Why work with brands like Hollister and Dunkin’ Donuts when you can just sell your own clothes and coffee?
For most influencers, that’s not a serious consideration – you need serious capital and a dedicated audience to create quality products that sell well. But the D’Amelio family aren’t just any social media personalities. Powered by the highest-earning TikTokers Charli and Dixie D’Amelio — who collectively made nearly $30 million last year — the D’Amelio family is launching D’Amelio Brands.
D’Amelio Brands will involve the well-known family, including parents Marc and Heidi, in the product development. Instead of sponsoring other companies’ products, they plan to create their own fashion, beauty and lifestyle items. The company launches with $6 million in seed money and appoints Richard Rosenblatt — also an investor — as co-founder. According to LinkedInRosenblatt is a board member at Cameo and co-chair of Tom Brady’s Autograph, a renowned NFT platform. He was also apparently president of MySpace in 2004, a time before Charli and Dixie could even take advantage of the social internet.
Like most social media personalities, the D’Amelios know that an influencer’s life cycle doesn’t last forever, even if you’re one of the biggest stars of them all.
“We know that nothing lasts forever – there will be ups and downs,” said Charli D’Amelio Forbes. But it seems that the family is trying to stretch their fame and money as far as possible by taking advantage of their popularity in the moment.
The D’Amelios have already delved into entrepreneurship to turn their fame into what they hope will be a long-lasting source of wealth. The family supported the Lightricks social app suite, in which they own shares, as well as Step, a teen-focused banking service. They even launched a venture capital fund called 444 Capital with a $25 million fund focused on high-growth startups.
Other investors in D’Amelio Brands include Apple SVP Eddy Cue, Lions Gate CEO Jon Feltheimer, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, Clothia CEO Elena Silenok, and others.