Billion Dollar Brand Club: How Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker, and Other Disruptors Are Remaking What We Buy
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- Create Date：2021-04-08 14:56:55
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Lawrence Ingrassia
- ISBN：1250759250
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Summary
A leading business journalist takes us inside a business revolution: the upstart brands taking on the empires that long dominated the trillion-dollar consumer economy。
Dollar Shave Club and its hilarious marketing。 Casper mattresses popping out of a box。 Third Love’s lingerie designed specifically for each woman’s body。 Warby Parker mailing you five pairs of glasses to choose from。 You’ve seen their ads。 You （or someone you know） use their products。 Each may appear， in isolation， as a rare David with the bravado to confront a Goliath， but taken together they represent a seismic shift in a business model that has lasted more than a century。
As Lawrence Ingrassia shows in this timely and eye-opening book， a growing number of digital entrepreneurs have found new and creative ways to crack the code on the bonanza of physical goods that move through our lives every day。 They have discovered that manufacturing， marketing， logistics， and customer service have all been flattened—where there were once walls that protected big brands like Gillette， Sealy， Victoria’s Secret， or Lenscrafters， savvy and hungry innovators now can compete on price， value， quality， speed， convenience， and service。
Billion Dollar Brand Club reveals the world of the entrepreneurs， venture capitalists， and corporate behemoths battling over this terrain。 And what fun it is。 It’s a massive， high-stakes business saga animated by the personalities， flashes of insight， and stories behind the stuff we use every day。
Dollar Shave Club and its hilarious marketing。 Casper mattresses popping out of a box。 Third Love’s lingerie designed specifically for each woman’s body。 Warby Parker mailing you five pairs of glasses to choose from。 You’ve seen their ads。 You （or someone you know） use their products。 Each may appear， in isolation， as a rare David with the bravado to confront a Goliath， but taken together they represent a seismic shift in a business model that has lasted more than a century。
As Lawrence Ingrassia shows in this timely and eye-opening book， a growing number of digital entrepreneurs have found new and creative ways to crack the code on the bonanza of physical goods that move through our lives every day。 They have discovered that manufacturing， marketing， logistics， and customer service have all been flattened—where there were once walls that protected big brands like Gillette， Sealy， Victoria’s Secret， or Lenscrafters， savvy and hungry innovators now can compete on price， value， quality， speed， convenience， and service。
Billion Dollar Brand Club reveals the world of the entrepreneurs， venture capitalists， and corporate behemoths battling over this terrain。 And what fun it is。 It’s a massive， high-stakes business saga animated by the personalities， flashes of insight， and stories behind the stuff we use every day。
Reviews
Tai Tai
，
more than a few useful notes were taken
Greg Kopstein
，
In today’s era of direct to consumer brands and mystical unicorns of millennial business， this book is definitely a business manual for our time。 But it’s more of a good concept， then good execution。 It has a lot of potential， but it is too scattered to do justice to any specific brand。 There should be standalone chapters to just a handful of success stories - billion dollar brands - and maybe one or two studies of failures。 Perhaps some brands fail because there’s too much competition for atten In today’s era of direct to consumer brands and mystical unicorns of millennial business， this book is definitely a business manual for our time。 But it’s more of a good concept， then good execution。 It has a lot of potential， but it is too scattered to do justice to any specific brand。 There should be standalone chapters to just a handful of success stories - billion dollar brands - and maybe one or two studies of failures。 Perhaps some brands fail because there’s too much competition for attention， which is also what happens with this book。 It’s a fine read， but not a true business biography of billion dollar brands。 。。。more
Karin Künnapas
，
This book gave a quite in depth look to some of the new disruptors in straight to consumer products and how they have changed the lives for big brand manufacturers。 This covered everything from razor blades， bras， eyeglasses to even mattresses。 There were many stories I had no idea about and I liked how sometimes these have left the feeling that they were an overnight success （i。e Dollar Shave Club and the viral video）， then here Lawrence actually goes into the backstory and how long it took to This book gave a quite in depth look to some of the new disruptors in straight to consumer products and how they have changed the lives for big brand manufacturers。 This covered everything from razor blades， bras， eyeglasses to even mattresses。 There were many stories I had no idea about and I liked how sometimes these have left the feeling that they were an overnight success （i。e Dollar Shave Club and the viral video）， then here Lawrence actually goes into the backstory and how long it took to get to this product and this success。There were two things that bothered me a bit though。 Firstly， in quite a few cases， after the initial idea it was said how they raised 200k， 1。2m， 3。5m like that was such an easy thing。 I know that money was and has been more easily available in Silicon Valley， but I just felt that it was understated how gruesome this process can actually be and even if you have a great product it doesn't mean you'll succeed。Secondly， I think the stories could have been shorter to still get to the same point。 There was quite a bit if name-dropping that didn't give that much additional information。Anyway， to summarize， if you're into startups then definitely read this one。 You'll learn some great stories， get more insights how the consumer product market has changed and maybe even will get inspiration to tackle some category yourself。 。。。more
