The Happy Dad hard seltzer line is also making tons of money. When the drink launched in June, rowdy fans lined up outside some stores, eager for a chance to meet the creators. The seltzer quickly sold out online and at liquor stores across California.
“YouTube’s money is a penny compared to building businesses like a gas water,” Forgeard said. “We are not going to sacrifice our content or switch to make $ 500,000 a month with YouTube,” he added. “Maybe in the short term we are not buying Lambos like other YouTubers, but we could have a multibillion dollar business on our hands with this tough seltzer.”
Happy Dad is just the first step towards what they hope is a complete line of products and services. John Shahidi imagines Nelk one day competing with multinational corporations like Amazon, Anheuser Bush, and Apple.
“With our audience, we can build pretty much anything,” Forgeard said. “Maybe we start a men’s personal care business or we could sell condoms if we wanted to. We could open Full Send gyms. We could do pizza delivery. “
Shahidi said they could “have a network of drivers who can eventually deliver anything that’s in our ecosystem, be it a hoodie or a 12-pack of Happy Dad or protein bars.”
One way Nelk won’t make money is through pump-and-dump encryption schemes, which have become popular with other influencers. They recently warned fans in a Twitter post not to invest in altcoins that the creators sell. “When everyone TRUST them and invests, they sell and make a lot of money with YOU!” the tweet read. “Don’t be fooled.”
