Billion Dollar Brand Club: How Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker, and Other Disruptors Are Remaking What We Buy

I have wondered, for a number of years, if companies such as Warby Parker, and a number of other direct to consumer companies (D2C) were real or if they offered that much of a better deal than regular consumer channels. As I am near retirement, I am a little more leery of new brands than are younger generations.This book looks at a number of companies that are D2C and how they were created. It also studies what they offer and how they manage to offer it much more inexpensively than regular consumer channels. It looks at venture capital funding, how the ideas for the products come about and how they determine if they can actually succeed against established brands already in the market.In a number of instances, established brands blew these new companies off, until they saw their share of market (and profits start to be effected). Then the companies had to make a decision about what to do…in some cases, they started their own D2C offerings or, the more likely route; they chose to buy up the startup and keep running it.The book also looks at Amazon and how smaller companies are skipping starting with their own websites and are using the Amazon platform to sell their products. Using Amazon cuts a lot of problems….creating and driving customers to their own website, warehousing and shipping, etc. The biggest problem for companies using Amazon as their store was to figure out how to make products better and get good reviews.Although I am not a business man and know only enough about computers to write reviews and shop online, I found the book fascinating and easy to read. The author deciphers some of the trickier terms and explains what they refer to. Overall, an excellent read!

As a classically trained CPG marketer, I found this book a great read on how Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker and a number of others have upended their categories.Specifically, Ingrassia brings his journalistic strengths to bear in creating a number of case studies that are easy to read, engaging and loaded with interesting nuggets.But he does not stop at assembling a series of case studies. Rather, he distills a series of principles that have enabled these new companies to succeed, and rather quickly.

When Jeff Bezos launched Amazon Web Services in 2006 and Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone in 2007, none of them might realize what kind of impact those two products would have on consumer brands. This book is a must-read for anyone to understand how & why D2C works, with detailed and in-depth analysis of both the front brand building and changes along the supply chain behind the scenes. If you don't have any prior knowledge of consumer businesses, don't worry. This book will certainly bring you up to speed. However, one thing I expect to read but not covered in this book is how full-service marketing firms like Gin Lane (now Pattern), Derris, Red Antler, and Bullish interact with new D2C brands. Other than this, this is the first and best book so far I have read that chronicles the evolution/inflection point of consumer brands.

I can't say enough good things about this book. The stories of the individual companies and innovators disrupting CPG and retail make it so easy to apply how the tools could disrupt other industries. It's an enjoyable read, and also a thought-provoking one.

Ingrassia has a PhD in all things related to DTC, and this trend is too powerful to ignore. The collection of vignettes within the book helps bring the content to life. Indeed, it is a book that is just as informative as it is well-written.

This book was extremely informative on how brands are started. I learned about many brands I had never heard of and I’m more likely to purchase their products.

Not much new here if you are in the business already but really good for someone familiar with the brands but not the process for creating these types of businesses. Well worth the time to read. Well done.

One of the most fluff-heavy and substance-less books I've read on tech startups. Also one of the most flagrant flexes of privileged backgrounds from former Wharton, Columbia, Ivy League, etc students in a book.Don't waste your time on this book. There's plenty other good books on the topic.

Um dos melhores livros que li. Me deu várias ideais e me apresentou a conceitos e negócios que eu jamais teria conhecido de outras formas. Vale muito a pena!

An exciting read for professionals in the D2C e-commerce space

Each section covers a particular business and all of them have something to take away from :D Will be looking for more books on DTC

If you are building a DTC brand or if you are simply interested in how most of those brands started and grew, read this book! Very well written and full of insights - a real page turner.

Billion Dollar Brand Club is a fantastically fun read about some of the on-and-offline brands (and logistics companies) that are reshaping the modern retail landscape. Deeply reported, BDBC author manages to get incredible access to some of the key individuals who have helped define the direct to consumer space and give insight into their thinking and attitudes which have helped create giant business in hitherto staid markets.The story is wonderfully woven around a range of different business touting everything from razors to glasses to beds, as well as the logistical machine that has quietly risen in the background to deliver good to our doors quicker and cheaper than ever thought possible.While notionally a “business” book, BDBC is an easy read which should appeal to experts and casual readers alike.Highly recommended for anyone considering opening, owning, investing in the direct-to-consumer space - or simply looking for a fun, topical read on how some cool and amazing companies (and the people behind them) are reshaping what we buy.