Lincoln Karuhanga
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Enjoyable。 You'll not find yourself mind-blown or anything but it's a good journey through the d2c landscape that touches on why large incumbents fail to respond to market changes。Something that constantly irked me is most of these brands don't have that large a moat and aren't really that innovative。 They just tell the right story， are cheaper and more convenient than incumbents。 Quite telling that lots of VC money heads their way。 Enjoyable。 You'll not find yourself mind-blown or anything but it's a good journey through the d2c landscape that touches on why large incumbents fail to respond to market changes。Something that constantly irked me is most of these brands don't have that large a moat and aren't really that innovative。 They just tell the right story， are cheaper and more convenient than incumbents。 Quite telling that lots of VC money heads their way。 。。。more
Lucas Vera
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Pure inspiration I really enjoying reading this great book， a must-have for any entrepreneur that dream big， really nice stories。 A lot to learn from them。
Dagmar Urb
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Easy， fast eye-openin read on physical-product-startups and marketing。 Up to date in 2020。
Limchinteck
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For those passionate entrepreneur， read this book to gain faith on your business。 This is the book who shows that David could indeed slay goliath。
Trapezio
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With its simple language and interesting premise of the role of D2C brands today and the future， the book would be interesting to anyone who is into business。 The role of the internet （exception maybe is Amazon） and its impact on consumers has been frankly far less sweeping than some of the loudest voices of last decade。 This book encapsulates some of the real learnings of successful and failed attempts in shifting to 'click in net and consume at home' enterprises。 D2C brands， their nascent birt With its simple language and interesting premise of the role of D2C brands today and the future， the book would be interesting to anyone who is into business。 The role of the internet （exception maybe is Amazon） and its impact on consumers has been frankly far less sweeping than some of the loudest voices of last decade。 This book encapsulates some of the real learnings of successful and failed attempts in shifting to 'click in net and consume at home' enterprises。 D2C brands， their nascent birth， their strengths and weaknesses， the role of social media and e-commerce and customer relationships intertwines to make a new D2C customer who is less brand loyal， more adventurous， highly communicative。The book is quite logical and doesn't repeat too often。 One odd thing which stood out was almost all the founders/entrepreneurs seems to be linked to one another。 This stands in contrast to the main message that 'anyone can do it （almost）'。 Overall a very interesting book。 。。。more
Christian
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book。 I don’t work in this space but D2C brands have fascinated me since Dollar Shave Club came on the scene， and have since watched them take over Target and the mall。 I reference these brands frequently in the work my agency does for startups so it was great to get a deeper insight into HOW these brands scale。The book tells stories of brands like Warby Parker and Away， and the technology and venture capital firms underpinning them like Forerunner VC or Locus Robotics。 I thoroughly enjoyed this book。 I don’t work in this space but D2C brands have fascinated me since Dollar Shave Club came on the scene， and have since watched them take over Target and the mall。 I reference these brands frequently in the work my agency does for startups so it was great to get a deeper insight into HOW these brands scale。The book tells stories of brands like Warby Parker and Away， and the technology and venture capital firms underpinning them like Forerunner VC or Locus Robotics。 It also weaves in insights into how brands do what they do。 Overall it strikes a good balance between the both， not being overtly journalistic， while not over-explaining key points。My only wish is that the author found a slightly better way to weave together the themes。 Each chapter had a story or two and a principle hidden amongst them， but between chapters it was difficult to tell how they connected。 。。。more
Eddie Lee
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Too many examples without clear thought-provoking points for me to rate any higher。 Can be written in 60% length。
