Freelance2Freedom — Enterpreneurship, Side hustle, Freelancing

The Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage Investing

The Consumer VC takes a look into early-stage consumer investing and venture capital. If you are interested in learning about consumer trends, have a b2c business and interested in learning about the fundraising process at the early stage, you have come to the right place. Mike interviews some of the top venture capitalists in the world that focus on B2C and consumer type companies or have a deep track record investing in these categories such as marketplaces, SaaS, social, CPG and non-tech subscription. Mike also interviews founders that are building some of the most disruptive consumer facing companies in the world. The conversation usually includes the insight the founder discovered, fundraising strategy, and the pitch. This podcast also includes bonus episodes. Each bonus episode dives into a particular subject that might not have to due with the fundraise or venture capital, but still would be helpful to founders. For example, a bonus episode on brand strategy or how to construct a board of directors. All bonus episodes will be clearly labeled. For all episodes, please visit <a href="www.theconsumervc.com" rel="nofollow">www.theconsumervc.com</a>. For updates, you can follow <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeGelb" rel="nofollow">@mikegelb</a> on Twitter.

Episodes
Comments

0. Why The Consumer VC

This is an introductory episode explaining what will be covered and the goals for this podcast "The Consumer VC". For this episode, I recruited my brother Rob Gelb to interview yours truly about the podcast, the range of topics I hope to cover in the coming interview episodes in this podcast. For more information about this podcast, please check out our site ( www.theconsumervc.com ) or follow on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ).

23 Mar 07:40

Jay Kapoor (Launch Capital) - Persistence, Building Trust & Finding Founder-Market Fit

Jay is a Principal at Launch Capital, one of the pioneers of seed-stage investing firms. They often write the check to startups that they invest in. Some of their big consumer wins include Spotify and Snap. Jay has worked at Launch since 2018 and also has experience working in corporate VC and Techstars. He's written some great articles and thought-provoking Twitter updates on venture capital and startups. You can follow him @jaykapoornyc ( https://twitter.com/JayKapoorNYC ) and on Medium ( https://medium.com/@JayKapoorNYC ). In this episode, you will learn the following - 1. Jay's background and how he became passionate about early investing? The challenges when it comes to conducting due diligence on consumer-facing businesses. A day in the life working with founders at Techstars. 2. How he approaches decision-making processes and establishing trust amongst founders in their decision-making abilities. 3. How investor attitudes towards D2C companies changed over the past few years? How successful founders are adapting to increasing online marketing customer acquisition costs and continue to scale? 4. What are some of the reasons why a company in an accelerator is not able to raise a seed round or progress to the next phase of fundraising? A specific metric that is insightful that other investors might gloss over when evaluating startups? 5. One company that he either invested in or worked with that he's proud of? One company that he wished he invested in? A book that has impacted Jay both professionally and personally is Daniel Pink's "To Sell Is Human" ( https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Human-Surprising-Moving-Others-ebook/dp/B0087GJ8KM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=YTP3B9ZXW0KW&keywords=to+sell+is+human&qid=1571842504&sprefix=microphone+desk+%2Caps%2C200&sr=8-1 ).

23 Mar 07:40

Hayden Williams (BrandProject) - Empathy, Investing in Smoothies, and the Fickle Consumer

Hayden Williams is a Partner of Investments at Brand Project ( https://www.brandproject.com/ ) , a venture capital fund that focuses on consumer investments at the early stage. Brand Project is hyper-focused on adding their operational value to founders as the team collectively has launched 100 new products and services for some of the most iconic companies. Hayden joined Brand Project ( https://www.brandproject.com/ ) this year and previously was an investor at BBG Ventures ( https://www.bbgventures.com/ ) as well as has experience as a founder of Treatings ( https://venturebeat.com/2014/03/22/treatings-is-the-tinder-of-the-business-world/ ) , the business networking app. You can follow Hayden on Twitter here ( https://twitter.com/howillia ). If you would like to follow your host, Mike, for updates on the show, you can follow him Here ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) on Twitter. In this episode, you will learn - * Learnings and takeaways Hayden had as a founder that has influenced him as an investor. The advantages in having a smaller portfolio as well as Brand Project’s thesis * When a founder should look to raise from one investor rather than a syndicate in a round? How Hayden thinks about investing in D2C brands. * Trends he’s excited about in consumer? What makes consumer investing difficult? His investing due diligence and establishing trust amongst founders? * Why a company might not be able to raise a round? How do you establish founder-market fit? One company that he’s particularly excited to work with? One company that he had a second chance to invest in? A book that has inspired Hayden both professionally and personally is “Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life” ( https://www.amazon.com/Born-Standing-Up-Comics-Life/dp/1416553649/ref=asc_df_1416553649/?hvadid=312064602668&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9061089&hvnetw=g&hvpone=&hvpos=1o1&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvrand=12560680389302411338&hvtargid=aud-801381245258%3Apla-524657469313&linkCode=df0&psc=1&tag=hyprod-20 ) by Steve Martin “The Consumer VC” is a podcast hosted by Mike Gelb devoted to interviewing early-stage consumer-focused venture capitalists and founders of b2c businesses to educate and learn about the inner workings of consumer startup investing. *A new episode will be released every Tuesday at 3:00 AM EST / 12:00 AM PST.* If you would like to *follow along* you can *click “Subscribe”* on the *Apple podcast app or whichever platform you are listening on*. If you enjoyed the episode, feel free to also leave a review. You are also to see all episodes here and learn more at www.theconsumervc.com ( http://www.theconsumervc.com/ ) and follow Mike on

23 Mar 07:40

Nicole Quinn (Lightspeed Venture Partners) - Future of Media, Investing in Women, and Thinking Big

Nicole Quinn is a partner and investor at Lightspeed Venture Capital, a venture capital firm that is engaged in the consumer, enterprise, technology, and cleantech markets. Some of Nicole's investments include Calm, Goop, Rothy’s, Cameo, Brandable, Girlboss, Illumix, Zola, Daily Harvest & Lady Gaga’s Haus Labs. You can follow Nicole Here ( https://twitter.com/Nik_Quinn ) on Twitter. If you would like to follow your host, Mike, for updates on the show, you can follow him Here ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) on Twitter. In this episode, you will learn - * *What attracted Nicole to early-stage investing from Morgan Stanley? Why she shifted from angel investing to joining Lightspeed? Her personal mission of venture capital becoming more inclusive to women founders.* * ** * *How she thinks about the successful qualities of a founder and how she assesses founder-market fit? How you know when a company has found product-market fit? In the due diligence process, how do you assess if the product is solving a real problem?* * ** * *The challenges and metrics she pays attention to when evaluating consumer startups? The major turn offs or deal-breakers from startups when they pitch their business to Nicole?* * ** * *Her thoughts about the future of media and the transition from an advertising model to a subscription model? What trends in media and consumer that she is most focused on?* * ** * *How she thinks about price in the diligence process? Some of the changes that need to happen in venture capital?* * ** * *Consumer trends that she’s focused on? What is one company that she should have invested in but didn’t? One piece of advice for founders of consumer companies?* * **

23 Mar 07:40

Amit Mukherjee (NEA) - The Gen Z Consumer, How to Evaluate Two Different Competing Companies

Amit Mukherjee ( https://www.nea.com/team/amit-mukherjee ) is a Partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA) ( https://www.nea.com/ ) , one of the premier and global venture capital firms that invests in all stages. Amit focuses on investing in consumer technology. He is a Board Observer for Casper ( https://casper.com/ ) , MasterClass ( https://www.masterclass.com/ ) , Brandless ( https://brandless.com/ ) , and The Players’ Tribune ( https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us ) , and was previously a Board Observer for Jet.com ( https://jet.com/ ). Amit has led a number of seed stage investments for NEA, including Aquabyte ( https://www.aquabyte.no/index.html ) , Holloway ( https://www.holloway.com/ ) , Yumi ( https://helloyumi.com/?adgroupid=65231950007&adid=309071533816&campaignid=1621091754&gclid=Cj0KCQiAn8nuBRCzARIsAJcdIfPsfOzPD4g6KRHeE4HUZHh6Gz52XZz2_-ciRS-Ad60BQWclRTVfRv8aAuyaEALw_wcB&utm_campaign=Yumi-Evergreen&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_term=Brand ) and PumpUp ( https://www.pumpup.com/ ). You can follow Amit on Twitter Here ( https://twitter.com/AmitMukherjee ) , where he posts a ton of great thought-provoking content about consumer and venture capital. If you would like to follow your host, Mike, for updates on the show, you can follow him Here ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) on Twitter. In this episode you will learn - * How Amit made his way into venture capital and what attracted him to consumer investing. In the pitch and his due diligence process, how he determines if there is a real pain point? How to evaluate two companies in the same space when there isn't much data? * Difference when evaluating startups when it's a serial entrepreneur vs. first time founder? How he thinks about the investment landscapes today? Cold/No introduction vs. warm introduction - how should founders reach out to VCs? * How he deals with time allocation across his portfolio? One thing he would change about venture capital? * How he thinks about the D2C landscape today? Trends in consumer that he is most excited about. The Gen Z consumer and characteristics he focuses on? One company that he worked on or invested in that he's proud of? One company that in retrospect wish he did invest in? A business book that Amit would like to recommend is The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success ( https://www.amazon.com/Outsiders-Unconventional-Radically-Rational-Blueprint/dp/1422162672/ref=asc_df_1422162672/?adgrpid=69543898472&hvadid=344057888328&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9061089&hvnetw=g&hvpone=&hvpos=1o1&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvrand=11308545222476361085&

23 Mar 07:40

Ajay Kamat (Pear VC) - Clarity of Thought, Future of Audio, and Today's Investing Landscape

Ajay Kamat ( https://www.pear.vc/ajay-kamat ) is a Partner at Pear ( https://www.pear.vc/ ) , one of the premier early stage venture capital funds in Silicon Valley. Prior to Pear, Ajay founded Wedding Party ( https://techcrunch.com/2015/08/04/instacart-makes-its-first-acquisition-with-acqui-hire-of-app-maker-wedding-party/ ) , which was acquired by Instacart ( https://www.instacart.com/ ). Pear was founded by Mar Hershenson ( https://www.pear.vc/mar-hershenson ) ( https://www.crunchbase.com/person/pejman-nozad ) and ( https://www.crunchbase.com/person/pejman-nozad ) Pejman Nozad ( https://www.pear.vc/pejman-nozad ) , who were early investors in Dropbox ( https://www.dropbox.com/home ) , Lending Club ( https://www.lendingclub.com/loans/personal-loans?gclid=CjwKCAiA8ejuBRAaEiwAn-iJ3js0brhKzV1Z5q34L6RPRFB9dgBdvIvGazmDnDqASgITDu0qBuPJjBoCECIQAvD_BwE&param2=GzB011zA003zAC11x14zLP1z&partnerID=80019&referrerId=490425&utm_campaign=B011%3ALending+Club+-+%5BE%5D&utm_content=312048777992&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_term=lending+club ) , Zoosk ( https://www.zoosk.com/ ) , Addepar ( https://addepar.com/ ) , Path ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Path_(social_network) ) and many others. Some of Pear's notable investments include DoorDash ( https://www.doordash.com/ ) , Philz Coffee ( https://www.philzcoffee.com/ ) , Instaread ( https://instaread.co/ ) , and Memebox ( https://us.memebox.com/ ). You can follow Ajay on Twitter Here ( https://twitter.com/ajaykam ). If you would like to follow your host, Mike, for updates on the show, you can follow @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) and the show @ConsumerVC ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ) In this episode you will learn: * Ajay's journey from biomedical engineering to founding Wedding Party ( https://techcrunch.com/2015/08/04/instacart-makes-its-first-acquisition-with-acqui-hire-of-app-maker-wedding-party/ ). Some of the lessons Ajay learned from being a founder and how it has influenced him as a venture capitalist. The importance of grit when founding a company. * The importance of complementary skills and vetting co-founders. The reason why he switched from being a founder to a venture capitalist. * What qualities Ajay looks for from founders at the pre-seed and seed level? How he evaluates startups building products in markets that don't exist yet? * The advantages of being in Silicon Valley. How he thinks about customer acquisition costs in today's age. * What industry consumer verticals he's excited about the most? One company that he is excited to be an investor in? One piece of advice for founders of consumer companies? If you would like to *follow along* you can *click “Subsc

23 Mar 07:40

Caitlin Strandberg (Lerer Hippeau) - How To Identify Consumer Pain Points, The D2C Investment Landscape, and The New York Ecosystem

*Caitlin Strandberg* ( https://twitter.com/strandby ) *is a Principal at* *Lerer Hippeau* ( https://www.lererhippeau.com/ ) *, the most active early-stage venture capital fund in New York. The firm has more than 250 active portfolio companies with investments in leading consumer and enterprise companies, including* *Allbirds* ( https://www.allbirds.com/ ) *,* *Casper* ( https://casper.com/home-v2/ ) *,* *Guideline* ( https://www.guideline.com/ ) *, and* *K Health* ( https://www.khealth.ai/ ) *. Lerer Hippeau invests across all sectors, backing founders with product vision, customer insight, and a keen instinct for brand building.* *Previously, Caitlin was an early employee at* *LearnVest* ( https://learnvest.com/ ) *(acquired by* *Northwestern Mutual* ( https://www.northwesternmutual.com/ ) *) and* *Behance* ( https://www.behance.net/ ) *(acquired by* *Adobe* ( https://www.adobe.com/ ) *), as well as served as Vice President of* *FirstMark Capital* ( https://firstmarkcap.com/ ) *.* *You can follow Caitlin on Twitter* *Here* ( https://twitter.com/strandby ) *, where she posts lots of great content on startups. If you would like to follow your host, Mike, for updates on the show, you can follow him* *Here* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *on Twitter.* *Two books that Caitlin would like to recommend are* *The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon* ( https://amzn.to/35PQGoE ) *by Brad Stone and* *Ready Player One* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307887448?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0307887448&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Earnest Cline.* *In this episode, you will learn –* * *What attracted Caitlin to startups and venture capital? The learnings and takeaways from being an operator at early-stage startups to venture capital?* * ** * *The challenges when investing in consumer startups at the early stages? How she evaluates opportunities and identifies if a startup is solving a real consumer pain point?* * ** * *Is the DTC area the golden age of brand? How she thinks about margin in relation to DTC? How much do consumers care about sustainable, eco-friendly products in relation to price? After investment, the cadence of communication among founders.* * ** * *What makes New York special? How she thinks about online customer acquisition today. What is one company that she is excited about investing in? What is one company she wishes she invested in? One piece of advice for founders of consumer companies?* * ** *If you would like to follow along* you can *click “Subscribe”* on the *Apple podcast app or whichever platform you are listening on*. If you enjoyed the episode, feel free to also leave a review. You are also to see a

23 Mar 07:40

Susan Lyne (BBG Ventures) - Why Investing in Women Founders is Still an Untapped Market

Susan Lyne ( https://twitter.com/smlyne ) is the co-founder and Managing Partner of BBG Ventures ( https://www.bbgventures.com/ ) , a fund that invests in visionary entrepreneurs building the next generation of market-defining consumer products and services. Every company in their portfolio has at least one female founder. Some of their investments include Zola ( https://www.zola.com/ ) , Blueland ( https://www.blueland.com/ ) , Beautycon ( https://beautycon.com/ ) , and NextGenVest ( https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/commonbond-acquires-nextgenvest-to-fuel-expansion-and-provide-ai-powered-financial-advice-to-generation-z-300759407.html ) (acq. by CommonBond ( https://www.commonbond.co/ ) ) Susan began her career in the magazine industry, where she founded and led Premiere Magazine ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premiere_(magazine) ). She spent almost a decade at Disney ( https://www.disney.com/ ) , rising to President of Entertainment at ABC ( https://abc.com/ ). She was the CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Stewart_Living_Omnimedia ) ; CEO and then Chair of Gilt.com ( https://www.gilt.com/boutique/ ) ; and she led AOL ( https://www.aol.com/ ) ’s Brand Group, overseeing such brands as TechCrunch ( https://techcrunch.com/ ) , Engadget ( https://www.engadget.com/ ) and Moviefone ( https://www.moviefone.com/ ) , immediately before launching BBG Ventures. A couple of books that Susan recommends are The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company ( https://amzn.to/2Yg48Ql ) by Robert Iger and Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century ( https://amzn.to/2RkpUAR ) by George Packer You can follow Susan on Twitter Here ( https://twitter.com/smlyne ) @smlyne, where she posts lots of great content on startups. If you would like to follow your host, Mike, for updates on the show, you can follow him Here ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) on Twitter. New episodes released every Monday and Thursday. If you would like to *follow along* you can *click “Subscribe”* on the *Apple podcast app or whichever platform you are listening on*. If you enjoyed the episode, feel free to also leave a review. In this episode, you will learn - 1. Why Susan decided to leave her prestigious career in media, television, ecommerce and as an operator for some of the world's biggest companies to start her own fund?Her mission when founding a venture capital fund and some of her learnings as an operator. 2. Does she think venture capital is moving quickly enough to bridge the gap between the number of women founders that are able to fundraise compared to male founders that are able to fundraise

23 Mar 07:40

Rick Heitzmann (FirstMark Capital) - The Future of Marketplaces, Why investing in B2C companies is different to B2B companies, Investing in Secondary and Tertiary Markets

Rick Heitzmann ( https://firstmarkcap.com/team/rick-heitzmann/ ) is a founder and partner of FirstMark Capital ( https://firstmarkcap.com/ ) and focuses on consumer and enterprise investments. Rick has led investments in market leaders such as Pinterest ( https://www.pinterest.com/ ) , StubHub ( https://www.stubhub.com/?ap=&creative=390963938779&ds_rl=1253944&gcid=C12289X486&gclid=CjwKCAiA27LvBRB0EiwAPc8XWQZmt8iAK4jfd4AvQQmtz4wP1hR3QnVuQOmePVTrdtgWJ_GXFGNZ0RoCzwgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&iloc=&keyword=cpid-7136262927_agid-77606069742_kwd-113741604_c&kw=stubhub&kwt=tm&mt=e&ploc=9061089&utm_campaign=7136262927&utm_kxconfid=s2rshsbmv ) (acquired by eBay), Riot Games ( https://www.riotgames.com/en ) (acquired by Tencent ( http://tencent.com/ ) ), Airbnb ( https://www.airbnb.com/ ) , Shopify ( https://www.shopify.com/ ) and much more. Prior to founding FirstMark, Rick was an entrepreneur including being a founding member of the senior management team at First Advantage which he helped grow and sell to First American ( https://www.firstam.com/index.html ). Rick has been recognized by CB Insights ( https://www.cbinsights.com/ ) and the New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.com/ ) as a Top 100 Venture Capitalist globally. He serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Venture Capital Association ( https://nvca.org/ ). If you want to follow Rick on Twitter, you can do so here @rickheitzmann ( https://twitter.com/rickheitzmann?lang=en ). If you would like to follow your host, Mike, for updates on the show, you can follow him Here ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) on Twitter. New episodes released every Monday and Thursday. If you would like to follow along, you can click “Subscribe” on the Apple podcast app or whichever platform you are listening on. If you enjoyed the episode, feel free to also leave a review. * What attracted Rick to venture capital and high tech? What types of qualities in a founder he looks for? What makes investing in consumer difficult and different than investing in enterprise? FirstMark Capital’s competitive advantages. * How founders should conduct due diligence on VC funds? What is the cadence of communication amongst founders in his portfolio? How he thinks about product market fit? What are the kinds of new marketplaces that Rick is paying attention to? * How Rick thinks about online customer acquisition costs today? What are some consumer trends that Rick is excited about? * What is something Rick would change when it came to venture capital? What Rick thinks about entrepreneurs building companies in secondary and tertiary markets? What is something that founders could believe is a competitive a

