Jun 18, 2026 · 30m · tbpn
Jake Paul Thinks We'll Live Forever
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Entrepreneur and boxer Jake Paul joins partner Jeff Wu to discuss the institutional scaling of Anti Fund, the disruption of boxing promotion through Most Valuable Promotions, and how digital-native storytelling fuels their multifaceted venture empire.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
The hosts as informed peer 3.2 Guest teaching 3.1 Guest disagreement 1.3 The hosts pushing back 1.1
speaking balance: gold is the hosts, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 19:10 Jake dismisses Enhanced Games concept
Jake immediately shuts down the Enhanced Games premise as dumb from day one, arguing that PEDs cannot compensate for two decades of disciplined athletic mastery.
Hardest push from the hosts ▶ 19:18 Host defends entertaining premise of Enhanced GamesThe host directly counters Jake's dismissal by arguing that adding steroids to the Olympics is an entertaining concept that fuels viewer excitement.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 26:16 Jeff explains why NFL players struggle with brand buildingJeff breaks down why traditional athletes struggle in business because leagues own their distribution and helmets conceal their identity, unlike internet-native creators who own their audience.
The host holds their own ▶ 25:31 Host defines distribution as an ongoing flywheelThe host demonstrates sharp startup expertise by intervening to define distribution not as a one-off conversion spike, but as an ongoing structural flywheel.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The hosts as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The hosts pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti Fund Oversubscribed Raise and Institutional Evolution | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | The hosts inquire about Anti Fund's $100M oversubscribed raise, LP composition, and growth strategy. Jake and Jeff explain their barbell investment framework and how top technical founders lack basic marketing knowledge. | |
| Storytelling and Relatable Marketing for Tech Startups | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | The host asks how Jake advises tech startups to craft relatable narratives outside San Francisco. Jake details his multi-platform history and explains why high-budget corporate commercials fail compared to authentic, scaled-down messaging. | |
| Early Content Creation and the Origins on Vine | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | The host prompts Jake about his early days of content creation. Jake shares the origins of his Vine career, the high school follower rivalry with Logan, and landing his first brand deal. | |
| Brotherhood Collaboration and Relentless Work Ethic | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | The hosts ask how Jake's relationship with Logan evolved and how he manages operating capacity. Jake describes their collaborative multi-brand model as the testosterone Kardashians and credits relentless round-the-clock work ethic. | |
| Transforming Boxing Through Women's Bouts and Streaming | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | The host asks about boxing monopolies, which Jake dismisses due to fragmented sanctioning bodies. Jake breaks down MVP's strategy of championing women's boxing with Amanda Serrano and transitioning the sport from pay-per-view to streaming on Netflix. | |
| MVP's Startup Approach to Boxing Promotion | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | The co-host brings up MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian's UFC background and Dana White's rivalry. Jake outlines how MVP acts like an SF startup by paying fighters instantly and modernizing promotions compared to legacy promoters. | |
| Fighter Mindset and the Physical Toll of Combat Sports | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | The co-host digs into UFC fight results and asks about the psychological toll and awareness of CTE among rising fighters. Jake explains that fighters are conscious of the danger but are deeply addicted to the thrill and love of competition. | |
| Critique of the Enhanced Games and Athletic Dedication | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | The host pushes back on Jake's rejection of the Enhanced Games, arguing that steroids make spectacles more entertaining. Jake forcefully counters that PEDs cannot bridge the gap created by twenty years of elite dedication, and later dismisses robotic combat sports. | |
| Anti Fund's Deep Tech, AI, and Hard Tech Thesis | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | The conversation covers deep tech investments and celebrity brand models. Jeff and the hosts discuss distribution flywheels, and Jeff explains why internet creators outperform traditional athletes in building enduring consumer companies. | |
| Leveraging Haters for Algorithmic Growth and Brand Power | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | The host brings up Alex Karp's perspective on haters and asks Jake if negative attention serves as fuel. Jake explains the algorithmic mathematics of haters doubling visibility, then bluntly rejects Ferrari's upcoming EV. |
Statements from this episode (22)
Paul: Anti Fund partners contributed a 10% to 14% GP commit
“We have a 10% maybe even more. It's like 10, 12, 13, 14% GP commit.”
