The HotStart VC Podcast

How Haven Lough Turned 5 Million Followers Into a Skincare Brand That Sold Out in 24 Hours

Haven Lough is a 19-year-old creator entrepreneur with over 5 million followers across social media and the founder of Haven, a skincare brand built for sensitive, acne-prone skin with ingredients you can actually trust. It started with his sister. She was spending all her money on skincare, but she only cared how popular and cool the brand looked, not how healthy the ingredients were. At the same time, Haven was studying to become a dermatologist after leaving high school two years early to start college. He realized he had the knowledge, the audience, and the solution to a problem no one else was solving: skincare that's actually healthy and looks cool at the same time. Unlike most creator brands that rush to market with white-labeled products, Haven spent two years working directly with lab chemists and manufacturers to create formulations that won't make you break out. The brand launched exactly one year ago, sold out 1,000 units in 24 hours, and he was on a yacht with friends when it happened. Haven has since expanded to three lip balms with a gentle daily facial cleanser coming next, and just announced a partnership with Dr. Dendy Engelman, one of the top dermatologists in New York City, who now recommends and approves every product. Haven breaks down why celebrity brands are secretly failing and why people can now spot cash grabs immediately, why he named the brand after himself even though everyone told him not to, and how he turned a puppy yoga studio into his most profitable side venture. He explains: * Why he left high school two years early and how watching pimple popping videos as a kid sparked his obsession with skin * How his sister's spending habits became the catalyst for Haven * Why he spent two years in product development instead of rushing to market like most creator brands * How Haven sold out 1,000 units in 24 hours and what those first moments felt like * Why partnering with AI influencer Granny Spills taught him that relatability is everything and AI can't replace real human connection * His number one advice for creator entrepreneurs launching companies Chapters: CHAPTERS * 00:00:00 Introduction: From 5M Followers to Building Haven Skincare * 00:00:47 The Content Creation Journey: From COVID Thirst Traps to Documenting Life * 00:03:24 Building with Your Audience: The Power of Validation and Story * 00:04:30 The Puppy Yoga Business: A Profitable Passion Project * 00:06:58 What is Haven: Creating a Safe Sanctuary for Sensitive Skin * 00:08:49 The Passion Behind the Product: From Pimple Popping Videos to Dermatology Dreams * 00:11:10 Why Haven Named the Brand After Himself: The Strategic Decision * 00:12:25 What Makes Haven Different: Targeting Sensitive Skin with No Compromises * 00:14:13 The Launch: Selling Out 1,000 Units in 24 Hours on a Yacht * 00:15:56 Leveraging Creator Advantage: Viral Content Over Ads * 00:18:09 The AI Influencer Experiment: Partnering with Granny Spills * 00:25:47 Bootstrapping Strategy: Why Haven Hasn't Raised Capital Yet * 00:30:27 Advice for Creator Entrepreneurs: Build Your Foundation Before You Scale HotStart VC Subscribe to the HotStart VC newsletter: https://hotstart.beehiiv.com/ [https://hotstart.beehiiv.com/] Become a HotStart Angel and co-invest with us in celebrity-founded brands starting from $5,000: https://www.hotstart.vc/hotstart-angels/ [https://www.hotstart.vc/hotstart-angels/] Check out our fund: https://www.hotstart.vc/ [https://www.hotstart.vc/] Scott van den Berg LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-van-den-berg-22b534150/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-van-den-berg-22b534150/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottvandenberg_/ [https://www.instagram.com/scottvandenberg_/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@scottvandenberg_ [https://www.tiktok.com/@scottvandenberg_] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@scottvandenbergvc [https://www.youtube.com/@scottvandenbergvc] Haven Lough Haven Skincare: https://shophavenskin.com/ [https://shophavenskin.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haven.lough/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/haven.lough/?hl=en] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@havenlough [https://www.tiktok.com/@havenlough] HotStart VC is a fund that exclusively invests in brands founded by celebrities and creators. We're the go-to platform for celebrities and creators launching brands, providing capital, strategic support, and the infrastructure to scale.

