I have long been captivated by the meteoric rise of MrBeast. Who wouldn’t? At just 26 years old, Jimmy Donaldson, better known by his moniker MrBeast, has built a billion-dollar empire. And that demands the attention of corporate America.
Unlike traditional businesses, MrBeast thrives under a different set of rules and a distinct philosophy. To gain deeper insights into these unique philosophies, I interviewed Marc Hustvedt, the president behind the scenes at MrBeast. Hustvedt, an instrumental figure in operational strategy, shared pivotal insights that help us understand the divergent thinking at MrBeast.
This conversation reinforced my belief that the traditional corporate playbook is outdated. Today’s businesses need to look towards innovators who are rewriting the rules and fundamentally rethinking business approaches.
What’s Wrong With The Corporate Playbook
During our discussion, Marc Hustvedt critiqued traditional business models by saying, “VC-backed companies like Vox, Vice, and even Buzzfeed, to some extent, tried to hire executives who would take the corporate playbook to build a brand.” These efforts failed and these companies showed significant decline.
The corporate landscape is so misaligned from modern needs that phenomena like quiet quitting–psychologically disengaging from work and doing the bare minimum–have become prevalent. According to Gallup, at least half of the US workforce is engaging in quiet quitting, reflecting a significant disconnect between employee expectations and corporate realities.
It’s quite ironic that a TV show such as The Office is so popular, with its satirical critique of traditional corporate environments, and yet, companies continue doing the things that all viewers of the show relate to and laugh at. It’s funny because everyone can feel it’s wrong to put employees in a cubicle without incentive for excellence, but because it’s the norm we all just accept it.
Lessons We Can Learn From MrBeast
The current corporate playbook completely lacks innovation and companies who stay here are dead in the water. Below are lessons and insights I gained from my conversation with Hustvedt on how to approach building and growing a business in the current landscape.
Aligning Compensation With Value
MrBeast challenges traditional compensation models by emphasizing the importance of rewarding employees based on the value they bring to the organization rather than their job titles. This approach rejects the standard corporate practice of adhering to market averages or rigid pay scales. Paying employees $50,000 a year to just do their job doesn’t cut it anymore.
For example, Hustvedt said, “People thought we were crazy for paying a video editor a million bucks a year and I’m like, ‘Not if he’s worth a million bucks a year.’” He defended the move with a simple rationale: If an employee generates value worth that amount, they deserve to be compensated accordingly.
Other than competitive salaries, companies may also create ownership opportunities for employees, such as equity stakes in the business. With this, employees become deeply invested in their work, contributing not just as workers but as stakeholders in the organization’s growth. It can counter quiet quitting and motivate teams to go beyond the minimum.
Companies must find impact players and create an environment where they can continue to add more and more value. By adopting this principle, businesses can attract top-tier talent and ensure that exceptional contributions are recognized and rewarded.
Marketing And Business Are One And The Same
When queried about his focus between content creation and business development, Hustvedt’s immediate response was illuminating: “It’s the same.” Content creation is the lifeblood of the company. As Hustvedt put it, “ “If the main channel started performing poorly, everything else would go. So we always made sure the main channel was doing well because everything flowed from that.”
Most people think that building a business and marketing it are two separate activities. “Good” companies have their marketing team learn some of the actual business and learn industry lingo – I know that has certainly been the case for my digital marketing agency. But how much more powerful would it be if someone in operations had a marketing brain? What more if they are considered one and the same?
MrBeast’s approach ensures that marketing efforts are deeply intertwined with core business activities, which enhances both the relevance and effectiveness of promotional strategies. This is crucial in today’s market where authenticity and seamless brand experiences are key to engaging consumers effectively. We need to stop thinking of marketing separate from the business’s function in terms of the service it provides to customers.
Creating A “Figure It Out” Mindset
A core aspect of the culture at MrBeast is the ‘figure it out’ mindset, which is reminiscent of the principles found in the book The Third Door. It involves tackling seemingly impossible challenges with determination and creativity. If you had to be scrappy, do it. Just figure it out.For example, when MrBeast needed to rent the Eiffel Tower for a shoot, they had the team make phone calls. “We got six ‘No’s’ before finally getting a ‘Yes.’ And money wasn’t even the issue. It was only $50,000 to rent it and be able to turn the lights on and off,” Hustvedt recalled. The team found a work-around and got time in the Eiffel tower from 1:00 AM to 5:00 AM. Their persistence paid off, allowing them to turn an ambitious idea into reality.
With the kind of content the team creates on YouTube, they would frequently find themselves in a room together staring down an impossible problem, but with the right incentives to create buy-in, they were able to figure out just about anything.
To grow and thrive, businesses sometimes need to bite off more than you can chew and then figure out how to chew it later. This mindset encourages taking on formidable challenges and finding innovative solutions, regardless of the initial obstacles.
Business Leaders Cannot Lead Without Being In The Trenches
In order to be scrappy and to really innovate, leaders must be in the trenches with their team. They need a pulse on what’s going on in the business. Effective leadership in today’s dynamic business environment requires being directly involved with teams, understanding their challenges, and working alongside them to devise solutions.
For example, when he came on as president of MrBeast, Hustvedt spent the first 90 days on set with the crew “to really learn what they’re doing and gain their respect.”
Leaders must create an environment where their presence and engagement encourage open communication and shared problem-solving. This doesn’t mean micromanaging but rather being a proactive participant in discussions and decision-making. Hustvedt mentions that there are talent agencies that claim they can help you build a business at arms length and that oftentimes these fail. “You have to really be in the weeds, constantly tinkering and figuring things out,” he shared.
Organizations can implement this principle by having leaders be in the trenches with those on the front of enemy lines. It’s all too common to have executives not have a pulse on what’s happening with the end user. Analytics dashboards and customer experience survey data doesn’t cut it. Executives should be hopping on calls with customers themself or being on the job site to really have a pulse on what’s happening.
Final Thoughts
If you are an executive ignoring the fact that landscapes are changing, my hope is that this is your wakeup call. Young people are looking for a place to work for a sense of purpose now more than ever, and environments creating disengaged employees are no longer enough to drive growth in today’s competitive landscape. Companies that step up to the plate and invite their team into building something excellent together will thrive, and those who can’t adapt and cling to the old playbook risk falling behind.