Paul: Aquarian Holdings is the lead investor in Anti Fund
“Our lead investor is Aquarian Holdings, so. Shout out to Rudy and Eric. They've believed in us for a long time. They doubled down into our growth fund”
Paul: Anti Fund accessed SpaceX and xAI rounds through Jared Birchall
“Going into SpaceX and XAI, working with Jared Burchill to get into some of those rounds and then, you know, you're liquid very quickly.”
Paul: Anti Fund is raising Venture Two after deploying first funds
“We've deployed our full venture one. This is our growth one going into venture two now. Raising for that, and then pretty much fully deployed on Growth One.”
Paul: The most technical companies often have basic marketing knowledge
“You, you'd be surprised at the level of marketing knowledge that these companies have. It's like, day one, very basic. These are the most technical companies in the world, right? But they're not the best at breaking through to grow their users”
Paul: Logan Paul is a GP; we are the 'testosterone Kardashians'
“Obviously, he's a general partner in Antifund, and we work together on a lot of things, and everything that he does benefits me, and vice versa, and so, it's like building out a, we're the testosterone Kardashians, essentially.”
Paul: Efforts to monopolize boxing will fail due to decentralization
“Yeah, it's not going to work, you know, I think
So many people have tried to take over the sport of boxing and it's just too diversified too many sanctioning bodies with the belts, too many.
Fighters and promoters and managers involved.
And it's a sport that i…”
Paul: Most Valuable Promotions represents seven of the top ten female boxers
“And now we have, you know, seven out of the 10 pound for pound best women fighters and 40 overall, some of the best up and coming talent.”
Paul: The boxing industry is transitioning from pay-per-view to streaming
“But we're definitely moving into the streaming era of boxing.”
Paul: Dana White feud is driven by his partnership with Nakisa Bidarian
“That's a whole big part of the beef. It's not just me. It's the fact that, yeah, Nikisa and I have teamed up together. So yeah, definitely a sore subject for Dana.”
Paul: MVP became boxing's top promoter by operating like an SF startup
“So just by running it like a proper SF startup, we've, amongst many other things, but we, that's where the, why we've been able to become the number one promoter in the sport in four years when a lot of these other people have been doing it for 3040, 50 years.”
Paul: Conor McGregor's brand endures because he continuously returns to fight
“Connor McGregor has lost so many times. But his brand has, you know, stayed up there because he just keeps on fighting. He keeps on coming back.”
Paul: Humans will live forever by transferring our minds into robots
“Yeah, we're all going to live forever. Like we're just going to like transfer our mind into some robotic body. And so I think this whole, like, health wave.”
Paul: Traditional human sports will outperform robot sports because narrative matters
“I'm very, you know, long on traditional human sports in terms of a business model, because The story is what matters, and everyone's on the same playing field, so when you put in, like, robots and all these perks and extra things and blah blah blah, I don't th…”
Paul: A humanoid robot will be able to beat me in boxing
“I'm sure very soon. I mean, bro, if I'm going up against a metal robot, like I'd probably lose, so.”
Woo: Anti Fund has invested in OpenAI and semiconductor startup Etched
“We're pretty AI maxis here, so we're in OpenAI, and then going down that stack, right? So, you go down the inference providers, like the modals, and then you go to the semiconductors, so we're in Etched, which is an inference ASIC.”
Woo: Anti Fund recently invested in nuclear fusion startup Helion
“We just did Helion, which is a fusion company.”
Woo: The AI software race will be won by well-capitalized tech incumbents
“So, I think, in some sense, I think the software game is gonna be won by an OpenAI, Anthropics, SpaceX, Google, maybe about Cognition, and some of these like,”
Woo: NFL players struggle to build brands because the league controls distribution
“I think that's why like NFL players are very hard to cross over because like one, their face is not even recognizable because they're in helmets all the time. And then two, the NFL owns their distribution, right? Like NFL is their distribution channel. They do…”
Paul: Detractors double online reach because algorithms reward engagement over sentiment
“Good news travels fast, bad news travels faster, and the haters actually will talk about you more and say bad things. But at the end of the day, people don't really remember what was said. They just remember your name and your face. And so you could do with th…”