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☆ MrBeast's breakup with his talent manager is a wakeup call that influencers won't always need middlemen
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

YouTube star MrBeast has parted ways with his talent manager after six years. AdvertisementMrBeast broke up with his talent manager of six years, and it's a wake-up call. YouTube's biggest star striking out alone could signal that creators may not always need middlemen. "He's just taking control of his brand," Varbanova said. An in-house team would likely have a narrower network than a talent agency and be able to offer less support with other tasks.

Persons: MrBeast, —, Jimmy Donaldson, Donaldson, Reed Duchscher, Semafor, Duchscher, Donaldson's, influencers, Nikita Walia, Walia, Katya Varbanova, Gleam, Alfie Deyes, Jim Chapman —, Raff McDonald, Varbanova, Burger, He's, It's, he's, Courtney Bagby Lupilin, Lupilin, doesn't Organizations: Service, Night Media, Bloomberg, Blank, Inc, YouTube, Little Red Management Locations: Dallas, —

☆ YouTube superstar MrBeast is breaking up with his talent manager
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Marta Biino | Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

MrBeast is hitting the brakes on his relationship with his talent-management company, Semafor reported. Talent firm Night Media has been working with the superstar YouTuber for six years. Two sources told Semafor that Night would "no longer be his primary talent management agency." AdvertisementSuperstar YouTuber MrBeast and his talent-management company, Night Media, are growing apart, according to a new report from Semafor. At the same time, MrBeast's empire has continued to expand: the YouTuber told Time earlier this year he makes between $600 and $700 million in revenue a year.

Persons: Semafor, YouTuber, —, YouTuber MrBeast, Jimmy Donaldson, Donaldson, Reed Duchscher, Reed, Duchscher, Safiya Nygaard, It's, Kai Cenat, He's, Burger, Beast, Preston Arsement, Charli D'Amelio Organizations: Media, Service, Night Media, Bloomberg, Beast Investments, Amazon Prime Locations: Semafor, Texas, Feastables

☆ History is repeating itself as MrBeast and T-series battle for YouTube's top spot
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

MrBeast is set to surpass T-Series as YouTube's top channel. Kjellberg was in the midst of a battle for YouTube's number one spot because another channel — the Indian music label T-Series — was closing in. Now, for MrBeast, history is repeating itself, except this time, he is the one closing in on YouTube's biggest channel, T-Series, And it looks like he's soon going to win the top spot. Amid an expected mass exodus from the platform, a win for independent creators could have a positive ripple effect. "This breakthrough will show independent creators that they can be more successful than large corporations," she said.

Persons: —, MrBeast, YouTuber Felix Kjellberg, Kjellberg, he's, Donaldson, Jimmy Donaldson, He's, Gabe Gordon, Donaldson wasn't, Gordon, Donaldson hasn't, Moon, Katya Varbanova, Varbanova Organizations: Service, YouTube, YouTube's, Kjellberg, Reach Agency Locations: Burger

☆ Even MrBeast doesn't think everyone is cut out to be a content creator
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

MrBeast said it's not smart to drop out of school or quit a job to create content full-time. AdvertisementMrBeast doesn't think just anyone has what it takes to be a content creator. AdvertisementSophie Bishop, an associate professor at the media and communications school at Britain's University of Leeds, told BI that content creators must also contend with having no employment benefits like holiday pay or maternity leave. For example, while it's a perfectly good strategy to be influenced by Donaldson, there will never be another creator who is the same as MrBeast. AdvertisementInstead, she tells people what not to do and seeks to be honest about "the things we think are tacky, overpriced, and boring."

Persons: MrBeast, he's, —, Jimmy Donaldson, Donaldson, He's, Katya Varbanova, Varbanova, it's, isn't, Burger, Sophie Bishop, Bishop, Jessica Dante, Dante Organizations: Service, YouTube, Britain's University of Leeds, Love Locations: London

☆ A founding partner of VC firm 776 explains why she's still optimistic about creator-economy startups as the hype cycle ends
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewFor Katelin Holloway, the people who say creator startups are "dead" are missing the point of the creator economy entirely. "I'm not talking about the epic stars and the MrBeasts of the world," Holloway told Business Insider. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Holloway is a founding partner at Seven Seven Six, the early-stage VC firm started in 2020 by Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian. The end of the hype cycle around creator-economy startups is part of the intrinsic nature of venture capital — VC "loves hype cycles," said Holloway.

