Duke Alexander Moore founded a tax-service startup, now known as Duke Tax, while still in college. Duke Tax helps influencers organise and file their taxes by keeping track of all of their tax documents, sending them reminders about important deadlines, finding as many deductions as possible so they can save the most money, and answering any questions they have. Moore dropped out of school to focus on building the company, and got licensed as an enrolled agent, or EA for short.

Moore then started to market himself on social media which initially proved to be a head scratcher; we all know taxes aren’t exactly fun so how do we make them seem attractive and appealing? Moore cleverly put an entertaining spin on it. “I used popular sounds and hopped on trends to make my videos as memorable as possible. I went viral in 2021 when Mia Khalifa reposted one of my TikToks on Twitter. It got a million views and my following skyrocketed” he told Insider. 

Moore now boasts 3.4 million followers on TikTok, 151,000 followers on Instagram, and 25,600 subscribers on YouTube. 

Khalifa’s video caused Moore’s content to go viral, taking him from struggling to find clients to receiving over 100 requests a day. Due to Khalifa’s background, Moore even found a niche amongst OnlyFans users who started reaching out to ask for help with their taxes. 

This opened a window for Moore as he saw an opportunity to particularly target the need for tax help among creators – his business now focuses exclusively on this niche. 

Brand partnerships then started rolling in and in 2021 alone the company made $500,000 from paid partnerships.

As the business grew, so did Moore’s need for decision making. “As more influencers came to us, I needed to invest more money in the startup to keep up with demand. We’re not VC-backed, so I took a risk and invested the half a million dollars I earned from brand deals into the company”. The risk paid off with Duke Tax now standing as a seven figure business with 14 employees and thousands of creators who rely on us for a white-glove tax support.

“Two things set us apart from other platforms: I’m a creator, so I know first hand the concerns influencers have, such as how much of their income they should withhold or what forms they need to request from the companies they work with.
Second, we prioritise iPhone texting as our main form of communication. Many creators have iPhones so they can shoot high-quality content, edit, and post. Our clients have told us it’s easier for them to communicate with us through iMessage than in-person appointments or video calls. Some even said this feature is why they hired us.”