Before the 27-year-old became the third richest content creator, raking in $38 million in 2023 — and challenging boxing legend Mike Tyson in a bout that will be broadcast on Netflix — Paul was Disney's nightmare employee.
After gaining internet fame by creating six-second comedy videos on Vine, Paul was fired from the children's show Bizardvark, where he played the role of Dirk Mann. In a twisted view of art imitating life, Paul was fired by Disney in 2017 for causing a disturbance with his stunts, setting empty swimming pools on fire, waving a T-shirt gun in a reporter's face, and organizing dirt bike races outside his home. home for rent.
“We're not even that loud,” Paul Tell Hollywood Reporter After the events. “For example, yes, a furniture fire got out of control in our backyard once. But it didn't harm a single person.”
Despite amassing 47 million followers across YouTube and Instagram through fake videos and behind-the-scenes vlogs of his budding boxing career, problems continued to dog Paul.
At the top of the Sexual assault allegations Using racial slurs in his YouTube videos, Paul held loud parties at the height of the coronavirus and was… Charged with trespassing and illegal assembly After being photographed with a stolen vodka bottle in a looted mall. The charges were later dropped. But after the mall incident, the FBI also raided his home with a SWAT team in August 2020. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona later said he would not face federal charges.
It is difficult, then, to imagine that this same man would become the face of Venture capital fund which has invested in the success of brands such as Olipop and Fly By Jing. Or he'll become the founder of a fledgling personal care brand of deodorants and body sprays called W — a play on Gen Z slang for “to win” — which launched this week in 3,900 Walmart stores, with more products launching later this month Across all over the world. 400 additional Walmart locations.
But as the name of his new brand suggests, Paul continues to rack up victories despite his “1000 Failures” spree. Having repeatedly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, Paul surprisingly—but not inexplicably—learned to love controversy.
“Other businessmen understand, and women entrepreneurs understand that when you do something great, everyone is going to try to stop you,” Paul said. luck.
The “problem child” grows up.
Following a novel Lots of content creators In mid-2010, Paul gradually stopped fake videos and turned to other means of making money. He called himself “The problem child“He made a name for himself in boxing, where he achieved a record of nine wins and one loss. In 2021, he Participated in its founding venture capital fund Anti Fund along with Jeffrey Wu, the entrepreneur who rejected Paul a decade ago, when he pitched his own content house Team 10.
Wu said luck It's a popular strategy for influencers to try their hand at consumer brands and venture capital after juicing YouTube.
“Content creators, or celebrities in general, think this is just a free money grab,” he said.
According to Amanda Russell, marketing consultant and author The Influencer Code: How to Unleash the Power of Influencer Marketing, It can be really profitable. Creators like Paul already have built-in audiences, allowing their brands to scale quickly.
“It's becoming more and more difficult for brands to get their way,” Russell said. luck. “Everything is a commodity now unless consumers have a connection to the product. People don't really resonate with brands. They resonate with people.
But Paul himself will tell you that simply attaching his name to a project does not mean success. In 2016, on his social networking site Closed rooms, which divided users into boys-only and girls-only groups, was shut down after getting just 500 downloads. In 2018, he was accused of defrauding his clients Edfluence online platform, which offered tutorial videos on how to become an influencer, after users were unable to open the videos even after paying the initial $7 fee to do so. In March 2023, he filed $400,000 with the Securities and Exchange Commission for this Promoting an alleged cryptocurrency scam.
“You have to go through those moments where you're losing money, your idea isn't as good as you thought it was,” Paul said. “Those are the things that get you in the long run.”
Woody Hilliard, W's CEO, saw more of Paul — a humble, self-aware entrepreneur with a fierce thirst for success — when he met him a year and a half ago. During one of their first meetings, a group of kids approached Paul and asked for autographs. Hilliard remembers Paul being patient, asking each child what their interests were in school and what sports they liked.
“You just saw him connect with people on a human level, and it made you realize what a great guy he was,” Hilliard said. luck. “People have the opportunity to grow.”
While Hilliard sees a young business partner with soft edges and a calm demeanor, Paul is still, at least to the audience, drawn to his trouble-making persona. at recent days Promotional video For W, Paul describes himself as “stupid and smelly,” and tells the production assistant to put deodorant on his hairy, sweaty pits.
“Personally I don't think I'm controversial. I tell the truth and people don't like the truth in today's world because the truth hurts,” Paul said. “I've never been afraid to ruffle any feathers or speak my mind.”
'Content is king'
Don't dismiss Paul's courage. Russell said Paul was unsuccessful despite the controversy he generated. He found his professional footing because of it.
“People who try to please everyone are actually for no one,” she said. “The more you support something, the more you create a cult-like following.”
Paul is fully aware of his past delinquency. He used his continued importance, even infamy, to his advantage: “Content is king,” he said. “The most important thing is eyeballs, marketing and exposure.”
This strategy is not foolproof, as Paul's family knows. Big brother Logan Paul has had huge success with his energy drink brand Prime, which was launched alongside boxer KSI. But after generating more than $1 billion in sales within two years of launching the company, the brand's rapid growth became unsustainable.
Gen Alpha lost interest in the drink when it stuck to the next promoted product. After being hit with a lawsuit claiming they contained more caffeine than those labeled “forever chemicals,” Prime bottles are now ready to go. Discount racks at UK retailers.
But Jake Paul trusts his winning mentality in the face of adversity. He's been through the fires of serious controversies, criminal allegations, and failed businesses, and still came out on the other side swinging.
“Everyone wants to see you push back, keep rising to the occasion and overcome, conquer and keep fighting,” Paul said. “And that's really what I did.”
“Some of my biggest losses have been my biggest wins,” he added.