Persons: —, Holloway, Alexis Ohanian Organizations: Service, Business, Seven Seven Locations: —

☆ MrBeast brings in $700 million a year but says he's not rich: 'I've reinvested everything to the point of stupidity'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The YouTuber — real name Jimmy Donaldson — rakes in hundreds of millions of dollars from his YouTube channel and Feastables food brand. But despite bringing in revenue between $600 million and $700 million each year, Donaldson says he's not rich. His massive channel has 239 million subscribers, and his videos regularly get well over 100 million views. "Each video does a couple million in ad revenue, a couple million in brand deals," he told Time Magazine this week, which noted that brands pay between $2.5 million to $3 million for a shout-out in a video. "I've reinvested everything to the point of—you could claim—stupidity, just believing that we would succeed," he said.

Persons: Jimmy Donaldson, Donaldson, he's, doesn't, it's Organizations: YouTube, Time, New York

☆ Do you want 'Deez Nuts' or 'Dee's Nuts'? The confusion is part of the problem, a company suing MrBeast's food brand says in a lawsuit.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A nut company called Dee's Nuts is suing YouTuber MrBeast's candy brand Feastables. When Brian Ditore founded flavored peanut company Dee's Nuts more than a decade ago, he hoped to pay homage to his grandmother, Adeline D'amore, court documents say. On August 25, Dee's Nuts filed a lawsuit against MrBeast's Feastables, accusing the brand of trademark infringement by naming one of its chocolate flavors "Deez Nuts." Actual results when searching "dees nuts" show Dee's Nuts products. Screenshot via Walmart.comAn attorney and spokesperson for Dee's Nuts did not respond to a request for comment sent during the weekend.

Persons: YouTuber, Brian Ditore, Adeline D'amore, Brian A, Dee's Nuts, MrBeast's Feastables, MrBeast, Jimmy Donaldson, Feastables, Dee's, dees, Defendant Feastables, James Stephen Donaldson, Dr, Dre Organizations: Service, US, Inc Locations: Wall, Silicon, Iowa

MrBeast sued his burger brand for making "terrible quality" food, and this week they fired back. At 24 years old, Jimmy Donaldson, also known as MrBeast, is one of the most-viewed and highest-paid creators on YouTube. He's also an entrepreneur who launched virtual restaurant brand MrBeast Burger in 2020 and a supposedly better-for-you chocolate business called Feastables in 2022. Last week, though, Donaldson sued Virtual Dining Concepts, the restaurant firm behind his burger brand by accusing it of making "terrible quality" burgers. This week, VDC fired back against MrBeast with a "breach of contract" suit.

Persons: MrBeast, Jimmy Donaldson, he's, Donaldson, giveaways, He's Organizations: YouTube, Burger, Dining, MrBeast

☆ MrBeast sues to shut down the ghost-kitchen that produced MrBeast Burger
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, contracted Virtual Dining Concepts, based in Orlando, Florida, to launch the MrBeast Burger concept in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. The MrBeast burger, of the virtual food delivery chain driven by YouTube celebrity Jimmy Donaldson, in New York, Feb. 24, 2021. Because of that harm, the lawsuit claims Donaldson has the right to end the breached contract and shut down the MrBeast burger business. For example, MrBeast Burger in New York has 2.1 stars on Yelp. In 2022, a physical MrBeast Burger opened at the American Dream mall in New Jersey, sending fans swarming the store on its debut.

