February 13, 2025 • 1hr 0min
MrBeast Shares His Best Business Advice
My First Million
Key Takeaways
- Obsessive Focus - MrBeast is wired to obsess over one thing completely rather than juggling multiple priorities. He thinks about his work constantly and channels all energy into improvement.
- Rule of 100 - Before asking for advice, make 100 attempts at something and try to improve one aspect each time. Most people quit before reaching 100, while those who make it figure things out on their own.
- Impossible is Possible - Don't accept "no" or "impossible" as final answers. Break down barriers into specific problems that can be solved with enough creativity and persistence.
- Cloning Principle - Have people shadow you constantly to learn your decision-making process. This allows scaling of judgment across the organization.
- Reinvest Everything - Consistently reinvest profits back into content and growth rather than taking money out. This compounds advantages over competitors.
Introduction
In this episode, Shaan Puri interviews Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast), exploring the mindset and principles that have made him the most successful content creator in the world. The conversation covers his early days struggling to gain traction, key business philosophies, and current ventures including his ethical chocolate company Feastables.
Topics Discussed
Early Days and Origin Story (0:00)
Jimmy shares how he started making videos at age 11 with no success for many years. A pivotal moment came when he had to choose between college and pursuing YouTube full-time:
- His mother wanted him to attend college but he secretly skipped classes to edit videos in his car
- Gave himself a 6-month window to make enough money from YouTube before being discovered
- Finally had a breakthrough month making $20,000 right before the deadline
- "Everything you guys have been flattering me with throughout this podcast are the exact same things I got lowkey bullied for in high school"
The Rule of 100 (11:15)
MrBeast explains his philosophy on improvement and mastery:
- Make 100 attempts at something before asking for advice
- Focus on improving one aspect with each attempt
- Most people quit before reaching 100 attempts
- Those who complete 100 iterations usually figure it out on their own
- "It's more of a metaphorical mindset...most people who need advice just need to go do it and learn through failure"
Making Content Viral (16:49)
Discussion of how to create viral content and generate compelling ideas:
- Ideas matter more than execution - Same effort can yield vastly different results
- Uses random word generators to spark creative concepts
- Focuses on creating "mega bangers" that capture attention
- Example: Buried alive for 7 days vs laying in bathtub for 7 days - same effort, different impact
- "An idea with the right idea you can do the exact same amount of work as a different idea but get 50x the return"
The Cloning Strategy (23:27)
MrBeast details his unique approach to training and scaling leadership:
- Have key people shadow you constantly to learn decision-making
- View any time spent working alone as a flaw in the system
- Focus on training "clones" who can run parts of the business independently
- Different from normal training - requires full immersion
- "The more you understand the whole business, the more you understand the ripples you create across things"
Making the Impossible Possible (28:39)
Philosophy on tackling seemingly impossible challenges:
- Never accept "impossible" as an answer
- Break down barriers into specific problems to solve
- Find people who get excited by impossible challenges
- Example: Getting permission to film at the pyramids
- "Until the head of the president of France tells you no, it's possible"
Consultants as Cheat Codes (36:53)
Leveraging expertise to accelerate progress:
- Find people who have solved similar problems before
- Learn from their experience to avoid common pitfalls
- Regularly cold calls contacts to learn new things
- Values adding value back to relationships
- "Because we do so many weird different things...call David Blaine, he buried himself alive"
Blocking Out Noise (41:25)
Handling criticism and staying focused:
- Same traits criticized early on are later praised
- Negative feedback often signals wrong environment
- Importance of finding the right peer group
- Don't let others' doubts affect your vision
- "If you're having to block out a lot of noise, then you just have a serious problem with who you're around"
Reinvesting Everything (43:00)
Philosophy on handling money and growth:
- Consistently reinvest profits into bigger projects
- Focus on product quality over personal wealth
- Pioneered spending millions on single videos
- Compared to Walt Disney's approach to reinvestment
- "It has nothing to do with wanting to keep money...I want to make the best product possible"
Feastables and Ethical Chocolate (47:30)
Details on his chocolate company mission:
- Addressing child labor issues in cocoa farming
- Paying farmers living wage reference prices
- Implementation of child labor remediation systems
- Goal to become largest ethical chocolate company
- "My goal is just to make Feastables the largest ethically sourced chocolate company in the world"
Getting in Shape (53:02)
Approach to personal fitness transformation:
- Lost 50 pounds through consistent habits
- Surrounded himself with fit people
- Focus on environment over willpower
- Has personal trainer who follows him daily
- "I'm very heavily influenced by the people around me...so I just put a lot of jacked people around me"
TikTok Acquisition Interest (54:56)
Discussion of potential TikTok involvement:
- Posted about interest in buying TikTok
- Received serious interest from multiple billionaire groups
- Would need to assemble team of algorithm experts
- Depends on TikTok's willingness to sell
- "It's gonna be banned if they don't. It's just a question of is TikTok going to sell or not"
Conclusion
The conversation provides deep insights into the mindset and principles that have driven MrBeast's success. His approach combines obsessive focus, systematic improvement, creative problem-solving, and strategic reinvestment. The discussion reveals someone who has developed sophisticated business philosophies while maintaining the creative drive that built his audience. His current ventures, particularly Feastables, show how he's applying these principles to create positive change beyond content creation.