23 Mar 07:40

David Wu (Maveron) - The Reinvention of Entertainment, The Founder Scorecard, and the Lessons Learned From Building a Houseboat and Cruising Down the Mississippi

*David Wu* ( https://www.maveron.com/team/david-wu/ ) *is a Partner at* *Maveron* ( https://www.maveron.com/ ) *. Maveron is a premier consumer-focused fund that invests in seed and Series A companies that empower consumers to live on their terms. Some of Maveron’s investments include* *Allbirds* ( http://allbirds.com/ ) *,* *General Assembly* ( https://generalassemb.ly/ ) *,* *eBay* ( https://www.ebay.com/ ) *, and* *Coursehero* ( https://www.coursehero.com/ ) *.* *David joined Maveron to help identify new investments in emerging direct-to-consumer brands – especially those in the hardware and tech categories. Some of David’s investments include* *Booster* ( https://www.trybooster.com/ ) *,* *Eargo* ( https://eargo.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiAxMLvBRBNEiwAKhr-nMqC_JhDjXf8xeJ64sLX6-B4mjY9wmJcnO9IYYCSzzvCob5sCVMFgBoCI4IQAvD_BwE&utm_ad=responsive-brand-reviews&utm_adgroup=Brand&utm_adgroupid=52903238058&utm_adid=358254176054&utm_campaign=SEM-Brand-Lead-Max&utm_device=c&utm_keyword=eargo&utm_location=9031003&utm_medium=cpa&utm_placement=&utm_source=Google ) *,* *Illumix* ( https://illumix.com/ ) *,* *Modern Fertility* ( https://modernfertility.com/ ) *, and* *August* ( https://august.com/ ) *.* *If you would like to keep up to date with David, you can follow him* *@davewu* ( https://twitter.com/davewu ) *. You are also welcome to follow your host* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/consumervc ) *for updates.* *In this episode, you will learn:* * *How building a houseboat to cruise down the Mississippi River has its parallels to building a company? What being a professional bassist taught David about himself? What attracted David to work at high growth startups? What led you to move from being an operator to investor?* * ** * *Why he is so interested in early-stage consumer investing and why is it so difficult? Traits he likes to see in founders. Advice for founders in secondary and tertiary markets that are looking to fundraise.* * ** * *What makes a good venture capital partner? What does founder-friendly mean to you? Why Maveron turned down $70 million in investment? How he thinks about the importance of ecosystems and startup hubs? What are some consumer trends and opportunities that he is excited about?* * ** * *What is something that he would change when it came to venture capital? Will an impact mission brand lead to higher margins? Maveron’s core values.* * ** * *What his most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? One company that he had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t, and in retrospect wish he did? One piece of advice he has for founders of consumer com

23 Mar 07:40

Mike Duboe (Greylock) - Learnings as Head of Growth at Stitch Fix & Tilt, The Importance of Saying No, and Analyzing Health of Acquisition

*Mike Duboe* ( https://www.greylock.com/team/#mike-duboe ) *joined* *Greylock Partners* ( https://www.greylock.com/ ) *in 2018 and leads investments in commerce, marketplaces, and consumer more broadly. Previously, he led growth at* *Stitch Fix* ( https://www.stitchfix.com/ ) *,* *Tilt* ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilt.com ) *, and others and has created, scaled, led growth teams from Series A through IPO across a span of businesses. Greylock Partners is one of the oldest venture capital firms, founded in 1965. Some of their investments include* *Facebook* ( http://www.facebook.com/ ) *,* *Airbnb* ( http://www.airbnb.com/ ) *,* *LinkedIn* ( http://www.linkedin.com/ ) *,* *Instagram* ( http://www.instagram.com/ ) *,* *RedFin* ( http://www.redfin.com/ ) *,* *Pandora* ( https://www.pandora.com/ ) *and many many more.* *Two books that impacted Mike were* *Siddhartha* ( https://amzn.to/2PpWsYY ) *by Hermann Hesse and* *The One Thing* ( https://amzn.to/38KCL5x ) *by Gary Keller* *You can follow Mike on Twitter* *@mduboe* ( https://twitter.com/mduboe ) *. You are also welcome to follow your host* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/consumervc ) *for updates.* *In this episode you will learn -* * *What attracted you to leave consulting in order to pursue working on growth at startups? Lessons learned as head of growth at Stitch Fix and Tilt? The reason why Mike switched from being an operator to investor? How Mike thinks about online customer acquisition costs in today’s landscape? When should a founder make his/her first growth hire?* * ** * *How does a consumer company know when they have found product market fit? In the early stage, during the pitch, what do you like to see from founders when there isn’t much data to go on when evaluating opportunities? How he thinks about health of acquisition and customer acquisition costs?* * ** * *What are some of the challenges when evaluating consumer businesses? What are some consumer trends and opportunities that he is most excited about?* * ** * *What is something that he would change when it came to venture capital? What is one piece of advice that Mike has for founders of consumer companies?* * **

23 Mar 07:39

Will McClelland (Elizabeth Street) - The Changing of Retail on High Streets, How to Analyze Competitive Advantages, ROI on Consumer Companies

Will McClelland is the Co-founder and Partner of Elizabeth Street Ventures, an early stage investment firm focused on the digital consumer and next generation brands that improve daily life. He is also the Co-founder of Bambike, a family business that builds bamboo bicycles and operates eco-tourism activities in the Philippines. One book that impacted Will personally is The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell and one book that impacted him professionally is Pioneering Portfolio Management by David Swensen You can follow Will on Twitter @data_01. You are also welcome to follow your host @mikegelb and @consumervc for updates. On this episode you will learn - 1. What attracted Will to invest in startups and transition his career in investment banking and hedge funds to co-founding a bamboo bicycle company and early stage investing? When evaluating startups, does it help when you are the target consumer? How Elizabeth Street came together? Why consumer could be its own asset class? 2. What’s the difference when having a family office as a partner rather than a venture capital fund? The growth expectations for consumer companies. How he looks at the DTC landscape currently and how the funding model has evolved? What Elizabeth Street’s check size? What qualities Will looks for in founders? What types of qualities does he look for in a founder? 3. When should a founder know when they have found product-market fit? How Will thinks about market sizing. How he thinks about investing in digitally native brands today when online marketing and online customer acquisition costs are becoming so expensive? Consumer trends that Will is focused on. If you would like to follow along you can click “Subscribe” on the Apple podcast app or whichever platform you are listening on. If you enjoyed the episode, feel free to also leave a review. You are also to see all episodes here and learn more at www.theconsumervc.com and follow Mike on Twitter or Instagram

23 Mar 07:39

Leah Solivan (Fuel Capital) - The Importance of Passion, When a Company Should Have Product-Market Fit, and What Founders Should Pay Attention To In Their Pitch Decks

*Leah Solivan* ( https://www.fuelcapital.com/our-team ) *is General Partner at* *Fuel Capital* ( https://www.fuelcapital.com/ ) *, an early-stage venture fund focused on consumer, SaaS, and cloud infrastructure companies dedicated to giving outsiders the inside edge through unrelenting commitment, authenticity, and hustle. Some of their investments include* *Bark* ( https://www.bark.us/ ) *,* *Flexport* ( https://www.flexport.com/ ) *,* *Crowd Cow* ( https://www.crowdcow.com/ ) *. Previously, Leah was the founder and CEO of* *Taskrabbit* ( https://www.taskrabbit.com/ ) *, which was acquired by* *IKEA* ( https://www.ikea.com/us/en/ ) *.* *You can follow Leah on Twitter @labunleashed. You are also welcome to follow your host* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/consumervc ) *for updates.* *A book that impacted you personally and professionally is* *Founders at Work* ( https://amzn.to/2QNQnVJ ) *by Jessica Livingston* *On this episode, we discuss:* * *Why Leah left her job at IBM to start Task Rabbit? Her learnings from founding Task Rabbit and why she became a venture capitalist? Some of Fuel Capital’s strategic advantages and what makes Fuel unique?* * ** * *The differences when analyzing consumer vs. enterprise businesses. Qualities in founders that she is focused on. How do you know when a company know they have found product-market fit? When should a company have product-market fit in relation to the fundraising round? How she thinks about traction and milestones.* * ** * *In a pitch deck, an element that’s very important but often overlooked. When a fund says they need a lead investor, does it automatically mean bad news for the founder? How she thinks about online customer acquisition costs in today’s landscape? Consumer trends she’s focused on?* * ** * *One thing she would change about venture capital and advice for consumer startups.* * **

23 Mar 07:39

Mike Ghaffary (Canvas Ventures) - How to Evaluate Online Marketplaces, Why This is a Contrarian time to Invest in Consumer

*Mike Ghaffary* ( https://www.canvas.vc/team-member/mike-ghaffary/ ) *is a General Partner at* *Canvas Ventures* ( https://www.canvas.vc/ ) *, one of the premier thesis-driven early-stage venture capital funds in San Francisco that invests in Fintech, Digital Health, Marketplaces, and New Enterprise. Prior to Canvas, Mike was a General Partner at Social Capital and as an angel investor, some of his investments include Strava, Skip Scooters, Pocket, Philz Coffee, Atrium, and Superhuman. He also has 10 years of operating experience as CEO of Eat24, VP Business and Corporate Development at Yelp, Director of Business Development at TrialPay, and co-founder of Stitcher and BarMax. And before that, Mike started his investing career at Summit Partners.* *For this episode, we talk quite extensively about evaluating marketplaces. Mike has written a few articles on the subject, the one we touch on is* *“Where I’m Investing and 15 Marketplace Questions”* ( https://medium.com/canvas-ventures/where-im-investing-and-15-marketplace-questions-cdf4ba9bc81d ) *.* *Two books that have impacted Mike professionally and personally is* *Give and Take* ( https://amzn.to/2N9WYbY ) *by Adam Grant and* *Drive* ( https://amzn.to/2FBATi4 ) *by Daniel Pink* *You can follow Mike on Twitter* *@newmike* ( https://twitter.com/newmike ) *for updates. You are also welcome to follow your host* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/consumervc ) *for updates.* *On this episode you learn -* * *What attracted Mike to working in startups and becoming a founder? How important having operational experience is? What’s makes him excited to invest in consumer tech in this current climate?* * ** * *What is a marketplace? An overview of the advantages of marketplaces. What marketplace founders need to consider when identifying and building marketplaces? Cross-side and same-side network effects & negative network effects. How important is having your own unique distribution? Evaluating switching costs.* * ** * *Online customer acquisition costs for both supply and demand. The current outlook of online CAC in today’s climate.* * ** * *One thing he would change about venture capital. How an entrepreneur should think when a venture fund says they need a lead investor in order to invest?* * ** *...and much much more!* If you would like to follow along you can click “Subscribe” on the Apple podcast app or whichever platform you are listening on. If you enjoyed the episode, feel free to also leave a review. You are also to see all episodes here and learn more at www.theconsumervc.com ( http://www.theconsumervc.com/ ) and follow Mike on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/Mi

23 Mar 07:39

Anna Barber (Techstars) - What makes the Los Angeles Tech Ecosystem So Special, Breakdown of Techstars Accelerator Program, Tips on How to Reach Out to Investors

*Anna Barber* ( https://www.techstars.com/mentors/anna-barber/ ) *is the Managing Director of* *Techstars* ( https://www.techstars.com/ ) *- Los Angeles. Techstars is a global seed accelerator and worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed and is currently in over 150 countries worldwide. Some of their alumni include Classpass, Pillpack, and Contently. Previously, Anna has experience as a corporate lawyer, McKinsey consultant, product executive and entrepreneur in ed tech, retail and e-commerce.* *For all founders in the Los Angeles area, applications to be part of Techstars LA Accelerator 2020 cohort are open! You have until April 5th 2020 to apply.* *Click Here To Apply* ( https://www.techstars.com/los-angeles-program/ ) *Three books that inspired Anna personally and professionally are* *Dare to Lead* ( https://amzn.to/2uH2RXD ) *by Brene Brown,* *Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up* ( https://amzn.to/2Tk261c ) *by Jerry Colonna and* *Why We Buy* ( https://amzn.to/36P0m3M ) *by Paco Underhill.* *On this episode you will learn -* * *Why Anna became an investor in Tech? What is the criteria for startups looking to apply to Techstars accelerator? The three different phases in the Techstars 12 week program.* * ** * *What are some qualities she looks for in founders and founding teams? Why engagement metrics are so important. Why in the early stages, CAC/LTV is not an important metric.* * ** * *“The Pied Piper Effect”. If you have a better name, she’s all ears. Why is investing in consumer so challenging? What are some of the consumer trends that she’s most excited about? Why consumer is not formulaic.* * ** * *Why it is such an exciting time to be in the Los Angeles tech ecosystem? What are some of the reasons why a Techstars alumnus startup might fail to raise the next round? What’s one thing she would change about venture capital? Tips how to reach out to venture capitalists* * ** *You can follow Anna on Twitter @annawbarber. You are also welcome to follow along behind the scenes @mikegelb and @consumervc*

23 Mar 07:39

Paul Martino (Bullpen Capital) - What it Means to be a Contrarian Investor, The Arbitrage Opportunity at Post Seed, and Founders That Have Chips On Their Shoulders

*Our guest today is* *Paul Martino* ( https://bullpencap.com/team/paul-martino ) *, Managing Partner of* *Bullpen Capital* ( https://bullpencap.com/ ) *, an early-stage, post-seed venture fund investing in technology companies that have been funded by super-angels and institutional seed funds. Some of their portfolio companies include FanDuel, Namely, Ipsy.* *Prior to founding Bullpen, Paul was a serial entrepreneur of companies including Ahpah Software (a computer security firm acquired by InterTrust); Tribe (one of the world’s first social networks), and Aggregate Knowledge (a big data advertising attribution company acquired in 2014 by Neustar). He is the holder of over a dozen core patents covering social networking and big data.He was also an active angel investor and personally invested in the first rounds of Zynga, TubeMogul, and uDemy.* *One book that impacted Paul professionally is* *Play Bigger* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062407619?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062407619&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Al Ramadan, Dave Peterson, and Christopher Lockhead. One book that impacted him personally is* *The Burden of Bad Ideas* ( https://amzn.to/2QYvKYb ) *by Heather MacDonald* *In this episode you will learn:* * *Why Paul became an entrepreneur? Why he ended up on the other side of the table and switched to venture capital? Why it’s important for investors to have operational experience?* * ** * *Why investing at the post seed stage is an arbitrage opportunity? What are some of the challenges when investing in consumer vs. enterprise?* * ** * *Should founders be aware of signaling risk? What should founders be asking venture capitalists that are looking to invest? What is his diligence process and how does he analyze founders and opportunities? When should a founder switch from optimizing to profitability from growth? What makes the Philadelphia ecosystem interesting?* * ** * *One thing you would change when it came to venture capital? How does he feel about the cold email? What his latest investment is and why he’s excited about it? One piece of advice for founders of consumer companies* * ** *You are welcome to follow along behind the scenes* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc )

23 Mar 07:39

Greg Bettinelli (Upfront Ventures) - #longla, Why Los Angeles Has Become a Hub of Consumer Innovation, and finding Product-Market Fit & Founder-Market Fit

*Greg Bettinelli* ( https://upfront.com/people/greg-bettinelli ) *is a partner at* *Upfront Ventures* ( https://upfront.com/ ) *. Upfront Ventures is a Los Angeles early-stage venture capital fund has been integral to the LA emerging tech ecosystem, with investments including GOAT, Bird, Parachute Home and Ring. Prior to Upfront, Greg was the CMO for LA-based HauteLook, EVP of Business Development and Strategy at Live Nation and held a number of leadership positions at eBay, including Sr. Director of Business Development at StubHub. He is Mr. #longla and we talk about how LA’s ecosystem has evolved, how he thinks about founder-market and product-market fit and much much more. It was simply terrific chatting with Greg, so without further ado, here is Greg.* *You can follow Greg @gregbettinelli If you’d like to follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow me @mikegelb and @consumervc. For all episodes, please visit theconsumervc.com.* *A book that impacted Greg is* *Moneyball* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393324818?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0393324818&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Michael Lewis* *On this episode you will learn:* * *What attracted Greg to the world of venture capital and startups from his impressive career at eBay, Stubhub, Live Nation, and Hautelook? What were some of the learnings, working at these tech companies that have influenced you as an investor?* * ** * *What are some of the differences when investing in consumer vs. enterprise? Why do you focus on investing in consumer and what makes you excited about consumer in this current investment landscape?* * ** * *What’s the average check size at Upfront ventures and what stages does he focus on? What are some metrics that you focus on in your due diligence? How does he evaluate if a company has found product-market fit? How does he approach founder-market fit? How does Greg think about good growth vs bad growth?* * ** * *What was the Los Angeles venture capital and startup scene like when he started investing and the transformation?Why is Los Angeles becoming such a hotspot for consumer companies and innovation? What are some consumer trends that he is most excited about? How important is it where you are based geographically as an investor since you have lots of different online communication options and are able to invest in different parts of the world?* * ** * *What is something that he would change when it came to venture capital? What is one company that you either invested in or worked with that you are proud of?What is one company that is on his anti portfolio? What is one piece of advice that you have for founders of consumer companies?