How The European Kid Is Building a New Currency | Aris Yeager Storytime

Aris is a creator entrepreneur with over 3 million followers and 3 billion views, best known for his viral skits as a French rich kid on his account The European Kid. That platform became the foundation for Storytime, a hyper-local marketplace matching businesses with creators in their neighborhood, where creators pay with content and businesses pay with experiences, effectively creating a new currency for the creator economy. It started with a simple frustration. As a creator, Aris was spending hours in DMs with shops and bars trying to set up brand deals that should have taken minutes. He realized the entire partnership industry was broken. So he built the solution himself. Storytime now operates in over 1,000 locations across New York City, just expanded to Miami, and has onboarded some of the hottest food and beverage chains in America including Cava, Joe & The Juice, and Oakberry. Unlike traditional influencer marketing platforms that focus on macro creators and six-figure campaigns, Storytime redefines who qualifies as a creator. A college student with 4,000 followers in NYU's neighborhood is more valuable than someone with 100,000 followers in Brazil. Aris breaks down why being a creator gave him unfair advantages most tech founders don't have, how he closed deals with Oakberry and Sweetgreen by DMing their founders directly, and why nano and micro creators are the future of influencer marketing. He explains: * Why his viral Parmesan cheese video was filmed in two minutes and how low production often outperforms polished content * How one video outside a New York nightclub went so viral it made French news and people thought he was related to the founder of LVMH * Why Storytime focuses on nano and micro creators with 3,000 to 10,000 followers instead of celebrities * How being The European Kid opened doors to founders of Oakberry and Sweetgreen that traditional founders could never access * His number one advice for creators: it's a quantity game, and posting relentlessly beats perfection Chapters: CHAPTERS * 00:00:00 Introduction: From The European Kid to Building Storytime * 00:00:42 The Origin Story: From TikTok Curiosity to Viral French Character * 00:01:37 The Parmesan Video: When Low Production Meets Maximum Virality * 00:04:32 Realizing the Value: How Content Creation Became a Real Business * 00:05:32 What is Storytime: Building a Marketplace for Creator-Business Connections * 00:07:24 How Storytime Works: The Mechanics of Paying with Content * 00:07:59 Creating a New Currency: Content as Payment * 00:08:45 The Competitive Edge: Quality Over Quantity in Marketplace Partners * 00:10:34 The Target Creator: Redefining Influence from Nano to Micro * 00:11:47 Authenticity in Influencer Marketing: Friends Over Celebrities * 00:12:28 The Creator-Product Fit: Why Aris Is the Perfect Founder * 00:17:51 The Hidden Superpowers: Beyond Social Media Followers * 00:19:25 The Acquisition Strategy: Organic Growth Through Network Effects * 00:21:56 Global Expansion Plans: From Miami to Istanbul * 00:24:50 Why Creators Choose CPG Over Tech Companies * 00:27:07 Balancing Creation and Building: The 90-10 Split HotStart VC Subscribe to the HotStart VC newsletter: https://hotstart.beehiiv.com/ [https://hotstart.beehiiv.com/] Become a HotStart Angel and co-invest with us in celebrity-founded brands starting from $5,000: https://www.hotstart.vc/hotstart-angels/ [https://www.hotstart.vc/hotstart-angels/] Check out our fund: https://www.hotstart.vc/ [https://www.hotstart.vc/] Scott van den Berg LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-van-den-berg-22b534150/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-van-den-berg-22b534150/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottvandenberg_/ [https://www.instagram.com/scottvandenberg_/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@scottvandenberg_ [https://www.tiktok.com/@scottvandenberg_] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@scottvandenbergvc [https://www.youtube.com/@scottvandenbergvc] Aris Yeager Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeuropeankid/ [https://www.instagram.com/theeuropeankid/] Storytime: https://storytime.io/ [https://storytime.io/] HotStart VC is a fund that exclusively invests in brands founded by celebrities and creators. We're the go-to platform for celebrities and creators launching brands, providing capital, strategic support, and the infrastructure to scale.

