MrBeast gives eastern Ontario business a boost

A local business in the community of Embrun, southeast of Ottawa, got quite the surprise when a social media sensation placed an order with their online business, Ability Hive.

“He’s a master of the craft. He’s like the best in the game and it’s just super cool to see a guy like Mr. Beast ordering from us,” said co-owner, Kim Vincent.

It all started with an online post shared by Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, one of the world’s most popular YouTube creators.

“At the end of his post he said if you have a small business on Shopify leave it in the comments and maybe I’ll buy from you,” said Vincent.

Less than two weeks later Vincent says the business had its biggest order yet.

“I couldn’t believe it, I was trying to process it,” he said. “It was $1,300, which is amazing.”

Vincent and his wife Josee Martel launched Ability Hive in March, inspired by their eight-year-old daughter Sage who was diagnosed with autism six years ago.

The couple set out with a goal of tackling the challenges faced by those with autism and special needs, launching an online store that brings together their favourite products and free resources.

“Their cause is very nice and they are helping out a lot of people with special needs and that’s what our school stands for. It’s beautiful what they’re doing,” said Janic Marion, principal of École élémentaire catholique Saint-Isidore.

Vincent and his wife enlisted the help of their daughter’s classmates to paint shipping boxes on Friday as a grand gesture to the social media star who often gives away large amounts of money or prizes.

It’s something Ability Hive is known for, as the couple donates a percentage of their sales to local non-profits.

“Maybe that’s one of the things he liked about us; we just love to give back,” Vincent said.

The couple has a few more tricks up their sleeves before sending the final order, like collecting fan mail from their Ability Hive community to go inside the freshly painted shipping boxes, which they plan to send next week.

“I will say that MrBeast just left a comment on my comment today, which is really cool. He left a pair of eyeballs. Meaning, ‘Hey, did you see I ordered from you?’ So thank you, MrBeast, for all you do,” Vincent said.