Latest news with #Koch
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
This startup is taking a new approach to building celebrity brands. Read the pitch deck it used to raise $5M.
Too many celebrities are launching products that consumers don't really need — or want. That's the general thesis that motivated CEO Chris Koch to found VO/D, which helps fund and operate celebrity-led ventures. With VO/D, Koch and his team wanted to flip the script: first build a product that can succeed on its own, then bring in celebrities or creators to help it reach the right audience. "I think that was a big shift for the business that helped us differentiate as a studio model," Koch told Business Insider. He said the goal is to have talent serve as an "amplification tool" rather than the only thing drawing a consumer in. VO/D started with freeze-dried candy before moving into the protein and supplements category, with new products to come next year. Koch said the company is looking to expand into more verticals. To that end, the company announced on Thursday a $5 million Series A funding round led by KarpReilly, a private-equity firm that has invested in brands like Koia, Salt and Straw ice cream, and Sprinkles cupcakes. Other investors included NFL players Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham Jr. "They really liked the portfolio approach of our studio," Koch said of the investors. "So being able to have exposure across multiple brands, and the success that we were having on our first portfolio brand, 1UP, was interesting to them, because they typically invest directly into individual brands." VO/D launched in 2021 and received $2 million in financial backing in 2022 from a friends and family round. Investors in that round included the Tisch family, owners of the New York Giants. With that funding, VO/D invested in the candy industry, combining freeze-dried candy brand 1UP Candy with gaming YouTuber FaZe Rug. "That was based on a consumer insight that we identified in novelty, experiential candy," Koch said. "You see it with Mountain Dew or Oreo in terms of innovation and collaborations, but you don't really see much of it in the candy aisle. And so we wanted to create new and interesting flavors and textures." 1UP Candy is in over 12,000 retailers across the US, and has grown revenue to over $10 million on a trailing 12-month basis. VO/D's next three products will be Frosh, a protein-juice brand for kids; Joose, a fruity protein supplement; and Stealth, protein snacks for kids. VO/D hasn't yet announced the celebrities who are attached to those brands. VO/D's deck opens with its logo. The company shares a simple mission. VO/D added that it had been backed by CPG PE Firm, KarpReilly, as it sought new investors. KarpReilly has also invested in Spindrift, KeVita, Koia, and Sprinkles Cupcakes. VO/D believes that the future of consumer brands will be owned and led by celebrities. VO/D lists some of these celebrities, including Logan Paul. His brand Prime had $1.2 billion in revenue in 2023, though it has more recently faced struggles. VO/D has developed its own approach to launching talent-led brands. On the left, the slide has three categories: criteria, investment, and team. The left column, with white font, illustrates how VO/D tested these three areas, and on the right, in green, is the scale the company sees it growing to. VO/D's process includes three steps. The first is 'identify.' The slide says: Identify category, insights, and innovation for a profitable consumer business. Approach talent directly and initiate discussions. Use proprietary tools to analyze talent, audience and market fit. The last point includes criteria for how VO/D analyzes the talent. Some of the tools it uses include lifestyle interviews, reach breakdown, trending posts, and sentiment analysis. The next step in the process is 'validate.' VO/D has a "rigorous pre-launch process" that helps make sure the talent is fully engaged. These steps include reviewing opportunities, negotiating market commitment, concept and creatives testing, and market testing. The third step in the process is 'launch.' The slide says, "Our trusted partner network ensures top-quality execution of the product vision." VO/D provides a case study of one of its brands: 1UP Candy. It highlights six things: consumer insight, talent fit, a launch partner, quick profitability, massive results, and major retail distribution. VO/D shares its current initiatives and what is in the pipeline through 2026. These include 1UP Candy, Joose, Frosh, and Stealth. VO/D outlines a 'growth hack' through its 'storefront' FRI&NDS. FRI&NDS is a live events platform that launched during the Super Bowl in New Orleans this year, hosting Odell Beckham Jr.'s party. The final slide is for thanks and getting in touch with VO/D. VO/D
The Hindu
2 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Ambubachi Mela 2025: Kamakhya temple opens doors to devotees, celebrating menstrual hygiene in Assam