Persons: MrBeast, MrBeast Burger, Jimmy Donaldson, Adam Friedlander, Donaldson, it’s, Burger, He’s, ” Donaldson, ”, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, Court, of, Concepts, YouTube, The New York Times, Beast Investments, Burger, European Union, Investments Locations: New York, Southern, of New York, Orlando , Florida, European Union Canada, Thailand, Singapore, Mexico, Malaysia, New Jersey

☆ MrBeast plans to take on Hershey's with his Feastables brand - and says shorting a stock 'seems lame'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The YouTube star seems confident he can take on Hershey's with his Feastables chocolate bars. MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, also said that shorting a company's stock "seems lame." "But I will say these next few years between Feastables and Hershey's will be interesting once I actually ramp up." Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate owns See's Candies, has warned that old habits die hard in the candy business. Buffett even challenged Elon Musk to disrupt the candy business a few years ago, and the Tesla CEO tried and failed to develop a superior candy.

Persons: MrBeast, Jimmy Donaldson, who's, Donaldson, Warren Buffett, Buffett, Elon Musk Organizations: YouTube, Service, GameStop, AMC Entertainment, Berkshire Hathaway, Berkshire Locations: Wall, Silicon, Feastables, Berkshire

☆ MrBeast: Behind the success of YouTube’s most popular creator
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Faith Karimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“People would tell me, ‘All you do is talk about YouTube videos. Seven years later, Donaldson, better known online as MrBeast, has 167 million YouTube subscribers – more than any other individual creator on the platform. Donaldson navigates a maze in a screenshot from MrBeast's video, "I Got Hunted By the FBI." “That’s an interesting model, because you’re giving video viewers access to something they would never get to see in real life,” Fischer says. He often uses income from his previous videos to outdo himself in his next videos,” Miller says.

Persons: Jimmy Donaldson, ”, podcasters Colin, Samir, “, You’re, ’ ”, Donaldson, Mark Zuckerberg, Colin, ’, Donaldson breathlessly, Sara Fischer, “ It’s, CNN’s Jon Sarlin, ” Fischer, Pete Davidson, Tom Brady, relatable, Miller, MrBeast, ” Donaldson, Monica Schipper, Vince Miller, ” Miller, – Donaldson, Kristen Ruby, Gen Zers, Ruby, Burger, Dave Kotinsky, MrBeast Burger, –, mobbing, “ I’m Organizations: CNN, East Carolina University, YouTube, FBI, NFL, Netflix, Nickelodeon, Microsoft Theater, University of Kent, Ruby Media, Getty, Google, Records, Harvard Business School, Harvard Locations: North Carolina, Los Angeles, Greenville , North Carolina, New Jersey, Greenville, Chile

☆ Scoop: The founders of PopSugar raise $33 million for their second VC fund, and launch a bespoke investment bank to advise startups on M&A
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Brian and Lisa Sugar, the married founders of PopSugar, have raised a second venture capital fund. The $33 million fund will invest in consumer brands and software powering the future of retail. The eponymous firm, Sugar Capital, began to raise the sophomore fund a year ago and closed in May, Brian Sugar told Insider. For her part, Lisa stepped back from managing PopSugar in 2021 and joined Sugar Capital as a partner in 2022. Sugar Capital set out to raise $75 million for its second fund and reduced the target size last summer, Sugar said.

Persons: Brian, Lisa Sugar, Brian Sugar, MrBeast's Feastables, Will Hawthorne, Krista Moatz, PopSugar, Hawthorne, Sugar, Sam Altman, Jason Calacanis, Everlane, Ben Lerer's, Lisa, Brian Ach Organizations: PopSugar, Sugar Capital, Avid Capital Advisors, Avid, Sugar, JPMorgan, Advisors, Sequoia Capital, Nine Media, Bain Capital, Pritzker Group Venture, Consumer Locations: Olive

☆ How MrBeast Became the Willy Wonka of YouTube
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Max Read | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Compared with the strange and compelling creatures on display elsewhere on YouTube, it can be hard to understand precisely what’s appealing about MrBeast. Eligible creators on the platform earn around half of the revenue from advertising that YouTube sells against their videos. Even within this context, Donaldson stands out for his dedication to understanding how YouTube works. For most of his teenage years, “I woke up, I studied YouTube, I studied videos, I studied filmmaking, I went to bed and that was my life,” Donaldson once told Bloomberg. “I hardly had any friends because I was so obsessed with YouTube,” he said on “The Joe Rogan Experience” last year.