23 Mar 07:39

Eamonn Carey (Techstars) - Consumer Trends in Europe, Expanding to New Markets, and The Three Most Important Words in the English Language

*Eamonn Carey* ( https://www.techstars.com/mentors/eamonn-carey/ ) *is the Managing Director at* *Techstars* ( https://www.techstars.com/ ) *London. Techstars is a global seed accelerator and worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed and is currently in over 150 countries worldwide. Some of their alumni include Classpass, Pillpack, and Contently.He was previously MD at Techstars Connection in partnership with AB InBev in New York, and has been a long term mentor, advisor and angel investor in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the US.* *In the past, Eamonn started, succeeded and failed with several startups in Europe and the Middle East - including Farmvillain - an app which some described as the 'South Park of Facebook'.* *A book that impacted Eamonn professionally is* *The Checklist Manifesto* ( https://amzn.to/2RGxGng ) *by Atul Gawande and one that impacted him personally is* *A Third Plate* ( https://amzn.to/37mcRE2 ) *by Dan Barber.* *In this episode, you will learn -* * *What attracted Eamonn to startups, entrepreneurship and then move to the other side of the table to investing? What are the advantages for startups being part of Techstars London? How is London’s ecosystem is different from New York and the bay area? What is his due diligence process like, what are some of the qualities that you look for in founders and determining founder-market fit?* * ** * *What are some metrics that he pays attention in the diligence process and how do you determine if you’ve found product market fit? What is different about London’s ecosystem compared to maybe The bay area or New York? He also sources deals for Zeroth which is a Hong Kong based accelerator. What trends are looking at since you’re quite global? What is his view of remote working?* * ** * *How he thinks about consumer trends in different markets and how consumer companies are expanding to different markets? Consumer verticals that he is excited about or focused on for expansion in Asian markets? What are some of the difficulties when investing in consumers? Has today’s landscape with round sizes booming changed how he invests?* * ** * *He wrote about how raising too much money can kill you, how does he think about good growth vs. bad growth in a startup? What is something that he would change when it came to venture capital? What is one company that is part of his most recent cohort and why did you invest? What is one company that he had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t, and in retrospect wish you did? What is one piece of advice for founders of consumer companies?* * **

23 Mar 07:39

Jordan Nof (Tusk VP) - Regulated Industries, The Importance of Timing, and Good Growth vs. Bad Growth

*Jordan Nof* ( https://tuskventures.com/team-member/jordan-nof/ ) *is a Managing Partner and the Head of Investments at* *Tusk Venture Partners* ( https://tuskventures.com/ ) *, where he oversees all aspects of the firm’s venture capital investment practice and is a member of the Investment Committee. Jordan has led many of the Fund’s capital investments including Lemonade, Bird, Alma, and Sunday. He currently serves on the board of directors of Alma and Sunday.* *Prior to Tusk Venture Partners, Jordan spent six years as a Director at Blackstone, where he focused on the development of the firm’s corporate venture capital portfolio. During that time, Jordan focused on investing in early-stage technology companies that could accelerate operations across Blackstone and the firm’s underlying portfolio companies. He led Blackstone’s first real estate technology investment and worked within the Innovations team to execute investments in financial technology and cyber-security startups.* *You can follow Jordan on Twitter* *@jordannof* ( https://twitter.com/JordanNof ) *.* *A book that inspired Jordan both personally and professionally is* *Zero To One* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804139296?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0804139296&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Peter Thiel* *In this episode, you will learn -* * *What made Jordan leave Blackstone in order to go into Venture Capital with Tusk? Tusk’s thesis and why they invest in regulated industries. The difficulties when it comes to investing regulated industries and the Tusk advantage?* * ** * *What makes him excited about investing in consumer companies in today’s landscape? What are some consumer verticals that he is most excited about and are ripe for disruption?* * ** * *At the early stage when a company doesn’t have a lot of data, what are some qualities that he look for in a founder? When does a company need to find product market fit in their fundraising stage? How he thinks about the future of regulation in certain industries? How do you think about good growth vs. bad growth today? Does he think Nike announcing that they are not selling on Amazon a big deal?* * ** * *What is something that you would change when it came to venture capital? What is his most recent investment and why is he excited about it? What is one piece of advice that you have for founders of consumer companies?* * **

23 Mar 07:39

Jason Stoffer (Maveron) - Mediocre Markets, Early Traction, and Knowing Your Weaknesses

*Jason Stoffer* ( https://www.maveron.com/team/jason-stoffer/ ) *is a General Partner at* *Maveron* ( https://www.maveron.com/ ) *. Maveron is a premier consumer focused fund that invests in seed and Series A companies that empower consumers to live on their terms. Some of Maveron’s investments include Everlane, Allbirds,* *General Assembly* ( https://generalassemb.ly/ ) *,* *eBay* ( https://www.ebay.com/ ) *, and* *Coursehero* ( https://www.coursehero.com/ ) *. Jason is focused on investing in education, e-commerce, and technology-enabled consumer businesses.* *Jason Stoffer was an early Board member at zulily. He sourced Maveron's investments in, and currently serves on the boards of General Assembly, Julep, Lively and Dolls Kill. He also led several of Maveron's most promising seed investments, including CourseHero, Everlane and Peach.* *Jason Stoffer was formerly a member of the advisory board of the Lumina Foundation’s Next Generation Learning Initiative. He is also a mentor for TechStars. Previously, he was a board member of Startl, an education incubator.* *You can follow Jason on Twitter* *@jstoffer* ( https://twitter.com/jstoffer ) *. You are welcome to follow along behind the scenes* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ) *.* *One book the inspired Jason personally is* *Ender’s Game* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812550706?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0812550706&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Orson Scott Card and one book that inspired him professionally is* *Competitive Strategy* ( http://amazon.com/gp/product/0684841487?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0684841487&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Michael Porter.* *In this episode you will learn -* * *What attracted Jason to startups, technology and venture capital? Why the focus on consumer, what attracted you to invest in purely consumer companies at Maveron?How he thinks about early momentum and traction? What makes investing in consumer companies difficult? When does a company need to have product market fit?* * ** * *What are some qualities in first time founders that he looks go? What’s the Maveron founder scorecard? How he analyzes mediocre markets and why he’s a fan of the Warren Buffet quote “When a great team meets a mediocre market, only the market maintains its reputation” strong markets.” What has changed in how he invests throughout the years? How does he think of the term “Founder Friendly” and what has happened with WeWork changed anything on his view.* * ** * *Qualities his diligence process when analyzing founder-market fit? What are consumer trends that he is focused on in

23 Mar 07:39

Sumeet Shah (Swiftarc Ventures) - 4th Generation of Retail, Periscope Founders and What is Wrong in VC

*Sumeet Shah* ( https://twitter.com/PE_Feeds?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor ) *is the Portfolio Support Associate at Swiftarc Ventures. Swiftarc Ventures is an early- and growth-stage venture capital firm mainly focused on North America-based consumer brands making major economic and social disruptions.* *Prior to Swiftrc, Sumeet was a Principal at Brand Foundry Ventures and has coached hundreds of founders on their investor decks and fundraising strategies. I had so much chatting with Sumeet as we discuss the 4th generation of retail, what is wrong with venture capital, and his due diligence process. I’d like to thank Sumeet personally as well as he has been vital to the growth of this podcast. So without further ado, here’s Sumeet.* *You can follow Sumeet on twitter* *@PE_Feeds* ( https://twitter.com/PE_Feeds ) *and his website* *Le Cinq* ( https://lecinq.substack.com/ ) *, If you’d like to follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow me* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ) *.* *On this episode you will learn -* * *What attracted Sumeet to head into venture capital and what made you switch your focus from Biomedical engineering? Swiftarc’s thesis and focus and how the fund came together.* His due diligence process when evaluating consumer startups and some qualities that you like to see from founders? How does he measure good growth vs bad growth? When should a startup optimize for profitability rather than growth? * Does he think in this era of the DTC channel and low barrier of entry to start a brand and the more choice than ever for the consumer in brand that this is the golden age for brands? Consumer trends that he is most focused on in today’s landscape? What makes New York’s startup ecosystem an ideal place to be, especially in terms of consumer? What is something that he would change when it came to venture capital? ** What is one company that he had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t, and in retrospect wish he did? ** What is one piece of advice that you have for founders of consumer companies?

23 Mar 07:39

Sophie Bakalar (fable & Collaborative Fund) - What is Market Expertise?, Conscious Consumerism, and How She Sensed An Opportunity

*Sophie Bakalar is the founder of Fable, an e-commerce pet store help pets (and their humans) lead healthier, happier lives through better design. She is also a Venture Partner at Collaborative fund, a seed stage fund that focuses on the growth of the creative class and the concept of collaborative consumption. Some of their investments include Reddit, Impossible Foods, Tala, Lyft, and Kickstarter.* *Previously, Sophie a credit trader in a hedge fund and started a B2B and founded digit charts, a company specializing in image processing software for charts, which was acquired in 2016.* *You can follow Sophie @sophiebakalar. If you’d like to follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow me @mikegelb and @consumervc.* *A book that impacted her personally is* *The Overstory* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039335668X/ref=as_li_tl?camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=039335668X&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=9e71d21397ffbe8f7b1e282577339975&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Richard Powers. A book that impacted her professionally is* *Mornings on Horseback* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671447548/ref=as_li_tl?camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0671447548&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=4402ca6bb3c477b0971da58abbdcaec9&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by David McCullough* * *What attracted her to startups and venture capital? What were some of her learnings as the founder of di8it chart that transferred and influenced on the other side of the table as a venture capitalist? What attracted her to Collaborative fund and early stage investing? What excites her about consumer investing? What Consumer insights is she most focused on? How does she think about the future of retail?* * ** * *When she was full time at Collaborative fund, what are some qualities that she liked to see from founders? What are consumer trends that she focused on in today’s landscape? How does she think about D2C brands in the current era with online acquisition costs continuing to rise since there is so much competition for SEM and Facebook ads?* * ** * *What led her to founding Fable? What is something that she would change when it came to venture capital? What is one piece of advice that you have for founders of consumer companies?* * **

23 Mar 07:38

Tim Katt (TACK Ventures) - How Tech is Disrupting Sports, Media and Advice for Founders in Secondary Markets

*Tim Katt* ( https://twitter.com/tim_katt?lang=en ) *is the managing partner and co-founder of* *TACK Ventures* ( https://www.tackvc.com/ ) *, TACK Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm based in Brooklyn and focused on investing in game-changers across sports, media, lifestyle and entertainment. Investments include Overtime, ShotTracker, Roam, Greenfly and .* *Tim also Co-Founded the Global Sports Venture Studio (“GSVS”) with R/GA Ventures and the Los Angeles Dodgers. As Managing Director of the GSVS, Tim advised executives at leading organizations in the sports industry including adidas, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Fox Sports, Levy Restaurants, MLB, MLS, the NHL, Octagon and UEFA, on corporate innovation and venture investment.* *One book that inspired Tim personally and professionally is* *Principles* ( https://amzn.to/2tJ8h4h ) *by Ray Dalio.* *If you’d like to keep tabs on Tim, you can follow him on Twitter* *@tim_katt* ( https://twitter.com/tim_katt?lang=en ) *. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ) *.* *In this episode you will learn -* * *What attracted Tim to venture capital from a career in media? The uniqueness of TACK and typical check size? What makes New York unique? The Rise of Venture Capital in Sport. Tim’s diligence process. How he thinks about the landscape of the media industry changing from advertising model to a subscription model? How he’s thinking about media and ecommerce converging?* * ** * *Qualities he likes to see in founders during your evaluation process? For consumer companies, how do you know when you’ve found product-market fit? Consumer trends Tim’s focused on. How he thinks about investing in today’s landscape with the abundance of capital that is currently in the ecosystem? What is something that he would change when it came to venture capital?* * ** * *What’s one company that he had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t, and in retrospect wish he did? What is his most recent (announced) investment and why are he excited about it? What is one piece of advice for founders of consumer companies?* * **

23 Mar 07:38

Gautam Gupta (M13) - The Thin Line Between Success and Failure, Board Construction, and Why He Offers Learnings, Not Advice

*Gautam Gupta* ( https://www.m13.co/team-members/gautam-gupta/ ) *is a Partner at* *M13* ( https://www.m13.co/ ) *and founded and previously was the CEO of* *Naturebox* ( https://naturebox.com/ ) *.* *M13 is a venture fund headquartered in Los Angeles that has invested in some of the most innovative consumer companies like Pinterst, SnapChat, Lyft, Bird, and Ring.* *Naturebox, a subscription online delivery service that home-delivers all-natural snack foods. Before that, he started his career as an early stage investor at General Catalyst when he was just 18.* *If you would like to keep up to date on Gautam, you can follow him* *@gramblings* ( https://twitter.com/gRamblings ) *.To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ) *.* *A book that inspired Gautam professionally is* *The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success* ( https://amzn.to/2O9WxPT ) *by William N. Thorndike. A book that inspired Gautam personally is* *Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike* ( https://amzn.to/35kPdGH ) *by Phil Knight.* *In this episode you will learn -* * *When did he know that he wanted to be an entrepreneur? What got him into Venture Capital? What made you want to leave venture capital to found NatureBox?* * ** * *I think you’re the first guest I’ve had on this show that started his or her career in VC, then became a founder/CEO then came back to VC. The learnings and takeaways when he founded his own company that impacted him as an investor? Why he decided to join M13? What’s his advice for founders that live in secondary and tertiary markets that are outside LA, SF and NYC? How should founders think about board construction for their companies? What are changes in consumer behavior that he is focused on? What’s one thing he would change when it came to venture capital?* * ** * *What is his most recent investment and what makes him excited about it? One company that he had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t and in retrospect wish he did?* * ** * *What is one learning that was impactful and could be helpful for founders of venture backable B2C consumer companies?*

23 Mar 07:38

Kate Boyle (Banjo Robinson) - Expanding Into Different Countries, Her Unfair Advantage, and Storytelling

*Kate Boyle* ( https://www.banjorobinson.com/about-us/ ) *is the founder and CEO of* *Banjo Robinson* ( https://www.banjorobinson.com/ ) *. Banjo Robinson is a magical cat that writes personalized letters that turn reading, writing and learning about the world into a magical game for 5-8 year olds. Banjo Robinson graduated London Techstars Accelerator fall 2019 and recently raised a pre-seed round led by Collaborative Fund and Sesame Ventures. Previously, Kate worked at William Morris and in screenwriting and script development.* *Thank you* *Eamonn Carey* ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/01/23/eamonn-carey/ ) *for the introduction!* *You can follow Banjo on his journey* *@banjo_robinson_* ( https://twitter.com/banjo_robinson_ ) *. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ) *.* *A book that inspired Kate personally and professionally, is* *The Lorax* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394823370?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0394823370&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Dr. Seuss. A book that also inspired her professionally is* *The Lean Startup* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307887898/ref=as_li_tl?camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307887898&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=023a99d5da1de978e70bf5784f46a0cc&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Eric Ries* *In this episode you will learn -* * *Why Kate founded Banjo Robinson? What makes her uniquely qualified and her superpowers? What are her areas of weakness and how does she think about hiring? A glimpse of being in the Techstars accelerator. How did she approach the fundraising process?* * ** * *What was your due diligence process when evaluating venture capital firms? How did she think about expanding Banjo Robinson geographically? What were some of the initial target markets and what is the customer acquisition strategy?* * ** * *What is one piece of advice that she has for other founders?* * **

23 Mar 07:38

Jason Shuman (Primary Ventures) - Payback Period, Market Timing, and The Importance of Distribution

*Jason Shuman* ( https://www.primary.vc/jason-shuman ) *is a Principal at* *Primary Ventures* ( https://www.primary.vc/ ) *, a seed-stage venture capital firm responsible for backing NYC's most promising founders. Some of their investments include Ticketfly, Jet, Deliveroo, and Package Free.* *Jason has been working in New York as a VC for the past four years. In college, Jason launched a direct-to-consumer footwear company that sold hand-sewn boat shoes and driving moccasins. He later went on to work at New York-based seed fund Corigin Ventures, where he invested in several companies including Latch, Loftsmart and Morty.* *Thank you* *Sumeet Shah* ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/02/03/sumeet-shah/ ) *for the intro.* *One book that inspired Jason personally is* *Attached* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1585429139/ref=as_li_tl?camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1585429139&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=341c8a94afdb88357c495da3a0dda3a1&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Amir Levine. One book that inspired Jason professionally is* *Think and Grow Rich* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1585424331/ref=as_li_tl?camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1585424331&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=4a7da6947599553482bfab812a9e7f2b&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Napoleon Hill.* *If you’d like to keep up to date with Jason, you can follow him on Twitter* *@boatshuman* ( https://twitter.com/BoatShuman ) *. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ) *.* *In this episode you will learn -* * *What attracted him to start his own footwear company and become an entrepreneur? What were some of the learnings from that experience? How does he think about market timing? What attracted him to switch from being a founder to venture capital and working on the other side of the table? What makes seed investing as a stage so interesting to him? What attracted him to consumer?* * *What are his own KPIs for founders that are looking to fundraise a seed round? What are some qualities in founders that you look for? What is his own due diligence process? What metrics does he focus on and how has his evaluation changed the past few years What should the diligence process be for an early hire? How does he think about growth - organic vs. paid. Why does Primary Ventures only invest in New York Companies? What is some advice for founders that live in secondary and tertiary markets? What are changes in consumer behavior or consumer trends that he is most excited and focused on and looking at investment opportunities? What is something that he would c

23 Mar 07:38

Elizabeth Yin (Hustle Fund) - Investing When There’s No Traction and How To Mitigate Risk When Founding

*Elizabeth Yin* ( https://elizabethyin.com/ ) *is a co-founder and General Partner at* *Hustle Fund* ( https://www.hustlefund.vc/ ) *, a pre-seed fund for software entrepreneurs. One of Hustle Fund’s missions is to level the playing field in the world of venture-backed businesses by investing in non-Stanford and non-Ivy League founders.* *Previously, Elizabeth was a partner at 500 Startups where she invested in seed-stage companies and ran the Mountain View accelerator. Elizabeth also co-founded and ran an ad tech company called LaunchBit (acq 2014). Her work and writing on startup fundraising have been featured in numerous publications including TechCrunch, Forbes, Huffington Post, BetaKit, and more.* *If you’d like to keep up to date with Elizabeth, you can* *@dunkhippo33* ( https://twitter.com/dunkhippo33 ) *and subscribe to her insightful blog posts at* *www.elizabethyin.com* ( http://www.elizabethyin.com/ ) *. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/consumervc ) *.* *One book that inspired Elizabeth personally is* *Born To Run* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307279189?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0307279189&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Christopher McDougall. One book that inspired Elizabeth professionally is* *The Lean Startup* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307887898?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0307887898&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Eric Ries.* *In this episode you will learn -* * *What compelled Elizabeth to start LaunchBit and what attracted her to startups in general? Why did she switch to become an investor? What were some of the learnings from being a founder that influenced her as an investor? What compelled her and Eric to leave 500 startups and start Hustle Fund? Advice for founders that didn’t go to Stanford or Ivy League schools? Advice for founders that live in secondary and tertiary markets?* * ** * *What are some of the differences in her diligence process when investing in consumer vs enterprise? What is her own due diligence process? What are her expectations for companies at pre-seed? What are some qualities she likes to see founders have?* * ** * *What are the ideal traits of an investor for startups? What are some consumer trends that she is excited about? What is one thing that she would change when it came to venture capital? What is your most recent consumer investment and what makes her excited about it? What is one company she had the opportunity to invest, didn’t, and in retrospect wish she did? What is one piece of advice she has for founders of consumer c

23 Mar 07:38

Bonus - Matt Hirst (West): Brand and Marketing - What is Brand?, How to Hire at the Early Stages, and Trusting Your Gut vs. Data Driven

*Matt Hirst* ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hirst-137a713/ ) *is the Managing Partner at* *West* ( https://west.ventures/ ) *. West is a venture studio, a team of market and brand experts with investor discipline. Since 2011, West has partnered with some of the world’s most innovative companies and founders to maximize their opportunity and make impact including Impossible Burger, GofundMe, Square and Twitter.* *Matt joined West 4 years ago after serving as the Global Head of Brand Experience at Google. Prior to Google, Matt spent 10 yrs at Red Bull as head of Sports, Events and Culture and the Director of Culture Marketing.* *One book that inspired Matt personally and professionally is* *Alchemy* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006238841X?camp=1789&creativeASIN=006238841X&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Rory Sutherland.* *In this episode you will learn -* * *Some of the differences working for Red Bull vs. Google. How he thinks about the differences between brand strategy vs. growth marketing. How he thinks about data vs. trusting your gut when it comes to brand and marketing? What are questions founders should ask when building a brand identity? The differences in skill set that founders should be aware of if they are hiring a brand management professional from a large company vs. someone with startup experience to join their team?* * ** * *When an entrepreneur is thinking about brand for his or her startup, the types of questions should they be asking themselves? Why does he feel that brand is still undervalued asset? Why is building a brand the most expensive assets you can build and the hardest? How he thinks about the brand agency ecosystem and if a startup is looking to hire an agency, what are some questions should they be asking?* * ** * *Is this best time or worst time to build a CPG Brand? His due diligence process at West. One thing he would change when it came to the perception of brand? One piece of advice for founders when it comes to brand?* * ** *To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/consumervc ) *.*

23 Mar 07:38

Lee Hower (NextView Ventures) - Making Good Decisions Fast, Going With Your Gut and Why Trust at the Early Stages Is Vital

