#359 - Inside Bullish: Lessons from Backing Major DTC Winners (Peloton, Harry’s, Warby Parker)
DTC POD: How The Best Brands Are Built
Navigating Capital Structures for Successful Startups
This chapter analyzes the intricacies of capital structure and fundraising for direct-to-consumer brand founders. It emphasizes the need for a balanced approach to funding that fosters innovation while avoiding the pitfalls of underfunding and overfunding.
Brent Vartan is Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Bullish, a unique hybrid combining a branding agency and a consumer-focused venture fund. With decades of experience in brand strategy, Brent and his team have been early investors and builders behind some of the most iconic DTC and consumer brands of the past decade, including Peloton, Warby Parker, Casper, Harry's, Hu, Bubble, and more.
In this episode of DTC Pod, Brent shares his perspective on what it takes to build generational consumer brands from the earliest stages. He discusses Bullish's hands-on investment approach, the importance of brand strategy as a growth mechanism, and what differentiates brands that become household names. Brent also breaks down real playbooks from companies like Sunday Lawn and Nom Nom, providing founders concrete advice on what it takes to build brands worth talking about—and worth buying.
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On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:
1. Bullish’s hybrid brand agency and VC model
2. What it means to invest as “first money” and why it matters
3. The difference between building a business and building a brand
4. Why customer lifetime value (CLV) trumps CAC and COGS
5. Product-market fit: moving from awareness to lifetime value
6. How Bullish supports brands like Harry’s and Nom Nom in their earliest days
7. Tactical advice for founders on capital raising and allocation
8. Building brands for acquisition vs. IPO
9. The playbook for becoming an acquisition target (what buyers actually want)
10. The underrated power of innovation and product launches
11. The role of cultural relevance in DTC brand building
12. Real-world examples from Sunday Lawn, Peloton, Bubble Beauty, and more
13. How great DTC brands focus on AOV, CLV, and brand loyalty
14. Pitfalls to avoid around capital structure and loss of momentum
Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Brent Vartan and Bullish
03:49 Bullish’s track record and notable investments
05:22 What makes Bullish different
10:10 Investing as “first money,” how Bullish evaluates concepts
13:19 Patterns Bullish looks for in breakout DTC brands
16:09 Deep dive: Sunday Lawn’s growth and strategy
18:36 Positioning Harry’s and building a hundred-year business
21:04 Timelines, capital, and operational realities for breakout brands
23:37 Building for acquisition vs. IPO: how strategies diverge
28:57 What buyers are really seeking in DTC acquisitions
31:47 Nom Nom’s Mars acquisition and the power of niche audiences
33:59 The importance of cultural relevance and taking creative “shots”
35:32 Bubble Beauty: case study in innovation and customer engagement
38:27 Finding the right capital structure and maintaining founder equity
41:06 The risks of stalling momentum and overplanning
43:33 Where to allocate raised capital: innovation vs. marketing
46:20 Where to find Bullish, Brent’s socials, and their newsletter
Show notes powered by Castmagic
Past guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.
Additional episodes you might like:
• #175 Ariel Vaisbort - How OLIPOP Runs Influencer, Community, & Affiliate Growth
• #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content
• #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views
• #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands
• #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook
• #243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands
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Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:
DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internet
Olivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplement
Castmagic - AI Workspace for Content
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Brent Vartan - Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Bullish
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Castmagic
Ramon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic
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