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Time for my favorite part of the week, ICYMI!!!

ICYMI 𓃗✰⊹₊ ⋆

Howdy!!

After seven years of living in LA, I finally made it to the desert for Stagecoach — fresh off finishing Ransom Canyon and it didn’t disappoint, nor did the brand fatigue from Coachella that seems to have moved right into taking over Stagecoach. With cowboy boots, tequila collabs, and Western-core aesthetics everywhere, brands aren’t just showing up — they’re tapping Stagecoach to drive relevance and capture the moment. Some of my favorites included:

♡ BÉIS turned luggage into a mechanical bull moment (pics on IG)
♡ e.l.f built a Glow ‘N Glo Diner
♡ Monster Energy kept the crowd going with late-night line dances fueled by their product and epic country remixes;
♡ and Neutrogena kept sunscreen sexy with touch-up stations across the festival (presumably kept since Coachella)

All-in-all, if nothing else, it proved that Western-core isn’t just a vibe, it’s the new playbook for cultural relevance.

Speaking of, we have the founder of Kosas, Sheenah Zadeh coming up this week on HSR, the podcast, who for the first time ever, opens up about the uncomfortable truths behind her success:

♡ navigating divorce and trauma while building a brand
♡ losing her home in the LA wildfires and redefining her relationship with money
♡ how leading differently (not louder) has been her ultimate advantage.
♡ the real ROI on influencer trips and activations like Coachella, and how Kosas came within inches of Rhode’s success — without a celebrity face

♡ This Week’s Mood Board ♡

♡ Find Your Funding ♡

a message from this week’s sponsor

HSR was just an idea for years. No name, no revenue, just a vision no one else could see. I’ve always bet on myself—even when it looked like nothing was happening.

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This week, I found myself thinking about how long it really takes. Not to have an idea. Not to launch a business. But to build something that actually lasts.

I’ve always been wired to bet on myself. Since I was a kid, I was looking for ways to make money, start businesses, and be completely self-sufficient. It’s who I am. It’s how I move through the world.

Today, I’m in year six (or maybe seven?) of this chapter: Of figuring out how to be an entrepreneur, to live independently, to build something that doesn’t rely on anyone else’s timeline but my own. And here’s what I’ll tell you:

It wasn’t the first year.

It wasn’t the second.

There were years that felt like nothing was happening. There were moments I thought, maybe this isn’t working fast enough. There were months I thought, maybe it would be easier to quit and take the "safe" path. But building anything real takes longer than you think it will. And it’s still taking time. The question you have to ask yourself is simple:

Would you still keep going even if you knew it might take four, five, six years—or longer?

Because it’s not just you. Here’s the reality behind the brands you see winning today:

• Oura: Founded in 2015. Profitable by 2020. Now projecting $500M in 2024 revenue.

• Ritual: Founded in 2016. Profitable after five years. On track for $250M+ this year.

• Bumble: Founded in 2014. Breakeven by 2021. Over $1B in annual revenue today.

• The Honest Company: Took nearly a decade to reach profitability—but built a $378M business.

• Glossier: Founded in 2014. Reached profitability around 2020—then faced hard resets to refocus growth.

• Skims: Founded in 2019. Profitable by 2022. Projected to hit $750M+ in revenue.

• Everlane: Founded in 2010. Took seven years to profitability—and still evolving.

• FIGS: Founded in 2013. Profitable by 2021 IPO. Now pushing $500M+ in annual revenue.

• Celsius: Founded in 2004. Took 11 years to profitability. Now valued at $13.4B.

None of these brands were "overnight" successes. Even the "overnight" ones took years behind the scenes. If you’re building something right now—and wondering why it’s taking so long—you’re not broken. You’re on track.

Because the truth is:

The pain of growing your business is hard. But the pain of regret is harder.

You don’t get to skip the messy middle. You don’t get to fast-forward through the doubt, the reinventions, the years of reinvesting before you see the rewards. You have to choose to bet on yourself long enough for the bet to pay off.

And when it does?

It changes everything.

♡ This Week’s Episode ♡

This week’s Hot Smart Rich episode is the one that had our DMs blowing up!

After so much incredible feedback (including conversations with HSR angels tied to the Starbucks/driver trial 👀), it’s clear: you’re loving the faster-to-market format. And honestly? That’s what makes this community so special—your curiosity, your feedback, and your bold takes.

We’re continuing our giveaway from Wednesday for Want to win a $250 gift card to your dream retailer! (Think: Net-a-Porter, Ssense, Amazon, Reformation—you name it.)