*Lee Hower* ( https://nextviewventures.com/team/lee-hower/ ) *is the Co-Founder and Partner of* *NextView Ventures* ( https://nextviewventures.com/ ) *. NextView is a high-conviction hands on seed-stage VC firm that invests in founders who are redesigning the everyday economy. Some of their investments include Grove Collaborative, Skillz, Plastiq, Attentive, LetGo and TapCommerce. Previously, Lee was an early employee at Paypal and served as the Director of Financial Services. He then went on to co-found LinkedIn and serve as a Principal and Venture Partner at PJC.* *Thank you* *Gautam Gupta* ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/02/13/gautam-gupta/ ) *for introducing me to Lee!* *One of Lee’s blog posts that we discuss on the show is* *Denouement* ( https://nextviewventures.com/blog/denouement/ ) *. All of Lee’s and NextView’s blog posts are available* *here* ( https://nextviewventures.com/blog/ ) *.* *One book that inspired Lee professionally is* *Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0066620996?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0066620996&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Jim Collins. One book that inspired Lee personally is* *Mutiny on the Bounty* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316611689?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0316611689&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Charles Nordoff* *If you would like to keep up to date with Lee, you can follow him on Twitter* *@leehower* ( https://twitter.com/leehower ) *. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/consumervc ) *.* *In this episode you will learn -* * *What attracted Lee to work in technology and what was it like working with the Paypal Mafia? What were some of the learnings from those moments and what led him to co-founding LinkedIn? Is operational experience important to an investor?* * ** * *What are some of the qualities in a founder that he focuses on and look for? His due diligence process? How does he think about portfolio construction at the seed level? What are data points when it comes to consumer companies that you most focus on in the early stages? What he means by the everyday economy? How he thinks about today’s venture capital era and why he refers to it as the denouement era?* * ** * *How does he think about the future of venture capital in the new decade? What are some consumer trends that he is most excited about?* * ** * *What is one thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? What is his most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? What’s one piece of adv

23 Mar 07:38

Ethan Austin (Techstars) - Punched in the Face with a Problem, Analyzing Teams and EQ

*Ethan Austin is the Managing Director of* *Techstars Western Union Accelerator* ( https://www.techstars.com/western-union-program/ ) *. Techstars Western Union Accelerator is the premier program for global startups shaping the future of money movement. Companies participating in the program gain direct access to the world's best fintech execs, founders and investors covering everything from customer development, global go-to-market strategy, access to capital and biz dev opportunities. You can currently apply* *Here* ( https://www.techstars.com/western-union-program/ ) *to be part of their summer cohort. The application deadline is April 5th, 2020.* *Previously, Ethan co-founded Giveforward, the world's first medical crowdfunding platform which was acquired by gofundme, and Deal Gooder, an E-commerce site where proceeds benefitted local non-profits and schools.* *You can follow Ethan on Twitter* *@ethanaustin* ( https://twitter.com/ethanaustin ) *. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/consumervc ) *.* *One book that inspired Ethan professionally is* *Hug Your Customers* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401300340?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1401300340&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Jack Mitchell. One book that inspired Ethan personally is* *Arc of Justice* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805079335?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0805079335&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Kevin Boyle.* *In this episode you will learn -* * *What attracted Ethan to entrepreneurship? Why he is mission-driven. How going through Techstars changed his life? How to analyze teams? The importance of distribution.* * ** * *The requirements of the Techstars Western Union Accelerator. Some trends that Ethan is focused on in fintech? What is one company in your most recent cohort that you are excited about? What is one thing that you would change about venture capital?* * ** * *What is one piece of advice that he has for founders?*

23 Mar 07:38

Laura Chau (Canaan) - The Five Pillars of Social Media, Moving Towards Status and the Power of Grit

*Laura Chau* ( https://www.canaan.com/team/laura-chau ) *is a Principal at* *Canaan* ( https://www.canaan.com/ ) *. Canaan is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in visionaries with transformative ideas. Some of her current investments include Coterie, Curtsy, and Jumpcut. At Canaan, she focuses on consumer technology. She previously worked in Deloitte’s Strategy and Operations practice. She has also worked in sales and marketing functions within Kabam (acq. by Netmarble), Branch Metrics and Greenhouse, as well as working closely with Marie Kondo to launch the author’s product business.* *Thank you Caitlin Strandberg for the introduction!* *In this episode, we focus on Laura’s chapter in* *Finding Genius* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1099638240?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1099638240&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Kunal Mehta.* *Here* ( https://www.canaan.com/latest/tag/finding-genius-excerpt-series-1df2dbbd-a327-426d-844c-077e56c2a0ac ) *is a link to excerpts of her contribution to the book.* *Worked at Kabam* *In this episode you will learn -* * *What attracted Laura to work in startups and technology? What were some of the learnings while she worked at Kabam that influenced her as an investor and what attracted her to venture capital, specifically early stage investing? In the early stages, when there isn’t much data, what are some of the qualities that she looks for in founders?* * ** * *What’s her due diligence process? What makes consumer investing challenging compared to enterprise? What is some advice for founders that might live in secondary or tertiary markets? A recap of the five pillars of social media in her “Finding Genius” chapter. At what stage does social media hit saturation? How she thinks about privacy? The future and opportunity in social media? Consumer trends that she is most excited about?* * ** * *What is one thing that she would change about venture capital? What is one book that inspired her personally and one book that inspired her professionally? What is her most recent investment and what makes her excited about it? What is one piece of advice that you have for founders of consumer companies?* * **

23 Mar 07:38

Bonus - Coronavirus: Feat. Robert Gelb (HeySummit) - How early stage investors are thinking about the current landscape?

*I reached out to all past investors that came on the show and future investors that will be coming on and asked them the following questions pertaining to the impact of corona:* ** Are you shifting strategy away/towards companies/verticals?* *No. We're long term, early stage investors so we look at companies with a 5-10+ year time horizon. While we take the health, economic, and societal impacts of COVID-19 very seriously, especially in the next few months and quarters, our expectation is that over the long run the broad societal and economic impact will be modest.* *I wouldn’t say we’re changing our strategy [yet?]. One thing we have been developing a thesis on, even prior to coronavirus, is curation in the consumer environment given how fragmented the various sectors have become with abundance of brand choices. That being said, we’re looking for opportunities that de-risk the exposure to a particular brand, but opportunities to play a broader category based on consumer preferences and behaviors. We continue to look for disruptors in the market that change age-old behaviors, come up with a better mousetrap, are vertically integrated creating strong supply chains or have a lifestyle component (among other attributes). We love businesses that touch 2 of 3 categories – DTC, B2B, retail/wholesale.* *Not really. As seed investors, we take a long-term approach. And while there will be some behavioral shifts that come from this, at some point I believe we’ll get pretty close to ‘normal’. That being said, we are leaning more into companies that are ‘building’ v ‘selling’ immediately.* ** Are you pausing investments in a particular space?* *No. We're long term, early stage investors so we look at companies with a 5-10+ year time horizon.* *We have some exposure to the travel industry. We do believe that this industry will be the last to recover, much like after 9/11, so we’re monitoring it closely and will probably sit on the sidelines in the near-term for this sector. If there was a business that showed some resiliency and was at an attractive value, we’d certainly look at it. Depending on the slowdown and how long things play out, discretionary purchases are likely to decrease so we like to be positioned with necessity purchases.* ** Are you concerned about some current portfolio companies' ability to raise?* *Yes to some extent. We haven't seen early-mid stage investors change their activity levels at this juncture, but obviously the concerns and work environment (more remote, less F2F) mean we'd anticipate some slowdown or lengthened deal processes. Early-mid stage investors may also look to allocate incremental capital to existing investments rather than new investme

23 Mar 07:37

Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures) - The State of Seed Investing, The Early Stage Ecosystem, and Why Consumer Has Been Out Of Favor with VCs

*Charles Hudson* ( https://precursorvc.com/team_member/charles-hudson/ ) *is the Managing Partner and Founder of* *Precursor Ventures* ( https://precursorvc.com/ ) *. Precursor Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in the first institutional round of investment for the most promising software and hardware companies. Some of their investments include The Athletic, Goodr and Co-Star.* *Prior to founding Precursor Ventures, Charles was a Partner at SoftTech VC and Co-Founder and CEO of Bionic Panda Games, an Android-focused mobile games startup. He also was the VP of Business Development for Serious Business (acq. Zynga) and Director of Business Development at Gaia Interactive.* *You can follow Charles on Twitter* *@chudson* ( https://twitter.com/chudson ) *. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/consumervc ) *.* *A couple books that impacted Charles professionally are* *The New Geography of Jobs* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0544028058?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0544028058&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Enrico Maretti and* *Who Gets What and Why* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0544705289?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0544705289&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by Alvin Roth . A book that impacted him personally is* *The Wright Brothers* ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1476728755?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1476728755&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) *by David McCullough.* *On this episode you will learn -* * *How did Charles make his way into Venture Capital? How did Precursor come together? How does Charles think about the early investment landscape? His due diligence and decision making process. How he thinks about domain expertise.* * ** * *Why are there two different seed markets with radically different round sizes and valuations and what does seed look like today? What are some of the differences in the diligence process when investing in consumer vs. enterprise startups?* * ** * *How he thinks about pivoting in the early stages? How he thinks about portfolio composition? Advice for founders that are in tertiary or secondary markets or have a network of VCs when fundraising? What consumer trends is he most focused on? What is one thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? What is one piece of advice for founders of consumer companies?* * **

23 Mar 07:37

Logan Langberg (Imaginary Ventures) - DTC 2.0, Multiple Channels of Distribution, and Paid vs. Organic Growth

**Please note that this episode was recorded before the coronavirus global pandemic** Logan Langberg ( https://imaginary.co/team-contact/ ) is a Principal at Imaginary Ventures ( https://imaginary.co/ ). Imaginary is a Venture Capital Fund that invests in early–stage opportunities at the intersection of retail and technology in Europe and the US. Some of their investments include Everlane, Glossier, and Daily Harvest. Logan was previously an investor at Alliance Consumer Growth, a leading consumer growth equity fund, where he invested in and supported Harry’s, LOLA, Honest Kitchen among other innovative consumer companies. It was a blast talking with Logan about food and bev, future of retail and much more. You can follow Logan on Twitter @LangbergLogan ( https://twitter.com/LangbergLogan ). To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) and @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/consumervc ). A book that impacted Logan personally is Boris Johnson’s The Churchill Factor ( https://amzn.to/2yajRYa ). One book that impacted Logan professionally is Brad Feld’s Venture Deals ( https://amzn.to/2vObQXV ). In this episode you will learn - * Why did Logan come down from growth equity to venture capital? What interested him in consumer? How does he think about good growth vs. bad growth? How does he think about optimizing for growth vs. profitability? * What is his investment criteria for companies? What’s his due diligence process? How important is market expertise? How does he think about price in this current investment landscape? What is the reason that PE firms have come down stream? Do founders need to be concerned with over raising? * What are some metrics that he focuses on the most? How does he think about portfolio construction and returns for each investment? How Logan thinks about the future of retail? What is one thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? What is his most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? What is one piece of advice for consumer entrepreneurs?

23 Mar 07:37

Madeline Keulen (Victress Capital) - Knowing Your Why, Analyzing Contrasting Trends, and Building Brands

**Please note that this episode was recorded before the coronavirus global pandemic** Madeline Keulen ( https://www.victresscapital.com/madeline-keulen ) is Vice President at Victress Capital ( https://www.victresscapital.com/ ). Victress Capital is an early stage venture capital firm that provides visionary and diverse founding teams in the consumer space with capital and resources for growth. Victress has backed 21 innovative companies led by tenacious founders including Alyce, Daily Harvest, Harper Wilde, Rae, and Summersalt. Prior to Victress, Madeline developed her consumer expertise as an operator, experiencing first-hand the importance of customer-centric values while working at Apple and The Walt Disney Company. She then moved to Oliver Wyman, where she focused on partnering with leading consumer product and services businesses on strategic growth initiatives, operational improvement, and post-merger integrations. You can follow Madeline on Twitter @mkeulen ( https://twitter.com/mkeulen ) and check out her blog mkeulen.com ( http://www.mkeulen.com/ ) To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) and @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/consumervc ). One book that inspired her professionally and personally is How Will You Measure Your Life? ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062102419?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062102419&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) By Clay Christensen. A couple other books that inspired her professionally are Sam Walton’s Made in America ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553562835?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0553562835&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) and Phil Knight’s Shoedog ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501135929?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1501135929&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ). On this episode you will learn - * What attracted Madeline to startups and venture capital in the first place? How was she able to break into venture? A bit about Victress Capital? What she looks for at the seed stage? Her diligence process? * Boston’s startup ecosystem. What is the value of a brand? How to think about competitive advantage and moat? How she thinks about contrasting trends? Is this the hardest period to build a brand in today’s climate since it seems so easy to launch a brand? * How the DTC channel has changed? Why she is so bullish on consumer? What she would change about venture capital? Advice for founders in secondary and tertiary markets. The importance of knowing your why.

23 Mar 07:37

Kiva Dickinson (Selva Ventures) - Best Time To Start A Brand, Why First Mover is So Important in CPG, and Why VCs are Scared of Getting it Wrong

*This episode features two conversations I’ve had with Kiva* Kiva Dickinson ( https://www.selvaventures.com/team-0 ) is the managing partner at Selva Ventures ( https://www.selvaventures.com/ ). Selva Ventures invests in emerging brands that make their consumers’ lives better. Some of their portfolio includes Haus, Mud Water, and Three Wishes. Prior to founding Selva Ventures Kiva was a Partner at CircleUp, where he joined during the launch of the Company’s first discretionary equity fund CircleUp Growth Partners. While at CircleUp Kiva led Series B investments in Nutpods and Liquid I.V., working closely with both companies following investment. You can follow Kiva on Twitter @kivadickinson ( https://twitter.com/KivaDickinson ). If you are a founder and working on something innovative, have a question you’d like to hear VCs or founders answer on the show you can DM and follow the host @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). One book that inspired Kiva personally is How Will You Measure Your Life ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062102419?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062102419&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Clay Christensen. One book that inspired him professionally is Thinking in Bets ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735216371?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0735216371&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Annie Duke. On this episode, you will learn - * What attracted Kiva to VC? How Selva came together? His due diligence process. How he thinks about competitive vs. non-competitive categories? How does he think about the future of retail and O2O strategy for companies? How has DTC changed retail? * How does he think about portfolio management and construction when it comes to return on investment? How does he think about geography when it comes to starting a brand and investing and why did he choose the bay area to set up shop? What is one thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? * What’s one company that is in his anti-portfolio - you had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t and in retrospect wish you did? What’s your most recent investment and what makes him excited about it? What is one piece of advice he has for founders of consumer companies? * His reaction to coronavirus * Is he shifting strategy away/towards companies/verticals? * Is he pausing investments in a particular space? * Is he concerned about some current portfolio companies' ability to raise? * Is he having to adjust to new work protocols (remote working, etc) and if so, is that having an impact?

23 Mar 07:37

Natalie Dillon (Maveron) - Subcultures, Sustainability, and The Differences Between Gen Z & and Millennials

**Please note this episode was recorded back in January before the global pandemic.** Natalie Dillon ( https://www.maveron.com/team/dillon-natalie/ ) is a Principal at Maveron ( https://www.maveron.com/ ). Maveron is a premier consumer focused fund that invests in seed and Series A companies that empower consumers to live on their terms. Some of their investments include eBay, Everlane, and Allbirds Prior to Maveron, Natalie was at Susa Ventures, a premier seed-stage fund in San Francisco. At Susa, Natalie worked with the team to source and help diligence several investments, largely in the consumer space. Before Susa, Natalie was a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs and a research associate at Silicon Valley Bank. I would like to thank Sumeet Shah ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/02/03/sumeet-shah/ ) for the introduction! A book that inspired Natalie professionally is Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike ( https://amzn.to/35kPdGH ) by Phil Knight. A book that inspired her personally is Why We Sleep ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501144324?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1501144324&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Matthew Walker You can follow Natalie on Twitter @ntdillon ( https://twitter.com/ntdillon ). If you are a founder and working on something innovative, have a question you’d like to hear VCs or founders answer on the show you can DM and follow on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). * What attracted Natalie to venture capital and consumer investing? Walk us through Maveron’s due diligence process and founder checklist? What are specific attributes that you think are non-negotiable and what founders need to have? What subculture trends she is focused on? What makes Natalie interested in consumer vs. enterprise? * How she thinks about the future of social applications and what are you noticing about Gen Z? What is her most recent investment? What is one thing that she would change when it came to venture capital? * What is one company you had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t and in retrospect wish you did? What is one piece of advice for B2C founders? For all episodes, please visit www.theconsumervc.com ( http://www.theconsumervc.com ).

23 Mar 07:37

David Goldberg (Corigin Ventures) - The Sharing Economy, Consumerization of Enterprise Software, and Distribution

**This episode is brought to you by WeStock.io ( https://www.westock.io/ ). WeStock streamlines the product request process and helps your brand get on retail shelves faster. Learn more at WeStock.io ( https://www.westock.io/ ) and when scheduling a demo, use promo code ConsumerVC for 25% off for your first year.** David Goldberg ( https://www.coriginventures.com/family/#team_david_goldberg ) is a General Partner at Corigin Ventures ( https://www.coriginventures.com/ ). Corigin Ventures is a New York based venture capital firm leading seed stage investments in the founders defining the future of daily living. Some of their investments include Perch Interactive, The Inside, Classpass and Imperfect Foods. Previously, David Founder/CEO of FreshNeck, an online, subscription-based, men's neckwear exchange service. He also was the Assistant District Attorney, representing the people of Brooklyn, New York and then worked at Merrill Lynch and Jefferies & Co. You can follow David on Twitter @davidrgoldberg ( https://twitter.com/davidrgoldberg ). If you are a founder and working on something innovative, have a question you’d like to hear VCs or founders answer on the show you can DM him and follow me on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). A book that inspired David professionally is Measure What Matters ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525536221?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0525536221&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by John Doerr. A book that inspired David personally is Reboot ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062749536?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062749536&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Jerry Colonna. In this episode you will learn - * How did David go from a criminal defense attorney to finance to founding freshneck.com? What compelled him to shift to angel investing and transition to venture capital and how did some of your prior experiences help him as an investor? How Corigin came together? At the seed stage, what is he looking for? A walk through his diligence process. * When personalization and customization are you differentiators, how do you scale? How is the sharing economy going to evolve? How he thinks about the consumerization of software. What he thinks about the future of venture capital? What’s one thing you would change about venture capital? * What is his most recent investment and what makes him excited about it? What is one piece of advice that he has for founders of consumer companies?

