💄 Beauty IP Reborn: The PHLUR Playbook

Sometimes the next $100M brand isn’t one you build from scratch.

In 2021, The Center acquired the IP of DTC fragrance brand PHLUR for a nominal sum. Three years later:

→ Sales have surpassed $100M → Bestsellers like Missing Person and Vanilla Skin have gone viral → Just acquired by TSG Consumer Partners (exits: E.l.f., Huda Beauty, REVOLVE)

What worked:

• Appointed creator Chriselle Lim as Creative Director

• Emotion-led storytelling to reframe fragrance

• Scaled through DTC and prestige retail

A masterclass in modern brand building through reactivation, not reinvention.

🎴 Trading Cards x Twitch: Courtyard’s 1000x Rise

Would you pay to watch someone else open Pokémon cards?

Millions do.

Courtyard is a collectibles marketplace that turns nostalgia into liquid entertainment:

• Users buy mystery packs online

• Packs are opened live via digital vending machines

• Cards are NFT-backed, stored securely, and instantly tradable

The numbers:

• Jan 2024 GMV: ~$50K/month

• Today: $50M+/month GMV

• Now the largest buyer of trading cards in the world

It’s Twitch meets StockX, with Forerunner Ventures leading a $30M Series A.

🏌️‍♂️ From Nightclub to Major Winner: The Rise of L.A.B. Golf

What happens when a frustrated golfer discovers a strange-looking putter online and decides to buy the company behind it?

In 2017, Sam Hahn did just that.

The company was struggling. The product (Lie Angle Balance putters) worked, but no one was buying.

So Hahn rebuilt it:

• Rebrand + redesign

• DTC-first with YouTube and Tour exposure

• Cult-like evangelism from pros and gearheads

In 2025, pro golfer J.J. Spaun sank a 64-footer to win the U.S. Open with a L.A.B. putter.

Now?

• Massive sales surge

• Majority acquisition by L Catterton (LVMH-backed)

• Valuation: ~$200M

From oddball gear to performance icon.

🎧 Podcast Highlight: Josh Armstrong, Founder of We The Wild

What if your product moat wasn’t a digital hack … but living microbes?

This week on In the Money, Josh Armstrong shares how his plant care brand, We The Wild, is doubling every 18 months with a product-first, ad-free approach.

What we cover:

• Why scientific differentiation drives loyalty

• Mental availability > performance marketing

• Education-led merchandising at shelf

• Vertical integration that actually works

Plus:

• Getting kicked out of Home Depot for doing too much customer research

• Why they said no to paid ads for years

• How DTC challenged even a digitally-native founder

If you care about defensibility, operational discipline, and growing from the ground up—this one’s for you.

🎧 Watch on YouTube, listen on Spotify.

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.

P.S. We love talking to brands interested in exiting in the next 3-18 months. If you know of any brands interested in exiting, or any firms trying to help port cos manage turnarounds, we'd love to share a POV.

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