The Ambubachi Mela is held for four days every year in Assam when the Kamakhya temple doors are closed, coinciding with the ritualistic menstrual cycle of Goddess Kamakhya. The temple doors were closed from June 22 to June 25 and no VIP or VVIP movements were allowed during the time. The doors of Kamakhya temple were opened to devotees on Thursday (June 26, 2025) at 6 am after the completion of Nivriti (closure period). What is Ambubachi Mela? The Ambubachi Mela is held in the Kamakhya temple premises during the period of June and is one of the major tourist events in Assam that attracts lakhs of visitors each year. Temple priests said the ritualistic fair celebrating the goddess' period is one of the reasons why the taboo associated with menstruation is less in Assam compared with other parts of India. The attainment of womanhood of girls in Assam is celebrated with a ritual called 'Tuloni Biya', meaning small wedding. Officials said Ambubachi Mela is also an occasion to promote awareness on menstrual hygiene. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also remarked about the mela in a post on X: 'As the doors of Maa Kamakhya open to devotees in Nibritti, which marks the completion of the 4-day #Ambubachi Mahayog, I pray to Maa Kamakhya for the welfare of Bharat.' 'May Maa Kamakhya bless everyone with abundance and steer the civilization forward. Jai Maa Kamakhya,' he added. As the doors of Maa Kamakhya opens to devotees in Nibritti, which marks the completion of the 4-day #Ambubachi Mahayog, I pray to Maa Kamakhya for the welfare of Bharat 🙏🏼 May Maa Kamakhya bless everyone with abundance and steer the civilisation forward. जय मां कामाख्या 🙏🏼 — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 26, 2025 History behind Kamakhya Temple Kamakhya temple, atop Nilachal Hills in Guwahati, is one of 51 shaktipeeths or seat of Shakti followers, each representing a body part of the Sati, Lord Shiva's companion. The temple's sanctum sanctorum houses the yoni — female genital — symbolised by a rock. Legends say the temple atop the Nilachal Hills, whose northern face slopes down to the Brahmaputra river, was built by demon king Narakasura. But records are available only from 1565, when Koch king Naranarayana had the temple rebuilt in 1565. Descendants of the medieval Koch royalty avoid the temple as the goddess is believed to have cursed the royalty after the king and his brother Chilarai — one of Assam's revered generals — had secretly watched her dance. Researchers at the Guwahati-based Centre for Koch-Rajbongshi Studies and Development said there are legends about the goddess dancing when Kendukoli, a priest during Naranarayan's reign, performed puja with his eyes shut.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill Koch's World-Class Wine Collection Just Sold for a Record $28.8 Million at Auction
Cheers were in order at Christie's over the weekend. Prized bottles from the cellar of billionaire businessman William Koch realized $28.8 million at auction, setting a new record as the largest and most expensive single-owner wine collection ever sold in North America. More from Robb Report Inside a Luxe New Resort and Spa That Just Opened on the Greek Island of Crete $12.4 Million Home Perched Above the Ocean Hits the Market in Martha's Vineyard This $7 Million L.A. Home by Famed Architect Paul R. Williams Comes With a Speakeasy The three-day live auction, which took place at Christie's New York from Thursday, June 12 to Saturday, June 14, attracted bidders of all ages and nationalities. Nearly half of the registrants (42 percent) were new to wine auctions at Christie's, according to the auction house. All 1,500 lots were snapped up, with the sale achieving 154 percent of the low estimate ($15 million). The epic haul included both the finest vintages from the world's best producers and an array of under-the-radar wines. Some 750 large-format bottles also went under the hammer. The star of the auction was a Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 1999 Romanée-Conti. The Methuselah—described as 'the ultimate unicorn bottle' by Paul Tortora, vice president and international director of wine at Christie's—was originally expected to sell for between $100,000 and $150,000, but hammered down for a hefty $275,000. Three Magnums of the same wine also sold for double the pre-sale estimate, collectively achieving $237,500. The wines of Domaine Georges Roumier were also an auction standout, with multiple lots shattering their pre-auction estimates. Six magnums of Domaine Georges Roumier 1985 Bonnes Mares sold for double the high estimate, collectively fetching $200,000. Large-format bottles performed exceptionally well across the board, with outstanding results for Burgundy in particular. Lots of Bordeaux achieved exceptional prices, too, with six magnums of Château Latour 1961 Grand Vin hammering down for $187,500. The sheer diversity of the collection is a testament to Koch's discerning taste. Interestingly, the oenophile's first foray into wine was sipping Portuguese rosé Lancers during grad school in the early 1960s. 'I remember it fondly because it came in a clay jug that you could use for a candle holder,' Koch told Robb Report in a recent interview. He soon graduated to Burgundy and Bordeaux, and then to California wines after the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting highlighted the quality of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Koch spent the subsequent decades amassing what is one of the world's greatest wine collections. 'I hope these wines that I have spent years collecting and curating will bring joy and great memories to their new owners,' Koch said in a statement. 'Drink them in good health.' Best of Robb Report Why a Heritage Turkey Is the Best Thanksgiving Bird—and How to Get One 9 Stellar West Coast Pinot Noirs to Drink Right Now The 10 Best Wines to Pair With Steak, From Cabernet to Malbec Click here to read the full article.