23 Mar 07:37

Rishi Garg (Mayfield) - Consumer Distrust, Curated Experiences, and What’s Next For Social Media

Rishi Garg ( https://www.mayfield.com/team-member/rishi-garg/ ) is a partner at Mayfield ( https://www.mayfield.com/ ). Mayfield global venture capital firm with a people-first philosophy of investing. Mayfield invests primarily in early-stage technology companies in the enterprise and consumer sectors. Some of Rishi’s investments include Grove Collaborative, Oliver Space and Projector. Rishi backs consumer focused entrepreneurs and has been a longtime executive and entrepreneur at some of the world’s most innovative companies. He’s held senior positions at Twitter, Square, Google, MTV, co-founded FanSnap,a leading venture-backed live event ticket search company acquired by Nextag, Inc. It was great speaking with Rishi about the future of social, consumer distrust in legacy brands, and curation. It was a really fascinating conversation, so without further ado here is Rishi. Thank you Gautam Gupta ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/02/13/gautam-gupta/ ) for the introduction! You can follow Rishi @rishigarg ( https://twitter.com/rishigarg ). You can also read his latest article Why Trusted Commerce Platforms Will Redefine Key Categories in the Next Ten Years ( https://www.mayfield.com/why-trusted-commerce-platforms-will-redefine-key-categories-in-the-next-ten-years/ ). If you are a founder and working on something innovative, have a question you’d like to hear VCs or founders answer on the show you can DM him and follow on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). A book that inspired Rishi both personally and professionally is Man’s Search For Meaning ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807014273?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0807014273&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Viktor Frankl. In this episode you will learn - * What fascinated him working in technology then becoming a founder? What made him interested in venture capital? When a B2C startup doesn’t have alot of traction, what are some qualities he looks for in founders? His due diligence process? * How does he think about commerce and retail in today’s landscape? What are some solutions that he gets excited about in retail that is solving some of these issues? What are changes in consumer behavior is he most focused on? * I’ve heard some folks say it’s a contrarian time to be investing in consumer. Why is that and does he believe it? What is one thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? What is one book that inspired him personally and one book that inspired him professionally? What is his most recent investment and what makes him excited about it? What’s one piece of

23 Mar 07:37

Bonus - Zac Dearing: Paycheck Protection Program

This episode explores the Paycheck Protection Program as it relates to venture backed small businesses. Zac Dearing ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachary-dearing-b761b825/ ) is a J.D. Candidate at Harvard Law School and Venture Fellow at AlleyCorp. Zac has a deep appreciation for start-ups and small businesses starting when he was 12 when he founded and ran his own computer assembling business. He has gone on to have quite the career in consulting, finance, and technology. Here ( https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jmchwp5NQvK9vPwcejSzQ07xJP4gu_pFg55QuAnqyu4/edit?usp=gmail_thread#gid=878559294 ) is a link to Zac’s tool for companies to understand how much government assistance they could expect to receive from PPP. You are also welcome to follow Zac on Twitter @zacdearing ( https://twitter.com/zacdearing?lang=en ). In this episode we discuss - * What is the PPP / SBA Loans program? How did Zac become interested in learning about PPP? Who is the program intended for? What types of businesses should apply? * What makes a company eligible for PPP? What’s the affiliate rule? How can companies change their governance terms with VCs in order to become eligible? Does the affiliate rule only concern those that own a certain percentage of the business? * What has been VCs response to the affiliate rule? Are venture backed companies eligible? Does he see any potential change regarding PPP eligibility regarding the affiliate rule? Will a business need to repay the loan? What’s the forgiveness factor? * What does the good faith certification of necessity mean? Where does one apply? Are all payroll costs eligible?

23 Mar 07:37

Bonus: Brian Wang (Dashing Leadership) - Why A Founder Might Need A Coach and a Conversation About Curiosity, Judgement and Culture

Brian is an executive coach and owner of Dashing Leadership ( http://www.dashingleadership.com ). He helps early-stage founders grow into more effective leaders. Previously he started and ran Fitocracy ( https://www.fitocracy.com/ ) , one of the largest fitness social networks of its time, and sold it in 2015. Afterwards, he joined 500 Startups as a venture partner and later led major product initiatives at Credit Karma and Eaze. If you’re interested in learning more about how coaching can help you perform better as a leader, please schedule an introduction call at www.dashingleadership.com ( http://www.dashingleadership.com ) If you want to keep up to date on Brian you can follow him on Twitter @brianmwang ( https://twitter.com/brianmwang ). If you are a founder and working on something innovative,, have a question you’d like to hear VCs or founders answer on the show you can DM me and follow Mike on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). One of Brian’s favorite author’s is Haruki Murakami. A book that inspired Brian personally is Stories of Your Life and Others ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1101972122?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1101972122&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ted Chiang. A book that inspired Brian professionally is Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071771328?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0071771328&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Kerry Patterson. On this episode you will learn - * What attracted him to entrepreneurship and founding Fitocracy? What were some of the learnings from his experience as a founder? What is coaching and what attracted you to it? How is coaching different to advising and mentoring? * What are some of the ways that you help founders? How is the impact different to advising and mentoring? What’s typically the cadence? * What are some typical or common areas that founders might need help in that you think about? * How do you think about effective leadership? * What is one piece of advice that you would have for all founders?

23 Mar 07:37

Kate McAndrew (Bolt) - Distributed Teams, Fundraising Outside the Major Hubs, and Impact of COVID

23 Mar 07:37

Bonus: Arie Abecassis (ICONYC Labs) - The Board of Directors

Arie Abecassis ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/arie-abecassis-5b81018/ ) , is the founder and partner of ICONYC Labs ( https://iconyclabs.com/ ) and was the chairman of the board at SeatGeek ( https://seatgeek.com/ ). ICONYC labs is a business and funding acceleration platform customized for early-stage Israeli tech startups looking to accelerate growth and cut time to market. SeatGeek is the largest internet event ticket search engine. Arie also is a venture partner / mentor at DreamIt Ventures ( https://www.dreamit.com/ ) and has over twenty years of experience in building technology companies as an operator, advisor and venture capital investor. A book that inspired Arie personally and professionally is Creativity Inc. ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812993012?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0812993012&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ed Catmull. *You can check out Arie's article at Entrepreneur here. ( https://www.entrepreneur.com/author/arie-abecassis ) You can also follow him on Twitter @arieabec ( https://twitter.com/arieabec ) If you are a founder and working on something innovative, have a question you’d like to hear VCs or founders answer on the show you can DM and follow your host on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). For all episodes, please visit theconsumervc.com ( http://theconsumervc.com/ ).* In this episode we discuss - * What attracted Arie to technology and startups?What led him to founding ICONYC labs? What does it mean to be an advisor? What is the role of a board member and how should one think about the value a board member will add to a company? What should founders think about when finding their lead investor? How should founders think about structuring their board of directors? Why have a board? * Examples of good governance vs. bad governance, founder friendly vs. non founder friendly. For first time founders, what has he seen them struggle with the most when it comes to board meetings? At what point do companies need to think about having a board of directors? What’s typically the structure in a board? * How should founders put their board of directors to work? What’s one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital? What’s one piece of advice that you have for founders?

23 Mar 07:37

Joe Tonnos (Ketch Ventures & Mistral Equity Partners) - Cricket Protein, Tequila and Investing in Sustainability

Joe Tonnos ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/joetonnos/ ) is a Principal at Mistral Equity Partners ( https://mistralequity.com/ ) and a Co-Founder of Ketch Ventures ( https://www.ketchventures.com/ ). He invests across the consumer spectrum from seed/pre-series investments at Ketch to growth equity, private equity buyouts and even some public market investments at Mistral Equity Partners. Joe is also a Venture Partner at Natureza ( https://natureza.co/ ) – a newly formed consumer VC focused on Series A investments. Some of his investments include Los Sundays, byCHLOE, and Oros. In this episode we discuss - * What attracted him to investing and venture capital? What attracted him specifically to consumer How does he think about portfolio construction? How did he start Ketch? At the early stages when there isn’t much traction, what's his due diligence process? What qualities does he like to see in founders? * How he's thinking about coronavirus as it relates to consumer investing? Is he shifting strategy away/towards companies/verticals? Is he pausing investments in a particular space? Is he concerned about some current portfolio companies' ability to raise? How he'sadjusting to new work protocols (remote working, etc) and if so, is that having an impact? * What are some consumer trends that he is excited about? What is one thing that he would change about venture capital? What is one company that is in his anti-portfolio? What did he learn from that experience? What’s one piece of advice for founders of consumer startups? This episode is brought to you by WeStock ( http://www.westock.io/ ). WeStock ( http://www.westock.io/ ) streamlines the product request process and helps your brand get on retail shelves faster. Learn more at WeStock.io ( http://www.westock.io/ ) and when scheduling a demo, use promo code ConsumerVC for 25% off for your first year. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ).

23 Mar 07:37

Michael Duda (Bullish) - Why TAM Is Overrated, Empathize But Don't Listen, and DTC 3.0

Michael Duda ( https://twitter.com/MikeDuda ) is the Founder and one of the Managing Partners at Bullish ( http://bullish.co/ ). Bullish ( http://bullish.co/ ) is a creative agency and a pre-seed fund, investing in early stage consumer companies. Some of their investments include Warby Parker, Peloton, Casper and Birchbox. Prior to founding Bullish, Mike spent 13 years at Deutsch Inc., where he became the youngest Partner in the company’s 35-year history overseeing business development, marketing and corporate strategy. You can follow Michael on Twitter @mikeduda ( https://twitter.com/MikeDuda ) You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). * What compelled him to start a fund? His stage, due diligence process, milestones founders had to achieve in order for him to consider? It’s natural for VCs to promote themselves as contrarian investors. How does he think about VC behavior, is it actually more of a herd like mentality? What were some of his early investing mistakes? Why is he bullish (pun intended) about DNVB brands and the DTC channel when you no longer have this advertising arbitrage that you had in the early 2010s? * How does he think about the power of brand in today’s environment, especially for Gen Z and Millenials? Does brand have more meaning? Contrasting trends: sustainability and fast fashion. Has coronavirus changed how he is seeing new opportunities? Where is he currently spending most of his time? An example of competitive advantages that modern brands might have when there isn’t technological innovation in the product? * One thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? What’s one company on his anti-portfolio? What’s his most recent investment and what makes him excited about it? What’s one book that inspired him professionally and one book that inspired him personally? Investing in secondary and tertiary markets. What’s one piece of advice for founders of consumer companies?

23 Mar 07:37

Bonus: Sasha Strauss (Innovation Protocol) - Brand Strategy, Not Making Brand Too Personal, and Importance of Positioning

Sasha Strauss is the founder and Managing Partner of Innovation Protocol, a full-service strategic brand consulting and design firm based in Los Angeles, with a presence in San Francisco and New York. Some of his clients include Google, Doordash, Nestle, Paypal, and Concur Endurance Group. Sasha also teaches Brand Strategy to MBAs at UCLA, USC and UC Irvine. Highly recommend Sasha's TED Talk ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=481s&v=HPnhg2YolHc ) if you are looking for more resources about the power of brand and want to be inspired. One book that inspired Sasha professionally is Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006B7LQ90?camp=1789&creativeASIN=B006B7LQ90&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Al Ries. and one book that inspired Sasha personally is XXXX by Joseph Campbell. You can also follow Sasha on Twitter @sashastrauss ( https://twitter.com/SashaStrauss ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). On this episode we discuss - * What is brand? What led him to starting Innovation Protocol? When an entrepreneur is thinking about brand for their startup, what types of questions should they be asking themselves? If you were starting a B2C brand, what would be his starting point? Importance of positioning/competitive analysis * Is building a brand the most expensive asset one can build and the hardest? How does he think about brand today? Consumers have more choice and can have more of a connection with a brand than ever before because of the various ways they can interact with brands (social media, D2C ecommerce channel). Does he think that this is the golden age of brands and consumers will pay a much larger premium than ever before just because of the brand or does he see due to competition and the fewer barriers to entry to start a D2C business online, that it’s going to be harder than ever for a brand to charge a premium? * How does he think about brands that have a social missions or are eco friendly, because if brand is an emotion and if the consumer has a deeper connection to brands that have a social or environmental initiative, would consumers be willing to pay larger premiums for those brands? How does he measure the impact of brand on a consumer’s purchase decision? * What is one thing he would change when it came to the perception of brand? What is one piece of advice for founders when it comes to brand? Here's the full transcript Mike Gelb 0:00 Sasha, thank you so much for joining me today. Especially during these difficult times how are you and

23 Mar 07:37

Adelle Archer (Eterneva) - From Ashes To Diamonds, A New Way To Honor Loved Ones and Experience Innovation

Adelle Archer ( https://eterneva.com/about ) is the founder of Eterneva ( https://eterneva.com/ ) , which celebrates remarkable lives by making diamonds from Ashes. Eterneva was featured on Shark Tank ( https://abc.com/shows/shark-tank ) , in which Mark Cuban ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Cuban ) joined other incredible angels and VCs as an investor. This episode focuses in the end of life space. You can follow Adelle on Twitter @adellearcher ( https://twitter.com/adellearcher ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) and for episode annoucements, you can follow @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). A couple books that inspired Adelle are Never Split The Difference ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062407805?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062407805&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Chris Voss and Extreme Ownership ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250183863?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1250183863&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. A book that inspired her personally is The Power of Now ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1577314808?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1577314808&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Eckhart Tolle. In this episode you will learn - * How she started Eterneva? How consumer attitudes and cultural traditions around death changed over time and what opportunity did she see in this market? What is it about the work she's doing is disruptive? How is she changing the deathcare space? Where does she envision Eterneva being in five years? * How does she market such a sensitive topic? What's been the most surprising and unexpected insight / learning she's had in building Eterneva so far? What is experience innovation? In the very beginning she bootstrapped to $1 million. What was your launch strategy and how was she able to find product-market fit? How did she think about her target demographic? Fundraising strategy? * What led her to going on Shark Tank? What was her strategy for Shark Tank? How did she think about value add when it comes to investors, were there particular investors she was targeting?How she is thinking about growth today? Has she been able to expand into different demographics? How is she thinking about channel diversity & distribution? How is she thinking about customer acquisition today? * Is she focused on top line growth or profitability? What are some ways or strategies that she implements in order to get a pulse on your customer? How does she constantly monitor the customers' preferences and needs? How has she approached COVID and what is her focus during th

23 Mar 07:36

Anna Whiteman (Coefficient Capital) - Bold Marketing Using Non-Standardizing Channels, When a DNVB Should Think About Omnichannel, and Milestones for CPG Companies at Series A

Anna Whiteman ( https://www.coefficientcap.com/team/anna-whiteman/ ) , Vice President at Coefficient Capital ( https://www.coefficientcap.com/ ). Coefficient Capital is a new venture capital fund that leads early growth investments in fast-moving consumer goods, typically investing in Series A and B rounds. So far they've invested in Just Spices, NomNom, Hydrant and Personal Care. Anna also founded Rad Ladies, a private network of female founders. Previously Anna worked at VMG on investments including Health Warrior and Vermont Smoke and Cure, and also at Tribeca Venture Partners and Credit Suisse. One book that inspired Anna professionally is Stress Test ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N020ZD4?camp=1789&creativeASIN=B01N020ZD4&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ian Robertson. One book that inspired Anna personally is A Theory of Justice ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674000781?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0674000781&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by John Rawls. You can follow Anna on Twitter @AnnaWhiteman2. ( https://twitter.com/AnnaWhiteman2 ) You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). In this episode you will learn - * What attracted her to finance, consumer and startups? Anna walks through her diligence process at the Series A and Series B. What are some of the milestones that startups need to achieve? At what stage do DNVBs usually expand to offline retail? How does she think about subscription vs. non-subscription DNVB businesses? Is there a difference to how she approaches due diligence? How is she thinking about optimizing for profitability vs. growth in today’s landscape? * What she think about the future of online advertising? What is Rad Ladies? What are some changes in consumer behavior that she’s focusing on? I’ve heard some folks say on this show it’s a contrarian time to be investing in consumer. Why do some folks think that and does she believe it? What is one thing that she would change when it came to venture capital? * What is a company that is on her anti-portfolio? What (if any) lessons did she learn from that? What is one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? What is your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? What’s one piece of advice for B2C founders?

23 Mar 07:36

Claire Fauquier (Highland Capital Partners) - Purchase Behaviors of SMBs, Stretching Consumer and Sourcing at the Series A

Our guest today is Claire Fauquier ( https://www.hcp.com/team#/team/claire-fauquier-0 ) a Principal at Highland Capital Partners ( https://www.hcp.com/ ). Highland Capital Partners is one of the oldest venture capital funds that invests primarily at Series A and focuses on the early growth stage. Some of their investments include Harry's, Rent the Runway, and Clearbanc. In this episode we explore some of the differences and milestones companies typically have at the seed and series A stages. explore the milestones at Series A for technology startups and the purchase behaviors of small-medium businesses. One book that inspired Claire professionally is Radical Candor ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1509845380?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1509845380&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Kim Scott. One book that inspired her personally is The Glass Castle ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/074324754X?camp=1789&creativeASIN=074324754X&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Jeannette Wells. You can follow Claire on Twitter @clairefauquier ( https://twitter.com/clairefauquier ). You can also follow Mike on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). For all episodes, please visit theconsumervc.com ( http://theconsumervc.com/ ). Thanks again for listening. On this episode we discuss - * What attracted her to finance and venture capital? The differences in criteria from seed to series A? Diligence process at series A. What made her make the jump to Series A/B from Seed? What is hard about Series A/B investing? It seems like with the proliferation of seed-specific funds, it’s easier to track companies from earlier on. * What are some mistakes she's made as an investor? Coronavirus is very top of mind. Has this impacted how she invests? Is she more focused on current portfolio companies rather than new investments? How does she think about deals broadly; if she had an investment philosophy, how would she characterize it? * In the consumer spectrum, what types of businesses is she focused on? What is her investment criteria for B2C businesses? What does she advise founders to focus on? How does Highland work with consumer businesses once they invest? What is one thing that she would change about Venture Capital? Full transcript Mike Gelb 1:08 So let's start out very early back in your career, what initially attracted you to finance and then specifically venture capital? Claire Fauquier 1:19 Yeah, I kind of want to separate those two things, because I never felt like I was a finance person. And I think that in venture, we're lucky, because we're sort of not finance people. And I've told people that if I must be bucketed, i

23 Mar 07:36

Byron Ling (Canaan) - Analyzing Teams, Why It Might Be Harder to Raise a Series A vs. Seed during COVID, and Why Distribution is as Important as Product

Thank you again Courtney Nelson for introducing me to our guest today, Byron Ling ( https://www.canaan.com/team/byron-ling ). Byron ( https://www.canaan.com/team/byron-ling ) is a partner at Canaan ( https://www.canaan.com/ ). Canaan is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in visionaries with transformative ideas. Byron invests in consumer companies that are reinventing the way we shop, entertain and educate ourselves. Some of his investments include Roman, Papa, and Bravo Sierra. He was previously an investor at Primary Venture Partners and, prior to the venture world, was an early operator at Gilt Groupe. It was great chatting with Bryon about his diligence process and the effects COVID has on the early stage investing ecosystem, so without further ado, here's Byron. One book that inspired Byron personally is The Audacity of Hope ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307237702?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0307237702&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Barack Obama. One book that inspired him professionally is Who: The A Method to Hiring ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EL6RWY?camp=1789&creativeASIN=B001EL6RWY&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Geoff Smart. You can follow Byron on both Twitter and Medium @byronling1. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). In this episode we discuss - * What attracted him to early stage startups and consumer? After Gilt Groupe, what compelled him to head into venture capital? What’s his due diligence process at the seed and Series A? What are the milestones that an entrepreneur has to accomplish at each of those stages? What does he focus on the most at each stage - market size, traction, founding team, product-market fit, founder market fit? * What are a few qualities in a founder that he looks for? **How does he think about early traction? How can a founder de-risk product market fit? Difference between opportunistic vs thematic investors, where does he sit on the spectrum? * How is he thinking about coronavirus as it relates to consumer investing? Is he shifting strategy away/towards companies/verticals? Are you pausing investments in a particular space? Is he concerned about some current portfolio companies' ability to raise? How is he adjusting to new work protocols (remote working, etc) and if so, is that having an impact? * What macro consumer trends is he focused on? What is one thing that he would change about venture capital? What’s one piece of advice for founders of consumer startups?

