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My First MillionShe Built A $40M/Year DTC Brand Off Of Instagram (#452)
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Divi’s early results and meeting in “the shed”
The conversation opens with Jordan sharing Divi’s first full-year revenue and current growth trajectory. The host sets the scene in their makeshift studio and frames why Dani and Jordan are a different kind of entrepreneurial guest than the usual tech founders.
- •Jordan says Divi did about $40M in its first full year and is tracking 30%–35% growth this year
- •The host jokes about recording in a shed and how it looks more polished on camera than in person
- •The host contrasts creator-led entrepreneurship with the podcast’s typical tech/software guest profile
- •Dani and Jordan acknowledge their online fame and how that changes the business path
How Dani started creating content (YouTube → Instagram)
Dani introduces her decade-long path as a creator, starting in college with YouTube and expanding across platforms. Jordan explains how he left the Austin tech scene to work with Dani full-time and how the “influencer” label emerged around that era.
- •Dani says she began making YouTube videos in college and grew into a multi-platform creator
- •Jordan describes working in Austin tech before joining Dani’s creator business full-time around 2018
- •They discuss being labeled an “Instagram husband” and the identity shift that came with it
- •They note the creator economy accelerating as brands invested more heavily during COVID
Inside the early YouTube growth playbook: collabs, managers, and self-management
Dani describes how her brother’s YouTube success pulled her into the platform and how her first videos quickly found traction. She explains the importance of collaborations, the YouTube Space ecosystem, and why she eventually left management to build an in-house team.
- •Dani says her brother put her in videos, which sparked demand for her to start her own channel
- •She says her first affordable New Year’s Eve outfit video “popped off,” hitting 100,000 followers within months
- •She describes signing with a manager early, then flying to LA for collaborations and using YouTube Space resources
- •Dani explains realizing she was funneling brand relationships to her manager and leaving the contract to go in-house
- •She notes being based in Austin felt like an advantage because there were fewer local YouTubers
Why Instagram Stories became their core platform and how Divi entered the picture
Dani explains why Instagram Stories fits their style: day-in-the-life, reality-TV-like continuity, and closeness with the audience. The host transitions into Divi as the standout creator-led business that initially caught his attention.
- •Dani says their combined audience is roughly 2–2.5 million across platforms, with Instagram as the main one
- •She explains the appeal of Stories as a stripped-down, “wake up with my audience” format
- •The host explains he first learned about Divi through a creator-business episode and outside references to its revenue scale
- •The host asks how they decided to move from promoting brands to building their own product company
Dani’s hair loss journey and the decision to talk about wigs publicly
Dani describes stress-driven hair loss that escalated through extensions and bleaching, leading to visible bald spots. She shares how wearing wigs began privately, then became a public reveal that unlocked a deep connection with followers facing similar issues.
- •Dani says stress and hair practices led to multiple bald spots and patches
- •Jordan recounts trying to solve it by visiting a wig shop that turned out to be like a Halloween store
- •They describe finding a more serious wig option in Los Angeles and how realistic wigs can look
- •Dani says she initially hid wearing wigs, then shared it because she felt like a “fraud” not being open
- •She says sharing the experience revealed how many women were dealing with hair loss and not talking about it
From a DIY scalp serum to Divi’s launch: community demand and before/afters
Dani explains how she experimented with scalp health and noticed a hack trend involving an antifungal product, then sought a cleaner alternative. She describes mixing ingredients herself, audience requests to buy it, and how user before-and-after photos fueled growth.
- •Dani describes a trend of using Monistat on scalps and explains why antifungal properties may reduce buildup
- •She says she aimed to create a more natural, daily-use alternative and began mixing serums herself
- •Dani says she shared the DIY process publicly, and followers asked her to ship it to them
- •They found a chemist and partners to create the first Divi product: a scalp serum
- •Dani says organic before-and-after photos—shared by customers without being asked—became powerful marketing
Divi’s growth mechanics: beyond the creator audience and “skinification of the scalp”
Jordan and Dani describe how quickly Divi scaled after launching, and why it moved beyond just Dani’s followers. They discuss timing, product-market fit, and inspiration from celebrity business ecosystems while staying out of the fashion/returns trap.
- •They place Divi’s launch in October 2021 and discuss the speed of growth since then
- •Jordan says Dani’s audience accounts for about 15% of Divi’s overall revenue, surprising many people
- •Jordan attributes momentum partly to timing around the “skinification of the scalp” trend and the product working
- •They cite admiring the Kardashians’ business ecosystem, while noting their niche wasn’t the typical clothing-line route
- •Dani explains avoiding fashion as a business category and wanting something with subscription potential
Personal branding and relatability: “low status,” authenticity, and signature stories
The host shares his own effort to sharpen personal branding through a coach focused on signature stories and emotional transformation. Dani and Jordan explain what they think creators get wrong, emphasizing imperfection, vulnerability, and staying relatable as success grows.
- •The host describes wanting clearer brand association and learning an approach based on “signature stories”
- •He explains the idea that audiences seek emotional transformation, not just information
- •Dani says many creators fail by trying to be perfect, which makes them unrelatable, and shares the grape-cutting mistake example
- •The host recounts advice from Hasan Minhaj about “low status” being key to audience connection
- •Jordan warns that moving too quickly into high-status signals (mansions, heavy commercialization) can break authenticity
How they craft Stories like reality TV: characters, family dynamics, and the team-in-the-house problem
Dani and Jordan explain how they think of their content as a reality-show format with recognizable characters. They discuss turning family traits into consistent “roles,” why the husband-wife dynamic works, and the operational challenge of having a team while staying relatable.
- •Dani says she’d start on TikTok today but regrets past trend-chasing that didn’t build connection
- •She explains building “characters,” including her mom’s “Tornado” persona and Jordan’s consistent routine
- •They discuss the shift from travel/outfit content to making everyday life interesting after settling down and having kids
- •Jordan argues the husband-wife dynamic is a strong production model because it keeps content natural
- •They describe having a team present in the home (often upstairs in a playroom) and how hard it is to structure work without losing authenticity
Monetization strategy: brand deals vs affiliates, negotiating promo codes, and the Stanley partnership
Dani explains the evolution from early, opportunistic sponsorships to a trust-first approach. They break down how affiliate links and brand deals split their monetization, why exclusive promo codes matter, and they name Stanley as a standout brand relationship.
- •Dani describes early brand deals as simple product placements and admits she took many deals to pay rent
- •She says she later became more selective because she saw her audience’s trust as a responsibility
- •They describe a “triangle” priority model: audience first, then their business, then the brand partner
- •Dani says about half their monetization comes from affiliate links (LTK) and half from brand deals
- •They describe aggressively pursuing hard-to-get promo codes (Free People example) and cite Stanley as a major partnership they were early to share
New opportunities: wedding content creators, UGC as an economy, and Divi’s next growth phase
The conversation shifts to emerging business ideas and operational pain points, including hiring and fast-turn wedding content capture. They discuss UGC creators producing ad assets without large followings, then close with Divi’s retail expansion, innovation focus, and international ambitions.
- •Dani names hiring as a pain point and proposes a wedding content creator service for next-day iPhone-ready photos/videos
- •They discuss UGC (user generated content) creators being paid to produce ad-ready videos on retainer
- •Jordan says Divi’s UGC performs better than branded assets and describes how brands staff multiple creators for ad content
- •Jordan discusses retail growth, saying they’re scaling in Ulta and aiming for broader door coverage by year-end
- •They describe staying investor-free so far, hiring experienced leadership, focusing on innovation/patents, and planning for international expansion while adding more SKUs
