Underscore Talent Hires Nick Jacklin President of Business Development
- Underscore Talent reps TikToker CelinaSpookyBoo, and YouTube chefs Pro Home Cooks and Grandbaby Cakes.
- Established by the founders of Studio71, the company just hired another top exec from the early MCN.
- Nick Jacklin will oversee its nascent Web3 and DTC ventures, and its content house Last2Leave.
Underscore Talent, the digital management firm that reps kidfluencers Vlad & Niki, family vloggers The LaBrant Fam and The Royalty Family, and TikTok heartthrob Vinnie Hacker, has onboarded a new partner and president of business development.
Nick Jacklin, a decade-long veteran in the digital space, will lead all areas of Underscore’s business apart from its core talent management unit. This includes a push into creator NFTs as well as the development of additional direct-to-consumer brands.
Jacklin said he will also head up Underscore’s partnerships with platforms like YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram, including forging creator compensation deals for the use of emerging formats like YouTube Shorts, Instagram (and Facebook) Reels, and Snapchat Spotlight.
On the Web3 front, Jacklin will oversee a new division dubbed Underscore Labs, with the company’s first NFT ventures to launch this summer. Jacklin is steering these efforts alongside another recent hire, Brandon Eng, who hails from NFT studio Purebase.
Additionally, Jacklin will guide Underscore’s push into new DTC ventures, following the launch of its first consumer brand, BeautyXBoo Cosmetics, in 2020. The makeup company, created alongside comedy TikToker Celina SpookyBoo (25 million followers), has turned into a “significant, seven-figure business,” Underscore cofounder Reza Izad told Insider.
Next, Underscore is exploring brands in the culinary, fitness, and health and wellness spaces, with its second venture to launch in Q4.
The final project under Jacklin’s remit is Last2Leave, a Miami content house formed late last year that marks a branded partnership with Live Nation, which sees members venturing to various concerts, music festivals, and sporting events.
Underscore, which currently reps about 200 clients, was established in January 2021 by the cofounders of the early multi-channel network Studio71: Michael Green, Reza Izad, and Dan Weinstein. Green is no longer involved in the company’s day-to-day affairs.
Jacklin also joins Underscore from Studio71, where he most recently served as EVP and head of business development. In that capacity, he oversaw the company’s shift from a YouTube MCN to executing its first deals with TikTokers. Under his guidance, Studio71 also launched its first podcasts alongside the likes of Nikki Limo and Brittany Furlan.
“I have a profound respect for Dan and Reza,” Jacklin told Insider. “Having worked at a company they founded, I experienced firsthand their leadership style and creativity.”
Prior to Studio71, Jacklin worked in content distribution at another early MCN, Maker Studios. He joined Maker’s parent company, Disney, in 2016.