The Red Carpet
The Fame Game
Welcome back to The Fame Game. This week, I'm showing you why I'm more bullish on celebrity and creator-founded brands than ever before, with hard data from the last two months that proves the space isn't just alive, it's exploding in ways nobody expected.
Here's what triggered this analysis: In the last 60 days alone, I've tracked over 40 major celebrity-founded brand moves. Not just launches, but funding rounds, revenue milestones, and equity deals that would've been unthinkable five years ago. Tom Holland's BERO hit $10M in year one. Kim Kardashian's SKIMS reached $5B valuation. Steven Bartlett launched a tech company with MrBeast's ex-engineer.
The traditional playbook of slapping your name on liquor or lipstick and waiting for billions is dead. What's replacing it is far more sophisticated. These aren't standalone success stories anymore. It's a wave of celebrities and creators launching innovative companies with real competitive advantages. The celebrities winning today aren't following Clooney's Casamigos playbook. They're writing entirely new ones.
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The Director's Cut
The Evolution Nobody Saw Coming
In 2018, there were maybe 15 celebrity-founded brands that actually mattered. Today? There are more than 800. That’s a 5,200% increase in just a few years.
The early successes of Fenty, SKIMS, and Prime inspired almost every celebrity and creator to launch their own company. But they're not just launching another tequila or apparel brand. They're building innovative products and services that solve real customer problems.
What used to be a handful of standouts is now a full-scale wave of hundreds of celebrities and creators launching legitimate, scalable businesses.
And it’s not hype. The last 60 days alone are packed with new brand launches, funding rounds, equity deals, and revenue milestones that reflect a fundamental shift in how this category operates. The momentum is unmistakable, and it’s why I’m more bullish on celebrity- and creator-founded brands than ever before.
New Celebrity & Creator-Founded Brand Launches
In the last two months alone, dozens of celebrities and creators have launched new brands like:
MrBeast launched Vyro, a platform that pays creators to clip long-form videos
Steven Bartlett launched Flightcast, a video-first podcast hosting platform.
Charlie Sheen launched Wild AF non-alcoholic beer
Ben Stiller launched a soda brand inspired by his NYC childhood
Hank Green launched Focus Friends, a productivity app that hit #1 on the App Store
Shay Mitchell launched a kids' skincare brand
George Clooney is launching a non-alcoholic beer in 2026 with his Casamigos co-founders
Sophia Smith Galer launched Sophiana, a scriptwriting tool for viral content
Dua Lipa launched DUA, a skincare brand
TikTok's Pheloung twins debuted their fashion brand Phe Phe
15-year-old Salish Matter launched Sincerely Yours, a skincare brand focused on Gen Alpha
The pattern is clear: They're solving problems they actually experience. Building tools they need. Creating products their specific audiences demand.
The Funding Frenzy
More and more celebrity and creator-founded brands are raising serious capital. Investors are taking these companies seriously as real investment opportunities. And even new funds like Slow Ventures and HotStart VC are being launched specifically for this thesis.
