Gallery

The Fame Game

The only newsletter breaking down how celebrities and creators build billion dollar brands

Written by Scott van den Berg, founder of HotStart and an active investor in celebrity- and creator-founded brands.

Every Thursday. Free.

2,000+ celebrities, founders, investors, and operators already reading.

Written by

Scott van den Berg

Connect

Archive

Venture Capital

+7

Most Startups Use Their Celebrity Co-Founder Wrong

Jun 4, 2026

•

9 min read

Most Startups Use Their Celebrity Co-Founder Wrong

Why the Zero to One Phase Belongs to the Product, Not the Celebrity

Scott Van den Berg
Scott Van den Berg

Venture Capital

+7

Why Smart Celebrity Founders Avoid Their Own Name

May 28, 2026

•

6 min read

Why Smart Celebrity Founders Avoid Their Own Name

Why Huda Beauty and Chamberlain Coffee Are Structurally Harder to Scale Than You Think

Scott Van den Berg
Scott Van den Berg

Venture Capital

+7

Fame Gets Celebrities the First Sale. Then What?

May 21, 2026

•

6 min read

Fame Gets Celebrities the First Sale. Then What?

The Metric Nobody Celebrates at Launch, and the One That Actually Determines Whether a Celebrity Brand Lasts

Scott Van den Berg
Scott Van den Berg

Venture Capital

+7

Kevin Hart Proves the Cynics Are Both Right and Wrong

May 14, 2026

•

8 min read

Kevin Hart Proves the Cynics Are Both Right and Wrong

One of the Biggest Celebrity Brand Success Stories and Two Struggles. Same Person. Same Platform.

Scott Van den Berg
Scott Van den Berg

Venture Capital

+7

You Can't Rent Your Way to a Brand

May 7, 2026

•

7 min read

You Can't Rent Your Way to a Brand

Why the Smartest Celebrity-Founded Companies Are Building Audiences They Own

Scott Van den Berg
Scott Van den Berg

Venture Capital

+7

Why Celebrities Can't Launch MVPs

Apr 30, 2026

•

7 min read

Why Celebrities Can't Launch MVPs

The Hidden Tax on Fame That No Startup Book Will Ever Tell You About

Scott Van den Berg
Scott Van den Berg

Venture Capital

+7

You Should Date A Celebrity Before Getting Married

Apr 23, 2026

•

7 min read

You Should Date A Celebrity Before Getting Married

The 20 Million Follower Trap That Kills Most Celebrity Founder Partnerships

Scott Van den Berg
Scott Van den Berg

Venture Capital

+7

I Just Bet $100,000 on Myself. Here's Why.

Apr 16, 2026

•

7 min read

I Just Bet $100,000 on Myself. Here's Why.

How HotStart Accidentally Became the Thing We Invest In, And Why I'm Doubling Down

Scott Van den Berg
Scott Van den Berg

Venture Capital

+7

8 Factors That Predict Which Celebrity Brands Actually Win

Apr 9, 2026

•

14 min read

8 Factors That Predict Which Celebrity Brands Actually Win

The HotStart VC Framework for Evaluating Every Celebrity Brand We Invest In

Scott Van den Berg
Scott Van den Berg
...