Three months ago, I was summoned to a hotel suite in lower Manhattan. The invitation was secretive—at first, it only mentioned a “VIP founder” who was launching a brand in 2026.
It turned out to be Alix Earle, the social media star with more than 14 million followers across TikTok and Instagram. If you haven’t heard of Earle, you probably haven’t been paying attention; the 25-year-old has been in four Super Bowl commercials (plus Bad Bunny’s halftime show). One was for Poppi—a brand that she took equity in as part of her endorsement fee, and then benefitted from its $1.95 billion sale to PepsiCo. She’s spoken to students at Harvard Business School twice, where she talked about her experiences working with brands and lessons for aspiring founders on successful influencer marketing. When she works with brands, she helps them understand her audience, especially Gen Z women.
Back to the secret meeting: yesterday, Earle launched her first brand, called Reale Actives. It’s a skincare brand designed for acne-prone skin, developed with Imaginary Ventures; its CEO is Andrea Blieden, an alum of Kiehl’s and the Body Shop. When Earle was first posting on TikTok, she made videos about her struggle with her skin, sometimes showing herself bare-faced with serious breakouts. Those videos helped her gain her first million followers.
