The Red Carpet

Here's why I'm launching this newsletter now: In 2018, there were roughly 15 celebrity-founded brands that mattered. Today? Over 800. That's a 5,200% increase. And this trend shows no sign of slowing. Inspired by their peers’ successes, more celebrities are actively exploring opportunities to launch their own ventures, and I expect the number only to increase from here. Yet most people still treat these ventures like vanity projects instead of the billion-dollar businesses they're becoming.

This newsletter cuts through the noise. Every week, I'll share what's really happening in the celebrity-founded space, which brands are built to last, and why the next Fenty or Casamigos is probably launching right now. I’ll also share more about what we are building at HotStart VC and spotlight our portfolio companies.

Let's dive into today's topic.

The Director's Cut

Why Every Celebrity Is Launching Their Own Brand Right Now: The Celebrity-Founded Gold Rush

The numbers tell the story.

Notable celebrity-founded brand launches by year:

That's not organic growth. That's a gold rush.

But to understand why this is happening now, we need to look at three converging forces that created the perfect storm.

Force #1: The Great Trust Shift

Traditional advertising died somewhere between 2020 and 2023. We just haven't held the funeral yet.

Gen Z trusts individual creators over corporations by a 3:1 margin. But here's what that really means:

When L'Oréal spends $100M on a campaign, it reaches millions but converts almost nobody under 30. When Hailey Bieber posts about Rhode, her conversion rate is 47x higher among the same demographic.

This isn't just preference. It's a fundamental rewiring of how humans make purchase decisions.

The neuroscience is fascinating. When we see traditional ads, our prefrontal cortex activates (the skepticism center). When we see creators we follow recommending products, our mirror neurons fire (the trust and imitation center).

Celebrities aren't selling products anymore. They're selling belonging.

Force #2: The Economics Revolution

Here's what changed the game: The math finally works.

The barriers didn't just lower. They collapsed.

But the real shift? The potential upside.

Force #3: The Blueprint Effect

Every celebrity watched the same three successes, but they learned different lessons:

George Clooney / Casamigos ($1B exit) The lesson: You don't need to be first. You need to be better. Tequila existed for centuries. Clooney just made one people actually wanted to drink.

Rihanna / Fenty Beauty ($2.8B valuation) The lesson: Solve a real problem for your real audience. 40 shades of foundation wasn't innovation. It was inclusion. And inclusion was worth billions.

Kim Kardashian / SKIMS ($4B valuation) The lesson: Your personal pain points are market opportunities. She couldn't find shapewear that worked. So she built it. Turns out, neither could millions of others.

These weren't lucky breaks. They were playbooks being written in real-time. And those playbooks have inspired every single celebrity and creator to explore launching their own company.

The Motivation Matrix: Why Celebrities Can't Resist

Let me share what celebrities tell me behind closed doors about why they're launching brands:

"I'm tired of making other people rich": One A-list actor showed me his endorsement history. $50M earned over 20 years. The brands he endorsed? Worth $15B combined. His share of that value creation? Zero.

"My fame has an expiration date": Athletes know this best. You're relevant for maybe 10-15 years. A successful brand can support your great-grandchildren.

"I want to build something real": After years of playing characters or personas, many celebrities crave creating something tangible. Something that exists beyond their performance.

"My audience expects it": This is new. Fans now anticipate their favorite celebrities will launch brands. Not doing so feels like leaving money and connection on the table.

The Saturation Crisis

But here's where it gets dangerous. And why 90% of these brands will fail.

Walk into any average retail store. The celebrity-founded brand graveyard is real:

• 27 celebrity fragrances nobody asked for

• 19 different celebrity tequilas (all taste identical)

• 14 celebrity skincare lines with the same white-labeled formulas

• 23 celebrity athleisure brands that are just merch with spandex

The world doesn't need another celebrity anything.

What it needs are celebrities solving real problems with real innovation.