Engadget
17-06-2025
- Business
- Engadget
Adobe's Firefly generative AI app is now available on mobile
When its redesigned Firefly app arrived earlier this year, Adobe launched the platform without Android and iOS app support, saying those would come at a later date. Today, the company is making good on that promise, with both versions available to download from their respective storefronts. If you're new to Firefly, it's the place where Adobe brings together all of its AI image, video, audio and vector generation tools. The company relaunched the app in April at its Max conference in London. Since then, it has been working on enhancing the functionality that's already there, starting with a feature it calls Firefly Boards. The tool is, like the name suggests, a way to make digital mood boards. It was available in private beta when Adobe relaunched Firefly. Now, the company is rolling it out to everyone with a few new features in tow, including the ability to easily arrange uploads and generate video from sample assets. With today's release, Boards also offer continuity through Adobe Creative Cloud, meaning if you download an image and make a change to it in Photoshop, it will be reflected in the board. When the new Firefly first arrived, it launched with support for Adobe's own image models, as well as several partner systems such as Imagen 3, Veo 2 and ChatGPT image generation. Today, Adobe is also expanding the number of third-party models to include Runway, Luma, Pika and Ideogram. Both new and old model providers have agreed to not use data from Adobe users for training purposes. According to Zeke Koch, the vice president of product management for Adobe Firefly, most people use the company's Firefly Image 4 for the majority of their generative AI needs in the app, with its top of the line model, Image 4 Ultra, accounting for less than 10 percent of usage. "Partner models are another step down from that," he says, suggesting they get little usage. So why then offer generative systems? "Our belief is that people are choosing other models when there's a capability that those models have, that our models don't have, and that they need, and they're using them in an ideation rather than production context," says Koch. For example, OpenAI offers instruction-based editing through its image generator, which makes it easy to tweak a picture without generating it again from scratch. Other models, like Ideogram, are better at generating text, and each system offers a slightly different "artistic" style people may prefer for specific tasks. Moving forward, Koch says Adobe hopes to support as many models as possible, as long as the companies behind them agree to Adobe's terms. "There are a few models that we've chosen not to engage with because we're worried about data protection issues or things we have to sign to," he adds. You can download the Adobe Firefly app from the App Store and Google Play.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cooper Koch says he auditioned to play a Menendez brother in two other productions before Netflix series
, star of Monsters: Lyle and Erik Menendez, has revealed that prior to landing the role of Erik Menendez in the hit Netflix series, he had auditioned to play one of the brothers in not one, but two other TV productions. Koch recently appeared in conversation with actor Sam Nivola as part of Variety's Actors On Actors interview series. Whilst speaking with Nivola, he admitted that he had his sights set on playing one of the brothers for years before landing his big break in last year's series. 'My second audition ever was for the Law & Order series about them in 2017,' he revealed. 'And then I also had an audition for the Lifetime movie that they were doing the same year. I just felt like this insane cosmic, universe-y thing that was like, 'I have to play this part,'' Koch told Nivola. 'It was just that immense empathy that you feel for a person, and I had to do it'. And this immense empathy.' Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders was released in 2017, starring Gus Halper and Miles Gaston Villanueva as Erik and Lyle respectively. Edie Falco also starred as Leslie Abramson, the defense attorney who represented the brothers. The Lifetime movie Menendez: Blood Brothers was released that same year, starring as Nico Tortorella as Lyle and Myko Olivier as Erik. Hole frontwoman Courtney Love also starred as the brothers' mother Kitty. View this post on Instagram A post shared by popandfilms 🏳️🌈 (@popandfilms) Koch also said that he felt connected to the brothers for a number of reasons, including that they both attended the same Calabasas high school. 'There are all these weird parallels,' he said. 'I still care so deeply about both of them. They're going to parole board in June; that looks very positive,' he went on to say. The actor has been open about his support for the brothers throughout the promotional campaign for the show, saying : 'It is my firm belief that the Menéndez Brothers did not receive a fair second trial and all the evidence that supported their claims of sexual, psychological, physical and emotional abuse at the hands of their mother and father were not considered.' Koch also recalled his rigorous prepation for the playing Menendez, telling Nivola he poured over recordings of the brother for months before shooting: 'I listened to him every night before I went to bed. I had him on in the car when I was driving,' he recalled. 'I really did want to get his voice and mannerisms, because they all further support that he was being sexually abused by his father. I know there's so many perspectives, but I always wanted the audience to sympathise with him.' The performer would later go on to be nominated for a Golden Globe award for his turn in the series. The post Cooper Koch says he auditioned to play a Menendez brother in two other productions before Netflix series appeared first on Attitude.
