffic to SixMed, which Ali had run for about four years and was bored of; he wanted to do medical education, and few doctors were on YouTube. Live Q&A + Hangout - Bank Holiday vibes - Ali Abdaal, Cambridge medical student 00:53:42
2018-07-23 milestone Ali has run SixMed for five or six years, teaching the BMAT in classrooms in the UK, Singapore and the Netherlands; with no time to teach in person as a doctor, he has put everything he knows into an online video course. A year on YouTube - Channel / life update 00:06:56
2018-08-03 milestone Ali has recently released an online BMAT video course, a series of more than 70 videos he spent about three or four days making. Life Advice - 50k subs Q&A 00:05:37
2018-09-11 milestone Ali also runs a side business of courses for medicine applicants, SixMed, and people have come to it from his YouTube videos. My new podcast - Microphone setup + reflections 00:09:53
2018-10-01 looked back Ali set up SixMed with friends from university and some school friends, making the materials for its BMAT, UKCAT and interview courses; he thinks it succeeded because it was a collaboration of so many students and friends. Is university worth it? The non-academic value of university 00:06:47
2018-10-04 milestone Ali's online BMAT crash course is a series of more than 75 videos covering the technique and theory needed for the BMAT, to be put into practice with practice papers. BMAT Physics - Electricity + Formulae · BMAT Crash Course Online 00:00:00
2018-11-05 milestone Ali says he has run an education company (SixMed) for five years, with "x hundred thousand" in revenue and teaching all over the world, but did not want to say so because it felt like it sounded bad; in hindsight it has to be said. AFP Interview Preparation - The personal interview · Academic Foundation Programme 00:04:21
2019-02-11 (happened 2013) looked back Ali says The 4-Hour Workweek pretty much single-handedly let him set up his company SixMed in medical school in 2013: courses for medical school applicants, then an online question bank and online courses. 3 Books that Changed my Life 00:02:22
2019-02-11 (happened 2016) setback Near the end of his fourth year of medical school Ali had run SixMed for about three years, growing in revenue and student numbers each year; around 2016 its growth stagnated and dipped a little. 3 Books that Changed my Life 00:07:08
2019-08-16 (happened 2013) looked back SixMed began in 2013 teaching BMAT courses to UK medical school applicants, then added UKCAT and interview courses and question banks; Ali has run it on the side as a Cambridge medical student and doctor. Money, Relationships and Hair Loss - Answering your Assumptions 00:04:17
2019-10-09 milestone Ali, now a junior doctor in Cambridge, has run SixMed for six years since he was a Cambridge medical student; it has made about £800,000 in top-line revenue, about a million dollars. How I Built a Million Dollar Business in Medical School - 10 Tips for Entrepreneurs 00:00:00
2019-10-09 looked back In their second year of medical school Ali and friends decided to run a BMAT course: the big companies' courses seemed poor and expensive, so they would do better, charge less and give free places to low-income students. How I Built a Million Dollar Business in Medical School - 10 Tips for Entrepreneurs 00:00:29
2019-12-27 (said on 2019-12-20, implied) milestone Ali lists launching an online UKCAT course among his accomplishments of 2019. My Annual Review using Notion 00:04:24
2020-04-17 (happened 2013) looked back Ali started his own business in his second year of medical school, in 2013, and it was really fun for the first few years while it was growing. Answering your Questions 00:24:25
2020-04-29 (happened 2012) looked back SixMed, Ali's company running courses for UK medical school applicants, began to do well in his first year of medical school; the lessons from the poor websites he had made over the previous five or six years went into its 2012-2013 website. Productivity, Books and Careers Advice - Ali Abdaal x Noah Kagan // Deep Dive 00:05:00
2020-05-01 looked back Ali set up SixMed in medical school; it runs classroom courses and question banks for medical school applicants, has run since about 2013, and is its own company, so he leaves its money out of his personal income. How Much Money I Earn in a Week as a Doctor & YouTuber 00:08:16
2020-05-19 (happened 2015) looked back In summer 2015 Ali and his brother, who both code, built an online question bank for UK medical school applicants taking admissions exams. How To Make Money Online - The 3 Levels 00:10:13
2020-05-19 milestone Ali has a series of online courses for medical school applicants on doing well in admissions exams and interviews, which make money every week and month without more effort. How To Make Money Online - The 3 Levels 00:11:02
2020-10-04 looked back Ali's 2012 Evernote brainstorm morphed into SixMed, the company he founded a year later, in 2013. My BIGGEST Rejections in Life 00:18:01
2020-12-28 (said on 2020-12-15, implied) looked back At 19, in his second year of medical school, Ali built the first business of his that succeeded; he credits luck, unfair advantages and seven years of trying before it. How Much Money I Earn as a Doctor + YouTuber 00:04:06
