Framework
Celebrity + savvy operator: the proven business pairing
Brian Lee repeatedly paired a famous face with himself as the operator to build companies. He did LegalZoom with O.J. lawyer Robert Shapiro, ShoeDazzle with Kim Kardashian, and Honest Company with Jessica Alba.
“So this guy named Brian Lee, I guess he's Korean. He's a Korean American. And I guess Lee's Korean, I think. And he partnered with Shapiro for LegalZoom. And Shapiro was supposed to be like the face and the famous person. Turns out Shapiro, I mean, he's a really successful, he's a savvy business guy. So Shapiro goes, let's do this with some more celebrities. So they partner with Kim Kardashian and they do ShoeDazzle”
Steal thisPair a famous face for distribution with a savvy operator who actually runs the business.
Framework
Ipsy/Honest playbook: give influencers equity for instant distribution
Sam argues the way to crack distribution for a yoga-marketplace is the Ipsy (Michelle Phan) and Honest Company (Jessica Alba) move: sign ~150 creators slightly smaller than Yoga with Adriene as equity-holding brand partners to bring their audiences overnight.
“I would do what these makeup guys like Ipsy did with that Michelle Phan, or what was her name? Yes. Or, uh, what Brian Lee at Honest did with Jessica Alba to get distribution and get users like overnight. I would call Adrian or 150 people very similar to her that are slightly smaller and being like, hey, I'm going to give you equity in the business and you're going to be a brand partner. You in?”
Steal thisRecruit many mid-size creators as equity-holding brand partners to buy distribution overnight instead of paying for ads.