23 Mar 07:36

Daniel Gulati (Comcast Ventures) - Execution vs. Network Type Business, How To Think About Winning a Category, and Evaluating Blue Ocean Opportunities

Our guest today is Daniel Gulati ( https://comcastventures.com/team ). Daniel has spent the last 6 years at Comcast Ventures ( https://comcastventures.com/ ) , a financially-focused venture capital firm with a 20 year history investing in consumer, enterprise, and frontier technology companies. He joined as Entrepreneur in Residence, and worked his way up the ranks to Principal, Partner and Managing Director at the firm. His seed stage portfolio includes D2C company Away (now worth $1.4B), sports media company The Athletic (reportedly worth over $500M) and digital health company K Health (also worth $500M according to Pitchbook). He recently became Founding Partner of Forecast, an early stage consumer fund. One book that inspired Daniel personally is Personal History by Kay Graham. One book that inspired him professionally is Growth Fetish by Clive Hamilton. You can follow Daniel on Twitter and Medium @DanielGulati ( https://twitter.com/DanielGulati ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). On this episode we discuss - * What attracted Daniel to startups? What were some of the learnings at FashionStake? How does he think about opportunistic investors vs. thematic and where does he fall on the scale? How does he think about the corporate VC ecosystem and where Comcast Ventures falls on the financial vs. strategic scale? Execution type businesses vs. network type businesses. What does he mean that CAC is the new rent? Attractive vs. mediocre markets. * How does he think about winning a category or becoming a leader in a category when he is looking at opportunities? How does he think about first mover advantage? How does domain expertise influence investment decision? How does founders having domain expertise influence his decision making process? Do does he think about investing in first time founders vs. seasoned domain experts differently? * Daniel walks us through how he invested in K Health, Away and The Athletic. The effects coronavirus has had on early stage investing. The top mistakes founders make when pitching to VCs. What is one thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? What is a company that is in his anti-porfolio? (Had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t and in retrospect wish did) * What is his most recent investment and what makes him excited about it? What’s one piece of advice for founders of B2C founders?

23 Mar 07:36

Nadine Habayeb (Bohana) - The Future of Superfood Healthy Snacks, How Eastern Traditions Have Migrated West, and Finding Product-Market Fit

Our guest today is Nadine Habayeb ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadinehabayeb/ ) , CoFounder & CEO Bohana ( https://bohanalife.com/ ). Bohana ( https://bohanalife.com/ ) is a popped water lily seed snack brand that believes in a free-spirited snacking. Thank you Madeline Keulen ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/03/30/madeline-keulen/ ) for the introduction! You can follow Nadine on Twitter @Nadinodxb ( https://twitter.com/Nadinodxb ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). For all episodes, please visit www.theconsumervc.com ( http://www.theconsumervc.com ) On book that inspired her personally is Sell Your Specialty Food: Market, Distribute, and Profit from Your Kitchen Creation ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1427798265?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1427798265&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Stephen Hall. One book that inspired her professionally is Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CRJA470/ref=as_li_tl?camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01CRJA470&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=5733ff50a6f9175797f13505986c1310&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Phil Knight In this episode we discuss - * What initially attracted Nadine to entrepreneurship and led her starting Bohana? * The early days of Bohana. Did she do any market research to see if popped water lily seeds would be something that folks in the U.S. would want to buy? What was the insight? How did she approach the supply chain? Why did she choose to go direct to farmer? Why was investing in the brand so important from the very beginning? How did she think about distribution and price? When did she find product-market fit? * Was there a moment when she had the assumption of thinking your target demographic was this specific type of person - interests/age, etc. where when you came to market, it turns out it was actually a different demographic or consumer profile that was loving the product? Once she was able to make a wedge in the market, how did she expand outward from her initial customer base? How did she approach fundraising? What made her consider fundraising? * What made her apply to Shark Tank? How was that experience? How has COVID affected her strategy and company? What’s the future of superfood snack food in the United States?What is one piece of advice for early founders?

23 Mar 07:36

Compilation: One Piece of Advice Investors Have for B2C Founders

This is my first compilation episode. I typically ask every guest what is one piece of advice he/she may have for B2C founders? I've pulled together a few that hopefully can be helpful to folks that are founders or are looking to found. Below are the investors featured and the minute marks on the episode when they share their thoughts if you'd like to jump around. Kiva Dickinson ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/04/01/kiva-dickinson/ ) - 1:45 Gautam Gupta ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/02/13/gautam-gupta/ ) - 4:10 Nicole Quinn ( https://theconsumervc.com/2019/11/12/nicole-quinn-lightspeed-venture-partners-future-of-media-investing-in-women-and-thinking-big/ ) - 4:47 Rishi Garg ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/04/13/rishi-garg/ ) - 5:44 David Wu ( https://theconsumervc.com/2019/12/12/david-wu/ ) - 6:28 Charles Hudson ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/03/23/charles-hudson/ ) - 9:03 Caitlin Strandberg ( https://theconsumervc.com/2019/11/30/caitlin-strandberg/ ) - 10:15 Michael Duda ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/05/04/michael-duda/ ) - 11:53 Paul Martino ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/01/16/paul-martino/ ) - 15:01 Lee Hower ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/03/02/lee-hower/ ) - 16:00 Arie Abecassis ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/04/27/arie-abecassis/ ) - 17:25 Natalie Dillon ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/04/06/natalie-dillon/ ) - 18:28

23 Mar 07:36

Catharine Dockery (Vice Ventures) - Cannabis, Alcohol, Nicotine, Gambling and Everything Vice

Our guest today is Catharine Dockery ( https://viceventures.com/ ) founder of Vice Ventures. Vice Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital fund conquering stigmas and striving towards superior returns by investing in good companies operating in "bad" industries. Investments include early stage startups from non-traditional verticals including, cannabis, alcohol, CBD, e-sports, addiction recovery, sextech, and others. Some of her investments include Recess, Lucy and Player's Lounge. It was great chatting with Catharine about vice categories since we haven't covered too much of those categories, so without further ado, here's Catharine. You can follow Catharine on Twitter @vice_ventures ( https://twitter.com/vice_ventures ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). One book that inspired her personally is The Elegance of a Hedgehog ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FJ07PSU?camp=1789&creativeASIN=B01FJ07PSU&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Muriel Barbery. One book that inspired her professionally is The Hard Things about Hard Things ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062273205?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062273205&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ben Horowitz In this episode you will learn - * What attracted her originally to startups and investing? * What compelled her to start Vice Ventures and the opportunity that she saw? * Since there is a vice clause in VCs, is it harder to invest as a syndicate? * Her diligence process. * Founder qualities that she focuses on * How she judges if a founder is honest? * The future of the nicotene industry. * I know another focal point is alcohol and I’ve read a few articles about how Americans are drinking less booze. How she is perceiving that macro industry and what do you look for in founders that are building disruptive alcohol brands? * How is she seeing the cannabis market? * One of the big topics, especially during these times is eSports, which is another area that you focus in. How is she seeing the eSports market develop? * How has COVID affected how she looks at new deals? * Is it harder to establish conviction in a founder when she is talking remotely? * Is she focusing more on the portfolio vs. new deals? * How has she been affected by remote work? * Is she more comfortable investing in companies that are fully distributed? * What’s one piece of advice for founders that are building vice-type businesses?

23 Mar 07:36

Kanyi Maqubela (Kindred Ventures) - Why There's Been an Explosion in Seed and Late Stage Funds, Diversity Amongst Investors & Market Risk, and Why he's interested in Learning Why Something Is Not Fundable

We have a few Office Hours / AMAs coming up -> https://theconsumervc.com/events/ Kanyi Maqubela ( http://kanyi.me/ ) is a Managing Partner at Kindred Ventures ( https://kindredventures.com/ ). Kindred Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital fund, whose mission is to back visionary and dedicated founders who want to solve the most important problems and vastly improve people’s lives around the world. Some of their investments include Uber, Poshmark, Otis and Blue Bottle Coffee. Prior to Kindred, Kanyi was a Partner at Collaborative Fund and co-founded Heartbeat Health. He previously ran growth at One Block Off the Grid and was an early employee at Doostang. Kanyi has also served as a Lecturer and Adjunct at New York University Tisch School of the Arts, a curriculum adapted from his time as a student at Stanford University. This was an amazing conversation about Kanyi’s journey both as a founder and investor, his mission and what he looks for from founders. Without further ado, here’s A couple of books the inspired Kanyi are The Structure of Scientific Revolutions ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0226458083?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0226458083&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Thomas Kuhn and Doing Capitalism in the Innovation Economy ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1108471277?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1108471277&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by William Janeway. A book that inspired him personally is I highly recommend following Kanyi on Twitter @km ( https://twitter.com/km ). You can also visit his website Kanyi.me ( http://kanyi.me/ ) to read his articles and listen to some of his other interviews. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Some of the questions I ask Kanyi - * What compelled you to drop out of Stanford, founding Doostang and what initially attracted you to technology and entrepreneurship? What were some of the mistakes you made as an entrepreneur? What compelled you to switch to the other side and become an investor? How has venture capital changed? How has venture capital and domain expertise changed? How do you filter inbound opportunities and your due diligence process? * What are qualities that a founder needs to have or milestones a company needs to reach in order for you to be interested? What do you most pay attention to when analyzing an opportunity and what do you pay least attention to? For entrepreneurs building a company in a market that may not exist yet, how should they think about market sizing? * CoronaVirus is very top of mind.

23 Mar 07:36

Tyler Handley (Inkbox) -Tattoos, Defining and New Market, and Why Stickiness Lies Within The Technology

I'd like to thank Natalie Dillon for introducing me to today's guest Tyler Handley ( https://twitter.com/Tyler_Handley ) , co-founder and CEO of Inkbox ( https://inkbox.com/ ) , the tattoos for now. These are temporary tattoos that last for 1-2 weeks and fade as your skin naturally regenerates. We talk about the state of the tattoo market - both temporary and permanent, opportunity he saw at the early stages, how he was able to fundraise and scale. I'll be honest, before our conversation, I knew nothing about the tattoo market before this conversation, so this was certainly an eye opener for me and an insightful conversation. You can follow Tyler @tyler_handley ( https://twitter.com/Tyler_Handley ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). One book that inspired Tyler personally is Endurance ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465062881?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0465062881&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Alfred Lansing. One book that inspired Tyler professionally is Good to Great ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0066620996?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0066620996&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) and Built to Last ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060516402?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0060516402&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ). On this episode I ask Tyler - * What attracted you to entrepreneurship? * What led you to founding Inkbox? What problem were you trying to solve? * How were you able to measure if this was a real need? * In the early stages, how did you think about your target audience? * How did you approach building your supply chain in the beginning? * What led you to fundraising? * How did you approach fundraising? * Early on, what were some of the tough questions from investors? * Do artists apply to be Inkbox? * We spoke before about how you did a rebrand, in the beginning you were trying to be a tech company you didn't have deep brand guidance. Talk to me about that pivot and if you could give an example of trying to be too tech in the beginning. * Talk to me about the $2.5 million investment to release a new product. Talk to me about why that was so important. * How has COVID affected Inkbox? How has your strategy changed? * Talk to me about the future of Inkbox. What are you most excited about? * What's one piece of advice that you have for folks looking to start a B2C type business?

23 Mar 07:36

George Milton (Yellowbird Sauce) - Becoming The Hot Sauce Guy While Playing Gigs in Austin, Early Distribution Growing Pains, Getting into National Retail

I'd like to thank Fernando Gentil ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernando-gentil-jr-84066915/ ) for introducing me to today's guest, George Milton ( https://twitter.com/geemilton ) , co-founder and CEO of Yellowbird Sauce ( https://www.yellowbirdfoods.com/ ) , Spicy condiments crafted to take you on a fiery–fresh food adventure. This is a conversation all about things hot sauce, which I really enjoyed. George takes us through his journey from playing music gigs to becoming known as the hot sauce guy in Austin Texas and eventually scaling his condiment business nationally. You can follow George on Twitter at @geemilton ( https://twitter.com/geemilton ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). A book the inspired George personally is Siddhartha ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553208845?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0553208845&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Hermann Hesse. A couple books that inspired him professionally are Who Moved My Cheese? ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399144463?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0399144463&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) By Spencer Johnson and The Tipping Point ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316346624?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0316346624&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Malcolm Gladwell. In this episode, I ask George - * Tell me how you got started making hot sauce? * When did you first realize that this could be a business? How did you determine there was a proof in concept? * In the early days, when did you have that moment where you wanted to move produce the sauce in commercial kitchens and be able to see it in stores? * How did you approach sourcing from the very beginning? * How did you think about pricing and brand positioning? * How were you able to get into retail? Who do you consider your target audience? * Why did you choose to fundraise? * What was your fundraising strategy? * How has COVID affected Yellowbird? * What does the next few years look like for Yellowbird? What are some objectives that you’d like to achieve? * What’s one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? * What’s one piece of advice that you have for founders?

23 Mar 07:36

Jessica Rolph and Roderick Morris (Lovevery) - Building Toys For Different Stages of a Child's Development, Advice When Co-Founding A Company, and Their Approach to Fundraising

Hello and welcome to The Consumer VC. I am your host Mike Gelb and on this show we talk about the world of venture capital and consumer facing startups. Thank you very much Natalie Dillon ( https://www.maveron.com/team/dillon-natalie/ ) for the intro to today's guests, Jessica Rolph ( https://lovevery.com/pages/about-us ) and Rod Morris ( https://lovevery.com/pages/about-us ) , the co-founders of Lovevery ( https://lovevery.com/ ) , Staged-based play essentials designed by experts, built for babies and toddlers up to age 3. Previously, Jessica co-founded and served as COO of Happy Family, an extremely successful organic baby food company. Rod previously was the Senior Vice President at Opower. Going into this episode, I didn't know much about toys and learning behavior for babies, so I learned a ton and Jessica and Rod make it so easy to digest how they are thinking differently about child development with Lovevery. Without further ado, here they are. You can follow Jessica @rolphjessica ( https://twitter.com/rolphjessica ) and Rod @roderickmorris ( https://twitter.com/roderickmorris ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). If you’re enjoying the show, if you could leave a review on the apple podcast app as that helps other folks find it, that would be really helpful. If you are a founder and working on something innovative, have a question you’d like to hear VCs or founders answer on the show you can DM me and follow me on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc. For all episodes, please visit theconsumervc.com ( http://theconsumervc.com/ ). Thanks again for listening. One book that inspired Jessica professionally is High Performance Habits ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401952852?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1401952852&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Brenden Burchard. One book that inspired Rod professionally is Influence: Science and Practice ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0205609996?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0205609996&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Robert Cialdini and one book that inspired him personally is Plato’s Allegory of the Cave ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1521777810?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1521777810&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ). Here are some of the questions that I ask - * Jessica - how did you come up with the concept of Lovevery? * What was the insight that you learned that inspired you to start Lovevery? * When did you know that you wanted Roderick as a co-founder

23 Mar 07:36

Dan Graham (Springdale Ventures) - How He Scaled buildasign.com to over $100 million, The Opportunity He Saw Investing in CPG in Austin, and the Differences Analyzing DTC and Retail Brands

I'd like to thank Adelle Archer ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/05/11/adelle-archer/ ) for introducing me to today's guest Dan Graham ( https://springdaleventures.com/team-bios.html ) , one of the co-founders and General partners of Springdale Ventures ( https://springdaleventures.com/ ). Some of their investments include Eterneva, Literati, and Beatbox beverages. Previously, Dan co-founded BuildASign.com ( http://buildasign.com/ ) in 2005 and grew it to an over $100 million dollar CPG, Ecommerce business that was purchased by Cimpress (VistaPrint) in 2018 for $280M. This episode we talk all things Austin and CPG - the opportunity he saw to form Spingdale, why he didn't need to fundraise when building Buildasign.com ( http://buildasign.com ) and how he thinks about brand in relation to ecommerce and retail. If you’re enjoying the show, if you could leave a review on the apple podcast app as that helps other folks find it, that would be really helpful. If you are a founder and working on something innovative, have a question you’d like to hear VCs or founders answer on the show you can DM me and follow me on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc. For all episodes, please visit theconsumervc.com ( http://theconsumervc.com/ ). Thanks again for listening. A couple of books Dan recommends are Give and Take ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143124986?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0143124986&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Adam Grant and Never Split the Difference ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062407805?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062407805&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Chris Voss. Some of the questions I asked Dan - * What attracted you to entrepreneurship and what was the opportunity that you saw when founding BuildaSign? * Why did you choose not to fundraise for BuildaSign and bootstrap? * Talk to me about what attracted you to investing? * Why did you switch from being an angel investor to actually raising your own fund and building Springdale Ventures? * Naturely * What was the opportunity that you saw in Austin? * What makes Austin so compelling as a startup hub? How is it different from New York and the bay area? * Talk to me about your due diligence and decision making process and how do you establish conviction that the brands you invest in will break through the noise? * Are there specific metrics that you pay most attention to? * How do you judge brand authenticity? * Growth marketing - organic vs. paid * What are some qualities you like to see in founders? * How do you think about first mover advantage when it comes to consumer brands? * Has COVID changed how

23 Mar 07:36

Compilation: Fundraising from the Founder Perspective

This is a compilation episode about fundraising from the founders perspective. Some of their tactics, strategies when evaluating investors and how they reached out to investors. The founders featured are Kate Boyle ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/02/18/kate-boyle/ ) , who is the founder of Banjo Robinson, Nadine Habayeb ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/05/28/nadine-habayeb/ ) from Bohana, Adelle Archer ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/05/11/adelle-archer/ ) from Eterneva, George Milton ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/06/15/george-milton/ ) from Yellowbird Sauce, an amazing hot sauce company, and Jessica Rolph and Rod Morris ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/06/18/jessica-rolph-and-roderick-morris/ ) , co-founders of Lovevery.

23 Mar 07:36

Pippa Lamb (Sweet Capital) - Why Consumer Habits Developed During COVID Are Here To Stay, 99% Execution & 1% Vision, and Defining A Founder's Unfair Advantage

Thank you Alex Pattis for the introduction to today's guest Pippa Lamb ( https://sweetcapital.com/pippalamb/ ) who is a partner at Sweet Capital ( https://sweetcapital.com/ ). Sweet Capital in an early stage investment fund built by the founders of King.com ( http://king.com/ ) (Candy Crush), following their sale to Activision Blizzard in 2015. Pippa focuses on early stage consumer technology investments ranging from software and next generation social communities to fintech. This is was fun and fascinating conversation as we talked about gamification in social, why she splits her time in LA and London, how she evaluates opportunities and her focuses. I highly recommend following her on Twitter @pippalamb ( https://twitter.com/PippaLamb ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Some of the questions that I ask Pippa - * What attracted you initially to become a consumer investor and transition from the world of later stage private equity down to venture capital? * Tell me about Sweet Capital. * How it came together * Investment focus * Why located in Los Angeles, London. What are some of the differences in ecosystems since you travel back and forth? * Where do you invest geographically? * What qualities or traits in founders do you look for? * For folks looking to start companies, what are some questions they should be asking themselves to analyze and see if they do have an unfair advantage and if they should be the ones founding the businesses? * Does unfair advantage simply mean experience? * How do you think about early traction? * Walk me through your due diligence process. You are pre-series A / Seed fund. What type of metrics are you looking for in a consumer tech company? * Are you focused primarily on ad rev, marketplace, or SaaS type businesses? * Want to discuss COVID, as that’s top of mind for everyone * Have you changed your investment strategy? * Is it harder to find conviction when meeting with founders virtually? * Has COVID changed how you thought about remote teams in companies? * What are you seeing in the future of mobile technology or trends that you are paying attention to? * Los Angeles has become one of the hubs of consumer technology, in your view, why has that been the case? * I’ve heard some folks say on this show it’s a contrarian time to be investing in consumer. Why do some folks think that and do you believe it? * What is one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital? * What is one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? * What is you

23 Mar 07:36

Alex French (Bizzy Coffee) - The Cold Brew Competitive Landscape, Becoming #1 on Amazon, and Some of The Differences Raising from VCs and Family Offices

Our guest today is Alex French, ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexjfrench/ ) founder and CEO of Bizzy Coffee ( https://www.bizzycoffee.com/ ) , the #1 seller of cold brew coffee on Amazon. We discuss Alex's initial approach to entrepreneurship, how they've been able to maintain #1 Best Seller on Amazon, how he approached fundraising and was able to raise, and COVID's effects on Bizzy. Without further ado, here's Alex A couple books that inspired Alex are The 4-Hour Workweek ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307465357?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0307465357&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Tim Ferris and How To Win Friends and Influence People ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671027034?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0671027034&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Dale Carnegie. Here are some of the questions that I asked Alex - * What initially attracted you to entrepreneurship and your early entrepreneurial efforts? * What were some of your learnings when you were at General Mills? * Why did you decide to focus on Coffee? * What was the problem that you saw that you wanted to address or the particular insight? * It seems like you wanted to be an entrepreneur, but didn’t have or know what product to launch. There is no right or wrong way to approach entrepreneurship but I wanted to know if you have thoughts around how you thought about it? * How were you able to validate ideas? * How did you approach your supply chain? What was the hardest part? * How did you approach fundraising? DNVBs have been out of favor with investors, did you get that sense when you were fundraising? * You’ve raised both from VCs and Family Offices, what has been some of the differences when seeking investment from these two groups? * How were you able to grow to become #1 on Amazon? * What are some of the benefits to Amazon and some of the limitations? * In the beginning, how did you think about brand and your differentiation when you were evaluating the market? * How has COVID affected Bizzy? * How are you thinking about post-COVID and the changes in consumer behavior? * What is one book that inspired you professionally and one book that inspired you personally? * What’s one piece of advice that you have for founders? You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ).

