Stuart Johnson partners with leading channel executives, forming a SPAC exclusively focused on social commerce.
While most direct selling and social commerce companies are privately held, the principals behind Social Commerce Partners Acquisition Corp. are looking to help a high-quality, high-performing company within this arena to access the public markets.
On December 24, 2025, Social Commerce Partners closed its Initial Public Offering (IPO) of $100 million and now trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol SCPQ.
A SPAC, or Special Purpose Acquisition Company, essentially operates as a shell company, formed by a combination of investors and operators, to raise capital through an IPO to merge with an existing business. Because SPACs are often less expensive and faster than traditional IPOs, they have been a popular method of raising capital and accessing the public markets for over 20 years.
SPACs function similarly to a reverse merger where the pre-existing shareholders of the target company can remain the largest shareholders post-merger. In other words, pre-merger ownership often maintains control, with the SPAC providing capital and expertise to support the company’s growth.
One of the most unique aspects of a SPAC is that when it raises capital, the investors buying into the IPO do not know what the eventual target company will be—that’s why SPACs are sometimes referred to as “blank check companies.”
Companies outside the channel that have gone public through SPACs include Virgin Galactic, SoFi Financial and Draft Kings. There’s also a very successful example within direct selling, Betterware de Mexico.
A SPAC Focused Solely on Social Commerce
Based on existing trends and these successful examples, Social Commerce Partners is focused on facilitating the transition of a high-performing private direct selling and social commerce company to the public market. Social Commerce Partners is led by some of the biggest names in the channel—a connected and reputable group of executives with a combined 100+ years of leadership experience.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stuart Johnson explained the strategy. “The explosive growth of social commerce makes the timing ideal. There are excellent services and product-centric companies we feel could do tremendous things with the infusion of capital and shareholder value going public brings. We’re excited to help a strong, successful private company become a great public one.”
The SPAC has identified several social commerce companies within direct selling they believe can benefit from going public. Some of the company’s differentiators—which make them a preferred partner for these potential target companies—include:
Unparalleled experience
The board and advisors are well positioned to provide tremendous value and support to a partner company. Social Commerce Partners is familiar with the business and opportunities of many companies within their target universe. By leveraging their vast experience and relationships, the SPAC seeks to help founders and owners capitalize on significant growth opportunities with speed and confidence.
Underserved channel
Most social commerce companies are self-funded and don’t have established relationships with the financial community. As a result, liquidity and growth capital opportunities are often underutilized. Social commerce companies are generally underserved by capital markets. The SPAC’s expertise, reputation and relationships can help bridge that gap.
Reputation and relationships
Social Commerce Partner’s leadership is well known and highly respected throughout the channel. According to Stuart Johnson, “Our team is likely the most connected group in the industry. This is a people business—and we already know the people leading these companies. There is a lot of mutual trust, admiration and respect already in place.”
A merger could result in as much as a $100 million capital infusion in the selected company, allowing them to make strategic investments in:
- Technology
- Digital transformation
- Product development and innovation
- Branding
- International expansion
- Artificial intelligence development
- Transformational ecommerce capabilities
Social commerce is enjoying an unprecedented surge in popularity and growth dovetailing with the rise of side hustle culture (approximately 30-40% of American adults have a side gig). This concurrence has created a virtual army of 120 million micro-influencers utilizing social commerce to grow their individual brands and businesses organically through social media and social selling.
The board of directors and advisors of Social Commerce Partners know the industry inside and out and offer unmatched knowledge and experience to companies that are already performing well, ideally helping them achieve even more.
As Independent Director Wayne Moorehead shared, “An infusion of significant capital could empower a target company to invest in the kinds of technologies that blend the best of high tech and high touch, allowing their micro-influencers to reach more customers, sell more products and services and ultimately build bigger, better teams.”
According to Independent Director Peter Griscom, this is especially relevant given the rapidly changing digital landscape that AI has ushered in. As he explained, “Social commerce is evolving at unprecedented speed. Our team has the knowledge base and expertise to guide emerging companies as they best leverage AI to implement new digital strategies.”
Heather Chastain, Independent Director, summed it up perfectly. “Our understanding of the unique opportunities and challenges of these companies is at a level that most within the investment community simply do not possess, and that could prove invaluable to founders, owners, operators, investors and the industry at large.”
An Impressive Leadership Team
Social Commerce Partners is led by a seasoned group of industry luminaries and leaders with over 100 years of combined experience in public and private companies.
Stuart Johnson is Chairman and CEO and has served the direct selling industry for 40 years. His passion for the channel encompasses a broader commitment to build and connect the direct selling community through exclusive industry events such as Direct Selling University and the DSN Global Celebration in his role as Founder and CEO of Direct Selling News an Direct Selling Partners. Throughout his career, Stuart has served as a key advisor to business owners and executives across the channel, including the sourcing of and participation in numerous M&A transactions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
Heather Chastain serves as Independent Director. With almost 30 years of cross functional experience, Heather brings a solid understanding of sales, marketing, technology, manufacturing, operations and C-Suite challenges as well as a strong collaborative and relational style of leadership. She has held executive roles at Shaklee, Arbonne International, Celebrating Home and BeautiControl and is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bridgehead Collective.
Peter Griscom serves as Independent Director. He is currently President and Chief Operating Officer of It Works!. Peter has more than 10 years of direct selling executive experience and is a leading industry expert in how to effectively implement AI, leading digital transformations throughout the channel. Peter is the Executive Chairman of Van Dyke Acquisitions and the former COO of Mannatech.
Wayne Moorehead serves as Independent Director. Wayne has over 25 years of experience in marketing and brand strategy. He has applied his expertise and passion to help companies (from startups to Fortune 100) define, communicate and activate their brands. Wayne is currently the SVP of Strategy and Innovation at Herbalife and has held similar roles at Nature’s Sunshine, Young Living and Lifewave.
Jacob (Jake) McLain serves as Special Advisor. He is a seasoned direct sales and social commerce leader with over 18 years of experience driving growth for global companies throughout the channel. As a C-Suite executive, Jake has expertly guided strategy and operations at direct selling companies including MONAT and Beautycounter, among others.
Harley (Michael) Rollins serves as CFO and Board Member. Mike is a seasoned C-Suite executive with over 25 years of experience who has been Partner and Chief Operating Officer at Calabrese Consulting since 2019. Specializing in SPAC transactions, Mike plays a central role in advising SPAC clients through IPOs, de-SPAC mergers, SEC reporting, GAAP compliance, international tax structuring and transaction due diligence.
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