Mark Beaks is the first major recurring character in the new series not to be based on an earlier character. He was created as a younger, hipper kind of millionaire, as opposed to the old school tycoons, Scrooge and Glomgold.
An "inspirational" poster visible in the background of one scene reads "Remember, you're replaceable!"
Mark Beaks was originally called "Mark Zuckerbird", an obvious pun on Mark Zuckerberg, on whom the character is based. The name had to be changed for legal reasons.
The character of Mark Beaks is an obvious parody of Mark Zuckerberg the creator of Facebook. Additionally, he also embodies the personalities of the many young social media celebrities who exist these days and put everything on the Internet. He is meant to be the exact opposite and the characteristic foil of Scrooge McDuck where he is young, hip, narcissistic, and made his money the easy way, instead of working hard.
The crazy work environment of Mark Beak's company, Waddle, is a parody and homage to Silicon Valley (show and in reality) and other real-life tech offices such as Google where there are various fun things meant to "increase" productivity of employees.