Paul was a Disney nightmare before the 27-year-old became the third-richest content creator, earning $38 million in 2023 and challenged boxing legend Mike Tyson to air on Netflix of employees.
Paul rose to internet fame by making six-second comedy videos on Vine, but was later fired from the children’s show Bizardwak, where he played stuntman Dirk Mann. In a twisted take on art imitating life, Paul was fired by Disney in 2017 after he caused a nuisance with his own stunts, setting fires in empty swimming pools, waving T-shirt guns at reporters and posing in his Organize dirt bike drag races outside the office.
“We’re not even that loud,” Paul told hollywood reporter after the incident. “Like, yeah, there was a furniture fire in our backyard that got out of control. But it didn’t hurt anyone.
Even as his prank videos and behind-the-scenes blog about his budding boxing career attracted 47 million followers on YouTube and Instagram, trouble still followed Paul.
In addition to accusations of sexual assault and using a racist slur in a YouTube video, Paul threw raucous parties at the height of the pandemic and was filmed with a stolen bottle of vodka at a mall that was robbed He was later charged with trespassing and unlawful assembly. The charges were later dismissed. But after the mall incident, the FBI also raided his home with a SWAT team in August 2020.
It’s hard to imagine, then, that this man would become the face of a venture capital fund that has invested in the success of brands like Olipop and Fly By Jing. Or he’ll be the founder of a fledgling personal care brand of deodorant and body spray called W, Gen Z streamer slang for “win,” that hits 3,900 Walmart stores this week. Additional products will be launched globally later this month.
But as his new brand name suggests, despite a wave of “1,000 failures,” Paul continues to find victory. After surprisingly – but not inexplicably – snatching victory from defeat time and time again, Paul learned to love the argument.
“Other business people understand, and women in business understand that when you’re doing something amazing, everyone is going to try to stop you,” Paul told wealth.
The “problem child” has grown up
Following the narrative of numerous content creators in the mid-2010s, Paul phased out prank videos in favor of other ways to make money. He called himself a “problem child” and rose to fame in the boxing world, amassing a record of nine wins and one loss. In 2021, he co-founded the venture capital fund Anti Fund with entrepreneur Geoffrey Woo.
Wu told wealth It’s a common tactic for influencers to try their hand at consumer brands and venture capital after squeezing profits from YouTube.
“Content creators, or celebrities in general, think this is a free money grab,” he said.
According to marketing consultant and ” Influencer Code: How to Unleash the Power of Influencer Marketing, It can indeed be profitable. Content creators like Paul already have a built-in audience, which allows their brands to expand quickly.
“It’s getting harder and harder for brands to break through,” Russell said. wealth. “Everything is a commodity now unless the consumer has a connection to the product. People don’t really resonate with brands; they resonate with people.
But Paul himself will tell you that just having his name attached to a business doesn’t mean success. In 2016, his social media site Locker Room, which divided users into groups for boys and girls, shut down after just 500 downloads. In 2018, he was accused of defrauding customers of his online platform Edfluence, which offered instructional videos on how to become an influencer that users could not unlock even after paying an initial fee of $7. In March 2023, he paid $400,000 to the SEC for promoting an alleged cryptocurrency scam.
“You have to go through those moments where you lose money and your idea isn’t as good as you thought it was,” Paul said. “Those are the things that make you who you are in the long run.”
When W CEO Woodie Hillyard met Paul a year and a half ago, he saw more in Paul—a self-aware, humble entrepreneur with a genuine desire to succeed. During their first meeting, a group of children approached Paul and asked for his autograph. Hillyard recalled that Paul was patient, asking each child about their interests in school and what sports they liked.
“You just see him connect with people on a human level, and it makes you realize what a great person he is,” Hillyard told wealth. “People have a chance to grow.”
While Hillyard saw a sharp-cut young business partner with a calm demeanor, Paul, at least in public eyes, still tended to be a troublemaker. In a recent promotional video for “W,” Paul calls himself “dumb and smelly” and asks a production assistant to apply deodorant to his hairy, sweaty areas.
“I personally don’t think I’m controversial. I tell the truth, but people in today’s world don’t like telling the truth because the truth hurts. “I’ve never been afraid to piss anyone off or say what’s on my mind. “
‘Content is king‘
Don’t dismiss Paul’s bravado. Russell believes that despite Paul’s controversy, he was not successful. He thus found his professional footing.
“People who try to please everyone don’t really suit anyone,” she said. “The more you stand for something, the more you create a cult following.”
Paul was very aware of his past sinful behavior. He uses his continued relevance, even notoriety, to his advantage: “Content is king,” he says. “The most important thing is eyeballs, marketing and exposure.”
As the Paul family knows, this strategy is not foolproof. Brother Logan Paul has had great success with his energy drink brand Prime, which he launched with boxer KSI. But after sales exceeded $1 billion within two years of the company’s founding, the brand’s rapid growth became unsustainable.
Gen Alpha lost interest in the drink as it moved on to the next hyped product. Prime bottles are now on the discount shelves of UK retailers after being hit with a lawsuit for allegedly containing more caffeine than the “forever chemical” listed on the label.
But Jake Paul is confident in his winning mentality in the face of adversity. He’s weathered serious controversy, criminal charges and the flames of corporate failure, but remains rocked.
“Everyone wants to see you go down, and you just keep rising to the occasion, overcoming it, and keep fighting,” Paul said. “That’s really what I do.”
“Some of my biggest losses have also been my biggest victories,” he added.
