- MrBeast’s company has hired a team from creator-commerce startup Pietra, including its CEO and co-founder Ronak Trivedi.
- Beast Industries has also hired former Google and Uber employee Shiva Rajaraman.
- MrBeast aims to build a platform to match brands and creators for sponsorship dea
MrBeast has been on a hiring spree as he aims to diversify his company beyond YouTube. His company, Beast Industries, brought a team from creator-commerce startup Pietra, including its CEO and cofounder Ronak Trivedi, on board.
Trivedi, who worked at Uber before he co-founded Pietra, is set to play a key role in developing MrBeast's new platform that aims to match creators with brands for sponsorship deals, Business Insider reported.
A spokesperson from Beast Industries confirmed the hirings for the yet-to-be-named platform. The source did not reveal the number of employees hired, but called it "significant."
Pietra helps creators develop their own consumer product lines by linking them with suppliers, product designers, warehouses, and fulfillment companies. The Beast Industries spokesperson said Pietra would operate under a new CEO. The startup has raised $36 million to date from Andreessen Horowitz and others, as per Crunchbase.
The company has also hired former Google and Uber employee Shiva Rajaraman. Beast Industries has also opened a product and engineering office in California's San Mateo, to focus on a planned membership program and the creator platform.
MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has been diversifying from his YouTube channel for a while now. He has ventured into merchandise, financial services, a snack line and even announced plans for a mobile phone venture.
A platform for matching creators and brands may be helpful to MrBeast as the market shifts budgets from traditional media to social media creators.
MrBeast's Entry Into Clipping
MrBeast already works with brands and creators through the Tube analytics platform Viewstats as well as clipping service Vyro. Clipping is a marketing tactic of creating short viral clips from longer videos.
The YouTuber is going on a hiring spree as several people have left Viewstats and Vyro. This includes Viewstats COO Nagesh Nagpal.
A company spokesperson said that the departures were not connected to the planned creator platform, adding that Viewstats and Vyro would continue to operate as separate firms.
Beast Industries hired the clipping agency Clip last year to promote some of its founder's charitable work, as per The Wall Street Journal.
Beast Industries launched its own clipping service, Vyro, in October.
Beast Industries also has plans for an initial public offering.
