The Fascination
The Fascination is a Virginia Beach-based editorial content and affiliate commerce platform founded in 2020 that curates reviews of 150+ emerging DTC brands across health, wellness, beauty, fashion, food, and home categories, while offering B2B performance media and whitelisting services to DTC brand marketers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersVirginia Beach, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What The Fascination does
The Fascination is an online content discovery and affiliate commerce platform founded in late 2020 by David Wolfe and Matt Hayes, both former leaders at DTC mattress company Leesa. Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the company operates a Shopify-hosted editorial site that curates and reviews over 150 emerging direct-to-consumer brands across Health & Wellness, Food & Drink, Home & Lifestyle, Beauty, and Fashion, positioning itself as a "Wirecutter meets Amazon" discovery layer for purpose-driven DTC brands. The platform is integrated with StackCommerce for affiliate commerce and supplements editorial content with a twice-weekly newsletter reaching 20,000+ subscribers.
The Fascination firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Fascination
- Legal name
- The Fascination
- Website
- https://thefascination.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Fascination is a Virginia Beach-based editorial content and affiliate commerce platform founded in 2020 that curates reviews of 150+ emerging DTC brands across health, wellness, beauty, fashion, food, and home categories, while offering B2B performance media and whitelisting services to DTC brand marketers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Fascination industry classification
Industry- Product category
- DTC Brand Discovery & Affiliate Content Platform
- NAICS
- Media Buying Agencies (541830), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Shoppable Social Content & UGC Commerce Platforms (CRAFANAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- UGC Sourcing & Community Creator Programs (BPAFAHAK), Shopper & Retail Insights (In-Store/Path-to-Purchase, Category Insights) (MPAAALAJ)
Keywords
Where The Fascination is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Virginia Beach
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Fascination business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations
Revenue model
- Affiliate/Referral Commerce: The Fascination earns referral commissions on purchases made through affiliate links in product reviews and guides. The site discloses working with merchants and brands to bring deals, earning commissions on qualified purchases.
- Whitelisting & Performance Media Services: B2B service offering DTC brands custom advertorial content, UGC ad creatives, and whitelisting programs for social platforms. Revenue generated from brands paying for performance content and ad creative services.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
The Fascination product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Fascination runs an editorial content and discovery platform that publishes product reviews, buying guides, and brand roundups across Health & Wellness, Food & Drink, Home & Lifestyle, Beauty, and Fashion for consumers, while offering DTC brand partners performance content, UGC ad creatives, and social whitelisting programs. It monetizes through affiliate commissions on outbound purchases and B2B performance-marketing fees from brands.
Product overview
The Fascination is an online content and discovery platform that combines editorial reviews, guides, and product roundups with performance marketing services for DTC brands. The core offering is its editorial reviews and guides content across Health & Wellness, Food & Drink, Home & Lifestyle, Beauty, and Fashion categories. The platform supplements its content with two additional offerings: a Whitelisting & Performance Media Services module for brands seeking to leverage advertorial content and ad creatives, and a Newsletter product for community engagement and deal notifications.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- The Fascination Reviews & Guides Platform Editorial content platform providing product reviews, buying guides, and brand roundups across Health & Wellness, Food & Drink, Home & Lifestyle, Beauty, and Fashion for health-conscious millennial consumers seeking to discover emerging DTC brands.
- Whitelisting & Performance Media Services B2B service for DTC brand partners offering Performance Content™ custom advertorials, UGC ad creative production, and whitelisting programs that let brands run paid social through The Fascination's handles to convert mid-funnel prospects.
- The Fascination Newsletter Twice-weekly email newsletter delivering emerging brand discoveries, product recommendations, deals, and exclusive community perks to 20,000+ subscribers described as "enlightened millennials."
Quantifiable outcome
- 20%+ lower customer acquisition costs for brand partners
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use The Fascination
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The Fascination technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
The Fascination partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
The Fascination competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- InsideHook: Curated daily lifestyle and product recommendation newsletter and site. Direct analog of The Fascination\u2019s content-led discovery + newsletter community model.
- Reviewed: USA Today\u2019s product review and recommendation site. Overlaps with The Fascination in consumer product testing, affiliate commerce, and guide-driven discovery.
- Gear Patrol: Men\u2019s lifestyle publication with strong affiliate commerce across gear, home, and style. Comparable editorial-plus-commerce GTM that The Fascination\u2019s Home & Lifestyle and Fashion verticals aspire to.
- Wirecutter: NYT-owned independent product review platform monetizing via affiliate commerce. Directly comparable to The Fascination\u2019s review-and-guide format, with The Fascination positioned as a DTC-focused, Wirecutter-meets-Amazon alternative.
- The Strategist: New York Magazine\u2019s affiliate-driven product discovery vertical featuring curated guides and reviews. Closely mirrors The Fascination\u2019s editorial-first commerce model targeting millennial shoppers.
Others
- Open Influence: Influencer and UGC marketing platform serving brands. Adjacent to The Fascination\u2019s Whitelisting & Performance Media Services module that packages UGC ad creatives for DTC clients.
- StackCommerce: The Fascination\u2019s named affiliate commerce infrastructure partner. Operates a marketplace of commerce-enabled publishers, making it a direct integration peer in the same monetization stack.
Emerging players
- 2PM Newsletter: DTC-focused daily newsletter covering brands, marketing, and e-commerce. Overlaps with The Fascination\u2019s owned-audience newsletter strategy for brand discovery and deals.
- Modern Retail: Trade publication covering DTC and e-commerce. Comparable audience overlap (DTC operators and marketers) and serves a related content-plus-intelligence angle to The Fascination\u2019s B2B brand partners.
Broad incumbents
- BuzzFeed Shopping: Large incumbent publisher with an affiliate-driven shopping vertical. Operates at much greater scale but overlaps with The Fascination in product roundups for millennial audiences.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Fascination social profiles
Digital presenceThe Fascination financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Fascination leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
The Fascination funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Fascination M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Fascination
What does The Fascination do?
The Fascination runs an editorial content and discovery platform that publishes product reviews, buying guides, and brand roundups across Health & Wellness, Food & Drink, Home & Lifestyle, Beauty, and Fashion for consumers, while offering DTC brand partners performance content, UGC ad creatives, and social whitelisting programs. It monetizes through affiliate commissions on outbound purchases and B2B performance-marketing fees from brands.
Is The Fascination a public or private company?
The Fascination is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was The Fascination founded?
The Fascination was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Fascination based?
The Fascination is headquartered in Virginia Beach, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Fascination make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Affiliate/Referral Commerce is the primary driver. The others are whitelisting & Performance Media Services.
Who are The Fascination's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are InsideHook, Reviewed, Gear Patrol, Wirecutter and The Strategist. Others are Open Influence and StackCommerce. Emerging players are 2PM Newsletter and Modern Retail. BuzzFeed Shopping is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does The Fascination have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Fascination.
What industry is The Fascination in?
The Fascination's product category is DTC Brand Discovery & Affiliate Content Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAFANAF, Shoppable Social Content & UGC Commerce Platforms, with a secondary code of BPAFAHAK, UGC Sourcing & Community Creator Programs. Its NAICS code is 541830 and its SIC code is 7311.