Tony Stark, who?
The year is 2008, and Gwyneth Paltrow (GP) is in a league of one.
It’s rather ironic.
The economy collapses, and GP starts a newsletter, exclusively featuring products that nobody really needs. A product called sex dust…whatever that means.
Scratch that.
It’s 2014.
And GP’s newsletter attracts the audience she needs to start Goop, her all-inclusive wellness company.
It seems goofy. But by 2018, the company that features a $244 toothpaste squeezer is valued at $250 million. It’s the Paltrow effect, and symptoms include drinking milk from sources that can’t technically be milked, like almonds or oat.
It’s a business model that shouldn’t work but does. She starts a lifestyle company before “lifestyle companies” - or social media influencers - are a big thing.
And it’s a catalyst for others to follow.
Others like Jessica Alba, Reese Witherspoon, and the Kardashians. Countless celebrities ready to make a little extra cash. Or a lot.
First, they’re paid to advertise other brands. Then they start their own.
It’s celeb-led beauty, and we’re practically screaming “Take our money!” That’s because wellness is a $4.5 trillion industry, and it’s growing nearly twice as fast as global economic growth.
We have social media to thank. And GP’s pivot.
So take one from Gwyneth Paltrow. Make the pivot.
And that’s the skinny.