Moiz Ali On Selling His Natural Deodorant To P&G For $100M, Investing In Manscaped, & Holding Cash

About this video

Mo Alie, founder of Native deodorant (sold to Procter & Gamble), discusses his approach to building and scaling DTC brands, including his philosophy of operating quietly until exit, the importance of staying close to unit economics and customer feedback, and his investment strategy across private equity, real estate, stocks, and bonds.

Key takeaways

• Mo raised only $500K for Native before selling it for a reported $100M, and deliberately avoided public relations and promotion until after the exit to prevent competitive copying and maintain focus—a strategy that contrasts with typical startup hype cycles
• Staying intimately involved in operations—from customer emails to box weight optimization to hand-packing—allowed Mo to catch inefficiencies and understand product-market fit; he recommends founders stay connected to customer feedback and core metrics until at least $25M in revenue
• Common DTC failures include over-hiring (Mo had 8 people at $50M run rate; many brands have 20+ people at $2-4M revenue), spending on vanity office space, and not tracking CAC daily—operational discipline and fiscal conservatism are badges of honor, not embarrassments
• Mo’s investment portfolio is roughly 10% private equity, 40-50% cash/short-term bonds, 25-30% real estate, 10% stocks, and 10% startup investments; he’s been disappointed by private wealth managers who lack differentiated strategies and is cautious about crypto despite some fund-of-funds returns
• Mo purchased ~50 real estate units since February 2020, targeting 6% returns that have delivered 12-14% due to rent appreciation and government rent assistance programs; he views real estate as a long-term, non-selling asset class with limited downside risk and concrete value

Episode details: published May 17, 2022 · 45K views · 1:33:37 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. The business ideas, figures and results discussed are the hosts’ and guests’ own claims, shared as brainstorming and entertainment — not verified facts and not investment advice.

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