How the Founder of F*ck Jerry Built a Media Empire with 40 Million Followers

How do you turn a fledgling Tumblr account into a

media empire

with over 40 million followers and counting? For Elliot Tebele, otherwise known as the mastermind behind the viral

@fuckjerry

and Fuck Jerry Media, it involved a lot of memes, consistency, and trusting your instincts. “I had no idea that it would evolve into what it is today,” explains the 27-year-old when we stop by his

TriBeCa home

. The sun-drenched space also serves as the headquarters of Tebele’s newest venture,

JAJA Tequila

, which he started with his brother, Maurice Tebele, and friend Martin Hoffstein. With so many projects under his belt since founding the Fuck Jerry empire seven years ago, we wanted to know how the founder spends his days, his take on the effect of social media and marketing, and why a tequila company was his next bold move.

[Listicle particle error: Unhandled HTML element 'big' in post 2650794480 (context: Element not in supported or skip lists) Element HTML: Did you have any idea when you first started the account itself that it would morph into this multi-pronged thing? ]

[Listicle particle error: Unhandled HTML element 'big' in post 2650794480 (context: Element not in supported or skip lists) Element HTML: How do you think marketing-based social media and followings are affecting the way people are starting to organize their business plans? ]

[Listicle particle error: Unhandled HTML element 'big' in post 2650794480 (context: Element not in supported or skip lists) Element HTML: What do you think was the key to the explosive success of the brand itself? ]

[Listicle particle error: Unhandled HTML element 'big' in post 2650794480 (context: Element not in supported or skip lists) Element HTML: Where did the idea for JAJA tequila come from? ]