Mr Beast trumps Donald to go mobile. It’s the MVNO story we should have expected.
What do Mr Beast and Donald Trump have in common? They are global brands, albeit very different kinds, great managers of their fan base and known for their more whacky stunts.
And now, both will have telecom brands in common, as the headlines across the tech press show. Yes, the new kid on the MVNO block is Mr Beast, real name Jimmy Donaldson.
“Mr Beast could cause trouble for TMobile and Verizon.”
“Mr Beast’s Wackiest Challenge Yet: Launching a Phone Company.”
“MrBeast’s Mobile Phone Ambition Could Rival Reynolds, Trump Family Ventures”
Not so whacky
It falls against a backdrop of past success for other big name personalities. Ryan Reynold’s Mint Mobile is often hotly discussed as a model to emulate. In a nutshell, it capitalised on the critical ingredients new MVNOs need. A good, fair, simple pricing model and a strong brand, in this case, backed by the caché of a superstar founder.
This week’s stories about Mr Beast’s intentions read as a sensational move. It’s a surprise that the YouTube superstar, who has around 430million subscribers, would dare to launch a mobile company. Yet, to anyone in the industry (especially those twice the age of the 27-year-old) it’s a no brainer.
Why does it make sense?
There is of course a lot to get right when launching a new mobile brand. You must have the right wholesale agreements in place, a great proposition and a simple way for users to purchase, activate and manage an account. Above all, MVNOs must be different to everything else on the market, and be ready to spend on marketing, especially when no one has ever heard of you before.
Mr Beast has a head start with regards to many of those ingredients. A huge global reach negates the need for the level of marketing and spend other brands would need to stump up. The scale of the audience provides the channel to market and simply equates to a huge revenue potential. This gives Donaldson significant bargaining power at the table, so getting the right deals for launch shouldn’t be too hard.
Should MNOs be worried?
There’s very little existing operators (MNO or MVNO) can do to bolster their brands from the ripples, or more likely, bow waves, that will come from a launch by a mega star of this ilk.
And let’s face it, the first time mobile users who are joining the market, ones that have grown up with YouTube, might not even consider another provider for their mobile. That’s something MNOs and MVNOs alike will need to face up to.
MNOs might want to ensure they have a chance to be the wholesale provider though – think of the revenue!
It won’t all be plain sailing
That said, launching an MVNO with global reach comes with challenges. Maintaining a great brand experience across multiple markets is top of the watch list. It’s operationally complex, with a multitude of different mobile wholesale deals to manage, and different regulatory regimes to negotiate.
I’ve seen this be the downfall in many scaling MVNOs. It takes meticulous knowledge and care to get right. It’s not impossible, but you certainly can’t blunder in thinking your superstar brand status will do all the talking.
There’s also the acute point that mobile is competitive. You can’t launch and hope things will look after themselves. The money might roll in to begin with, but if there’s an ounce of dissatisfaction, or a failure to give people special treats for their loyalty, then things will unravel.
Mr Beast will need a team that can keep innovating on proposition, so his audience stays hooked. Look at the effort MVNO football clubs go to, day in day out, to keep their users ‘sticky’. It takes everything from free content, special merch, and access to insider knowledge or early tickets sales that other fans can’t get, to keep people on the network.
Potential for a Mint-Ryan-Reynolds-style sale
If Mr Beast can deliver on this, then he probably not only has a successful business but also a brand he could sell to an MNO (or other digital darling) that needs to grow its portfolio and access a market it wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach. Ryan Reynolds’ Mint Mobile was successfully sold for a reported $1.35billion, so why not Jimmy’s?
Should Trump Ventures be worried?
Personally, I think Trump Ventures’ mobile ambitions will be unaffected by this news. The overlap on target audience is probably limited, and Mr Beast joining the competitive fray won’t be the thing that influences how successful Trump Mobile is. (You can see a blog on wrote about this earlier in the year here.)
Fortune favours the brave
All things considered, and if everything aligns for launch in 2026, then I think the Mr Beast brand has made a brilliant decision. The brand value, breadth and energy has the potential to make a fortune.
However, as I said before, picking the right markets, negotiating the right pricing and putting in place the right proposition is where the magic lies. So, if you are reading this, Mr Beast, don’t be a stranger. I’ll help you get what you need for world domination!
Drop me a WhatsApp on +447766244962
