5 Lessons from MrBeast on the Lex Fridman Podcast
It’s no secret I am a huge fan of what MrBeast is doing. His combination of creative videos, business savvy, and pure work ethic are notable for not only creators but any entrepreneur.
He recently was on the Lex Fridman podcast and discussed a myriad of topics related to content and business. The entire interview is 2:17:00 long and worth a listen, but here are the X major takeaways for any content creator and entrepreneur.
Have a Northstar (1:26:30)
“I’m a broken record, but whatever makes the best video possible.” - MrBeast.
Before Slice, I’ve always been aware of the “northstar metric” for startups. But after listening to MrBeast talk about content, it’s clear that this can be applied to any aspect of life.
The northstar metric is the one, overarching thing you guides all your efforts. Everything you do is to achieve that.
In the case of MrBeast, it’s all about creating the best video possible. That simplifies his thinking and enables him to create videos that no one else can make.
Brands Need to Give Creators Flexibility (21:19)
MrBeast won’t even work with a brand that tells him exactly what to say. “We get 100 million views a video now and I can confidently say I know how to entertain them and convert them better than these random brands.”
He does acknowledge that smaller brands don’t have his leverage and luxury of saying “no” to brands, but his point remains the same.
”If brands were more accommodating to let creators tell their story of the brand and talk about the brand in a way that felt a little more natural…it would be less cringe and people would be less likely to tap, tap, tap skip [the ad read] and obviously it would convert better.”
Coming from the agency/brand side. I know this to be true. It’s so hard to get a brand manager to trust the creators. Most want an IG post with a 300 word caption, verbatim with all the brand terms. But the few that gave flexibility to the creators received fantastic content that exceeded all KPIs.
Brainstorming is About the Input (40:47)
“The way to get 100 million views on a video is you need something original, creative, something people really need to see, ideally never been done before…if you want to constantly go viral, you need a constant stream of ideas.” - MrBeast
The only way MrBeast says he can consistently do this is input inspiration and see what his brain outputs. In the video Lex prompts him with “space” as the input and on the spot, he comes up with four ideas related to space.
Every has their own brainstorming methods, I’ve given brainstorming presentations on different methods, but it’s different for everyone. MrBeast is an anomaly, his brain works differently than most people. But his input>output brainstorming framework can be used by anyone. Creating ideas out of thin air is hard. Creating ideas related to a central topic becomes infinitely easier.
Just Fail (1:02:30 )
Too many people suffer from analysis paralysis. They over plan every detail and never create anything. “Your first video is not going to get any views.” says MrBeast. “Get to work and start uploading.”
Both the creative process and any entrepreneurial endeavor is about iteration. You need to start with a hypothesis, test it, and make adjustments. You’ll never make something perfect your first time. Your first anything is going to be shit. I remember my first podcast, I recorded it over Skype, using my white Apple headphones, with the wires. The entire podcast was overshadowed by my background breathing. Not even my mother could finish listening to it. Fast forward 50 episodes and now I have proper mics, transitions, and podcast that’s not half bad (but still more work to do).
Content Process is Iterative (1:24:40)
In this section, MrBeast goes into detail on how the process that he and his team goes through to make a video. It all starts with the idea and then they work backwards logistically. Chances are, you’re not going to make multiple MrBeast style videos that require large teams and machinery simultaneously like he does. But what caught my attention was his on the fly iteration of the video.
[ Describing In a Circle video ] ”…now we need a house, go buy a house, now bring it out there, and then it’s like Oh wait, I think it would be funny if I brought the house in on the intro. Find a crane that can lift up a house so I can drive it in and drop it into the intro.”
MrBeast has a plan for these videos. But he’s constantly thinking in the context of the viewer. How can he better pull in the viewers. What can make this better?
When creating content, always think of your audience and how can you better engage them, hook them, and increase their retention.
If you’re a content creator or entrepreneur, MrBeast is a wealth of knowledge. He’s been on a podcast spree, showing up on podcasts like Joe Rogan, Flagrant, TMG, and more. Listen to his stories. He is giving everyone the playbook to be successful. There are many more nuggets of wisdom in these podcasts. Go out and work on your success.
If you’re a creator in Indonesia looking to make some money from brand deals, sign up for Slice and we’ll connect you to agencies for brand deals.