The Fund Behind DTC GIANTS

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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What you’ll learn:

• Why Bullish only invests at the earliest possible stage, before product-market fit—focusing on concepts and a founder’s vision, not traction or revenue.

• The playbook Bullish uses to build brands that stand out, generate rabid customer loyalty, and become attractive acquisition or IPO candidates.

• Why brands with the highest customer lifetime value win—and why focusing relentlessly on AOV, CLV, and innovation trumps short-term CAC strategies.

• The difference between building to IPO versus building for acquisition—and what top strategics look for in M&A (hint: it’s not just profitability).

• Why cultural relevance, product innovation, and creative partnerships are the real engines for sustainable consumer growth.

• Why the best capital raise is the one that gives founders the courage to take real shots, not just hit a spreadsheet milestone.

• How founders should think about capital raising to maintain momentum and courage, and why too much or too little money can be equally dangerous.

Some takeaways:

• Brand is your best growth channel. Building a great brand isn’t just about a cool logo or clever ads—it’s establishing an emotional end goal and orchestrating holistic go-to-market strategies that convert customers into advocates.

• LTV is more important than CAC. The strongest brands win by creating raving fans, not just acquiring as many customers as possible. Bullish obsessively focuses on customer lifetime value, repeat rate, and NPS—knowing loyal customers drive compounding growth.

• Your fundraising path should match your ambition. Know if you’re building to IPO or acquisition before you start. Brands like Harry’s were designed for IPO-scale and vertical integration, while Nom Nom and Hu built for strategic acquisition—each path demanding different capital strategies and operational choices.

• Acquirers want what they can’t copy. Strategics buy brands for unique customer relationships, not just margins. Access to a passionate customer base, new distribution, and cultural leadership are the true M&A magnets, not just low CAC or strong COGS numbers.

• Culture moves faster than CAC math. To become a generational brand, you have to routinely create moments that matter. Do things worth talking about—limited drops, breakthrough partnerships, and relentless innovation—so your brand’s relevance never fades.

• Raise enough to stay bold—and keep swinging. The best founders ensure they’re financed for courage, not just survival. Too little money kills momentum; too much brings complacency. Founders succeed when they can take strategic risks without risking the business or their ownership.

• Innovation outpaces advertising. You can’t buy your way to loyalty with paid media alone. Bullish’s most successful portfolio brands pour resources into continuous product and experience innovation, keeping customers engaged and reducing dependence on ever-rising acquisition costs.

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Where to find Brent Vartan and Bullish:

Brent’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-vartan-30b5831/

Bullish: bullish.co

In this episode, we cover:

00:00 Intro to 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

Referenced:

Peloton: https://www.onepeloton.com/

Warby Parker: https://www.warbyparker.com/

Casper: https://casper.com/

Harry’s: https://www.harrys.com/

Hu: https://hukitchen.com/

Bubble: https://hellobubble.com/

Sunday Lawn: https://www.getsunday.com/

Nom Nom: https://www.nomnomnow.com/

Important Notes:

• Brand is a living asset, not a static campaign. The strongest outcomes come from treating brand-building as an ongoing process—one that evolves with your audience, your team, and the cultural moment, rather than a one-time “launch.”

• Strategy is about trade-offs. Founders often face pressure to pursue every channel, trend, or tactic, but real momentum starts when you double down on what’s working—whether that’s building customer rituals, winning a single retail partner, or expanding your core product line with discipline.

• Innovation compounds brand equity. It’s not just the hero SKU that matters, but the cadence of meaningful product launches, surprise collaborations, and creative initiatives that keep your audience curious and coming back. When planning spend, allot resources for experimentation, not just paid acquisition.

• Cultural relevance is earned, not engineered. Limited releases, brave partnerships, and even a strong point of view in your messaging signal that you’re not just selling, but participating in—and shaping—the conversations your customers care about.

• Capital is acceleration, not a guarantee. Approaching fundraising as a means to stay courageous and take bold swings leads to differentiated outcomes. But too much money without strategic focus, or dilution without conviction, can stall progress as quickly as underinvestment.

• Acquirers value what they can't build overnight. A sticky, loyal customer base, distinct brand permission, and unique distribution or community touchpoints are all moats that money alone can’t replicate.

• Sustained learning beats best practices. Borrow from the playbooks of others, but build your own “marketability index”—a real-time sense of how your customers interact, advocate, and spend—to guide every major decision as you scale.

In short, the future belongs to consumer founders who blend creative conviction, operational focus, and relentless listening. By staying hands-on with your customer, bold with your product, and disciplined in your brand’s evolution, you lay the groundwork for companies that don’t just exit, but endure.