RUTI is a women's fashion label and boutique chain founded in 2009 by Israeli-American designer and former tech executive Ruti Zisser. Built on three rules - cool, flattering, and practical - the brand designs ready-to-wear clothing, shoes, bags and accessories aimed at women over 35, and pairs its slow-fashion boutiques with a homegrown AI platform (including opt-in facial recognition and a purpose-built retail CRM) that personalizes both in-store and online shopping. Headquartered in the Bay Area with stores across California, New York, Arizona and Dallas, RUTI raised a $6M Series A in 2019 led by Viola Ventures.
DIBS Beauty - short for Desert Island Beauty Status - is a New York and Austin-based makeup brand built on a simple premise: fewer products, better results. Co-founded in 2021 by creator Courtney Shields and operator Jeff Lee alongside Tula Skincare's Ken Landis and Dan Reich, DIBS makes multi-use, vegan, cruelty-free essentials like its hero Desert Island Duo blush-and-bronzer stick. The brand grew primarily direct-to-consumer through Shields' social following, took growth capital from L Catterton in 2023, and expanded into Ulta Beauty in 2024. Its tagline: 'Do less. Look like you did the most.'
Maiden Home is a New York-based direct-to-consumer furniture brand that sells custom, made-to-order upholstery and case goods handcrafted by family-owned workshops in North Carolina. Founded in 2017 by former McKinsey, Google, and Birchbox operator Nidhi Kapur, the company skips traditional retail markups by shipping factory-direct, aiming to sell a sofa that would list for roughly $6,000 for closer to $2,000. It has since expanded from a web-first model into physical flagships in Manhattan's Meatpacking District and the Miami Design District, plus a contract program serving interior designers and the trade.
Material is a New York-based direct-to-consumer kitchenware company building beautifully designed, non-toxic, and sustainably made cooking essentials that are meant to last a lifetime. Founded in 2017 by Eunice Byun and Dave Nguyen, the brand pairs minimalist design with thoughtful materials - Japanese steel knives, copper-core pans, and the reBoard cutting board made from recycled plastic scraps and sugarcane - to make everyday cooking simpler and more pleasurable.
Dolls Kill is a San Francisco-based online retailer for self-proclaimed misfits - selling rave, goth, y2k, kawaii and festival-ready apparel to a global Gen Z audience. Founded in 2011 by ex-DJ Shoddy Lynn and entrepreneur Bobby Farahi, the brand grew from selling fox tails out of a backpack into a Sequoia-backed, ~$50M-revenue digital boutique that runs its own house labels (Current Mood, Sugar Thrillz, Widow) alongside outside brands.
PatPat is a global direct-to-consumer children's and family apparel brand founded in 2014 by two engineer-fathers, Albert Wang and Ken (Can) Gao. It uses a data-driven, mobile-first model to deliver affordable, trend-forward kids' clothing, family matching outfits, and proprietary innovations like the stain-resistant Go-Neat fabric and the light-up Go-Glow line to more than 23 million customers across 140+ countries.