Author Note: Read the Emblem Thesis for an overview of our approach to DTC growth in 2025 then dive deeper into each module. This is Module #01 out of 7 Modules of our DTC Library.
I. One of None: The DTC Black Sheep with a Luchador Mask
My favorite taco shop in San Diego explains DTC better than most VCs. It’s called Lucha Libre and it has a house rule posted on the wall: “All in-store wrestling must be approved by the manager.
As soon as you enter the doors, you're transmuted to a Mexican wrestling universe. You'll see portraits of luchadores, colorfully Masked Mexican wrestlers, within golden frames as if it were a museum. The fast casual restaurant has a completely different aesthetic from a conventional taco shop with their bold colors of bright pink walls with accents of gold, and light blue.
The dish I always get is the Surf in California burrito. San Diego invented the idea of fries in a carne asada burrito and Lucha Libre one-upped it by adding shrimp + their special creme cilantro sauce.
In the middle of the restaraunt there's what's called "The Champions Booth" with golden cushions and walls decked out of portraits of Luchadore Champions. Customers can reserve to eat at the booth, put on a luchador mask provided by the restaraunt and get the Champion VIP treatment for a meal.
Lucha Libre Taco shop captures the essence of a remarkable kind of brand that I call One of None.
A One of None brand is a category breaker and is divergent from the default path.
A litmus test of a One of None is if someone experiences a DTC brand and asks, “What the hell is this?!”, that instinctual reaction points it may be a One of None. And not just in terms of it's branding either but the entire business across marketing, operations and finance. It’s the odd one out holistically. The black sheep with a luchador mask. It breaks the rules in its industry so thoroughly that it invents a new game entirely.
The DTC Curve of Challenges Gets More Complex
In today’s more mature and sophisticated direct-to-consumer (DTC) landscape, most brands have the odds stacked against them:
- Increased amount of higher skilled and experienced competition and DTC veterans (easy mode is no more, DTC is now an adult. You must know how to operate 2-5 years ahead of the curve)
- Ever-shifting algorithms and tech (iPhone updates that break tracking, an expansion of attention beyond Meta Ads making forecasting complex exercise)
- Uncertainty in manufacturing (port problems, tariffs, questions of manufacturing domestically, a humanoid robot and a non-human intelligence future)
- The ever growing amount of DTC information that contradicts each other confusing owners & operators on what to do. What you could do may not always be what you should do.
While the terrain is getting tougher I believe brands with a One of None ethos are taking their DTC destiny in their own hands. One of Nones breaks the rules in their industry so thoroughly that they invent a new game entirely. The ones taking a path less taken and setting themselves up for the potential of reaping outlier results.
They're the odd ones out, the black sheep with a luchador mask.
The 3 DTC Brand Archetypes
There are three types of brands.
- Commodities
- Best in Class
- One of Nones
Commodity brands are brands that get the job done but you don't remember the name of them.
For example, think of a twenty dollar cooler you can get from Walmart It's made of plastic, it's cheap, it's functional.
Best-in-class brands are the kings of the jungles. They're competent, they're respected, and they're established. They're brands that have already won and they maintain their position with gradual changes over time.
Think of Nike, and how they iconically moved generations of striving for excellence through athletic ambition. Or think of Igloo, the 1947 legacy brand with the cooler you can roll around because it has wheels. You remember the names of these brands.
Then there's One of None brands. Unlike a "one of one", which would be the best-in-class leaders. One of Nones are of "None" because there's nothing remotely close to resembling it. They're undefined (mathmatically 1/0 = undefined).
They're a paradigm shift beyond what has always been. Instead of an incremental step-ladder thinking, they're completely divergent.
For example, take Yeti . They took coolers and transformed it into a $500 lifestyle statement piece They were originally constructed as serious gear for fishers and hunters. Fishers could stand on it to cast a rod without breaking it. Hunters could go backpacking making sure that grizzly bears wouldn't be able to open it because it was padlocked and bear-proof.
Or think of Liquid Death They made drinking water cooler than drinking beers with a punk rock aesthetic. Also they honored a cause with real stakes through their "Death to plastics" campaign.
Where instead of a plastic bottle, you drink out of an aluminum can which was a novel idea when they first hit the scene. In fact, it was through Liquid Death I learned that most plastics get sent to landfills so why continue fueling the flawed plastic industry.
One of None Requirements
One of Nones are category breakers and outliers and have two key requirements.
