Again, DTC companies almost certainly have higher cost structures than a website, and do get some sort of returns from scale, but those returns are limited; this is where it seems Softbank specifically went wrong. Indeed, this is the broader takeaway from Softbank’s investments: what characterizes the Vision Fund’s mistakes in case after case is a ... See more

The direct-to-consumer wave began in the twenty-tens as a new generation of startups promising to “disrupt” traditional industries for consumer goods. Instead of leaving the market to century-old stalwarts like Gillette, for example, a company like Dollar Shave Club, founded in 2011, would set up its own supply chains to manufacture razors; add cle... See more

Amazon doesn’t need publishers for demand generation any longer.

It’s acquisition vehicles like Mavely, BrandBox, DTX Company’s Unbox, and Showfields that may influence this shift in the agency business model by providing meaningful opportunities for CAC diversification. And if so, the DTC era may finally begin to solve its profitability problem. This could be the first step towards improving valuation multiples... See more