Kim Kardashian raised $225M for SKIMS at a $5B valuation
Bryan Johnson raised $60M for Blueprint from 50 celebrity investors
Steven Bartlett raised eight figures at a $425M valuation from Slow Ventures and Apeiron
Kylie Jenner raised $4M for Sprinter vodka soda
Shaun White raised $15M for The Snow League
Robert Downey Jr.'s Happy Coffee secured investment from Taste Tomorrow Ventures
Courteney Cox's Homecourt raised $8M from CULT Capital
Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni raised $8M for Phia
The Hacksmith Industries YouTube channel raised $8M for a multi-tool
And it's not just mega-celebrities anymore. Smaller creators with real communities are raising institutional capital:
Tayla Cannon (140K followers) raised $1.1M from Slow Ventures for PT software
Thomas Straker raised £2M for All Things Butter
Woodworking YouTuber Jonathan Katz-Moses raised $2M from Slow Ventures
The Equity Deal Revolution
Not founded by a celebrity or creator? No problem. Traditional brands are scrambling to bring them aboard as equity partners, not just spokespeople. They're aligning incentives, offering real upside, and building long-term relationships:
Tom Brady did an equity deal with Aescape, the AI-powered massage robotics company
Dua Lipa became co-founder of Frame Reformer, the at-home Pilates company
Jack Whitehall did an equity deal with Seat Unique
Lonzo and LiAngelo Ball became equity partners in Jake Paul's Betr
Novak Djokovic partnered with Cob, a corn-free popcorn brand
Chrissy Teigen took equity in Sanzo sparkling water
Dr Nick Norwitz joined Hundred Health as equity partner
The Revenue Reality Check
Headlines about new brands and funding rounds are exciting, but the real proof is in the revenue. Here's what celebrity and creator brands reported in the last two months:
Tom Holland's BERO hit $10M in sales in year one
David Beckham's IM8 reached $100M ARR in 11 months
Alani Nu by Katy Hearn hit $1.3B annual run rate
Bella Hadid's Kin Euphorics announced $50M in lifetime sales
Ryan Trahan's candy became Target's #1 selling candy brand
The NELK Boys announced they sold 224 million cans of Happy Dad in 4 years
Ashley Alexander's Nami Matcha hit $2.5M in sales in year one
Haley Pavone's Pashion Footwear reached $1M monthly revenue
Amanda Rach Lee's Shop ARL hit its first 100,000 order month
Willie's Remedy+ reached $60M run rate in eight months
Natalie Barbu’s company, Rella, hit $2M ARR
These aren't projections or vanity metrics. These are real businesses generating real revenue.
The Bottom Line
All these events – the launches, funding rounds, equity deals, and revenue milestones – happened in just the last two months. This isn't a trend anymore. It's an industry transformation.
The infrastructure for celebrity- and creator-founded brand dominance is being built in real-time. More operators are entering the space, co-founding companies alongside celebrities and creators. More funds are being raised specifically for this category. More proven playbooks are emerging from successful exits.
And it's not just the Kim Kardashians and MrBeasts of the world anymore. Creators with 140K followers are raising venture capital. Woodworking YouTubers are building million-dollar businesses. Fifteen-year-olds are landing Sephora exclusives.
The barriers have fallen. The playbooks are proven. The capital is flowing.
And that's why I'm more bullish than ever on investing in celebrity- & creator-founded brands.
The Mic Drop
Rare Beauty Crowned Top Celebrity Beauty Brand in 2025
Rare Beauty, founded by Selena Gomez, has been named the most popular celebrity beauty brand of 2025, surpassing Kylie Cosmetics, Fenty Beauty, and Rhode based on search volume, social following, and overall brand momentum, with its inclusive, cruelty free products and recent expansion into fragrance helping solidify its lead among Gen Z and millennial consumers.
Dos Hombres Mezcal Raises $14.7M
Dos Hombres, the mezcal brand launched in 2019 by Breaking Bad stars Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston, just closed a new $14.7M funding round. The brand has grown quickly since its debut, expanding distribution across the US and becoming one of the most recognizable celebrity-led spirits in the mezcal category.
MKBHD’s Wallpaper App “Frames” Is Shutting Down
Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) announced that Frames, his creator-built wallpaper app, is shutting down. The app launched earlier this year as a curated hub for high-quality wallpapers shot by his studio team, but Brownlee shared that the project wasn’t sustainable to maintain long term. Existing users will lose access as the service winds down, marking the end of one of his few standalone product experiments outside YouTube.
HotStart VC’s Backstage Pass
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HotStart VC Podcast: Episode 3 Is Live
The latest episode of the HotStart VC Podcast is here. This week, I’m joined by Haley Pavone, founder of Pashion Footwear, the convertible-heel company now doing more than $1M in monthly sales.
In this episode, Haley shares the wild story that inspired Pashion, how she accidentally became a content creator after a single TikTok went viral, and how she’s now using that audience and community-led product development to disrupt a category that hasn’t changed in decades.
Now available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
About HotStart VC
HotStart VC is launching a new fund to invest in brands founded by celebrities and creators. We’re building the go-to platform for creators and celebrities launching brands, providing capital, strategic support, and the infrastructure to scale.
