- dot.LA
- Posts
- 🍔MrBeast Legal Spat Over Sizzle and Slander
🍔MrBeast Legal Spat Over Sizzle and Slander
dot.LA Weekly Update
Nick Conner
August 11, 2023
Brought to you by:
🔦 Spotlight
YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a. MrBeast, is embroiled in a legal battle with the company behind his virtual burger restaurant, MrBeast Burger. 🍔⚖️📜
After MrBeast's lawsuit against Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC), which managed the burger's fulfillment and delivery, VDC has countersued for $100 million in damages. VDC claims MrBeast failed to fulfill contractual obligations, such as promoting the burger brand, making false and damaging statements, and causing financial harm.
MrBeast initially sued VDC, citing concerns about food quality and damage to his brand's reputation. MrBeast Burger operates through a network of "ghost kitchens," offering food through delivery apps cooked in existing restaurant facilities. It rapidly expanded to 1,700 locations since 2020, attracting attention and crowds.
VDC's lawsuit reveals that MrBeast attempted unsuccessful contract renegotiations in November 2022, February 2023, and June 2023. The legal cook-off centers on alleged breaches and disparaging remarks from MrBeast about the burger brand. Despite the legal battle, MrBeast remains influential online, having ventured into various projects beyond the burger business, including a line of snacks named Feastables.
Want to invest in real estate but don’t have the time or money to buy and manage a whole property?
Investors are flocking to Arrived, a Jeff Bezos-backed real estate investing platform that even Zillow Co-founder Spencer Rascoff loves using. It's a beautiful app and web platform that already has over 353,000 people who have invested over $100M in real estate properties. We don't blame them - Arrived takes the guesswork out. You just:
Browse expert curated vacation rentals and long-term rentals (only <0.2% of properties pass their expert diligence process before being offered to you)
With just a few clicks, select the properties you like and invest anywhere from $100 to $50,000+ per property
Sit back while Arrived takes care of the management and operations for you. Simple.
Real estate has outperformed the S&P 500 over the past 20 years as an asset class - but it's not easy to get into. Arrived's seamless platform fixes this. So what's stopping you from becoming a real estate mogul?
🤝 Venture Deals
LA Startups
Virtualitics, a data analytics and 3D visualization platform, raised a $37M Series C led by Smith Point Capital - learn more
Luxury Presence, a provider of growth marketing solutions for real estate pros, raised $19.2M in a Series B1 led by Bessemer Venture Partners - learn more
Nature Coatings, a biochemicals startup, raised a $2.5M Seed round co-led by Regeneration.vc and The 22 Fund - learn more
LA Funds
Mantis Venture Capital joined a $17M Series A for Haus, a startup that helps companies measure the ROI on their marketing efforts - learn more
LA Exits
Check back next week!
⚒️ Open Roles
Are you a tech firm, startup, or VC with open roles? Reach out to be featured on next week’s Newsletter!
📅 LA Tech Calendar
Friday, August 11th
Cypher VR Los Angeles - Virtual reality escape room experiences!
Monday, August 14th
Generative AI and AI Alignment with Amino Capital🗽 - Hear from Generative AI experts about how generative AI can be used in the entertainment industry!
Tuesday, August 15th
Techstars: How to Make Your Application Stand Out🗽 - Prepare an eye-catching application with insider tips!
Wednesday, August 16th
Ask Me Anything with Leading Innovation Law Firm: Wilson Sonsini🗽 - explore impact investing through disease foundations and innovative approaches to addressing rare disease challenges!
KPMG Private Enterprise Tech Innovator in the U.S. Finals 2023🗽 - exclusive opportunity for you to hear the finalists’ pitches and get a first look at their ambitious plans for transforming the technology landscape!
Thursday, August 17th
LA Tech Networking Happy Hour🗽 - Bringing LA tech world into one place to broaden our networks and get away from our laptops!
LA Startup and Tech Mixer - Kick off August the right way with networking and drinks!
GENERATIVE LA—LIGHTSPEED X SCOPELY X ACTIVISION (August 30th)🗽 - Bringing together local founders, engineers, designers and product leaders building the future of AI!
Other events to add to the calendar
🗽 - Free
Have an awesome event coming up? Reach out to be featured on next week’s Newsletter!
🌍 Around The Internet
The top 3 funding rounds for LA startups in July are…🥁🥁🥁
Impulse Space - $45M Series A
Karat - $40M Series B
Gardens - $31.3M Series A
Tell us which startup you are most excited about |
📙 What We’re Reading
🙋♀️ Key Hires
AdvisorCheck appoints Adriel Tam as CEO - read more
Love our newsletter? Share it through your social channels!
    |
Want to reach 16,000+ Southern California founders, investors, and operators? Reach out to learn more about sponsoring or hosting an event with dot.LA
Last Weeks Poll:
How long until the Hollywood strike is resolved?
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ ⌛ < 1 month (9%)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ ⌛⌛ 1-3 months (24%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⌛⌛⌛ > 3 months (67%)