Abdullah Al-Rezwan is a Bangladeshi-born US-based business analyst and entrepreneur. He is the founder and author of MBI Deep Dives, a subscription-based newsletter/website that provides in-depth research on publicly-listed companies, primarily those listed in the US.

MBI Deep Dives runs on a simple model — one deep dive per month on a company of MBI’s choosing, which contains the full spectrum of both quantitative and qualitative research, including financial modeling to help readers better understand the sensitivity of variables and expectations embedded in the stock price. Rezwan, who goes by the alias "Mostly Borrowed Ideas (MBI)" on Twitter, has gained a broad following among the investment and business community in the US and beyond for his "superb insight".

Before starting MBI Deep Dives, Rezwan worked as a generalist at Madison Investments on their US large-cap team, where he covered a wide range of companies, from UnitedHealth to Amazon and Boeing. Prior to that, he worked for three and a half years in Bangladesh after his graduation from Dhaka University, covering the financial sector in sell-side Equity Research before pursuing his MBA at Cornell in the US.

I recently had an opportunity to speak with Rezwan. We discuss a wide-range of topics including (but not limited to) his personal journey to what he is doing, how his upbringing and early life experiences have shaped him, the creation of MBI Deep Dives, what it means to be internally driven, the critical importance of high pain tolerance for entrepreneurs and creatives, we delve into the power of the internet, the rise of the pseudonymous economy, the impact of the social media platforms, the state of internet culture in Bangladesh, and what it takes to build a vibrant entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem, we go deep into his approach to writing and running MBI Deep Dives, the state of the newsletter, and his ambition for its future, the upsides and challenges of working solo, his approach to work and productivity, and the future of the media business and we reflect on the nature of conviction and belongingness, the importance of finding and following your interests, his favorite podcasts, and the importance of finding joy in your work and much more. 

The interview is a brilliant read in its entirety. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed doing it. 

Ruhul Kader
Thank you for agreeing to this interview. Can you please introduce yourself and talk about what you are working on? 

Abdullah Al-Rezwan
I'm Abdullah Rezwan. I was born and grew up in Bogura, which is in the northern part of Bangladesh. I finished high school in Bogura and then I moved to Dhaka to attend Notre Dame College. After college, I went to IBA, Dhaka University from where I did my undergrad. I majored in finance. 

After my undergrad, I worked for about three and a half years. I worked in a couple of brokerage firms in Bangladesh. I worked at IDLC Securities and then just before moving to the US for my MBA at Cornell, I worked at BRAC EPL, a stock brokerage. I was a sell-side equity research analyst, covering mostly macroeconomy and financial industry in Bangladesh. 
After graduating from Cornell’s two-year MBA program, I worked for a buy-side firm called Madison Investments, based in Madison, Wisconsin. I was there for about 10 months and then my work authorization in the US expired. I had to leave the firm. That was June 2020.