Serge
，
Excellent book on the rise of DTC subscription e-commerce。 There were so many companies with which I was unfamiliar as I am not their typical demographic and am not the target of their social media advertising campaigns。 I was surprised by the number of Wharton grads who have found a profitable niche in this personalization market （Warby Parker， Away， etc。。） Also surprised by the number of multinationals like Henkel and Unilever scooping up startups as fronts for their legacy business to mitigat Excellent book on the rise of DTC subscription e-commerce。 There were so many companies with which I was unfamiliar as I am not their typical demographic and am not the target of their social media advertising campaigns。 I was surprised by the number of Wharton grads who have found a profitable niche in this personalization market （Warby Parker， Away， etc。。） Also surprised by the number of multinationals like Henkel and Unilever scooping up startups as fronts for their legacy business to mitigate disruption of DTC。 Finally， for all of my students who always list supply chain and logistics as their intended majors， I was shocked to learn about the seemingly endless opportunities of last-mile shipping and flexible warehousing。 Mohawk appears to be the highest risk and highest reward logical extension of this push for customization and quick turnaround。 Value as Ingrassia points out trumps quality many times。 Great read！ 。。。more
James Lovaas
，
In what seems like a moment， we move from the totally new to the familiar。 For example， the touchscreen phone went from an option for those that wanted the newest gadget to an integral part of our daily lives over a period of just a few years。 Similarly， there are millions of people across the globe that have become accustomed to ordering products as diverse as razor blades， mattresses， contacts and even eye glasses from online manufacturers and stores。 Billion Dollar Brand Club introduces us to In what seems like a moment， we move from the totally new to the familiar。 For example， the touchscreen phone went from an option for those that wanted the newest gadget to an integral part of our daily lives over a period of just a few years。 Similarly， there are millions of people across the globe that have become accustomed to ordering products as diverse as razor blades， mattresses， contacts and even eye glasses from online manufacturers and stores。 Billion Dollar Brand Club introduces us to several of the innovators that have changed the way we shop。Ingrassia starts his book with the unlikely story of a razor subscription service and their viral videos。 Dollar Shave Club began when Michael Dubin stumbled upon the opportunity to sell surplus razor blades。 He didn’t promise the best razors available。 He didn’t promise new technology。 Dollar Shave Club would simply provide an affordable product in the most convenient method possible。Readers will also meet the founders of Warby Parker – four Wharton students that believed there had to be a better way to shop for and attain new glasses。 In this case， students David Gilboa and Jeffrey Raider share their frustration at the hassle and expense of replacing expensive glasses。 This is further exacerbated by their knowledge that glasses were being produced at far lower prices within feet of the expensive brands。 This book goes on to describe businesses ranging from custom bras to hearing aids to mattresses delivered directly to your door。 Each business case is an interesting story in and of itself。 Ingrassia describes the business settings， the context， the personalities， and the journeys。 Some were immensely successful and others remain to be seen。If all this book did was introduce us to innovative companies， it might be worth a quick read – perhaps from the library or a cursory overview at Amazon。com。 However， this book does more than just provide an introduction or review。 This book helps us to understand the thought processes and innovative nature of these brands。 The founders and owners have helped to re-shape the way we shop for mattresses， glasses and so much more。 They can also help us to think differently about how we serve our customers or clients。 That may be the most helpful part of this book – understanding how different businesses have identified the needs and pain points of their customers。 In the midst of what we do， we can often just continue to refine our system of serving customers within the framework that we believe works best。 However， by looking at other industries and processes， we may find ways to better serve our market and grow our business。 We might also identify new opportunities and new markets。 2020 may be the most volatile year many of us have encountered。 These lessons might just help us to navigate the tumultuous waters in our future。 。。。more
Davor
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Hmm， a short book yet quite packed with content， I somehow felt overwhelmed towards the end。Overall worth learning something。
Chris Gilbert
