Paul Street names Gary Vaynerchuk equity partner to expand partner marketing business

NEW YORK, July 15, 2026 — Gary Vaynerchuk has become an equity partner in Paul Street, backing the fast-growing agency as it sets out to dominate the next generation of affiliate, creator and partner marketing.

Vaynerchuk is taking ownership in a business that has already generated more than $1.4 billion in affiliate revenue for its clients in just three and a half years. Founded by Aaron Paul and Patrick Cleary, Paul Street has grown from an affiliate programme specialist into a broader partner-marketing agency spanning brand PR, influencers, creators and performance partnerships.

Its clients include HexClad, Liquid I.V., Todd Snyder, Grüns and Dollar Shave Club. Its influencer and celebrity campaigns have involved names including Kevin Hart, Pamela Anderson, Andrew Schulz and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Now it is bringing one of advertising’s most visible entrepreneurs onto the cap table to help accelerate the next stage.

Affiliate marketing has grown up

Affiliate marketing was once treated as a low-cost performance channel hidden somewhere beneath the rest of the marketing budget. That market no longer exists. Today, the strongest programmes combine publishers, creators, influencers, editorial coverage and commercial partnerships across the entire customer journey.

Brands are no longer paying only for a final click. They are using partnerships to create awareness, establish credibility and drive measurable sales. Paul Street was built around that shift. The agency combines affiliate programme management with PR, influencer marketing and creator services, giving consumer brands one team responsible for building attention and converting it into revenue.

Vaynerchuk believes that capability has become essential for major consumer brands. His investment gives Paul Street more than another shareholder: it brings decades of experience in building agencies, identifying shifts in consumer behaviour and turning emerging marketing channels into serious commercial operations.

GaryVee is betting on the agency, not renting out his name

Vaynerchuk could have taken a fee, appeared in a campaign and walked away. He took equity instead. That aligns both sides around one outcome: making Paul Street significantly more valuable.

For Paul Street, the partnership adds credibility, reach and access to one of the largest networks in modern advertising. For Vaynerchuk, it creates ownership in an agency operating at the intersection of performance marketing, creator commerce and brand reputation.

Aaron Paul said Vaynerchuk’s thinking had influenced how he built both the company and his wider view of advertising. The objective now is to combine Paul Street’s proven affiliate engine with Vaynerchuk’s experience scaling VaynerX, codify the agency’s approach and take it to more of the world’s leading consumer brands.

The business has already proved it can generate revenue. Now it wants to own the category.