By Holyn Kanake ([email protected]). Last updated September 9, 2025.

After becoming a mother, Jessica Alba had so many issues with baby and household care items that she decided to do something about it by founding The Honest Company. Though the company made $150 million in revenue in its first three years, it was nearly impossible for her to raise funding for Honest because few finance guys saw budding trends:

• The demand for clean, non-toxic, and transparent product ingredients
• The rise in mission-driven companies that can reach consumers directly
• The power of influencer marketing for distribution
• The credibility and mindshare that talent like Alba holds

Alba leveraged a tech inflection point to grow Honest to a billion-dollar IPO: the rise in mobile and social media. The company was a first-mover in influencer marketing and made the blueprint. We’re similarly at another inflection point: AI. Slowly and then all at once:

• Code will become a commodity. Over 20 million people have used GitHub Copilot, an AI coding tool, with over 25% of that trying the product for the first time in the last three months. By the company’s own estimates, over 90% of the Fortune 100 use the product. Soon enough, companies and individuals will generate code with AI. If making apps is faster and cheaper, then distribution and design become the differentiators for consumers.
• Search will evolve, meaning websites must rely on AI/chatbot traffic and reach customers in a new way. Social platforms will be even more entrenched, transforming what we think of social media to just … media.
• Traditional media will continue to falter: streaming wars, AI competition, unemployed talent/writers, and lack of influence.

Distribution is the moat

When code is easy and anyone can build, and reaching new people is throttled, success means setting yourself apart. Distribution is now the moat. Companies now realize this. In the last month alone, we’ve seen the following:

• Coinbase: hired a Crypto Twitter content lead
• Bilt: launched a scripted roommates series on TikTok
• Cluely: using rage bait and misdirection to launch and get consistent engagement
• Lovable: using a group of paid influencers as ambassadors to post scripted TikTok content
• Ramp: hiring a Reddit content creator and vibe growth marketer
• Ebay: hiring a Head of CEO Content