The MLM-ification of DTC

There are essentially two business models right now: boring, useful things that can print money and tastemaker brands that can brute force cultural relevancy. Dumb $ is funding the middle: stuff that is neither useful nor cool enough to make it past current startup headwinds.

The indirect monetization models leverage the power of the Curator's brand and community, but are loosely coupled in its incentives, with most or none of the ad revenue going towards Curators. We are seeing glimmers of an increasing shift towards direct, more symbiotic business models between curator and commerce, starting with a trend that points ... See more

“When I think about DTC companies that are raising VC dollars, they are funneling a huge majority of that money back to Facebook and Google,” says House of Wise’s founder, Amanda Goetz. “We’re at this inflection point of e-commerce where I truly believe people are the distribution channel. We are turning to humans over brick-and-mortar and paid ads... See more