How Jay Fujiwara Leveraged 13M Followers to Build Bigbean, an AI Language Learning App

Jay is a creator entrepreneur with over 13 million followers teaching English on social media, and the founder of BigBean, a language learning app that teaches English through AI generated images and videos instead of traditional translation methods. Before building his own, he spent years using that reach to help other language learning apps grow, working with companies that reached valuations over $300 million. He got paid well. But he never saw a cent of the upside. So he asked himself the obvious question: why am I building everyone else's company when I could be building my own? That question became BigBean. The core thesis: people struggle to speak English because they're forced to think in their native language first, then translate every word while changing grammatical structure in their head. BigBean eliminates that cognitive bottleneck by creating a direct association between image and word, no native language required. When Jay posted his first video about BigBean, the app shot straight to number five in the education category on the Japanese App Store. That wasn't luck. It was the result of years spent understanding virality across multiple niches, building audiences from zero, and learning exactly what converts followers into users by growing other people's apps first. He breaks down why he believes apps will become the new dropshipping as AI coding tools democratize tech entrepreneurship, how he balances being a creator and a founder without sacrificing either, and why the best move he made was finding a technical co-founder so he could stay focused on what he does best. He explains: * Why he started creating content at 12 and how a paper box tutorial became his first million view video at 14 * The virality strategy he still uses today: find small creators with one viral video and replicate the format * Why he stopped posting ads on his personal account and started building social media teams for language apps instead * How BigBean's visual learning approach solves the cognitive bottleneck preventing people from speaking English fluently * How one video pushed BigBean to number five in the Japanese App Store education category * His number one advice for creator entrepreneurs launching companies Chapters: CHAPTERS * 00:00:00 Introduction: From 30M Followers to Building BigBean * 00:00:53 The Early Creator Journey: From Clumsy Dodo to Theme Pages * 00:04:22 Finding the Niche: Why Jay Started Teaching English on TikTok * 00:05:43 The Virality Strategy: What Jay Understands About Going Viral * 00:09:36 Working with Language Apps: Building Others' Companies * 00:11:47 The Pivot Decision: Why Jay Decided to Build His Own App * 00:13:34 What is BigBean: Visual Learning Through AI-Generated Content * 00:20:08 The Launch Moment: One Video to Number Five in Education * 00:21:25 The Creator Economy Shift: Apps as the New Drop Shipping * 00:24:02 Balancing Creation and Building: The Co-Founder Solution * 00:28:23 What's Next: Visual Dictionary and International Expansion * 00:30:29 Advice for Creator Entrepreneurs: Master Your Craft First HotStart VC Subscribe to the HotStart VC newsletter: https://hotstart.beehiiv.com/ [https://hotstart.beehiiv.com/] Become a HotStart Angel and co-invest with us in celebrity-founded brands starting from $5,000: https://www.hotstart.vc/hotstart-angels/ [https://www.hotstart.vc/hotstart-angels/] Check out our fund: https://www.hotstart.vc/ [https://www.hotstart.vc/] Scott van den Berg LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-van-den-berg-22b534150/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-van-den-berg-22b534150/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottvandenberg_/ [https://www.instagram.com/scottvandenberg_/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@scottvandenberg_ [https://www.tiktok.com/@scottvandenberg_] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@scottvandenbergvc [https://www.youtube.com/@scottvandenbergvc] Jay Fuijwara McCaughrean Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayfujiwara/ [https://www.instagram.com/jayfujiwara/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jayfujiwara [https://www.tiktok.com/@jayfujiwara] BigBean: https://www.bigbean.ai/ [https://www.bigbean.ai/] HotStart VC is a fund that exclusively invests in brands founded by celebrities and creators. We're the go-to platform for celebrities and creators launching brands, providing capital, strategic support, and the infrastructure to scale.

