When the NCAA approved its landmark name, image, and likeness (NIL) policies in 2021, athletes were granted new opportunities to earn income from their personal brands under regulated guidelines. For Tyler Jaynes, that moment became the spark for an entrepreneurial journey that would reshape the way college athletes earn. Leaving his job in Austin, Jaynes launched Influxer, an e-commerce platform built to give student-athletes meaningful opportunities in the new NIL era.
Building a Marketplace for Athletes
Jaynes put everything into Influxer. He invested $800,000 of his own money to launch the business, then raised $265,000 in a friends and family funding round in early 2023. That same year, he moved operations to North Texas, positioning the company closer to schools and athletes in one of the nation’s most active college sports markets.
Influxer quickly proved its value. By 2023, the platform reported generating more than $9 million in sales, with a user base of 37,000 athletes across 465 licenses. Today, Influxer employs 36 people and continues to expand its reach across the college athletics landscape.
A Fairer Model for Student-Athletes
Unlike many competitors in the merchandise and licensing space, Influxer emphasizes a revenue-sharing model that directly benefits athletes. The platform pays student-athletes royalties between 15 to 28 percent on sales of their branded merchandise. By comparison, Fanatics is reported to return around 4 percent in similar agreements.
“We’re like what Spotify did for music,” Jaynes explains. “Artists not in the top 1 percent didn’t have a route to make much money off their music unless they got local gigs or signed to a record label. Now, anybody can post their song and make money. We’re making NIL available to any college athlete.”
Motivation Rooted in Experience
For Jaynes, the motivation is personal. As a walk-on football player at Baylor, he witnessed firsthand the struggles many student-athletes faced despite their schools generating millions in revenue.
“I noticed that the star players had to steal food from the facility to feed themselves,” he recalls. “They get a $1,200 stipend check from their scholarship: $600 would go to rent, and they’d send $600 home to help their families. Meanwhile, the schools are making millions. Seeing that inspired me to help make a change.”
That experience continues to shape Influxer’s mission: leveling the playing field so that every athlete, not just the stars, can benefit financially from their talent and hard work.
Pivoting at the Right Moment
Jaynes originally envisioned Influxer as a platform for influencers and brands. He began building it in 2020, focused on bridging creators with opportunities. But when NIL reform became reality a year later, he quickly pivoted, dedicating the platform entirely to athletes.
Influxer launched with Texas A&M–Corpus Christi as its first partner, followed by Eastern Washington University. Within just a few months, the platform had already signed up 1,000 users. After a brief redesign in 2022, Influxer reopened in 2023 stronger than ever, scaling to tens of thousands of athletes and multimillion-dollar revenue.
Growth and Future Projections
Jaynes recently stepped into a founder and board leadership role, with Steve McLean appointed as CEO to lead day-to-day operations. The company is preparing for its next growth phase, including a Series A funding round planned for next year.
“Our revenue projections are approximately $30 million for next year,” Jaynes notes. “In 2026, we expect to reach $100 million once our SaaS components for brand engagement are implemented, with additional business lines planned for 2025. We expect that to be north of $250 million in five years. What’s important is that this will equate to tens of millions of dollars for the athletes.”
Positioned for the Future of College Sports
As conversations about revenue sharing between schools and athletes intensify, Jaynes believes Influxer is uniquely positioned to thrive.
“Revenue sharing, if passed, will only help us,” he says. “Not only are we pushing revenue back to players, but the schools are also making more. They’ll need more income sources and we are well positioned because we do things that schools do not have infrastructure for yet.”
From walk-on athlete to founder of a multimillion-dollar company, Tyler Jaynes has built Influxer into a platform that empowers athletes, disrupts industry norms, and ensures that college sports’ financial rewards are more equitably shared. His story proves that passion and timing can converge to create not just a business, but a movement reshaping the future of college athletics.