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Picked this one up by chance but certainly enjoyed the read and recommend it。 Lawrence covers several Unicorn companies and their rags to riches tails all tied together by their similarities in the DTC approach。One of the more powerful ideas of the book is that the internet has made it possible for small disruptors to challenge the largest incumbents of the world by creating a new customer experience that is highly scalable。 Despite being spread across several different industries all the compan Picked this one up by chance but certainly enjoyed the read and recommend it。 Lawrence covers several Unicorn companies and their rags to riches tails all tied together by their similarities in the DTC approach。One of the more powerful ideas of the book is that the internet has made it possible for small disruptors to challenge the largest incumbents of the world by creating a new customer experience that is highly scalable。 Despite being spread across several different industries all the companies share a few things in common， an obsession with the customer， a focus on convenience and ease， cost effectiveness， and use of social media to market and gain popularity。Some of my favorite highlights include the original DSC commercial and their impact on the stubborn Gilette， learning that Warby Parker was not even close to the first company to sell online eyeglasses， and how exciting and fruitful Casper showed the mattress industry could be。 Many more disruptions to come。 。。。more
TheLastMango
，
interesting summary of several well known e-commerce companies and how they changed the industries they're in。 reads a little bit like a business insider or fast company profile， so could be dense/boring for some people。 doesn't really talk about the dangerous "customer comes first" mentality most of the startups have， esp away。 interesting summary of several well known e-commerce companies and how they changed the industries they're in。 reads a little bit like a business insider or fast company profile， so could be dense/boring for some people。 doesn't really talk about the dangerous "customer comes first" mentality most of the startups have， esp away。 。。。more
Vinayak Malik
，
An excellent primer on the new emerging businesses that might become the new consumer behemoth。 Its a pity that they are so US focused 。 In this day an age duplicating a business model is the easiest thing in the worlds so it is unlikely that they will be big anywhere outside their gated garden
Aarthy
，
4。5 stars ⭐️ What an easy， wonderful and insightful read。 I am extremely familiar with a lot of DTC brands that have emerged and taken over the market like behemoths since the start of social media marketing。 However， even with my knowledge in these brands， it was really great to get insider information on exactly how these branded started and where they ended up。 In summary， if you are interested in DTC， whether you have knowledge on it or just tapping into this space， this is a good book on th 4。5 stars ⭐️ What an easy， wonderful and insightful read。 I am extremely familiar with a lot of DTC brands that have emerged and taken over the market like behemoths since the start of social media marketing。 However， even with my knowledge in these brands， it was really great to get insider information on exactly how these branded started and where they ended up。 In summary， if you are interested in DTC， whether you have knowledge on it or just tapping into this space， this is a good book on the biographies of many of big DTC companies。 Ingrassia also writes in a way that keeps the readers engaged！ Highly Recommend！ 。。。more
Miebara Jato
，
The book is a compilation of internet businesses started by obscure entrepreneurs。 The model of these businesses is direct-to-consumers。 And they take up the industry leaders in their game。 Because they are industry leaders， the big guys never take theses new entrants seriously until it's too late。 I admire America。 Indeed， it is a country of possibilities。 Many of these startups will fail if they were started in places like Nigeria， etc because the infrastructure and the venture capital support The book is a compilation of internet businesses started by obscure entrepreneurs。 The model of these businesses is direct-to-consumers。 And they take up the industry leaders in their game。 Because they are industry leaders， the big guys never take theses new entrants seriously until it's too late。 I admire America。 Indeed， it is a country of possibilities。 Many of these startups will fail if they were started in places like Nigeria， etc because the infrastructure and the venture capital support is not available。 。。。more
Dana
，
Absolutely fascinating。 Would love a follow up addressing Covid impact / trends
Evelyn Starr
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Lawrence Ingrassia's journalistic background underlies his approach to couch business lessons and direct-to-consumer brand insights in story instead of the other way around。 The result is a wonderful read and insights that are easier to remember because their story context is well-told and memorable。 In addition to behind-the-scenes looks at Dollar Shave Club， Away， Warby Parker， Glossier and other direct-to-consumer brands， there are valuable lessons on listening to customers， brand building， v Lawrence Ingrassia's journalistic background underlies his approach to couch business lessons and direct-to-consumer brand insights in story instead of the other way around。 The result is a wonderful read and insights that are easier to remember because their story context is well-told and memorable。 In addition to behind-the-scenes looks at Dollar Shave Club， Away， Warby Parker， Glossier and other direct-to-consumer brands， there are valuable lessons on listening to customers， brand building， venture-capital appeal， and big-brand hubris。 I felt it was time well spent！ 。。。more