How Peaky Blinders Actor Matthew Postlethwaite Is Disrupting the Beverage Industry With Proda

Matthew Postlethwaite is best known for his role in Peaky Blinders, but these days, he's spending less time on set and more time disrupting the beverage industry with Proda, a protein soda with 10 grams of protein, zero sugar, and the taste of an actual soda. It started with his grandmother. She was losing her hair from protein deficiency, so Matthew sent her protein shakes. She barely touched them. Too thick, too chalky, made for gym bros, not for her. That frustration became the catalyst for Proda. One problem: Matthew had never built a beverage before. So he opened ChatGPT, asked it who the best beverage entrepreneur in America was, picked up the phone, and called him. That call led to a partnership with Jeff Church, the co-founder of Suja Juice, and over 1,000 hours of formulation before a single can hit shelves. Proda launched 19 months ago and is now in 500 Sprouts locations nationwide across seven SKUs, with expansion into the cold section and major endcaps across every store. Matthew breaks down how he balances acting with working 16-hour days on Proda, how he generated 170 million impressions without paying a single influencer, and why he plans to produce one film per year with Proda woven into the storyline as a long-term marketing strategy. He explains: * Why protein doesn't have to taste like chalk and how Proda is redefining functional beverages * How ChatGPT led him to his co-founder and why that partnership changed everything * The 512 iterations on one flavor that still isn't ready for market * Why Sprouts jumped at Proda before other retailers * How he generated 170 million impressions by sending product to his network without paying anyone * His #1 advice for actors and creators launching companies Chapters: CHAPTERS * 00:00:00 Introduction: From Peaky Blinders to Building Broda Protein Soda * 00:00:52 The Peaky Blinders Experience: Working with Cillian Murphy * 00:07:34 The Founding Story: When Grandma Couldn't Consume Protein * 00:09:35 Finding Jeff Church: Using ChatGPT to Find a Co-Founder * 00:07:34 What is Broda: The World's First Protein Soda * 00:11:32 Product Development: 19 Months and 512 Iterations * 00:13:11 Target Customer: From Gym Bros to Cool Grandmas * 00:17:05 The Sprouts Launch: 500 Stores and Three Distribution Points * 00:19:39 The Celebrity Advantage: 170 Million Impressions Without Paid Influencers * 00:23:50 Fundraising as an Actor: Getting the Meeting vs Closing the Deal * 00:25:35 The Content Strategy: Producing Films with Broda Front and Center * 00:27:52 Advice for Celebrity Founders: Passion, Self-Awareness, and Smart People HotStart VC Subscribe to the HotStart VC newsletter: https://hotstart.beehiiv.com/ [https://hotstart.beehiiv.com/] Become a HotStart Angel and co-invest with us in celebrity-founded brands starting from $5,000: https://www.hotstart.vc/hotstart-angels/ [https://www.hotstart.vc/hotstart-angels/] Check out our fund: https://www.hotstart.vc/ [https://www.hotstart.vc/] Scott van den Berg LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-van-den-berg-22b534150/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-van-den-berg-22b534150/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottvandenberg_/ [https://www.instagram.com/scottvandenberg_/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@scottvandenberg_ [https://www.tiktok.com/@scottvandenberg_] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@scottvandenbergvc [https://www.youtube.com/@scottvandenbergvc] Matthew Postlehwaite Proda: https://drinkproda.com/ [https://drinkproda.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthewpostlethwaite/ [https://www.instagram.com/matthewpostlethwaite/] HotStart VC is a fund that exclusively invests in brands founded by celebrities and creators. We're the go-to platform for celebrities and creators launching brands, providing capital, strategic support, and the infrastructure to scale.

