Partnerships for Other Startups

Danh Tran, a fashion industry veteran with 20 years of experience, quit his job and sold his house to launch Buttercloth, a luxury dress shirt brand featuring a proprietary soft fabric blend. The company achieved rapid traction through a partnership with NBA player Metta World Peace, who became a brand ambassador, followed by a Shark Tank appearance in October 2018 that generated $3M in sales in the following months. By 2019, Buttercloth reached $6M in annual revenue with 7-12% profit margins, backed by a $250K investment from Shark Tank investor Robert Herjavec.

SkinnyDipped is a chocolate-covered almond snack company founded by mother-daughter duo Val Griffith and Breezy Griffith. They disrupted the traditional snack category by using less sugar and thinner chocolate coatings instead of the industry standard. After years of hand-dipping and manufacturing out of a converted chicken coop, they landed a Target deal that nearly bankrupted them when 40,000 pounds of almonds arrived rancid, forcing them to navigate growth without profitability.

Faherty is a clothing brand founded by identical twins Mike and Alex Faherty that grew to $250 million in sales by pursuing an unconventional multi-channel strategy (wholesale, retail, and online simultaneously). The brothers spent 12 years preparing—Mike learning fashion at Ralph Lauren and Alex learning business in finance—before launching online from Puerto Rico and then traveling the country in a mobile beach house to sell directly to customers. Their contrarian approach and strong family partnership became core advantages, helping them secure early wins with specialty shops and major department stores.

Pressbox was a dry cleaning service founded by Vijen Patel in 2013 that disrupted the industry not through technology but through ruthless unit economics: laundry lockers in high-rises eliminated rent and labor costs, enabling a memorable $1.99-per-shirt price point. By breaking even in 6 weeks and maintaining a 98% retention rate, Pressbox scaled to hundreds of locations before being acquired by Procter & Gaml, becoming Tide Cleaners with ~1,200 locations.

Noosa Yoghurt was founded by Koel Thomae after she became obsessed with recreating an Australian yogurt she tasted in a small beach town. She forged an 8,000-mile partnership between Australian yogurt-makers and a Colorado dairyman to produce the product. By 2018, the brand was available in 25,000 stores with over $200M in sales, and is now owned by food conglomerate Campbell's.

Olipop is a functional soda brand founded by Ben Goodwin in 2018, made with fiber and prebiotics and sweetened with Stevia. The company launched in natural food stores and expanded quickly to major retail chains, achieving nearly $500 million in expected annual sales.

Drunk Elephant was launched in 2013 by stay-at-home mom Tiffany Masterson with no prior experience in skin care, retail, or business. Despite industry skepticism about her brand name, product design, and strategy of focusing on a single high-end retailer, she built the company into a $845 million acquisition by Shiseido in just six years through strategic instincts, determination, and belief in her products.

Briogeo is a hair care brand founded by Nancy Twine in 2013 after she left Goldman Sachs following a personal tragedy. The company creates shampoos and conditioners for all hair textures without harmful additives, inspired by homemade treatments from her childhood. With an initial $100K investment, Briogeo achieved $100M in annual sales revenue, securing distribution in Sephora.

Freshpet, founded in 2006 by Scott Morris, pioneered fresh pet food by creating slice-and-serve meals as an alternative to traditional kibble and cans. The company overcame major retail barriers by providing its own refrigerators, eventually deploying over 30,000 units. Today, Freshpet dominates the fresh pet food market with a 96% share and serves 10 million dog and cat households.

Amanda Klane and Drew Harrington co-founded Yasso in 2009 to create high-protein, low-calorie frozen Greek yogurt bars. Despite initial skepticism from family and manufacturers, they secured distribution in major retailers like Costco and BJ's, growing the brand to $200 million in valuation before being acquired by a major consumer goods company.

Goodr is a for-profit social enterprise founded in 2017 by Jasmine Crowe-Houston that addresses food waste and food insecurity by connecting businesses with surplus food to local nonprofits. The company has achieved rapid growth by partnering with businesses seeking sustainability solutions, turning a logistical challenge into a model that redirects perfectly safe food from landfills to people in need while reducing harmful methane emissions.

Jack Black is a premium men's skincare brand founded in 2000 by Curran Dandurand and Emily Dalton, who defied investor skepticism and prevailing market assumptions that men wouldn't use skincare products. The brand gained traction through major department store placements and high-profile endorsements from the Dallas Cowboys and Matthew McConaughey, becoming a leader in the men's skincare category. The company was eventually acquired by Edgewell Personal Care for just under $100 million.

Supergoop! was founded in 2005 by Holly Thaggard, a former harpist inspired by a friend's skin cancer diagnosis to create sunscreen products. After an initial failed attempt to market to schools, she pivoted to retail and hired a publicist, eventually securing placement in Sephora, which transformed Supergoop! into a multi-million dollar brand.

Orgain was founded by Dr. Andrew Abraham in 2009 after he developed organic nutritional shakes to address his own health struggles and those of his patients. A major order from Whole Foods accelerated growth, leading Andrew to transition from practicing medicine to running the business full-time. Nestle acquired a majority stake in the company in 2022, validating it as a substantial wellness company.

Melissa Butler launched The Lip Bar in 2010, creating bold lipstick colors designed for Black women's complexions after becoming frustrated with the lack of diversity in cosmetics. Despite a failed Shark Tank pitch, she successfully pitched to Target and launched a new color on their online store in 2016. Today, The Lip Bar (rebranded as TLB) is the largest Black-owned makeup brand sold in Target stores nationwide.

BlocPower, founded by Donnel Baird in 2014, modernizes building infrastructure in low-income communities by transitioning them to clean energy sources and improving safety. The company has raised over $100 million from Wall Street and Silicon Valley investors and has partnered with cities across the country to create greener, safer spaces for residents.

New Culture is a sustainable food company founded by Matt Gibson and Inja Radman that produces real dairy cheese without using cows or animal products, addressing the environmental impact of traditional cheese production. The founders connected on LinkedIn and built the company remotely before meeting in person. They've secured partnerships with major food distributors to launch their product.

Ellen Latham founded Orangetheory Fitness after being fired from her spa director job, developing a hybrid strength and cardio workout program for all fitness levels. She partnered with two co-founders to grow the concept into a franchise model, which expanded to over 1,500 locations worldwide, representing a successful second act business venture.

Kodiak Cakes began as an 8-year-old Joel Clark's door-to-door pancake mix sales operation in a red wagon, which he and his brother scaled into a Mazda sedan business by the mid-90s. After navigating near-bankruptcy from risky decisions, the brand achieved a major turning point by securing distribution in Target. Today, Kodiak Cakes is one of America's best-selling pancake mixes.

I.R.S. Records was founded by music industry mogul Miles Copeland in the early 1970s, initially booking British bands before pivoting to promote punk groups. The label gained prominence after securing a deal with A&M Records to represent The Police (featuring Miles' brother Stewart Copeland), which became one of his most important career moves. Over its lifetime, I.R.S. Records signed and managed some of the 1980s' most popular acts including R.E.M. and The Go-Go's, before dissolving in the mid-1990s.