Product > Creator: How 1Up Candy Hit $10M in 10 Months

Chris Koch is the founder and CEO of VO/D, a venture studio that partners with massive talent celebrities to build enduring CPG brands across DTC, e-commerce, and retail. With a background in sports, investment banking, and talent management, Chris brings deep experience in identifying consumer needs, pairing them with the right creators, and executing product-first brand launches.

In this episode of DTC Pod, Chris walks through Void’s venture model, emphasizing the importance of strong products over mere celebrity endorsement. He shares the inside story of 1UP Candy’s rapid national retail rollout and outlines key frameworks for structuring talent partnerships, screening for true product-market fit, and ensuring long-term profitability in the saturated creator-led brand space.

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What you’ll learn:

• Why product-market fit and repeatability matter more than just leveraging a creator’s following—and how this approach helps avoid “flash in the pan” brands.

• How Chris de-risks talent partnerships by focusing on conversion data, authentic alignment, and ensuring the creator is actively engaged (not just lending their name).

• How VO/D spun up 1UP Candy with Faze Rug, quickly expanding to 12,000 doors across Walmart, Circle K, Five Below and driving 8-figure, EBITDA-positive revenue—all without paid marketing.

• The unique venture studio model VO/D employs: raising at the Holdco level, investing $250k–$500k per new brand, and structuring co-founder roles for talent while retaining flexibility to bring in future partners.

• Smart ways to structure deals with creators that align incentives, avoid excessive upfront cash guarantees, and protect both the brand and operator from misaligned partnerships.

• Why “multiple swings” are needed to find the right brand-talent match, and the red flags Chris has identified for avoiding the wrong fit.

• How the team decides when to launch DTC, test small, or go straight to retail—especially in categories like beverage or candy.

• Upcoming areas of excitement for VO/D, including protein and bolt-on opportunities with existing brands that have distribution but need jet fuel.

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Some takeaways:

• Endorsement ≠ Ownership: Many talent-led brands crash because the core product isn’t good enough. Chris insists on “product first, talent as a utility”—the influencer’s role is to drive awareness, not to replace product-market fit.

• Authenticity and history matter: Chris vets creator partners rigorously—looking not just at follower counts, but at conversion history (merch drops, prior deals, audience demo alignment) and willingness to commit time. Red flag if a manager blocks direct convos with the talent, or the talent only wants their name on the project.

• Deal structure: The best creator-brand deals give the talent equity that vests over time, a royalty on distribution, and a clear role as co-founder, while leaving room for additional partners in the future. Upfront cash guarantees are a warning sign, not a best practice.

• 1UP Candy’s playbook: The brand leveraged FaZe Rug’s unique audience, built viral DTC challenges, partnered with Cash App for marketing, generated nearly a billion views, and landed a coveted Walmart launch—winning via speed, creative product, and genuine talent engagement rather than brute-force ad spend.

• Proof before scale: VO/D prefers testing concepts DTC with small MOQs before going all-in at retail, unless a strong retail opportunity emerges. Funding of $250k–$500k gets a brand to the first market validation; scaling beyond that brings in strategic capital, not just more Holdco cash.

• Operating advice: Never be seduced by a celebrity’s follower number. If the talent isn’t available, isn’t aligned, or their team can’t show conversion data, walk away—find someone who can truly drive and sustain growth.

• Downside protection: Smart vesting schedules and contractual clauses protect brands if talent gets distracted or “caught up in bad press.” If you’re giving equity, tie it to real effort and performance.

• Looking ahead: Chris is bullish on protein, beverages, and working with existing brands where VO/D can layer on operational know-how and creator firepower.

DTC News 📰

Hailey Bieber accomplished every goal Chris Koch says a creator should have when launching a brand—to exceed and outgrow the creator's own audience so the brand can live on its own. 

Just like Chris emphasized with 1UP Candy, Rhode proves that when you're "product first" with "talent as a utility," you build something that lasts. Her peptide lip treatments and glazed-skin empire show she had a full support team around her innovating—not just trying to go for a quick buck, but instead, building a legacy brand.

The wildest part about this accomplishment is that Rhode was exclusively DTC before its billion-dollar exit—exactly the playbook Chris advocates for at VO/D. Test and validate through direct-to-consumer, prove people actually want to repurchase (not just buy because of the celebrity), then scale. 

As Chris said on the pod, "the talent might drive the initial purchase, but if you want [customers] to come back, they gotta like the product." Rhode didn't just prove this model works—they proved it works at unicorn scale.

Where to find Chris Koch:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-koch-65a80590/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cdkoch/

In this episode, we cover:

00:00 Chris’s background & intro to VO/D

03:35 Why Void is product-first, not just talent-powered

05:04 An inside look at VO/D’s venture studio model

06:55 Talent as a utility & making brands that stand alone

10:31 Challenges matching creators to authentic product opportunities

11:28 Assessing conversion, reach, and fit in creator partners

13:40 How 1Up Candy with FaZe Rug came together

17:31 Disrupting candy with innovation and viral challenges

20:33 Breaking into 4,000 Walmart stores & key retail strategy

23:30 Operational realities of scaling fast (financing, supply chain, DTC vs. retail)

29:18 How to structure talent deals: equity, vesting, and incentives

35:17 Red flags and protective provisions in creator agreements

40:08 What’s next for VO/D: new categories, creator partners, and acquisition opportunities

Referenced:

VO/D: https://www.builtbyvoid.com/

1UP Candy: https://1upcandy.com/

FaZe Rug: https://www.youtube.com/@rug

Important Notes:

• Chris’s north star: A world-class product comes first—celebrity drives trial, but only repeatable, high-quality goods create enduring brands.

• Talent is a multiplier, not a foundation. Follower count and hype don’t replace proof of real consumer demand, authentic talent alignment, and a business that works without creator involvement.

• Structure matters: Don’t hand out equity or cash without accountability. All deals must have vesting, protections against misbehavior, participation from talent (not just representatives), and built-in flexibility for growth partners down the line.

• Test, validate, then scale. Starting DTC, using small batch runs, and being hands-on with supply chain and retailer partnerships allowed VO/D to de-risk launches and quickly kill ideas that didn’t catch—conserving capital and maximizing speed.

• Creator-as-cofounder is the model: Let the creator share in the upside—including a path to annual royalties—not just a long-term exit, to keep incentives aligned and energy high.

VO/D’s journey is a masterclass for operators and investors navigating talent-led CPG: Prioritize product integrity, structure for resilience, and let the right creator be rocket fuel (not the engine). For founders considering talent partnerships, keep your standards high—no creator is a shortcut for doing the real work.