What an Investor Actually Looks For in Celebrity Brands | Genevieve Gilbreath

Genevieve Gilbreath is a General Partner at Springdale Ventures, an early-stage consumer fund that has backed some of the most successful celebrity and creator-founded brands in the market, including Feastables by MrBeast, Goodles with Gal Gadot, and The Absorption Company with Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder. Her thesis: celebrity and creator founders aren't the business model itself. They're the accelerator. The best investments still require great operators, authentic product-market fit, and a brand that can stand on its own without relying solely on fame. Springdale is not a dedicated celebrity fund. She backs celebrity brands because the fundamentals are there, not because of the fame. She has board-level relationships with brands in her portfolio like Goodles by Gal Gadot, has done diligence on multiple celebrity deals simultaneously, and has passed on plenty along the way. That tension is what makes this conversation different. She breaks down how she performs due diligence on celebrity brands differently than traditional consumer investments, why cap table structure can kill a deal before it starts, and what most investors get completely wrong when evaluating celebrity founders. She explains: * Why authentic fit is the first filter and what it actually looks like in practice * Why she passes on deals with no strong operating team regardless of follower count * How cap table structure can kill a deal before it even starts * The most common reasons she says no to celebrity brands * What being in the boardroom with celebrity co-founders actually looks like once the cameras are off * Her number one advice for investors evaluating a celebrity brand for the first time Chapters: CHAPTERS * 00:00:00 Introduction: Jennifer Gilbreath and Springdale Ventures * 00:03:16 Fund Overview: Investment Thesis and Product-Market Fit Focus * 00:04:21 The Celebrity Brand Strategy: Accelerators Not Core Thesis * 00:05:56 Due Diligence on Celebrity Brands: What's Different and What's the Same * 00:06:41 The Authenticity Question: Passion Over Endorsement Deals * 00:07:15 Deal Structure and Cap Table Balance: Finding the Sweet Spot * 00:09:33 The Operating Team Requirement: Why Great Operators Are Non-Negotiable * 00:10:16 Celebrity Types: Traditional Stars vs Digital Creators * 00:15:03 The Bridge Role: Managing Celebrity Founder Relationships * 00:16:48 Brand Positioning: When to Put Celebrity Front and Center * 00:18:10 Multi-Creator Founding Teams: The Future of Celebrity Brands * 00:24:06 Retail Strategy: Why Nationwide Distribution Matters for Food Brands * 00:20:23 Valuation and Fundraising: Staying Disciplined in a Hype Market * 00:21:35 Financial Modeling: Predicting Success with Limited Data * 00:28:38 The White Label Problem: Why Most Celebrity Brands Fail * 00:29:49 Focus and Legacy: Advice for Celebrity Brand Investors HotStart VC Subscribe to the HotStart VC newsletter: https://hotstart.beehiiv.com/ [https://hotstart.beehiiv.com/] Become a HotStart Angel and co-invest with us in celebrity-founded brands starting from $5,000: https://www.hotstart.vc/hotstart-angels/ [https://www.hotstart.vc/hotstart-angels/] Check out our fund: https://www.hotstart.vc/ [https://www.hotstart.vc/] Scott van den Berg LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-van-den-berg-22b534150/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-van-den-berg-22b534150/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottvandenberg_/ [https://www.instagram.com/scottvandenberg_/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@scottvandenberg_ [https://www.tiktok.com/@scottvandenberg_] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@scottvandenbergvc [https://www.youtube.com/@scottvandenbergvc] Genevieve Gilbreath Springdale Ventures: https://www.springdaleventures.com/ [https://www.springdaleventures.com/] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevieve-g-gilbreath-92995347/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevieve-g-gilbreath-92995347/] HotStart VC is a fund that exclusively invests in brands founded by celebrities and creators. We're the go-to platform for celebrities and creators launching brands, providing capital, strategic support, and the infrastructure to scale.