I recently read a solid case study on the implosion of MrBeast’s burger venture. It was a good read. While I was familiar with most of it, there were a few new details that were genuinely interesting.

What struck me most, though, wasn’t the specifics of MrBeast — it was how familiar the pattern felt.

Twenty years ago, when we launched WatchMojo, I was also covering startups in a weekly TechCrunch column. I tracked dozens of young companies that would start with idea A, pivot to B, then C — sometimes in search of product-market fit, sometimes because of herd mentality, and sometimes simply out of impatience.

Even back then, I used to say:
It’s fine to pivot — but pivot three times and you’re back to square one.

Patience mattered. This was well before our 2012 break-even point, and long before the hockey-stick growth that followed. Many creator-led ventures today are replaying that same cycle — only with far more hype, speed, and public scrutiny.

Natural extensions vs. dangerous ones

Some of what we’re seeing today is creators legitimately trying to diversify. Others are launching products that feel like natural extensions of their brand. That part is understandable.

Where things often break down is when creators venture outside their core expertise and rely on joint ventures to compensate. A JV, by definition, means diluted control. Combine that with hype-driven categories like food, logistics, and retail execution, and the probability of failure rises sharply once the initial buzz fades.

That’s largely what happened here.

Even PRIME, which once looked unstoppable, has since lost momentum.

To be clear, I’d happily “fail” at PRIME-scale success. And yes, in hindsight, I do regret not launching a candy or snack product in the mid-2010s, when peak TV, geek culture, and fandom were euphoric. Something closer to Feastables — simple, low-friction products you buy at a movie theatre or convenience store. Cracker Jack. Sour Patch Kids. That kind of thing.

Water under the bridge.

The illusion that capital is the catalyst

In the early WatchMojo days, venture capitalists were skeptical of digital media. But one comment stuck with me:

It’s rare to find someone who can read a P&L and also nail editorial.

I have my own flaws and blind spots, but here’s a hard truth: most creators didn’t scale because of business brilliance — they scaled because they patiently found a voice, iterated relentlessly, and got lucky.

And luck is a prerequisite for success.

I recently had a conversation with an advisor about investment as a growth lever. We discussed WatchMojo’s own experience — investing several million dollars over a few years, leading to both failures and successes like MsMojo. Today, we’re prepared to invest more aggressively in truly extraordinary projects.

But I asked a simple question:
Where is the evidence that “investment alone” was the decisive success factor?

Consider:

  • First We Feast / Hot Ones
  • Barstool Sports
  • The Joe Rogan Experience
  • Acquired
  • Lex Fridman
  • The All-In podcast
  • FamousBirthdays
  • MrBeast
  • Dude Perfect
  • Dhar Mann
  • Ms. Rachel
  • And yes — WatchMojo

None of these succeeded because capital showed up early. They succeeded because of patience, iteration, tinkering, authenticity, and timing — and only later used capital to amplify something that already worked.

The reality of modern media

Right now, some of our videos on Venezuela or the Iran crisis outperform traditional pop-culture content. But that didn’t happen overnight. It took two to three quarters to get the editorial and production right — and another two to three quarters to gain credibility and trust with our audience (ie build distribution).

That’s simply the reality of media in the 21st century.

The encouraging part is that after deliberately narrowing our focus and defining a longer-term roadmap, we’re starting to see momentum across multiple fronts. Still, I’m realistic: this is a long journey.

Personally, I’ve gone from being deeply impatient to developing the discipline required to be patient. That didn’t come naturally — it was learned the hard way.

Final thought

Over-extension isn’t about how many things you touch.
It’s about whether those things share a coherent logic, cadence, and tolerance for time.

Capital can accelerate something that already works.
It rarely creates the thing itself.

And in media — perhaps more than anywhere else — patience isn’t a virtue.
It’s the price of admission.