Persons: Donaldson, MrBeast, ”, —, “, ” Donaldson, Joe Rogan, Rogan, Warren Buffett Organizations: YouTube, Bloomberg, Berkshire Hathaway, Forbes

As the influencer industry continues to grow, so does the demand for talent managers and agents. Managers and agents help creators make money and choose which business opportunities to pursue. Like traditional stars, creators have built up teams with managers and agents to help them expand and run their businesses, and those supporting players have raced to sign the next generation of stars. "I felt that most brands were not seeing the value of diverse creators and the audiences they serve. Some influencers have both a talent manager and an agent.

☆ TikTok went big at SXSW and creators discussed building lasting businesses. Here are 3 takeaways that I left Austin with.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Creators gathered at Meta's Austin, TX offices for a series of talks hosted by the Asian Creator House. Whether creators were talking about pay transparency, or startups were pitching their products as solutions, creator monetization was an ongoing conversation at SXSW. "More and more creators are being transparent as to how much they're making," said Monica Ravichandran, creator and Collective Voice staffer. At the Asian Creator House, led by Always Be Creating cofounders Justin Nguyen and Jerry Won, creator pay and business building were also top of mind. But on the brand and marketing side of SXSW, AI wasn't a potent topic, according to Influencer's Penchin.

☆ MrBeast's girlfriend showed him guzzling raw egg whites with chocolate syrup as part of his supposed productivity "grind"
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

MrBeast's girlfriend, Thea Booysen, filmed him swigging egg whites and chocolate syrup. The YouTuber has been open about lifestyle habits he believes are required to be the most successful YouTuber in the world. And on Wednesday, Donaldson's girlfriend – the Twitch streamer and author Thea Booysen – gave a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse into what his unusual life can look like. In a since-evaporated Instagram Story on Wednesday, Booysen filmed the YouTuber guzzling raw egg whites straight from the carton. In a subsequent story, Donaldson poured chocolate syrup into a cup filled with a yellowish-white liquid – presumably the egg whites, before swigging that down as well.

☆ The best social-media moments and trends last year, according to rising stars of the creator economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

We asked 22 rising stars in the creator economy what their favorite social-media moment was in 2022. As part of Insider's inaugural list highlighting the next generation of leaders in the influencer space, we asked individuals what their favorite social-media moment was in 2022. These rising stars have spent the past year making tangible change through their work on products, content, or initiatives at startups or social-media giants. (Read our full list of 22 rising stars of the creator economy.) Read the full list of rising stars for more favorite moments and details about their careers:

☆ Read the 9-page pitch deck that YouTuber Moriah Elizabeth used to raise $2.5 million for her art app 'Spark'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Arts and craft creator Moriah Elizabeth has raised $2.5 million for her digital art startup. The app emerged from Night Labs – the same venture studio that built MrBeast Burger and Feastables. In a video introducing the platform, Elizabeth noted that upon firing up the app, Spark provides users with three creative prompts. "You're not going to make the most complicated, realistic art on here," Elizabeth explained in the video. You can check out the pitch deck that it used to raise its seed round below.

☆ From Liquid Death to Feastables, Gen Z-ers are into snacks that look like junk food but are actually good for you. Check out this roundup of healthy products with edgy packaging.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A number of healthy snack brands are marketing themselves as junk food. Here's a list of seemingly unhealthy but healthy snacks trending with Gen Z. "It's very in line with Gen Z making the pristine Instagram grid obsolete. At the same time, the healthy food and beverage space has historically been a stale category filled with boring brands." Insider surveyed more than 20 Gen Z-ers to pull together a list of trending snack brands that pose as junk food but are actually…kind of healthy.

Search resuls for: "Feastables"

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