In a world of seemingly infinite options, tech analyst Ben Thomspon says that value accrues to those that provide discovery and curation.
![The Fascination helps consumers and brands make sense of the crowded DTC world](https://20627419.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/20627419/hubfs/The%20Hustle/Assets/Images/1951113807-The-Fascination-Selects-2.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1951113807-The-Fascination-Selects-2.webp)
While he cites tech giants like Google (with search) and Facebook (with newsfeed) in his analysis, human-enabled curation is also clearly a very viable business model.
One notable example is The Wirecutter, a consumer guide for electronics and gadgets that sold to the New York Times for $30m in 2016.
For those trying to make sense of the proliferation of direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands, a new venture is just for you: The Fascination, which marries curation (a la The Wirecutter) along with a soon-to-come marketplace (a la Amazon) to buy goods from purpose-driven brands.
The backstory
Officially launched in December 2020, The Fascination was co-founded by David Wolfe and Matt Hayes, two founding members of DTC mattress brand Lessa Sleep (which reached $120m+ in annual sales).
As veterans of the industry, the pair launched The Fascination to address key issues faced by:
- Customers: Way too much choice, with no authoritative voice.
- Brands: Standing out in the crowded market is too pricey (ads on Facebook, Google Ads) or difficult to do (commoditized on Amazon). Further, it’s important to have 3rd-party validation or social proof.
How it works
The Fascination has partnered with 100+ purpose-driven DTC brands (e.g, Allbirds, Haus) across a number of categories including fashion, home, health, beauty and accessories.
For each brand, The Fascination provides:
- Badges: Which designate what values the brands stand for (e.g., “organic”, “ethically-source”)
- Brand alerts: Customers can subscribe to brands to receive the latest product updates and news
- Editorial: The Fascination digs into the science (e.g., how a fabric is made) and soul (e.g., the brand’s story) of each brand and tells you what you need to know
In our reading of American Giant’s entry, The Fascination provides a quick overview that brings life to the brand. Details include an origin story for founder Bayard Winthrop as well as badges for “ethically sourced” and “Made in the USA”.
As a quick primer, it was definitely useful.
![](https://20627419.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/20627419/hubfs/The%20Hustle/Assets/Images/1306195207-The-Facination-1-1024x356.webp?width=636&height=221&name=1306195207-The-Facination-1-1024x356.webp)
In addition to providing a somewhat standardized look at DTC brands, The Fascination also has real-life product reviews.
Here’s one for P.volve fitness equipment:
![](https://20627419.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/20627419/hubfs/The%20Hustle/Assets/Images/20622486-Pvolve-Review.webp?width=636&height=304&name=20622486-Pvolve-Review.webp)
The overviews and real-life reviews aren’t only to the customer’s benefit. Brands receive a media asset to share and that will rank in SEO.
The Business Model
![](https://20627419.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/20627419/hubfs/The%20Hustle/Assets/Images/1179421150-Shop-1024x380.webp?width=636&height=236&name=1179421150-Shop-1024x380.webp)
At present, The Fascination features products for its brand partners and monetizes via affiliate ads.
The next phase: a marketplace.
In detail, The Fascination is building a robust ecommerce bank-end that benefits all parties involved:
- Customers can shop their favorite brands all in one place, receive exclusive offers and enjoy a seamless purchase experience (one cart)
- Brands will benefit by being on a curated platform with the opportunity to cross-sell products that The Fascination can recommend based on the understanding of its customers
And, of course, The Fascination will accrue a number of benefits; namely, as the one-stop shop for discovery and buying, it will own the customer data and relationship.
The Final Word
While The Fascination isn’t the first curation play out there — others include The Wirecutter, The Strategist, Buzzfeed, ThingTesting — the addition of a marketplace makes for some interesting possibilities (e.g., discounted bundling of DTC products that might not otherwise be offered together).