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- 📉 $100M brand sold for $1M + Ridge’s insane run + Ashwinn’s hot takes from both sides
📉 $100M brand sold for $1M + Ridge’s insane run + Ashwinn’s hot takes from both sides
This week’s edition tracks three arcs of consumer brand life:📉 One of the best DTC exits of the 2010s... now worth pennies on the dollar💼 A brand that went from Kickstarter to $100M+ in just a few years🧊 An outdoor staple acquired twice—but at half the valuation multiple🎙 And at the end: hard-won wisdom from Ashwinn Krishnaswamy, who straddles both brand and agency worldsLet’s get into it.
Fan Bi
June 09, 2025
1. You Can’t Beat the Market
Pura Vida: $100M → $1M
In 2019, Pura Vida sold to Vera Bradley for $85M at peak momentum (~$100M revenue)
Fast forward to 2025: Vera sells it for just $1M
Revenue has halved, stores didn’t move the needle, and the moment has passed
📉 Great brand. Incredible timing.
Sometimes, the smartest move is just knowing when to exit.
2. Ridge Wallet’s $0 to $100M Rocketship
2013: Founded by Daniel and Paul Kane
2015: Meets Sean Frank + Connor MacDonald (then agency operators)
2016: $5M
2017: $10M
2018–2022: From $15M → $100M+
🧱 Still growing. Still profitable. Still independent.
A masterclass in founder-led DTC execution, fueled by product discipline and performance marketing edge.
3. Helly Hansen: Performance Grows, Multiple Shrinks
2018: Canadian Tire buys Helly Hansen for $770M
→ Revenue: ~$390M | EBITDA: ~$39M2025: Kontoor (Wrangler, Lee) buys it for $900M
→ Revenue: ~$680M | EBITDA: ~$80M
Despite doubling performance, the brand traded at a compressed multiple—about 1.3x revenue vs. 2x in 2018.
🧥 Apparel is growing again—but it’s still not getting rewarded like it used to.
4. Hot Takes from Both Sides of the Table: Ashwinn Krishnaswamy
Ashwinn’s in a rare seat:
→ He runs an agency (Forge) that advises top emerging brands
→ He also builds his own brands from scratch
A few sharp takes from our podcast with him:
đź’° Agencies print cash, brands build equity. The smartest operators use services to bankroll the long game.
🧠"Learn one, do one, teach one." His model: learn via clients, apply to his brands, teach through content.
📣 Audience > Product. It’s not about making something new. It’s about saying something different to a focused niche.
⚡️ AI as leverage: ChatGPT compresses 40 hours of customer research into 1—helping Ashwinn rewrite PDPs, refine messaging, and guide creative.
From consulting to operating to content, Ashwinn’s playbook is one worth stealing. Give him a follow on X, TT, and IG.
That’s it for this week.
If you liked this issue, forward to a friend who obsesses over brand strategy, capital flows, or exit timing.
In the Money – following the flow of capital in consumer
