The CEO of Jessica Alba’s Honest Company Has a New Startup on the Side

Brian Lee has started three companies, and he’s still running one of them, Honest Company, as CEO. That hasn’t stopped him from helping to start a fourth.

The serial entrepreneur has helped raise around $5 million for a new shopping app that multiple sources describe as a digital incarnation of a dollar store. The startup has been going by the name of Hollar, though it’s not clear if that will be its name at launch. A trademark filing refers to the company as an “online retail services” company that will sell everything from party supplies to toys to snacks.

The CEO and co-founder is David Yeom, a former VP at Honest.

While Lee co-developed the idea for Hollar, according to Yeom, and is an investor and board member, he won’t have the title of co-founder. He also won’t be involved in the day-to-day operations and will remain as CEO of Honest Company, the diaper and bath and beauty products company he started with actress Jessica Alba.

Honest Company recently raised $100 million that valued it at $1.7 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal, and is said to be prepping for an eventual IPO. It began by selling non-toxic, eco-friendly diapers and baby wipes and has since expanded into baby formula, soaps, shampoos and sunscreens as well.

Prior to Honest, Lee founded LegalZoom and later ShoeDazzle, a subscription shoe-selling site that grew quickly before fading and being acquired by competitor JustFab.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to Lee as a co-founder of Hollar. While Lee co-developed the idea for Hollar, he is not taking the title of co-founder, he told Re/code after publication. The story has been updated throughout to make this clear.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.

That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via