Danny Duncan Turned Down $40k To Launch GoodSport

YouTuber Danny Duncan wants to break into your backyard... with his new backyard games brand, GoodSport.

Author

Calvin Caracciolo
November 17, 2022

Read Time4 min 41 sec

What’s up everyone! Welcome to our channel. This is Creator Business. We’re the newsletter that isn’t quite sure if Twitter is a dumpster fire right now or a phoenix emerging from the flames? 🤔

Here’s what the algorithm was pushing last week:

  • Danny Duncan enters the backyard games market

  • Ex-Nelk member Jesse Sebastiani’s new venture

  • Happy Mom has entered the chat

DANNY DUNCAN LAUNCHES GOOD SPORT

Danny Duncan wants to break into your backyard… with his new backyard games brand, Good Sport.

Danny Duncan is a YouTuber known for stunts, pranks, and a mop of hair on his head that’s straight out of 2012 Tumblr (in a good way).

  • Smashnet: The lovechild of ping pong and roundnet

  • Backyard Pong: A larger version of beer pong that uses buckets instead of cups

  • Bubble Bash: Wearable giant inflatable bubbles that you’ve probably seen before on someone’s Instagram story

The brand has big plans for launching 30-40 unique games in the future.

The Good Ol’ Good Sport Origin Story

Good Sport is a collaboration between Danny and Chris Meade, the founder of CrossNet, which is a backyard game combining volleyball with the classic schoolyard game, four square.

Chris had initially reached out to Danny hoping he would help promote his brand, but Danny turned down the $40k sponsorship offer. After the two talked a bit more, they decided to launch a brand together instead, making Danny a part-owner instead of just a promoter.

Right now, Good Sport is only available on their website, but they’ve got plans to expand into big box stores like Dick’s, Academy, and Scheels.

Reacting To: Danny Duncan's Good Sport

Ok, so initially we were like, “Is the beginning of winter really the best time to be launching a backyard games brand???”

But then we got to thinking and we were actually pretty impressed that Danny is the first YouTuber to be taking on the backyard games market.

His videos always involve games, stunts, and being outside, so there’s definitely a great fit between his content and the products.

It’s another great example of creators pursuing having equity in the brands they promote rather than just a one-off sponsorship.

FORMER NELK-ER JESSE SEBASTIANI LAUNCHES NETWORK STUDIO

If you ever watched a Nelk video pre-2020, you probably remember seeing Jesse – a founding member of the YouTube prankster channel who really helped take the brand to the next level.

He’s now launching Sunday, a four-way cross between a content production company, merch brand, venture studio, and product development firm.

This doesn’t sound like a very Nelk thing to do

That’s because it isn’t. After working/scheming for about a decade alongside one of Nelk’s main founders and owners, Kyle Foregeard, Jesse slowly started appearing in Nelk videos less and less around 2020 and 2021.

Fans started to take notice, and last month, Kyle revealed on Nelk’s Full Send Podcast, that Jesse had left the group due to creative differences. But their relationship with each other was still as strong as ever.

Last week, Jesse announced that he had sold his Nelk ownership and launched Sunday.

He described his experiences at Nelk like a Friday night – a lit, rowdy party filled with shenanigans. Their brand Full Send was like a Saturday night – doubling down for Round 2. But as Sunday rolls around, it’s more relaxed, calmer, and sober.

Why Sunday is a smart move

Jesse is a great example of how creators can evolve and grow their audience and brand over time. He’s grown and matured a lot since the start of Nelk – and so have a lot of his original fans. Many of them are in their late-20s now and ready for less aggressive content.

Jesse is also growing Sunday as a network where he’s producing shows rather than being the on-screen talent. This role will allow him to focus more on growing his business.

He’s also likely got quite the financial runway to get Sunday up off the ground, given he probably made millions from selling his Nelk ownership. (Although Kyle did mention that Jesse held on to his equity stake at Happy Dad, their separate seltzer brand).

Reacting To: Jesse Sebastiani's Sunday

Taking on a media executive approach to content is a great option for avoiding creator burnout – especially as you get older and the priorities in your life start to change.

Being the on-screen talent doesn’t offer much leverage for growth but applying the skills you’ve learned to a new show hosted by someone you’ve trained is a smart and sustainable way to grow.

Not being the face of your content also makes it easier to potentially exit the business down the line with an acquisition or going public.

YOU’VE HEARD OF HAPPY DAD – BUT WHAT ABOUT HAPPY MOM?

Well not officially. But in an unexpected turn of events, while this newsletter writer was doing some FBI-level research and snooping for his next YouTube video, he came across this juicy document:

Anyone else looking forward to buying some Happy Mom merch for Mother’s Day 2023?

Wait, what!? You’re more shocked to hear about us doing YouTube than you are to hear about this Happy Mom leak? We’re so happy to hear!

We’re really excited about this whole YouTube thing. Check out our latest vid: “Mr. Beast Business Model | EXPLAINED”.

Also on the FYP

That's all for now. See ya next week!

About Calvin Caracciolo, Editor-in-Chief of Creator Business

Calvin Caracciolo is a content creator who keeps you up to date with the fast-moving world of business in the creator economy. He’s also a really great guy!

Contact him about anything creator economy related at [email protected]. Follow him at tiktok.com/@calvincaracciolo and subscribe to his YouTube channel if Shorts are more of your thing.