Later, Donaldson once again showed his entrepreneurial aptitude by investing every dollar he earned into his business with the purchase of new equipment.
This, as we’ll find out later, is a practice he still adheres to today.
MrBeast gains momentum
MrBeast began to gain steam in 2015 after producing a series where he made fun of other creators for their introduction videos.
In 2016, he reached 30,000 followers a few months before filming himself counting to 100,000.
Although the video took 44 hours to create, it went viral and has over 27 million views at last count.
He followed up with similar viral videos of spinning a fidget spinner for 24 hours and watching the same music video for 10 hours straight.
In November 2017, MrBeast surpassed one million subscribers. His video content branched out to include challenge and donation videos, giving away free cars, and donating thousands to smaller content creators, waitresses, and Uber drivers.
He also ran a successful fundraising campaign to plant 20 million trees by the end of 2019, garnering donations from Elon Musk and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, to name a few.
Today, MrBeast produces content for more than 130 million subscribers.
Audience-centric approach
Donaldson studies his videos with a level of detail few would be willing to match. He watches when people leave him, which part of the video got the most views, and even what kind of thumbnails get the highest CTR.
Donaldson was also a member of the Daily Masterminds, a group made up of YouTube creators who discussed each other’s videos, deconstructed the videos of successful creators, and brainstormed ideas.
These sessions can be in-depth and run from 7 am to 10 pm, but Donaldson credits them with allowing him to hone his craft and understand his audience in greater detail.
Once Mr. Beast identifies an idea where his own interests and those of the audience intersect, he enlists a team of over 100 employees to bring it to life.
While Donaldson has an obvious passion for creating videos, it’s the combination of this passion with his analytical skills and his devotion to his followers that has made him the success he is today.