Here’s how to enter:

1. Subscribe to Hot Smart Rich on Spotify or Apple Podcasts 

2. Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating

3. Write a short review (1-2 sentences is perfect!)

That’s it. Your review helps Hot Smart Rich rise in the charts and reach even more angels like you. (And yes, we love reading them too!)

♡ Consumer Trends I Gossiped ♡
About Most This Week

♡ Doechii’s 6 year overnight success. I had no idea that Anxiety came out in 2019 and took until 2025 to become a viral sensation and No. 2 on Spotify after a rerelease. Instead of focusing on the how (which you can read about here), I kept talking to people about why this matters. We all have low moments building an emerging business and I had one of mine this week where I spent the night crying to Lucky #3 about growth. He said something that stuck with me that I hope does with you too “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison

♡ Alex Cooper’s unwell heads to Stagecoach with this deleted post. Interesting after the Avery Woods backlash for a related controversy.

♡ $12M Popcorn. Khloe is my favorite Kardashian so I’m thrilled that Khloe was the first Kardashian Jenner to venture into the lucrative snack game. Although $12M for a pre-seed round is intense and likely expensive, it’s interesting to note that almost all investors in the round (Shrug Capital, WME, Kris Jenner, Serena Ventures, etc.) all intimately understand the opportunity with creator founded brands. Time will tell if they can play ball with mainstream consumer fund VC’s who looked to have sat this round out.

♡ Josh Allen is a Star QB and now VC Investor: Personally, my favorite celebrity biz move of the week is Josh Allen joining Cashmere Fund as Investor and Partner. Shamelessly hadn’t heard of them—even though we’re co-investors in De Soi—but I’m into their tagline: “Invest on the shoulders of influence.” It’s a tough model to pull off, but if they can crack it, it’s going to be one to watch.

♡ Prioritizing Growth AND Profitability. I spent a lot of time with my team and Locker this week talking about growth who has proudly never spent more than $1 on acquiring a customer to Locker’s growing 200,000 user base. But this year, Locker is prioritizing growth and profitability and we’re hiring a rockstar candidate. If you or anyone you know is a fit, apply by emailing [email protected]!

Consumer News

♡ the brands, people, places, things that have captured my attention ♡

♡ Women’s Health & Beauty ♡

• Juice Beauty, one of the pioneers in clean beauty, announces it will liquidate its assets – from BeautyMatter

• Walmart expands its wellness aisle with a new women's intimate health assortment – from Beauty Independent

• Nara Smith stars in her first beauty campaign with Cetaphil, opting for clinical skincare over flashy branding – from Business of Fashion

• Erewhon partners with Tyla to launch a tropical, floral-tinged smoothie called Bliss, supporting South African nonprofit 18twenty8 – from Instagram

• Sephora's Spring Savings Event sees a dip in sales, signaling broader shifts in consumer beauty spending and loyalty behavior – from Beauty Independent

♡ Media, Entertainment & Creator ♡

• Khloé Kardashian launches Khloud, a clean, high-protein popcorn brand, with backing from Serena Ventures, WME, and Kris Jenner – from Instagram

• Doechii’s candid mental health post sparks a broader convo about TikTok’s pivot toward celebrity-driven content – from Sherwood News

• Miu Miu and New Balance team up again, featuring Coco Gauff in a luxe reinterpretation of the 530 sneaker – from Miu Miu

• 818 Tequila (Kendall Jenner’s brand) partners with NASCAR driver Toni Breidinger, further aligning 818 with fast-paced, cultural moments – from Sports Illustrated

♡ Tech, Business & Investing ♡

• Lucy Guo, co-founder of Scale AI, becomes the youngest self-made woman billionaire in the U.S. – from Fortune

• Superpower, a stealth health-tech startup, wants to detect health issues before symptoms appear – from TechCrunch

• Erik Torenberg joins a16z as a general partner following the acqui-hire of his podcast and investment ventures – from TechCrunch

• Sesh raises $7M to build a platform connecting superfans and artists – from Tech Funding News

• Trump floats the idea of a "$5,000 Baby Bonus" to incentivize birth rates in the U.S., proposing direct payments to new mothers – from Forbes

The rebrand was supposed to fix everything.

New fonts. New packaging. A fresh identity for a new audience. In theory, a rebrand is a power move. A reset. A reinvention. But for Boy Smells, it quickly became a masterclass in what not to do.

After rumblings from Reddit and fragrance forums, Boy Smells unveiled a Gen Z-focused redesign this month that replaced its once cult-classic, subversive edge with rounded bottles, bubble fonts, and fragrance names like Coco Cream and Sugar Baby. The backlash was immediate. Longtime customers slammed it as a betrayal of the queer roots and genderful ethos the brand was built on. "How did we go from Cowboy Kush to Sephora-core beige?" one Instagram commenter wrote.

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