2021-02-04 (happened 2016) looked back In 2016, after a few very good years, the growth of Ali's company SixMed stagnated, and he had a crisis over what he was doing with his life and the company. How Writing Online Made me a Millionaire 00:08:40
2021-02-14 looked back Reading The 4-Hour Workweek helped Ali set up his first company, SixMed, which helped people into medical school: a lifestyle business where he worked probably under four hours a week for a full-time living. (hedged) The Book That MOST Changed My Life 00:14:26
2021-04-22 looked back SixMed, Ali's first business at university, was entirely based on teaching and changed his life. The 4 Hobbies that Improved my Life 00:18:09
2021-06-06 looked back Ali's fifth stream was the BMAT Crash Course, set up at 19: before packaging it he tutored the BMAT, an exam some UK medical schools require, one-to-one for about £20 an hour. How I Built 9 Streams of Income By 23 00:07:26
2021-06-06 milestone Ali's sixth stream was SixMed, the company he founded at university, which is still going. How I Built 9 Streams of Income By 23 00:08:40
2021-12-16 (said on 2021-12-03, implied) looked back SixMed, Ali's first business, was fun for its first three or four years of growth, but when it plateaued and dipped in year four or five the decline sucked the joy out of it; he fears the same for his channel. How Much Money I Make as a YouTuber (2021)💰 00:35:34
2022-08-26 looked back As he was leaving medical school, Ali turned his BMAT, UCAT and interview teaching into three online courses, hosted on Podia, because as a doctor he would have no time to teach in person. 27 Critical Apps That Shaped My Life 00:19:24
2022-12-27 looked back In 2012 Ali joined Emmanuel College, Cambridge, at 18 to study medicine for six years; in 2013 he started SixMed, a business helping people get into medical school, his first business to succeed. My Regrets about Quitting Medicine 00:00:55
2023-01-12 looked back Ali's teaching career began around age 13 to 15 tutoring at Kumon, a maths study centre, then combined teaching with medicine in his company SixMed. How to Find a Career You Genuinely Love 00:10:46
2023-05-07 looked back Ali discovered outsourcing by reading The 4-Hour Workweek at around 17; in his first business, SixMed, he and his brother built medical school question banks and hired outsourced workers for data entry, so Ali could focus on the coding. How I Started My YouTube Channel in My Spare Time 00:08:39
2023-08-11 looked back At 19 Ali moved to a product business, a course to help people get into medical school; he taught it at first, then hired contractors to teach while he owned the business. If I Wanted to Be a Millionaire Before 30, I'd Do This 00:11:23
2023-09-15 looked back Ali's third side hustle was a company he started in medical school to help people get into medical school; it ran courses around the country and made him about $40,000 a year in profit while he was a student. 6 Side Hustles Students Can Start in 2026 00:02:55
2023-11-24 looked back Ali's web skills let him create a business while at university that funded his entire medical degree; the skills then morphed into his YouTube channel, which let him quit his job several years later. 7 Mistakes Students Make Every Year 00:08:51
2024-03-08 looked back Ali ran a tutoring business for medical school applicants for several years, charging £100 to £150 per package, about $180. 4 Steps to Making $10,000/Month in Your First Business 00:13:43
2024-04-19 looked back From age 18 to 23 Ali ran a company helping people get into medical school. I Helped My Subscribers Fix Their Productivity 00:21:48
2024-04-23 looked back At medical school Ali built his first business between lectures and some evenings, coding instead of going clubbing while keeping a social life. My honest advice to someone who wants financial freedom 00:38:05
2024-05-21 looked back Ali says that from 2014 to about 2019 he made around £150,000 a year from SixMed's classroom courses. A Beginner's Guide to Making Money with Online Courses 00:03:26
2024-07-09 looked back In about his third year of medical school Ali made 10 grand in a single day teaching the BMAT Crash Course, a course on getting into medical school, to 150 people in a lecture theatre at about £89 a ticket. (hedged) If I Wanted to Make $10,000 as a Student, I'd Do This 00:02:11
2024-08-13 (happened 2019) milestone In 2019 Ali sold a majority stake in his first business, SixMed, to a man who is now his friend; he says he sold because he had hit the pain line. How I Manage My Time (as an Entrepreneur) 00:01:48
2024-10-15 looked back In his first business, which made courses helping people get into medical school, Ali spent maybe 5% of his time teaching, the part he enjoyed, and 95% on marketing, logistics, printing books, making materials and DHL deliveries. (hedged) The Book that Made Me a Millionaire 00:03:37

Dates are upload dates, which set the order. Where the speaker gives a different recording date in the video, it is added as "said on YYYY-MM-DD, implied" (derived from the date said in the video).

What is said about it

60 statements, by date (the events above are the turns of the thread; these are the details).