It is no secret that famous people frequently engage in entrepreneurial endeavors. Celebrities frequently lend star power to enterprises like Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Skin or Lauren Conrad’s apparel line by utilizing their names to sell and develop their brand image. You’ll be surprised to learn that several other firms were launched by famous people. These firms, owned by celebrities, range from ping pong lounges to cactus water businesses. While some investors have been doing it for a while, even starting their venture capital firms, others have only recently gotten into the digital startup game, investing their celebrity profits in innovative ventures in the fintech, food tech, and health tech sectors.
Fabletics, Kate Hudson
Fabletics’ business concept was still in its infancy when Kate Hudson co-founded the company in 2013. Yoga pants, sports bras, and other products from the fitness clothing line are sold via a subscription model, where customers pay a monthly fee to receive ongoing shipments of activewear. On its website and in physical stores, the business also makes money on lone sales. Fabletics is owned by TechStyle, a business that also manages the e-commerce brands JustFab and ShoeDazzle, so its worth cannot be directly compared to that of the other startups on this list. In 2014, a $85 million round valued TechStyle at $1 billion. But when TechStyle was considering a possible sale earlier this year, it is said to have valued its Fabletics section at $1.5 billion. The fact that Fabletics has been referred to as the «marquee brand» of its parent firm may be connected to Hudson’s notoriety. Any way you look at it, Hudson’s business is more valuable than many businesses launched by famous people. More than $300 million in venture capital funding has been obtained by TechStyle from investors like Rho Capital Partners and KEC Ventures (some of which came in before Fabletics was created). No agreement has been reached on a potential sale, but that doesn’t rule out the possibility of an acquisition.
Actor Will Smith
Serena Williams: tennis player.