23 Mar 07:36

Office Hour 1. Jason Shuman (Primary Ventures) - Recorded Live June 9th

*Please note Office Hour episodes are not edited and the sound quality will not be as good as other episodes as they are recorded on one track.* Office Hours are opportunities for listeners to ask past guests questions themselves. We will be releasing the recorded versions each Saturday. This Office Hour with Jason Shuman was recorded live on June 9th. Jason Shuman ( https://www.primary.vc/jason-shuman ) is a Principal at Primary Ventures ( https://www.primary.vc/ ) , a seed-stage venture capital firm responsible for backing NYC’s most promising founders. Some of their investments include Ticketfly, Jet, Deliveroo, and Package Free. If you enjoyed Jason, feel free to check out his full podcast episode here. ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/02/20/jason-shuman/ )

23 Mar 07:35

Eric Paley (Founder Collective) - Why Most Successful Companies Struggle To Convince VCs of Their Market Size, The Biggest Risk After Finding Product-Market Fit, and Why Pro-Rata Only Benefits Investors, Not Founders

I would like to thank Adelle Archer ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/05/11/adelle-archer/ ) for introducing me to today's guest, Eric Paley ( https://twitter.com/epaley ) , who is one of the Managing Partners at Founder Collective ( https://www.foundercollective.com/ ). Founder Collective's mission is to be the most aligned VC for founders at seed. Eric is a pretty legendary seed stage investor, some of his investments include Uber, CoverWallet, Seat Geek, Whoop, Thred Up and so many other incredible companies. One book that inspired Eric is Fooled By Randomness ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812975219?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0812975219&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. You can follow Eric on Twitter @epaley ( https://twitter.com/epaley ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). If you’re enjoying the show, if you could leave a review on the apple podcast app as that helps other folks find it, that would be really helpful. For all episodes, please visit theconsumervc.com ( http://theconsumervc.com/ ). Here are some of the questions that I ask Eric - * Now you have pre-seed and other emerging stages at the early stages, what’s your definition of seed? * Why did you choose to create a seed fund originally? * Why are platforms so popular with VCs and how do you think about different types of businesses (platform, product)? * What’s some advice for a startup that is building a vertical product, since VCs typically want to see platforms that have large TAMs? * You mention in a piece you wrote for Techcrunch - “products and platforms are mutually exclusive at early-stage startups. It is nearly impossible to offer a high-quality use case while also being a platform”. What do you actually mean by that? * It seems like the size of a market is often quite different amongst founders and investors (i.e. founder might think the market size is $30 billion, investor believes it’s $1 billion). * What are some of the mistakes when thinking about how big a market is? * How should founders think about TAM and market size if they are building a new market? If it’s a blue ocean opportunity? * I wanted to talk about COVID, which I’m sure is very top of mind. A couple of other investors I had on say that they are more worried about companies that are trying to raise their series A rather than seed round during these times. * What has been some of the changes in seed over these past few months in relation to * Valuation * Traction/milestones achieved for investment * Shift in attractive vs

23 Mar 07:35

Meera Clark (Obvious Ventures) - How COVID led to a Crossroads in Healthy Habits, Milestones at Series A, and How She Thinks About Sustainability and Consumer Centric

Thank you Sumeet Shah ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/02/03/sumeet-shah/ ) for the introduction to today's guest, Meera Clark ( https://obvious.com/team/meera-clark/ ) , Senior Associate at Obvious Ventures. Obvious Ventures invests in startups that combine profit and purpose for a better world. Some of their investments include Beyond Meat, Carezone, Goodeggs and Medium. I highly recommend following Meera on twitter @itsmeeraclark ( https://twitter.com/itsmeeraclark ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). A book that inspired Meera is Setting The Table ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060742763?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0060742763&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Danny Meyer. Here are a few questions that I asked Meera - * Tell me a bit about your journey. What attracted you to finance, consumer and early stage companies? * Obvious Ventures is a B-Corp. Tell me about your investment criteria? * Walk us through your due diligence process? * What are some qualities in a founder that you pay attention to the most? * One of the areas that you are focused on is healthy living. What’s your thesis around both physical and mental health? * Something we also spoke about before is the future of social and how we’re at the end of the hype cycle. How do you see folks interacting online changing? * The amount of social interaction online has dramatically accelerated due to COVID, do you think that this will continue post-COVID? * How are you thinking about the future of the influencer? * There’s now so many brands out there that are trying to appeal to Gen Z and really have to be authentic in order to do so. Lots of buzz words that get thrown around are “sustainability” and “customer centric”. What do those words mean to you? * “The Gratification Migration” discusses the changes in consumer behavior during COVID and how we’re at a crossroads of healthy habits. What do you mean by that? * What are some other consumer trends that you are excited about? * What is one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital? * What’s one piece of advice for founders?

23 Mar 07:35

Soraya Darabi (TMV) - The Care Economy, Where Change Needs to Start In VC, and How to Approach Market Sizing

Our guest today is Soraya Darabi ( https://www.trailmix.vc/team ) , General Partner at Trail Mix Ventures ( https://www.trailmix.vc/ ) where she focuses on the future of living well. Previously, she worked at the New York Times, co-founded Foodspotting (acq. by OpenTable) and Zady. Some of her investments include Classtag, The Wing, and Alleyoop. Lots of insights on this episode as Soraya shares her amazing experiences both as a founder and investor, so without further ado, here's Soraya. And there you have it. It was really great chatting with Soraya, I highly recommend following her on Twitter @sorayadarabi. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Some of the questions that I ask Soraya - * What attracted you first to media and then becoming an entrepreneur? * Why the switch to VC and how did TMV come together? * Diligence process for founders? * What’s your check size? How do you think about the different fundraising stages and the overall early stage investing ecosystem? * I heard in a previous interview that you invest in the “care economy”. What is the care economy if you could break that down for us? * Since you invest in both enterprise and consumer, is your diligence process and milestones different for each type of business? * How do you approach market sizing? * Wanted to talk about COVID - * Is it harder finding conviction in founders when meeting virtually rather than in person? * Are you seeing more or less new companies during COVID? * Has working from home been more difficult? * What is one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital? * What’s one company you had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t, and in retrospect wish you did?

23 Mar 07:35

Jesse Draper (Halogen) - Why Investing In Female Led Businesses is Such a Massive Opportunity, Los Angeles Consumer Tech Scene, and Consuming Meaningful Content

Our guest today is Jesse Draper ( https://halogenvc.com/team ) , Founding Partner of Halogen Ventures ( https://halogenvc.com/ ). Halogen Ventures is a Los Angeles, California based Venture Capital fund focused on investing in early stage consumer technology startups with a female in the founding team. Some of their investments include Hop Skip Drive, Clover Letter, and Binti. Previously, Jesse was an actress and founded/hosted The Valley Girl Show, where she interviewed some of the biggest names in business, entertainment, government, and technology. One book that impacted Jesse personally is To the End of June: The Intimate Life of American Foster Care ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0544103440?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0544103440&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Cris Beam. One book the inspired Jesse professionally is High Growth Handbook ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1732265100?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1732265100&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Elad Gil. You can follow Jesse @jessedraper ( https://twitter.com/JesseDraper ) on Twitter. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Here are some of the questions I ask Jesse - * Talk to me about your attraction to acting and why the shift to VC? * What was the opportunity that you discovered that led you to starting Halogen? * What types of businesses or areas do you focus on at Halogen? * What makes you excited about Los Angeles as a venture hub? * I know that every company that you invest in must have at least one woman in a leadership role. What are some ways that the VC community could be doing to be more inclusive? * Talk to me a little bit about your due diligence process? * What stage do you invest in and how are you thinking about the early stage landscape? * COVID is very top of mind right now, has this shifted your strategy on what areas you should focus on? * Has it been harder finding conviction since you have to meet founders remote? * What's one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital? * What's your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? * What's one company that you had the opportunity to invest in, didn't and in retrospect wish you did? * What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? * What's one piece of advice to founders?

23 Mar 07:35

Adam Cohen-Aslatei (S'more) - Bringing Inclusivity and Honesty to Online Dating, and How He Successfully Fundraised

Our guest today is Adam Cohen-Aslatei, founder and CEO of dating app S'More ( https://www.smoredate.com/ ) , the dating app that is built for relationships. Adam has had an extensive career working in the online dating industry and the advertising world. He walks us through why S'More is different, how he thinks about bringing inclusivity to online dating and how he successfully fundraised. You can check out S'more here ( https://www.smoredate.com/ ) and follow them on Instagram here ( https://www.instagram.com/smoredate/?hl=en ). A few books that inspired Adam personally are Freakonomics ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060731338?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0060731338&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Steven Levitt, Getting To Yes ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143118757?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0143118757&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Roger Fisher and Difficult Conversations ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143118447?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0143118447&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Douglas Stone. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Some of the questions I ask Adam - * Tell me about your initial interest in the online dating space. * You’ve worked for many of the major dating apps, what was the insight that you saw that led you to founding S’More? * What was your approach when founding the company? Did you have a technology background? How did you decide to make the jump? * How did you think about the competitive landscape within dating apps? * How did you approach fundraising? Did you know VCs or have a venture network? * What were other features that make S’More more inclusive? * We talked before about “Love is Blind”, have you seen that as an influence in how folks are approaching S’More? * What’s one piece of advice that you have for founders?

23 Mar 07:35

Coulter Lewis (Sunday) - Introducing D2C & Environmentally Friendly Lawn Care, and Lessons From a Serial Entrepreneur

Thank you Jordan Nof for introducing me to today's guest Coulter Lewis, founder and CEO of Sunday ( https://www.getsunday.com/ ). Sunday provides nutrient and soil health plans for garden and lawn care. Previously, Coulter founded Quinn Snacks, the successful farm to bag snack company. But in this episode we focus on Sunday and lawn care. We talk about pesticides, why lawn care is an overlooked massive category, and Coulter's journey as a successful serial entrepreneur. One of Coulter's favorite books is Traction ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936661837?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1936661837&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Gino Wickman. Here are a few questions that I asked Coulter - * What attracted you initially to entrepreneurship? * How did working at IDEO impact how you looked at business? * After you left Quinn Snacks, what made you decide to found Sunday? * Talk to me about the early days of Sunday. What were some of the challenges that you faced? * How did you approach your supply chain? * What led you to raise money and approach VCs? * What was the biggest obstacle when fundraising? * Was you being located in Colorado rather than the coasts an issue? * What was your launch strategy and how did you think about finding product-market fit? * You launched Sunday on the D2C channel. There’s lots of talk about how there is saturation in paid marketing since 85% of online ads go to Google and Facebook and theres no longer the arbitrage opportunities that existed in the early 2010s. How do you think about online advertising? * What’s one piece of advice that you have for founders?

23 Mar 07:35

Ezra Galston (Starting Line) - Benefits of Chicago, Managed vs. Lightly Managed Marketplaces, and Consumer for the 99%

Our guest today is Ezra Galston ( https://www.startingline.vc/team ) , Founding partner of Starting Line ( https://www.startingline.vc/ ) , a seed stage consumer tech focused fund based in Chicago. Previously he was a Principal at Chicago Ventures. Some of his investments include Cameo, Flyhomes, and Spothero. One book that inspired Ezra personally is The Little Prince ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0156012197?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0156012197&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. One book that inspired him professionally is Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804137382?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0804137382&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Greg McKeown. I highly recommend following Ezra on Twitter @EzraMoGee ( https://twitter.com/EzraMoGee ). You can also follow your host @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). Some of the questions I ask Ezra - * What initially attracted you to venture capital and how did Starting Line come about? * What makes Chicago special as a startup ecosystem? * I've had on investors that say if you start a company outside the coasts or the main venture ecosystems, that's ok, but there needs to be a plan to move to the main venture ecosystem because of recruiting and hiring. I've other investors that love investing in secondary markets (it's weird to consider Chicago a secondary market) or not obvious markets. How do you think about this? * Talk to me a little bit about your due diligence process and your stage? * What are some of the differences between managed and lightly managed marketplaces? * For entrepreneurs that are thinking about starting marketplace, what are some things they should consider when approaching marketplace design that would influence whether they should have a managed vs. un-managed marketplace? * Now, decision making on the internet in some ways is hard because there is so much choice. How do you think about curation? * I'd love to learn a little bit about consumer technology that you are focused on that are for the 99% * What opportunities in consumer tech are you focused on and gets you excited? * What is one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital? * What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? * What's your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? * What's one company on your anti-portfolio and did you learn anything from passing? * What's one piece advice that you have for consumer tech founders?

23 Mar 07:35

Nick Mindel (Amberstone) - Differences Between Trends and Fads, The Opportunity He Saw Investing In Consumer Brands, Why He's Bullish On Founders Located In Secondary Markets

Our guest today is Nick Mindel ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/nmindel/ ) , Partner at Amberstone ( https://amberstonelp.com/ ). Amberstone invests at the early stages in entrepreneurs building breakthrough consumer companies. Some of their investments include Daily Harvest, Juneshine, Bev and Honey Mama's. Previously, Nick worked at Piper Sandler and a co-founder of Trail Post Ventures. Thank you Justin Gordon for the introduction! A book that he recommends that inspired him personally is A River Runs Through It ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/022647206X?camp=1789&creativeASIN=022647206X&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Norman Maclean. A book that inspired him professionally is Principles ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501124021?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1501124021&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ray Dalio. A series that he's thoroughly enjoyed is The Red Rising Series ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9123881453?camp=1789&creativeASIN=9123881453&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Pierce Brown. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Some of the questions that I asked Nick - * Tell me your origin story, I know your family was involved in the food and beverage industry, but what initially attracted you to finance and consumer? * How did Trail Post Ventures come together? * I can imagine building out a track record is hard, and even with a track record that doesn't mean you can fundraise. For folks that are looking to raise their own funds, what would you advise? * Talk to me about the transition to Amberstone come together? * What's Amberstone's thesis? * What are some qualities in founders that you like to see? * When you are evaluating opportunities, how do you think about optimizing profitability vs. growth and gross margin? * How do you think about the differences between a trend and a fad? * How do you think about habits? Since we're living in COVID, it seems like people have become more comfortable buying physical goods online as it's become the only way to. How are you thinking about ecommerce when things go (roughly) back to normal - stores reopen? * What are consumer trends that you are most excited about? * Is it harder to find conviction among founders since you are meeting with them remotely? * I've had on Will McClelland, whose the MP at Elizabeth Street Ventures and he believes that if you want to build a consumer company or focus on consumer, New York is the place to do that, not San Francisco. What are your thou

23 Mar 07:35

Sasha Astafyeva (Atomico) - Growing a Real Estate Tech Company in Brazil, Series A Consumer Landscape in Europe, and How She Thinks About International Expansion

Our guest today is Sasha Astafyeva ( https://www.atomico.com/team/sasha-astafyeva/ ) , Partner at Atomico ( https://www.atomico.com/ ). Atomico invests in Europe’s most ambitious tech founders at Series A and beyond. Some of their investments include Farmdrop, Habito, and teatime games. Sasha leads new investments in consumer. Previously, she was a Principal at Felix Capital and VP of Finance and Business Intelligence at VivaReal. A couple of books that inspired Sasha personally and professionally are The Cost of Living ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/163557353X?camp=1789&creativeASIN=163557353X&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Deborah Levy and Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007D6EW8U?camp=1789&creativeASIN=B007D6EW8U&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Jeanette Winterson. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Some of the questions that I ask Sasha are - * What initially attracted you to venture capital? * Talk to me about the European landscape when it comes to the startup ecosystem, what makes you excited about it? * What's your definition of Series A? How do you think about that stage? * What are milestones that a startup has to achieve in order to raise a Series A? * What are some qualities you like to see in founders? * Since the United States is such a big market, you can create a massive business in the United States alone. I imagine it must be harder to scale in Europe since you're dealing with many countries. * What are some consumer trends that you are excited about? * Has COVID changed some of your thesis' around certain trends? * Has it been harder establishing conviction amongst founders since you have to meet with them remotely? * I recently had on Ezra Galston, who runs Starting Line, a VC fund out of Chicago. He mentioned that deals are getting done really quickly, almost at pre-COVID pace. Is this the same in Europe? * What's one thing that you would change about venture capital? * What's one company you had an opportunity to invest in, didn't and in retrospect wish you did? * What's your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? * What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? * What's one piece of advice that you have for B2C founders?

23 Mar 07:35

Mitch Hayes (Los Sundays) - Building a Tequila Brand for the Millennial, Focusing on Generating Demand, and a Taste of the Beverage Industry

Thank you Joe Tonnos ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/04/30/joe-tonnos/ ) for the introduction to today's guest, Mitch Hayes, founder and CEO of Los Sundays ( https://lossundays.com/ ) Tequila. Los Sundays is the tequila for the millennial and founded on the principles of Quality, Originality and Style. One book that inspired Mitch personally is The Alchemist ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062315005?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062315005&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Paulo Coelho . One book that inspired him professionally is Damn Good Advice ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0714863483?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0714863483&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by George Lois. You can follow Los Sundays on Instagram @los_sundays ( https://www.instagram.com/los_sundays/?hl=en ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Some of the questions I ask Mitch - * Talk to me about your attraction to entrepreneurship and what led you to founding Los Sundays? * What was your approach when it came to taste testings? * How did you decide on your first type of Tequila and how do you think about product mix? * Your approach from the beginning was thinking about demand first rather than supply and being able to capture demand. * How were able to generate demand? * What was your launch strategy? * Is there pay to play when it comes to drinks in bars and recommendations from bartenders? * How did you approach your supply chain from the very beginning? * How did you think about your brand positioning? * How did you think about growth, offline and online? * Why did you choose to fundraise? * What was your fundraising strategy? * What has been some of the effects of COVID on your business? * What's one piece of advice for founders that are planning on starting a food and bev type business?

