Recent years have seen the dramatic rise of direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands by several startups. Many of these brands, such as Dollar Shave Club, Harry's, Glossier, and Allbirds, entered mature markets dominated by established companies, and yet they grew rapidly to attain valuations over $1 billion. At the same time, some DTC brands such as Casper saw a significant drop in their valuations after going public. Are these DTC brands fads or the dawn of a new era? And how should incumbents respond?