At age 27, Jake Paul has amassed 26.6 million Instagram followers, 17.8 million TIK Tok followers, and nearly 20.7 million to YouTube subscribers. He started creating content when monetization was in its infancy, and managed to barely make it two billion views making comedy videos on Vine (RIP), starting around 2013.
Fast forward a decade, and Paul's steady work ethic has catapulted him from influencer to entrepreneur to professional boxer. He's fighting former UFC fighter and bare-knuckle boxing champion Mike Perry in his eighth pro fight on Saturday, and will face the Boxing Hall of Famer. Mike Tyson on November 15, which will be broadcast on Netflix.
Paul, it seems, is no longer just for comedy and jokes.
“It's just very surreal and it feels like all my hard work is starting to pay off,” says Paul. entrepreneur during a video call. “I'm so honored to be in the ring with Mike Tyson. After 12 to 15 years of knocking down the door of opportunity, I was able to open this door. So it just goes to show you have to start one step at a time and grow to things you can't even believe you're doing.”
Jake Paul is seen at Michael Rubin's annual Fourth of July party on July 4, 2024 in East Hamptons, NY. (Photo by Gotham/GC Images)
When the Tyson fight was announced, Paul appeared as favorite to win. But his response wasn't one of an untouchable heavyweight – he's just happy to be here. And yes, he says he's afraid to fight Tyson.
“The fear will always be there, you will always be afraid,” Paul said. “I'm afraid to fight Mike Tyson. I'm afraid to fight Mike Perry. It's about being brave enough to have the courage to do it when the fear will never go away. You have to embrace it and let it feed you versus let it stop you from possibly making the best decision of your life.”
However, he has not been without controversy. Business Insider reports the charges of online fraud, abusive behavior and vandalism.
His videos filming the protests during the pandemic in 2020 led to the FBI the raid of his house in 2021 in connection with a robbery incident at a mall in Arizona. Paul was charged with trespassing and unlawful assembly.
After an investigation, the US Attorney's Office decided that he can't face federal charges.
Around the same time, Paul had VOLTAGE with the mayor of Calabasas, California, when he organized a massive party during the pandemic despite social distancing restrictions.
Despite the setbacks, Paul did not shy away from the limelight and took it as a learning lesson. of Paul net income now it's about $34.3 million.
Jake Paul, Brand Builder
Paul owns four businesses – sports book application BetterVC fund Antifundsports promotion company The most valuable promotions — and now his latest, a direct-to-consumer men's body care line, W Walmart, which started in June.
“I started out not knowing what anything was, I just learned a little bit every day, accumulated knowledge, applied all my learning and worked harder than my peers,” said Paul.
Paul compares the W products to “a new, better version of Ax for millennials.”
“These legacy brands that we're going up against are companies owned by massive conglomerates. We're coming in with a new game plan and a new way to market,” Paul added. “There's so much room to grow and change things here and innovate on a product that can connect with a younger male audience, which is my audience.”
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Paul's marketing techniques are not for everyone (he was almost attacked from a sharkand filmed one lie detector test on Instagram), but they feel authentic to who he is and his already hyper-online social media presence.
“I think people should be themselves. Authenticity is what wins, show your failure, show your mistakes, tell your story,” Paul said. “The struggle is what people can relate to, and I think that's what a lot of entrepreneurs are missing.”
Paul says that when he was making Vine videos as a teenager a decade ago, he foresaw how big the influencer economy could one day be. He was right: A recent report from commercial predicted that US marketers' spending on sponsored social media content could grow 16% this year to $8.14 billion.
“(Back then), the numbers spoke for themselves,” he said. “We were Viners getting millions of views on our Vines and getting paid like $2,000 a video, but a TV ad spot would get maybe 500,000 views and they get paid $100,000 or $200,000.”
Paul said he knew eventually the numbers “would be the most important thing” and that influencers and creators would become more valued. “And it's coming true,” he added.
Paul says his first paycheck was $300 and he spent it on LeBron James Christmas Edition sneakers and a Diesel watch.
“You have to embrace it and let it feed you versus let it stop you from possibly making the best decision of your life.”
The transition to the business world didn't come without its fair share of haters.
“I (was) scared to put the W out into the world to see how people would take it,” he said.
Paul says he heard a quote years ago about entrepreneurs being the best at sweeping their mistakes under the rug, learning and moving on, and he tries to remember that when the going gets tough.
“It hasn't been easy at all, it's still hard every day,” Paul said.
Connected: Jake Paul reportedly earned a hefty sum for the fight
And he might just be fighting his old reputation for a while: After all, he knows the Internet is forever.
“I want people to look at me as an example of the American dream, of relentlessly chasing my dreams for over a decade and never stopping when I fell flat on my face and persevering through all those moments,” he said. .