The Second Wave: Where We're Betting

At HotStart VC, we've analyzed all 800+ celebrity-founded brands. Here's what separates the winners from the walking dead:

1. Proprietary Innovation

The best celebrity-founded brands are built on a strong product, technology, science, or IP advantage, not just name recognition. Fenty didn't just make makeup. They created new formulas. Humanrace (Pharrell) didn't just make skincare. They developed patented ingredients. Pattern (Tracee Ellis Ross) didn't just make hair products. They solved specific texture challenges.

2. Authentic Problem-Solving

The celebrity actually uses the product daily. Not just for launches. They can articulate the problem better than any focus group. Their personal story IS the brand story.

3. Operational Excellence

They hire startup veterans, not their entourage. They understand unit economics from day one. They build for profitability, not just revenue.

4. Category Creation

They're not competing in existing categories. They're creating new ones. Not "celebrity tequila" but "occasion-based spirits." Not "celebrity skincare" but "microbiome beauty." Not "celebrity fashion" but "adaptive clothing."

5. Real Equity, Real Commitment

The best celebrity founders own 15-40% of their companies. Not 2% licensing deals. Not royalty agreements. Real equity. They're writing personal checks. Taking below-market salaries. Betting their reputation. When Rihanna owns 50% of Fenty, she's not a spokesperson. She's a founder. When The Rock owns 30% of Teremana, every bottle matters to his net worth. No safety nets. No guaranteed minimums. Just pure founder energy.

The Uncomfortable Truth

Most celebrities think their fame is the product. It's not. Fame is distribution.

The product still has to be exceptional. The operations still have to be flawless. The innovation still has to be real.

We're entering the age of Celebrity Founders 2.0. Where fame gets you in the door, but only excellence keeps you in the room.

The gold rush will create 100 celebrity billionaires and 10,000 failures.

The difference? Understanding that a celebrity-founded brand without innovation is just expensive merch.

And the market is done buying merch.

The Mic Drop

HotStart VC’s Backstage Pass

New Venture Partners Who've Actually Done This

We announced that Christopher Gavigan and Ben Acott joined HotStart VC as venture partners. Christopher co-founded The Honest Company with Jessica Alba and took it public at $1.44B in 2021. Ben Acott co-founded Feastables with MrBeast, which does $375M in revenue in its third year of business. Both Christopher and Ben know how to start and scale a successful company together with a celebrity and will advise our portfolio companies on how to do the same.

Fund Update: First Close Push

We're pushing toward our first close of HotStart VC's debut fund, targeting $10M. Want to become an LP and help shape the future of celebrity and creator-founded brands? Reach out to [email protected].

Co-Invest With Us With Amounts As Low As $5,000

While we are raising the fund, we are already investing in promising brands founded by celebrities and creators through our angel syndicate called HotStart Angels. We are inviting angel investors in our network to co-invest with us with amounts as low as $5,000.

Right now, we have a deal open in an exciting AI company, co-founded by an entrepreneurial creator who previously raised over $14M for another company she founded. Interested in co-investing alongside us in promising celebrity and creator-founded brands? Sign up here.

Take #1

The celebrity startup revolution is just beginning. But the easy money is over. The brands that win from here will need more than famous founders. They'll need real innovation, authentic missions, and world-class execution.

Remember: Fame gets you in the door. Product quality keeps you in the room.

Welcome to the inside track,

Scott

P.S. Have a celebrity-founded brand you think I should analyze? Or a founder I should meet? Hit reply. I read everything.

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About HotStart VC

HotStart VC is launching a new fund to invest in brands founded by celebrities and creators. Our team has been involved in 55+ celebrity-founded brands, including investments in companies founded by Selena Gomez, DJ Khaled, Jake Paul, and more. We also co-founded two of the most successful celebrity-founded brands: Feastables w/ MrBeast ($375M revenue in Y3) and The Honest Co. w/Jessica Alba ($1.4B IPO in 2021).