ICYMI

Hi Angels! Happy Sunday. I AM SO BACK and so happy to share that you’re already winning the internet by being apart of HSR…

The internet has been doing what it does best this week, spiraling over something nobody can quite figure out, and for once I am genuinely here for it because I’m about to make you truly understand the power of a family office and why I’ve been telling you to pitch them and not waste your time with VCs for over a year now (including the last episode with CJR and I).

If you have been anywhere near Acquired Style's content, you already know that Swan Beauty sponsored her bachelorette and the beauty corner of the internet has been losing its mind trying to figure out who is actually behind it. Private equity? A rich husband? A mystery conglomerate? The guesses have been very entertaining (especially the reddit threads I’ve found from the keyboard warriors).

Truthfully, I think it’s some of the best marketing I’ve seen in quite a while and if you listened to Courtney and my episode this week, you are already ahead of everyone because we broke down exactly what a family office is and how it operates differently from a VC or a PE firm. And that is precisely who is behind Swan Beauty. Not a fund with LPs and a 10 year exit thesis. Not a strategic acquirer. The Mitchell Family Office. Think the jet, the St Barths villa, the kind of capital that does not need a return on your timeline because it is already playing a much longer game.

That distinction matters more than people realize. A family office bet looks completely different from a VC bet. The pressure is different, the timeline is different, and the brand decisions that follow are different. Swan Beauty, a $795 AI-powered smart mirror that does everything from skin analysis to guided makeup application to in-mirror shopping, is not trying to hit a Series A milestone. It is trying to build something that lasts so the fact that they can take risks and not build like a VC backed brand, puts this brand far ahead most in the space (especially hardware).

Now whether a $795 mirror with a $9.95 monthly membership is the right vehicle for that is a whole other conversation. But the ownership structure? That part now makes complete sense.

What this really highlights, and what most people miss, is that when capital has more flexibility, it doesn’t just change how brands are built, it changes where it flows.

And right now, capital isn’t just flowing into beauty or hardware, it’s flowing into a completely different type of consumer bet. The kind that doesn’t just live online, but shows up in real life and that’s exactly what we’re breaking down in this week’s case study below!

Matilda Djerf sits down with Maggie Sellers Reum to unpack the reality behind the headlines, from the pressure of protecting Djerf Avenue during its most scrutinized moment to the evolution of her leadership, brand strategy, and personal resilience, while also revealing how she built a global fashion movement from small-town Sweden, landed culture-shaping collaborations, and continues scaling amid constant noise, all with candid reflections on ambition, relationships, and what success actually looks like now, so if you haven’t watched this episode yet, now is the time!

all the brands, people, places, things we’re gossiping about this week

Women’s Health & Beauty

Media, Entertainment & Creator

Consumer, E-Commerce & Retail

Tech, Business & Investing

A sandwich chain is about to go public at a $12 billion valuation. That should tell you everything you need to know about where consumers are spending time.

When you zoom out and look at what’s happening across the food & bev category, it becomes clear this is not a set of isolated wins, it’s a coordinated shift. Last week, PopUp Bagels announced a $300 million valuation, Joe & The Juice secured a minority investment from UAE-based Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC) at a ~$1.8 billion valuation to support global expansion through new stores and franchising, while Goop Kitchen is expanding to NYC and reportedly doing roughly $20,000 per day per location, according to the Wall Street Journal. Just last year, Pura Vida took on a strategic growth investment from TSG Consumer, and La La Land is expanding rapidly across new markets.

Jersey Mike’s didn’t just grow, it scaled with consistency. Store count has more than tripled in the last decade, which is how you end up at a $12 billion IPO. Individually, these are strong businesses but together, they point to something much bigger and the thing I keep coming back to as I build Hot Smart Rich is