Usama Hamayun
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Such a fascinating insight into the world of consumer brand startups！ Recommended for all business and brand aficionados。
Madhukara
，
In our day to day life， we use products from a dozen different brands which are mostly bought online。 We rarely stop to think it's a very recent phenomenon and there was a different world where things were not online。This book shows how direct to consumer revolution started in 2010 and how different companies started changing the way we buy things。 Every chapter talks about different companies and different aspects of the business。 Each chapter is short and to the point。 In no place， the author In our day to day life， we use products from a dozen different brands which are mostly bought online。 We rarely stop to think it's a very recent phenomenon and there was a different world where things were not online。This book shows how direct to consumer revolution started in 2010 and how different companies started changing the way we buy things。 Every chapter talks about different companies and different aspects of the business。 Each chapter is short and to the point。 In no place， the author tries to add his own opinions and most of the information is balanced and backed by facts。If you want to understand what it takes to build a brand that you use every day， this is the book to read。 。。。more
Antonio C。 Montecristo
，
I really appreciate the efforts of the author， especially in terms of data and marketing tips， however the book seems to be pretty repetitive and it's alla about amazon sales。 I really appreciate the efforts of the author， especially in terms of data and marketing tips， however the book seems to be pretty repetitive and it's alla about amazon sales。 。。。more
Sachetan Bhat
，
Very good book on new age start up。 Author describes， in recent times how companies are changing and challenging the incumbent with innovative ideas。 Central theme of the book is direct to consumer start up。 Its a good read for anyone interesting in understanding the digital market place and technology enabled start ups。
Tom McInnes
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Pretty interesting and energetic oral history of online retail if you're interested in that sort of thing （which I， by contract， have to be）。 Problem with these 'up-to-the-moment' business books is that， by the time you've finished reading them， much of what they have to teach is already outmoded。 Pretty interesting and energetic oral history of online retail if you're interested in that sort of thing （which I， by contract， have to be）。 Problem with these 'up-to-the-moment' business books is that， by the time you've finished reading them， much of what they have to teach is already outmoded。 。。。more
Jennifer Sung
，
This book is a fun read on the origins and evolution of some beloved DTC brands taking over industry goliaths in sectors that have seen little to no innovation in decades。 From Dollar Shave Club to Casper to Glossier， the author takes you through the journey of these new age brands and the VC investors and ecosystem players that have been pivotal in their story。 The author provides a comprehensive view of how leading DTC ventures leveraged social media， growing sophistication in global supply ch This book is a fun read on the origins and evolution of some beloved DTC brands taking over industry goliaths in sectors that have seen little to no innovation in decades。 From Dollar Shave Club to Casper to Glossier， the author takes you through the journey of these new age brands and the VC investors and ecosystem players that have been pivotal in their story。 The author provides a comprehensive view of how leading DTC ventures leveraged social media， growing sophistication in global supply chains， diminishing brand loyalty and strong customer focus to service the needs of consumers。 Its not a "how-to" book but you may find some inspiration in these stories。 There are plenty of podcasts， blogs and articles on this subject but this book stands out because its well reported and very thorough。 。。。more
Junaid MJ
，
I'm a student at University in the UK， and I'm currently focusing on building a DTC brand。 I'm at the stage where I've done a few months research， have come up with around 50 ideas and we're distilling those down to see which is best to move ahead with。This book has been an awesome read， especially with it allowing me to consider DTC companies I hadn't even looked at before - and I enjoyed your style of writing， with the comedy and analysis throughout。 I'm sure this book will become a cult clas I'm a student at University in the UK， and I'm currently focusing on building a DTC brand。 I'm at the stage where I've done a few months research， have come up with around 50 ideas and we're distilling those down to see which is best to move ahead with。This book has been an awesome read， especially with it allowing me to consider DTC companies I hadn't even looked at before - and I enjoyed your style of writing， with the comedy and analysis throughout。 I'm sure this book will become a cult classic over time for DTC brands， perhaps a bit like the lean startup has。 。。。more
Rafael Tihanyi
，
DTC companies are all around us。 Reading this book felt more like reading a bunch of HBS case studies in a row than a traditional book， but that made it even better to study and learn from。 7/10
Anna Bautista
，
3。75
Tiago
，