Issue 224: The rough math of running a brand to $50m in 6 years

+ Your brand has a social show? (It does now.)

January 22, 2026

Coming in hot like a fajita plate this week, folks. 🌮 Let it never be said that we don’t put in the extra mile even when it’s been the longest week in history. 😅 

Ultimate Warrior Sport GIF by WWE

Tweet of the Week

YouTube University:

Meta's Andromeda & GEM: Clearly Explained

How To Develop Your Brand's Social Show (Step-by-Step)

If you've spent 2 minutes on Instagram or TikTok then you know 2026 is the year your brand needs to launch a social show.

Because paid ads continue to get more expensive. Content continues to get saturated. Which makes driving top of funnel awareness significantly harder.

But this is where social shows come into the picture.

Because there isn't a more effective way to grow on social right now, as a brand.

And I know this because it was true in 2023 when I created a social show called Cold Hard Truth for the Kollective (in ATX).

And it was driving hundreds of thousands of views for a brand with 5k followers.

It was early then.

But now the opportunity is much bigger. And I know this because I have a creative studio here in Austin producing social shows for 8-10 figure brands.

So, in this article, you're going to learn the entire process we go through as a team to develop a social show for a brand.

This is everything you'll learn: Read The Rest

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Quick Shots

Max Manglois If I had to make every DTC brand decrease CAC in 2026, I would force them to:

@Scwinnabego doing customer calls this morning with repeat customers and a reminder that

@levelsio If I look at the last 15 years of knowing people in startups, and then seeing who became successful and who didn't, I'm starting to see some general patterns

Rahul Issar Just watched my wife purchase some skincare. Here's the current journey:

@daviefogarty Group 2 clears. 8 years in, $1B+ in sales, and still I have my main brand.

Here for the Memes

Top Headlines this Week

Greenland: How could Europe respond to Trump's tariffs threat?

Europe is weighing up how to counter the US president's move against some of America's closest allies.

Trump has tariffs. Europe has a ‘trade bazooka.’ This Greenland standoff could get ugly, fast | CNN Business

President Donald Trump threatened Saturday to impose new 10% tariffs on imports from several European countries. It could unravel months of progress made during trade negotiations settled after Trump’s trade war last year.

Can the Multibrand Fiasco Be Salvaged in 2026?

Matches is plotting yet another reboot, Ssense has a restructuring lifeline and an interest payment looms for Saks. Together, they signal an industry in crisis, but hope springs eternal.

Gen Z Is Turning Its Back on Black. What Does It Mean for Fashion?

With their desire for individualists, Gen Zs favor more colorful palettes than their predecessors. Brands should take note.

Why Dos Equis revived the Most Interesting Man amid category headwinds

Alison Payne, CMO for parent company Heineken USA, explains how the iconic character is being reimagined for the social-digital world.

Chinese tech giants enter the 'agentic commerce' race as AI reshapes super apps

China's tech giants are jostling to gain an edge in the AI race, as firms seek to develop models capable of coordinating and performing functions across sites.

Best from LinkedIn

Liquid Death paid $0 for distribution and still got into 60,000 stores

It looks like beer
It's marketed like energy drinks
It's priced at $1.50-3 per can

They launched in 2019
By 2023, they were in 60,000+ retail locations

Whole Foods, 7-Eleven, Target, Walmart

Here's what nobody talks about: They didn't pay for any of that shelf space.

Retailers came to them

How?

They built proof before they needed distribution.

The playbook:

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The Outro

Love to you all! Tip your waiter, and show the sponsor of this fine issue some love. They’re doing God’s work by allowing us the time and space to bring you these snippets from the interwebs.

May your CACs be ever lower!

✌️

☝️☝️☝️
They’re reaching 7, 8 and 9 figure merchants.

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