Ever scrolled through a series of sleek, matte-black watches or weirdly beautiful desk sculptures and realized you were an hour deep into a flash sale? If you have, you know Touch of Modern. It was the "it" app for guys who wanted to feel like Bruce Wayne without necessarily having the Wayne Enterprises bank account. But lately, when people search for Whitehawk Ventures Touch of Modern, things get a little murky. There’s a lot of chatter about who actually owns the keys to the castle now and whether the brand is still the same beast it was back in 2012.
Honestly, the business side of e-commerce is rarely a straight line. It’s more like a messy zigzag. Touch of Modern—often called ToMo by the regulars—started as a San Francisco darling. It was founded by Jerry Hum, Dennis Liu, Jonathan Wu, and Steven Ou. These guys were basically architects and designers who thought men’s shopping was boring. They were right. They grew it into a powerhouse with millions of users and over $100 million in revenue. Then, the road got bumpy.
The Whitehawk Ventures and CSC Connection
Here is where the confusion usually starts. If you look at some business filings or industry databases like PrivCo, you’ll see the name Whitehawk Ventures Touch of Modern linked together. Often, "Whitehawk Ventures" is listed as an "also known as" (AKA) or a related entity for the company's Indiana-based operations.
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But if you’re looking for the heavy hitters who actually stepped in when the company hit a wall, you have to look at CSC Generation.
In May 2022, the original company, ToMo Inc., went through something called an "Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors" (ABC). That’s basically a more streamlined, private version of bankruptcy. At that point, a firm called Multiplier Capital held a massive lien on all their assets—we’re talking nearly $7 million in unpaid principal. Multiplier ended up selling that debt to a subsidiary of CSC Generation Holdings, Inc.
Why Indiana?
You might wonder why a cool San Francisco startup suddenly has a headquarters listed in Merrillville, Indiana. It’s not just for the cheaper rent, though that probably helps. CSC Generation is known for buying up distressed or "legacy" e-commerce brands—think Pier 1, RadioShack, and Sur La Table—and moving their backend operations to a centralized hub.
When you see Whitehawk Ventures Touch of Modern associated with a Merrillville address, you’re looking at the administrative and logistical skeleton that keeps the lights on while the brand tries to maintain its "cool guy" SF vibe on the front end.
Is WhiteHawk Capital Partners the Same Thing?
No. And this is a major point of confusion for people digging into the finances.
WhiteHawk Capital Partners (with a capital H in the middle) is a private credit investment firm based in Los Angeles. They do big-money financing—we’re talking $25 million to $200 million loans for middle-market companies. While they did provide a $600 million loan to a "multi-brand retail platform" in late 2025 to support e-commerce and store modernization, there is no public record of them owning or directly managing Touch of Modern.
The "Whitehawk Ventures" name seen in Indiana filings appears to be a specific legal entity or "doing business as" name tied to the reorganization of the brand under its current ownership group. It’s a classic corporate "who’s who" where similar names make everything feel like a shell game.
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The ToMo Pivot of 2026
So, what does the brand actually look like today? If you’ve logged in recently, you’ve probably noticed it’s not just about LED lamps and Italian leather boots anymore.
ToMo is leaning hard into lifestyle services. In late 2024 and heading into 2026, they doubled down on a partnership with a company called Arrivia. Now, when you go to the site, there’s a whole "Travel" tab. They’re trying to sell you more than just things; they want to sell you the experience of using those things.
- Travel Benefits: Members get "Savings Credits" on cruises and hotels.
- Curated Journeys: It’s an attempt to turn a shopping app into a "lifestyle club."
- The Membership Model: They still use that "members only" gatekeeping, which, let’s be real, is mostly a way to get your email address, but it still works to create a sense of exclusivity.
The curation is still there, but it feels different. In the early days, Jerry Hum personally approved every single item. Now, with the backing of a massive holding company, the "touch" feels a bit more algorithmic. It’s more about "What will sell to a 35-year-old guy in Austin?" and less "Look at this weird chair I found in Denmark."
What Most People Get Wrong About the Brand
People think Touch of Modern died during the 2022 reorganization. It didn't. It just changed its "parents."
The brand is very much alive, but it’s operating as part of a larger machine designed for efficiency. When a company goes through an ABC (the bankruptcy-lite I mentioned), it wipes away the old debt and allows a new owner to take the brand, the customer list, and the tech stack and start over with a clean slate. That’s exactly what happened here.
If you’re a customer, you probably didn't even notice the transition. The emails kept coming. The flash sales kept flashing. But behind the scenes, the Whitehawk Ventures Touch of Modern entity became the vehicle for a more sustainable, if slightly less "indie," business model.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Shopper
If you're still a fan of the aesthetic but wary of the corporate changes, here is how you should handle the "new" Touch of Modern:
- Check the Shipping Dates: This has been the biggest gripe for a decade. Because they use a "flash sale" model, they often don't even order the product from the manufacturer until after the sale ends. Expect 3-4 weeks for delivery. If you need a gift for next Tuesday, don't buy it here.
- Verify the "MSRP": ToMo loves to show a huge discount. Always do a quick Google Lens search on the product image. Sometimes the "deal" is legit; other times, you can find the same item on Amazon for the same price with two-day shipping.
- Explore the Travel Tab: If you’re already a member, the Arrivia-powered travel credits are actually a decent perk if you’re planning a cruise or a high-end hotel stay. It’s an undervalued part of the membership right now.
- Watch the Returns: Their return policy is historically strict because of the way they source inventory. Read the fine print before you drop $500 on a sculptural watch that might not fit your wrist.
The reality of Whitehawk Ventures Touch of Modern is that it's a survivor. It made it through the "Great E-commerce Shakeup" of the early 2020s by pivoting from a founder-led startup to a corporate-backed lifestyle platform. It’s less "San Francisco loft" and more "Indiana logistics hub" these days, but as long as they keep finding those weird, cool products that we didn't know we needed, people will keep clicking.