1. Daring stance: a belief that the brand is willing to bet their brand on.
2. Business divergence : Brand that breaks away from the default path in at least one core business pillar of marketing, operations and finance.
A Daring Stance
A Daring Stance by definition is risky and it creates tension But it is crystal clear what you are all about It's not vague, it's not generic. Sometimes it might be bold, sometimes it might be polarizing But it's a clear view you're ready to defend.
- Graza: Olive oil belongs in a fun squeezy bottle to be fun, carefree and used by the everyday person. Versus a fancy-schmancy glass artifact you feel like you should ration.
- Liquid Death: Water can be badass and every aluminum can is a middle finger to the plastic recycling myth where most plastics are sent to landfills.
- YETI: Coolers can be serious adventurer gear that’s bear-proof instead of plastic toys.
- Olipop: Soda can be healthy by supporting gut health.
- Sleeper Hold: Neck pillows are cute but travel sleep starts when you eliminate Bobblehead when sleeping seated.
It's the story that is meaningful. The canon event that no one can replicate. The belief system that informs every decision you make across the business from the product you develop to the messages you champion and repeat again and again.
Business Divergence
The second requirement of a One of None brand is it has Business Divergence. This means a brand is fundamentally different in at least 3 sub categories of marketing, operations, or finance. Structurally businesses appear similar but they can look a lot different when we peak behind the curtain on the specifics on the ecosystem.
Product:
For example, in terms of a One of None product, Sleep Hold reinvented the concept of the travel pillow. Instead of the traditional inflatable u-shaped pillow and instead of people waking up mid-sleep when their head drops down, they owner solved for bobblehead. The sleeper hold mask straps on the airplane seat headrest which allows your head to be supported when sleeping upright.
Supply Chain:
Or take Maui Nui which deals with an invasive species called axis deer. They're not local to Hawaii and so axis deer will wreak havoc on the local population, crops, and landscape. Maui Nui will go in and hunt this axis deer to control the population. It doubles as one of the highest quality red meat proteins on earth because are all wild deer which eat a wild-diet (not a factory-diet) and they roam free. Maui Nui willl snipe these deer which prevents cortisol and stress hormones which can affect the texture and the taste of the meat.
Marketing:
Liquid Death made drinking water cooler than drinking beer with a punk-rock aesthetic. Plus they honored a cause with real stakes with “Death to Plastics” by offering their water in an aluminum can. Because most plastics get sent to landfills.
Finance:
There are brands that go for first-order profitability, and there are brands that are able to hold their breaths for three months and expand their payback period. And everything in between. For the brands that are able to lean on their LTV, with a lot of discipline they can aggressively scale their meta ads against their inventory planning by having a lower Acquisition ROAS target.(aMER, New Customer ROAS). Some people have deep pockets. Some people know how to work their line of credit and manage their cash flow effectively and are freaks in the Google Sheets.
These are unspoken advantages that brands have. Because today you can't just get by following the old playbook of cutting out the middle man and delivering direct to consumer. The playbook is fractal with an infinite choose your own adventure, and I believe a One of None path is necessary if you want to have an enduring future.
The One of None Spectrum
A One of None lies on a spectrum, and less about checking off boxes. Because brands might only be One of None in one pillar of business like their organic social or their product development but better it leans on intuition. The qualitatively aspect that's difficult to measure. Because just like the human soul, consciousness, spirit, it's outside of a paradigm where science can .
And so this extra oomf of a One of None is really embodying a vision so powerful, that it vibrates with a velocity so fast and manifests itself into reality. Aka, a One of None gets meaningful market-share or at the very least they've made an impression.
Risks and Legendary Rewards
The risk of being one of none is the very same that makes it up in being so novel and different from the norm. Just because a brand is different and does things differently doesn't mean it automatically makes it a winner. Because weird for weird’s sake is just like Frankenstein formed from different body parts versus.
The divergence has to make sense across all layers: price → narrative → distribution → community engagement.
A One of None doesn’t have to do all of these, but nailing one of these axes is necessary for entry. The contrast of their existence in the market is so sharp that they’re undeniable.
A One of None stands out to the level of myth, like the Loch Ness Monster or Big Foot in the West. Or the Dragon and Phoenix in the East. Mythological creatures capable of spreading through time through stories passed along. The One of None of absolute legends. It takes legendary risks to have legendary reward.
IV. How We Can Help
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