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Fan Bi
Buying $5-30M eCom/DTC/CPG brands
Fan Bi is the CEO and co-founder of The Hedgehog Company, an e-commerce holding company that acquires direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands with revenues between $5 million and $15 million.178 The Hedgehog Company focuses on buying smaller brands with brand equity to increase efficiency through a shared services model.3 He has been in the DTC e-commerce space for over 13 years.5
Bi's LinkedIn username is fanbi.9 According to his LinkedIn profile, he is interested in buying and advising $5-50M DTC brands in special situations.4
Additional points about Fan Bi:
- Entrepreneurial ventures He is the founder and non-executive chairman of Blank Label, a custom menswear brand established in 2009.15
- Education He studied business administration and management at Babson College in Boston, Massachusetts, after earning a finance degree from the University of New South Wales.5
- Past roles Prior to his current roles, Bi was the Founder and Executive Director of MOTM (Meeting of the Minds), Chairperson at Blank Label, an Associate at Macquarie Bank, and an Assistant Tax Consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers.9
- Recognition He was included in Inc's 30 Under 30 list.9
- Acquisition focus The Hedgehog Company functions as an "off ramp" for brands, acquiring those too small for strategic acquisitions but not profitable enough for financial sponsors.13 They target brands with revenues typically ranging from $3 million to $15 million.1 Some of the brands that The Hedgehog Company has acquired include Rockets of Awesome, Felix Gray, The Reset, and Baboon to the Moon.1
- Investment strategy As an angel investor, Fan Bi invests in consumer brands and looks for ways to create revenue streams that are not entirely ad-driven.26
Highlights
I’ve been building In The Money HQ, a newsletter for people who actually operate, invest in, or buy consumer brands.
Good fit if you’re interested in: • conversations with $5M–$50M founders, operators, investors, acquirers, and lenders in DTC + CPG • real consumer M&A deal breakdowns (not press-release fluff) • proprietary deals from brands looking to reach a broader buyer universe
Already subscribed? Would love candid feedback, what’s been useful, what’s missing, what should I double down on?
Link👇
One of the most honest operator conversations I’ve had this year.
Isaac Mertens (Flux Footwear) came up through Common Thread Collective, knows performance marketing cold, and now runs a mid-8-figure brand in one of the hardest DTC categories.
A few takeaways that matter right now:
• Media buying doesn’t fix bad economics. Revenue only matters if it turns into cash. • Founders can’t outsource understanding. Agencies help, there’s no savior hire. • Market > marketing (uncomfortably often). Same team, different outcomes as conditions shift. Sometimes flat is a win. • Cash-back > discounts (when done right). 50% cash-back marketed ≈ ~20% real cost → profit without margin destruction. • Outside capital can delay hard truths. Bootstrapping forces clarity on TAM, profitability, and when to kill ideas.
Full convo ↓
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