Marc Hustvedt shares insights from helping to scale Mr. Beast to 350 million YouTube subscribers and building a global creator brand, revealing the unique combination of traits that separates extraordinary creators from everyone else. Check out Contrarian Thinking and Codie Sanchez to learn more about Marc's current work helping people buy and grow small businesses.
• Creator-led businesses eliminate the power imbalance found in traditional media
• The most successful YouTube integrations feel natural and appeal to the global audience
• Small, targeted audiences of 10,000 engaged followers can build lucrative businesses
• The future of media belongs to individual creators who own their businesses
• Work ethic and obsessive dedication to the craft set apart successful creators
• Jimmy Donaldson (Mr. Beast) studied YouTube content for years before finding success
• High appetite for risk and willingness to bet on yourself is critical
• Single-minded focus on "making the best YouTube videos in the world" drove their strategy
• The $3.5 million Squid Game recreation video was an inflection point for the brand
• Traditional production methods create unnecessary friction for creators
Ever wonder what makes certain creators explode while others struggle to gain traction? Marc Hustvedt, former president of Mr. Beast, pulls back the curtain on how they built one of the most successful creator brands in history expanding into ventures like Feastables Chocolate and Mr. Beast Burger.
What truly sets apart the 0.1% of creators from everyone else? Marc reveals it's a unique combination of traits: relentless work ethic, obsessive attention to detail, willingness to take massive risks, and laser-sharp focus on a singular mission. Jimmy Donaldson didn't just appear out of nowhere – he spent years making videos that barely got views, studying YouTube's ecosystem, and constantly iterating. The breakthrough came from understanding that success requires both quantity and quality, paired with the courage to bet everything on yourself repeatedly. The $3.5 million Squid Game recreation video serves as a perfect case study of their approach. While traditional media might have stretched production over months of planning and bureaucracy, the Mr. Beast team compressed timelines dramatically. They secured one of the largest brand deals ever for a single YouTube video by creating a sense of FOMO around cultural moments. Most importantly, they eliminated the traditional production hierarchy: "We were both the studio and the network," Marc explains, allowing for nimble decision-making that put creative vision first.
Marc is now bringing his digital expertise to Contrarian Thinking as their president, where he's exploring the intersection of education and creator economy. His observation? "You don't need a hundred million people to watch a video. If you've got the right 10,000 people, you can have a very lucrative business." This shift toward highly engaged, targeted communities represents the next evolution in digital content creation. Listen now for insights on building digital businesses, recognizing talent, and creating content that captivates audiences in today's fragmented landscape.
Marc Hustvedt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marchustvedt/
Marc was the President of Mr. Beast from 2021 to 2024. After graduating from the University of Michigan, he co-founded Tubefilter and the Streamy Awards.

Website: https://www.position2.com/podcast/
Rajiv Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivparikh/
Sandeep Parikh: https://www.instagram.com/sandeepparikh/

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