When Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, began pitching investors on his business a few years ago, he was asking them to believe in a YouTuber with a plan to sell burgers, podcast audio, and even digital tokens. The pitch decks from that period now read like a roadmap of abandoned ambitions, revealing how rapidly the creator's business strategy has evolved. New court documents filed in an ongoing lawsuit between MrBeast and his burger business partner show a creator who has constantly reinvented himself, moving from one big idea to the next as he searches for a durable media and consumer empire.
Donaldson built his name on YouTube with increasingly expensive stunts, giant giveaways, and elaborate challenges. Over time, he became the platform's most-subscribed creator, with a business that stretches far beyond video. His ventures now include a snack food brand, a competition show on Prime Video, and a digital banking platform acquired in 2025. But that is only the latest chapter in a story full of strategic pivots.
From NFTs to a subscription fan platform
A 2021 investor fundraising deck included in the court documents lays out an ambitious slate of projects. The deck labels 'Beast Games, Netflix Beast Studios, Beast NFT, Beast Podcasting' as coming in 2023. None of those names have become major standalone businesses in the way the deck seemed to promise. There is a Beast Games competition show on Amazon's Prime Video, but it did not arrive in 2023, and there is no Netflix studio dedicated to MrBeast content. The company has not launched a significant NFT collection or a podcasting division that moves the needle, despite the early pitch promises.
The same 2021 deck also describes a 'subscription fan platform' called 'Beast World,' scheduled for 2022. At the time, MrBeast envisioned a $9.95 per month membership with 'exclusive content, merchandise, community, and experiences.' That product never materialized in its original form, but the underlying idea of building a direct relationship with his audience has stayed with him. In 2025, he began telling advertisers about plans for what he called the 'largest membership service in the world,' with a philanthropic element, early access to content, exclusive material, and member challenges.
This kind of shift is not unusual for creator-led startups, according to Megan Lightcap, a partner at the venture capital firm Slow Ventures, where she leads its Creator Fund. Lightcap said it is common for startups to start with one idea and then adjust, especially when the business is built around a personality rather than a specific product. Consumer brands often need to launch with a clear product, but creators have more flexibility because their popularity is tied to their personal brand. 'Because their popularity is centered on their personal brand, they have even more opportunities,' she said.
The 2024 multiverse
By 2024, the company's plans had expanded far beyond the early metaverse-adjacent ideas. A July 2024 board meeting presentation talks about opportunities in theme parks, theatrical releases, and a vast array of consumer products. The presentation also shows a growing awareness that the business should not rely entirely on Donaldson being on camera. It called for animated series and associated toys and consumer products, which eventually became the MrBeast Lab YouTube channel and product line. That move signaled a major shift in strategy: rather than just being a YouTuber who sold merchandise, Donaldson was trying to build a media ecosystem with characters and intellectual property that could outlive any single on-camera star.
The 2024 deck laid out a MrBeast 'multiverse,' a term often used in entertainment to describe interconnected stories and brands. In reality, it reflected a simple business need: diversifying revenue and audience touchpoints. The company had already grown beyond YouTube, but Donaldson's face remained the center of gravity. Animation offered a path to expand without depending on his schedule or his personality as the sole draw.
A new CEO and three pillars
In February 2025, with Jeffrey Housenbold at the helm as CEO, MrBeast's ambitions had changed further. Housenbold previously led Shutterfly and had experience in consumer internet businesses. The February 2025 investor deck presented the company as built on three pillars: media, consumer packaged goods, and software. That framework was a significant departure from earlier pitch decks, which often focused on content categories like games, podcasts, and NFTs. The new deck also mentions a 'comprehensive' video game portfolio and a loyalty program earmarked for 2026. Other areas under exploration included a creator platform, fintech, pro sports, and even a mobile phone service.
Housenbold later confirmed the mobile phone ambitions at The New York Times' DealBook Summit in December 2025, saying the company planned to launch a phone business called 'Beast Mobile.' According to the 2025 investor deck, the service is likely to be a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, which uses a major carrier's infrastructure. This is a model other celebrities have adopted, allowing a brand to offer phone plans without building its own network.
Where MrBeast is actually focused now
Several of the ideas from the 2025 pitch deck have already moved from concept to reality. This year, the company acquired Step, a digital banking platform aimed at young people. Step offers savings accounts, a credit-building Visa card that functions similarly to a debit card, and a cash-advance program. The acquisition marked a major entry into fintech, although Step's YouTube channel has not posted new videos since the deal closed.
On the creator platform front, MrBeast hired a team from the Andreessen Horowitz-backed startup Pietra, including its CEO and cofounder Ronak Trivedi. Trivedi is playing a key role in developing the platform, which is expected to help creators bring products to market. That move connects directly to MrBeast's own experience launching Feastables, his 'better for you snack brand,' which started in 2022 with a chocolate bar and has since expanded.
Media remains a core part of the empire. MrBeast has continued to produce his spectacle-style YouTube videos and launched the Beast Games competition show on Amazon's Prime Video. According to his company, new verticals centered on food, entertainment, fitness, and gaming are in the works, and these are designed not to rely on Donaldson's on-screen presence. That is a notable pivot for a creator who built his brand almost entirely on his own image.
The membership service also appears to be taking shape. At a breakfast for advertisers in May 2025, MrBeast outlined plans for what he said would be the 'largest membership service in the world,' combining philanthropy, early access, exclusives, and challenges. While the original Beast World idea never launched, the new membership push suggests the company still sees direct audience monetization as a key opportunity.
Experiential entertainment is another area where MrBeast is placing bets. In November 2025, he tested the theme park concept with a 45-day pop-up in Saudi Arabia, where visitors could participate in challenges inspired by his videos. The success or failure of that pilot will likely determine whether a more permanent attraction makes sense.
The pattern across all these moves is clear: MrBeast is no longer just a YouTuber with a merchandise line. He is the founder of a conglomerate that touches media, consumer products, software, finance, and mobile telecommunications. Some early ideas, like NFTs and a subscription fan club, were abandoned or folded into broader ambitions. Others, like digital banking and a creator platform, only appeared in more recent pitch materials. The through-line is a relentless willingness to pivot, adapt, and explore new industries, all while keeping the core YouTube engine running.
Court documents from the ongoing legal dispute with his former burger partner provide a rare look at how these decisions were made. The documents also show that MrBeast's business ambitions have always been big but have never been static. What investors saw in 2021 is not what they saw in 2024 or 2025. If the trend continues, the MrBeast empire a few years from now may look just as different from today as today looks from the early pitch decks. His team has demonstrated that they are willing to experiment, abandon what does not work, and double down on what does, even if that means leaving an early vision behind.
Source: Business Insider News