Giving advice to his followers has helped 21-year-old influencer Lukas Pakter to establish a presence on the social media site TikTok. Knowing the app was increasing in popularity, he made the wise business decision to broadcast videos interacting with his followers’ messages. He can be described as an entrepreneur who dedicates himself to any endeavor he engages in. He was attending school full-time and running his own business while also publishing no less than 15 videos on TikTok every day.
Pakter is enrolled in the University of Arizona to pursue a degree in business administration. The now businessman is a native of California’s Napa Valley. His experience attending a local high school inspired him to enroll in a major institution. It had become his opportunity to overcome an environment that he outgrew. Pakter quickly took advantage of navigating the large university by joining Greek life and taking on leadership roles. As a young adult leaving for college, I advise other students to take his example. You’ll benefit long-term if you become involved and have the confidence, like Pakter, to seize emerging opportunities.
Feeling awkward, uncomfortable, or nostalgic while you adjust to college is natural. Although many high school students look forward to the new chapter that is college, expectations often get in the way. Pakter discusses feelings that mirror those he had as a first-year college student adjusting to academics and Greek life. Prior to the covid pandemic, he had been a member of Zeta Beta Tau for about six months. He later advanced through the ranks to become the President in his sophomore and junior year.
Pakter shares, “I could either run away and go to a different school and transfer, I could drop and join another fraternity, or I could try and make my experience as good as I want.” He had been working on himself during the pandemic in an effort to become a better version of himself, which had resulted in his self-assurance and mental well-being. Soon after, he was elected president of the fraternity. Besides the fact that they believed he was the greatest candidate, no one wanted to do it! But while the covid pandemic was ending, he was one of the only people who rose to the occasion and chose to assume leadership duties when the fraternity most needed it.
Pakter has continually played the role of an elder brother by offering guidance and sharing his experiences as a former president through his content as an influencer. Although a large portion of his audience consists of young males, as a female watcher, I found his suggestions for how to have difficult talks with parents, for how to change our perspectives and for anecdotes about his experiences in Greek life to be fascinating.
While talking about the growth of his business, he mentions how he first recognized the need for customers before introducing his fitness or lifestyle apparel. In order to achieve this, Pakter embodied the essence of an entrepreneur by sleeping four to five hours on average while progressing his brand. He continued to invest a great amount of effort into social media in hopes that it would contribute to the development of his athletic-shorts business, SquidHaus. Pakter says, “The brand essentially is supposed to represent that transition of achieving self-actualization but also, taking that promise into yourself that you are the only one who is going to save yourself and now, putting that power into your own hands.” He used the comparison of how, from a distance, it can be simple to admire people who are at the top of the mountain, leading one to believe that they have never faced difficulties.
But just like everyone else, those at the summit also began at the bottom. He discloses that the company will keep releasing new items, that he is always trying to improve them, and that the business is currently doing well. Students should aim to have the same ingenuity, entrepreneurship, and humility as Pakter has demonstrated.
Be sure to stay tuned for Lukas Pakter’s new podcast and follow his Instagram and TikTok!
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