23 Mar 07:35

Betsy Fore and Sofia Laurell (Tiny Organics) - Delivering The Healthiest Food to Babies, Approaching a Co-CEO Partnership, and Their Unique Way of Approaching Organic Growth

Thank you Will McClelland ( https://theconsumervc.com/2019/12/19/will-mcclelland/ ) for the introduction to today's guests Betsy Fore ( https://www.instagram.com/betsyfore/?hl=en ) and Sofia Laurell ( https://www.instagram.com/sofialaurell/?hl=en ) , the co-founders and co-CEOs of Tiny Organics ( https://www.tinyorganics.com/pages/subscriptions?gclid=CjwKCAjw4MP5BRBtEiwASfwAL-lx3QRO7C6pKdBf2c2PunTMRpO_el-MkxvlfoqPjsMmQRFCNbQmthoCqSsQAvD_BwE&utm_campaign=TNT_Search_Brand&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_term=tiny+organics ). Tiny Organics delivers organic, fresh, nutrient-rich baby and toddler meals created by their Infant Nutritionist. Their goal is to help every parent feed their baby and toddler the healthiest food. Previously, Betsy worked and created product lines for Mattel, Hasbro and MindCandy (Moshi Monsters). She was also the Founder and CEO of Wondermento, creators of the WonderWoof BowTie dog activity monitor. Sofia is a marketing and PR veteran, most recently at Ascend Foundation helping elevate women and minorities onto U.S. corporate boards and built the brand into a powerhouse. A couple books that inspired Sofia are The Hard Things About Hard Things ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062273205?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062273205&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ben Horowitz and Sapiens ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062316117?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062316117&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Yuval Noah Harari. One book that inspired Betsy is Shoedog ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501135929?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1501135929&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Phil Knight. You can follow Betsy on Instagram @betsyfore ( https://www.instagram.com/betsyfore/?hl=en ) and Sofia @sofialaurell ( https://www.instagram.com/sofialaurell/?hl=en ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Some of the questions I ask Betsy and Sofia - * What attracted each of you to entrepreneurship and consumer products? * How did Tiny Organics come together? * What is the problem that you are trying to solve? Betsy * You are both Co-CEOs. Talk to me about your decision making process? * The classic line when there are two co-founders is “complementary skills”. When I was talking with Jessica and Rod from Lovevery, we discussed how yes that is important, but also they are so collaborative on lots of the decision makings and not to restrict each other in a box. There are no right or wrong ways to build a company, but wante

23 Mar 07:35

Alex Levitt (Yellow) - Inside Snap Inc.'s Launchpad for Startups, Building Products On Top of Social Platforms, and Her Diligence Process

Our guest today is Alex Levitt ( https://twitter.com/alexmlevitt ) , one of the heads of Yellow ( https://www.yellowla.com/accelerator ). Yellow is Snap Inc. ( https://www.snap.com/en-US/ ) 's ecosystem to serve companies at the intersection of creativity and technology with its Accelerator Program, Collabs Program, and Community Programming. Yellow is currently accepting applications through Sunday, August 23rd for its inaugural Collabs Program. If you're interested in integrating your product into the Snap Platform through Snap Minis, Snap Kit Dynamic Lenses, Scan, SnapML or more, visit YellowLA.com ( http://yellowla.com/ ) to apply and learn more. You can follow Alex on Twitter @alexmlevitt. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). A couple books that inspired Alex are Educated ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399590501?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0399590501&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Tara Westover and Creativity, Inc. ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812993012?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0812993012&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ed Catmull. Here are a few questions I asked Alex - * What attracted you to media and technology in the first place? * So you worked at WME, rising to digital. What was your focus in the digital department? * Talk to me about Snap’s accelerator. * What made you excited about joining? * What verticals do you focus on? * How involved is Snap? * How do you think about where you stand in the overall market of accelerators? * Walk me through your due diligence process. * Launching Product on Platform * How should a founder decide whether an accelerator or raising their own round is the appropriate choice? * When it comes to business models, advertising business models are a bit out of favor, social has traditionally been tied to advertising * How do you think about the early stage venture capital ecosystem? * What trends are you currently focused on and makes you excited? * How has running an accelerator changed during COVID? * What’s one thing you would change about Venture Capital? * What’s one piece of advice that you have for founders that are currently fundraising?

23 Mar 07:35

Dan Gluck (Powerplant) - The Opportunity He Saw After Reading "Born To Run" and His Inspiration Behind Investing in Plant Based Products

Our guest today is Dan Gluck ( http://powerplantvc.com/ ) , Managing Partner of Powerplant Ventures ( http://powerplantvc.com/ ) a growth equity fund investing in emerging consumer food, beverage, and foodservice companies leading disruptive plant-centric brands. Some of their investments include Beyond Meat, Thrive Market, and Veggie Grill. Previously, Dan co-founded Health Warrior, which was acquired by PepsiCo in 2018. This was fantastic conversation and Dan discusses what attracted him to investing at young age, his insight that led him to founding Health Warrior and why he is so focused on better for you and plant based foods. One book that inspired Dan is The Choice: Embrace The Possible ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/150113079X?camp=1789&creativeASIN=150113079X&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Dr. Edith Eva Eger. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Some of the questions I ask Dan - * What attracted you to finance and investing in health and wellness products? * Tell me the insight that you had with Chia seed bars and how that led to Health Warrior? * Take me behind your decision making process when you were thinking about taking the jump into entrepreneurship? * After the sale to Pepsi (which congratulations), did you have the urge to start another company? * How did Powerplant Ventures come together? * I understand that your thesis focuses around plant-based products. It seems like you invest in quite a variety of types of businesses around that theme - restaurants, B2B catering, food and beverage products. How do you think about portfolio construction and making sure you have a balance? * In the food and beverage spaces, how do you think about growth, profitability and what does a successful outcome look like? * What are some trends in food that you are excited about? * You've had a-lot of experience as a board member. What makes a good board member? * I believe your our first growth investor on the show. Talk to me a bit about your due diligence process? * What are some qualities that you like to see in founders? * COVID has been top of mind for everybody. * How has it effected you and your portfolio? * Has it been tough meeting with founders remotely rather than in person? * What's one thing you would change about venture capital? * What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? * What's your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? * What's one company that you had the opportunity to invest in, didn't and in

23 Mar 07:35

Jiake Liu (Outer) - How Outer Became The Fastest Growing DNVB In The US, His Approach to Showrooms, and Why You Can't Rely On "Build It and They Will Come"

I'd like to thank Adelle Archer ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/05/11/adelle-archer/ ) for introducing me to today's guest, Jiake Lu ( http://www.jiakeliu.com/ ) , CEO of Outer ( https://liveouter.com/ ). Outer is an extraordinary company that is reengineering outdoor furniture. Business Insider named them the #1 fastest growing DTC brands. I chat with Jiake about how he went from founding a B2B business to B2C, his really unique showroom strategy. And there you have it, lots of fun chatting with Jiake about outdoor furniture. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @jiakeliu ( https://twitter.com/jiakeliu ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). One book that inspired Jiake is Sapiens ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062316117?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062316117&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Yuval Noah Harari. Here's what we cover - * His attraction to entrepreneurship and software. Learnings from starting ProspectWise and why he started Outer. How did he realize the insight that folks weren't using their outdoor furniture? What was his product innovation? How did he turn this into a brand rather than being a wholesaler? * His unique distribution strategy and how he thought about show rooms? His launch strategy when they premiered May 2019? The competitive landscape in outdoor furniture? * His initial growth strategy? Why did he you need to fundraise? The hardest part about fundraising or element of his business that it was hardest for investors to understand? Some of the effects of COVID on his business? * What's one thing that he would change when it came to fundraising? One piece of advice for DNVB companies? This episode is brought to you by Crunchfirm : a full-stack finance, accounting & CFO advisory partner focused exclusively on VC backed startups. Listeners get the first month free of their services, by emailing hello@crunchfirm.com.

23 Mar 07:34

Office Hour 2. David Goldberg (Corigin Ventures)

This episode is part of a live recording Office Hour / AMA with David Goldberg. David Goldberg ( https://www.coriginventures.com/family/#team_david_goldberg ) is a General Partner at Corigin Ventures ( https://www.coriginventures.com/ ). Corigin Ventures is a New York based venture capital firm leading seed stage investments in the founders defining the future of daily living. Some of their investments include Perch Interactive, The Inside, Classpass and Imperfect Foods. If you enjoy this episode, check out David's proper podcast episode #35. You can follow David on Twitter @davidrgoldberg ( https://twitter.com/davidrgoldberg ). If you are a founder and working on something innovative, have a question you’d like to hear VCs or founders answer on the show you can DM him and follow me on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). *This episode is brought to you by Crunchfirm : a full-stack finance, accounting & CFO advisory partner focused exclusively on VC backed startups. Listeners get the first month free of their services, by emailing* *hello@crunchfirm.com* ( hello@crunchfirm.com ) *. Listeners get the first month free.*

23 Mar 07:34

Alix Peabody (Bev) - From Producing Events to Founding a Wine Company, The Challenges When Raising Capital, and How She Thinks About Opportunities

Thank you Fernando Gentil for the introduction to today's guest, Alix Peabody ( https://www.instagram.com/alixpeabody/?hl=en ) , CEO and founder of Bev ( https://drinkbev.com/ ). Bev is a wine company that is breaking down barriers in the heavily male dominated alcohol space. Feel free to follow Alix on Instagram and Bev @alixpeabody ( https://www.instagram.com/alixpeabody/?hl=en ) and @drinkbev ( https://www.instagram.com/drinkbev/?hl=en ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). One book that inspired Alix personally is The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878424319?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1878424319&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Don Miguel Ruiz and one that inspired her professionally is Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074VF6ZLM?camp=1789&creativeASIN=B074VF6ZLM&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Simon Sinek. Here's what you'll learn: * What attracted her to entrepreneurship? What was the insight that she saw that led her to starting Bev? Why she chose to raise money. How she was able to position herself to VCs? Her fundraising strategy. * What worked and what didn't? What parts of her business did investors care about most? How she established her supply chain? What parts could she control? How she approached brand strategy? How did she think about growth? * How has COVID changed her strategy or affected Bev? How did she think about product-market fit, where her customers spend their time and distribution? How she's thinking about growth vs. profitability now? What was the most surprising thing that she learned since founding Bev? * What's one thing that she would change when it came to fundraising? What's one thing she would change in the fundraising process? What's one piece of advice for founders of B2C businesses?

23 Mar 07:34

Hilary Quartner (Hilma) - Creating The "Clinical Herbal" Category, Her Fundraising Strategy, and The Decision Making Process with Two CEOs

Our guest today is Hilary Quartner ( https://www.instagram.com/hilarykquartner/ ) , one of the founders and Co-CEOs of Hilma ( https://www.hilma.co/ ). Hilma creates natural remedies for your medicine cabinet that are backed by science. Previously Hilary worked at The Wonderful Company, FIJI Water and was part of the founding team at Jet Black. You can Hilary on Instagram @hilarykquartner ( https://www.instagram.com/hilarykquartner/ ) and Hilma @hilma_co ( https://www.instagram.com/hilma_co/ ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). A book that inspired her professionally is Competing Against Luck ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062435612?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062435612&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Clayton Christensen and two books that inspired her personally are Educated ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399590501?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0399590501&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Tara Westover and The Autobiography of Malcolm X ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345350685?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0345350685&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Malcolm X and Alex Haley. Here's what you will learn: * What attracted Hilary to consumer brands and entrepreneurship. How Hima came together and the opportunity her and her co-founders' saw. How they thought about differentiation. Lessons learned in developing "The Clinical Herbal" category. * Decision making process when you have co-CEO business structure. How she thinks about organic growth. Some of the early mistakes when founding Hilma. What was most critical to her success? Why they chose to fundraise? Some of the effects COVID has had on their business? One piece of advice for founders

23 Mar 07:34

Sunny Dhillon (Signia Partners) - Grocery Store Technology, Why Beauty Brands Are Great To Invest In, and Changes in Retail

Our guest today is Sunny Dhillon ( https://signiaventurepartners.com/team/sunny-dhillon/ ) , one of the Managing Director of Signia Ventures ( https://signiaventurepartners.com/ ). Signia invests at the seed & series A stages in great entrepreneurs that are applying new technologies and innovative business models to old industries. Sunny's investments include Manscaped, Boxed, and MomentFeed. Previously Sunny cofounded Barstool, one of the first dating apps in the App store. Feel free to follow Sunny on Twitter @sundhillon ( https://twitter.com/SunDhillon ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). What you'll learn on this episode - * What initially attracted Sunny to venture capital and entrepreneurship? Some of the changes he's seeing and will continue to see in the grocery store model. How he's thinking about the current landscape when it comes to beauty, especially as it relates to trying new products and the sales process since folks aren't really going to stores/many stores aren't open? * Has it been harder to find conviction in founders when he's meeting with them remotely? His due diligence process. The DTC channel during COVID. Other consumer trends that he's focused on. One thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? One book that inspired him personally and one book that inspired him professionally? His most recent investment. What's one company you had the opportunity to invest in, didn't and in retrospect wish you did?

23 Mar 07:34

Sarah Kunst (Cleo Capital) - The Future of Work, Complicated Consumer and How to Have a Diverse Portfolio

Thank you Soraya Darabi for the intro to today's guest Sarah Kunst ( https://twitter.com/sarahkunst ) , managing director of Cleo Capital ( https://www.cleocap.com/ ). Cleo Capital is an an early stage VC fund focused on the preseed & seed stages. Some of their investments include 42 Birds, Athena and Lovewellness. She's also a contributing editor at Marie Claire Magazine and previously served as a senior advisor to Bumble. A couple of book that Sarah recommends is Attached ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1585429139?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1585429139&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Amir Levine and Daring Greatly ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592408419?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1592408419&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Brene Brown. Click here to sign up for Lunchclub ( https://lunchclub.com/?invite_code=mikeg7 ). You can follow her on Twitter @sarahkunst ( https://twitter.com/sarahkunst ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). In this episode we discuss - * What initially attracted her to venture capital and investing in consumer facing companies in particular? How did Cleo Capital come together? Her diligence process. Is it harder to find conviction when meeting founders online? How do you think about the early stage landscape during these times? Her thoughts around raising a seed fund vs. series A during COVID. * Her advice for companies in secondary and tertiary markets. Her thoughts around the warm introduction. Consumer trends that you are excited about and maybe leaned more during COVID What's one thing that she would change when it came to venture capital? * Her most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? One piece of advice for founders?

23 Mar 07:34

Nate Cooper (Barrel Ventures): Lessons Learned from Founding Two Companies, The Beauty of Chicago and Investing in Markets that are Overlooked

Our guest today is Nate Cooper ( https://www.barrelvc.com/team ) , partner at Barrel Ventures ( https://www.barrelvc.com/ ). Barrel is seed stage fund based in the heart of the midwest. Some of their investments include Haus, Olipop and Clove. Previously, Nate founded L3 Hospitality Group and Wise Apple. If you want to keep up to date on him, follow him on Twitter @Nrcoope ( https://twitter.com/Nrcoope ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Excited to announce The Consumer VC Summit: October 13-15. It will be three days of discussions, talks about investing in CPG and physical goods at the early stages AND networking and mentoring sessions. Click Here to purchase your tickets ( https://summit.theconsumervc.com/checkout/select-tickets/ ). A couple books that inspired Nate is Now, Discover Your Strengths ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743201140?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0743201140&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Gallup and The Last Days of Night ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812988922?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0812988922&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Graham Moore. In this episode you will learn: * His initial attraction to food and bev? His learnings as an operator when he founded L3 and Wise Apple? Why he started Barrel Ventures?How are you thinking of the seed stage landscape during these times? Have investments slowed down? Is there a shift towards new categories? His due diligence process?If it's been harder to find conviction within founders when meeting them online? * Advice for founders located in secondary and tertiary markets? Consumer trends he's focused on right now. One thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? His most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? What's one piece of advice that he has for founders?

23 Mar 07:34

Maya Horgan Famodu (Ingressive Capital) - Investing in Sub-Saharan Africa, What She Looks For When Entering New Countries, How to Build Startup Ecosystems in Frontier Markets

Thank you Soraya Darabi ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/07/13/soraya-darabi/ ) for the intro to our guest today Maya Horgan Famodu ( https://twitter.com/mayahorgan ). Maya's the partner and founder of Ingressive Capital ( https://ingressivecapital.com/ ). Ingressive Capital is an early venture capital fund located in Nigeria and invests in founders and companies in sub-saharan Africa. Some of her investments include Paystack, AWA Bike, and Vesicash. I highly recommend following Maya on Twitter @mayahorgan ( https://twitter.com/mayahorgan ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Excited to announce The Consumer VC Summit: October 13-15. It will be three days of discussions, talks about investing in CPG and physical goods at the early stages AND networking and mentoring sessions. Click Here to purchase your tickets ( https://summit.theconsumervc.com/checkout/select-tickets/ ). A few books that inspired Maya personally are Why Buddism is True? ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439195463?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1439195463&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Robert Wright, Fear ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062004735?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062004735&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Change Your Mind ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735224153?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0735224153&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Michael Pollan, The Enlightened Gardner ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087P6W2KQ?camp=1789&creativeASIN=B087P6W2KQ&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Sydney Banks. A couple books that inspired her professionally are The Hard Things About Things ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062273205?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062273205&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ben Horowitz and Superforecast ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804136718?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0804136718&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Philip E. Tetlock and Dan Gardner. In this episode you'll learn - * What inspired her to found Ingressive? What is special about founding a fund that seeks to invest in a frontier market like Sub-Saharan Africa? What are the particular opportunities and problems. What are some of the biggest opportunities that you focus on? What are some of the challenges when starting a technology company in Nigeria. Is finding exits difficult? I remember you mentioned how lots of folks talk about Kenya and the incredible innova

23 Mar 07:34

Wayne Wu (VMG) – His Ecosystem Approach, How He Builds Community In CPG, and Advice for Founders Located in Secondary Markets

Our guest today is Wayne Wu ( https://www.vmgpartners.com/who-we-are/wayne-wu/ ) , General Partner at VMG ( https://www.vmgpartners.com/ ). VMG focuses on investing and building iconic consumer brands. They've invested in some incredible companies like Kind Healthy Foods, Justin's, Drunk Elephant, Health Warrior, Quest Nutrition. Disclaimer: This is the opinion of Wayne Wu, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions and thoughts of VMG Partners. Any opinions, projections, forecasts and estimates contained in this production are based on certain assumptions and may change without notice. This is not an offer to buy or sell any investments. Here's what you'll learn - * His initial attraction to consumer and finance. How he ended up at VMG? How he thinks about organic vs. paid growth? His process when analyzing brands and founders? How he evaluates if the brand of a company is strong and authentic? How he thinks about portfolio construction? How does he think about thematic investing? How he thinks about investing in new categories? * Advice for founders that are in secondary or tertiary markets. What has been some of the changes when it comes COVID? Has it been hard establishing conviction within founders when meeting with them remotely? How he thinks about the cold email? What's one thing that he would change when it comes to venture capital? What's one piece of advice that you have for founders? You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ).

23 Mar 07:34

Bonus: Jordan Odinsky (Ground Up) - Cult Brands, Launch Strategies and the Importance of Celebrating The Failures

My guest today is Jordan Odinsky ( https://twitter.com/jordanodinsky ) , investor and head of platform at Ground Up Ventures ( https://www.groundup.vc/ ). GroupUp is an early stage venture capital firm investing in pre-seed and seed stage startups in the United States and Israel. Some of their investments include Fast, Shapeshift Gaming, and Neighborhood Goods. In this episode, we discuss cult brands and unique product launches. I highly recommend following Jordan on Twitter @jordanodinsky ( https://twitter.com/jordanodinsky ) You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Links to Jordan's articles mentioned: The Value of a Velvet Rope: Effects of Hype and Exclusivity on Launch Strategies ( https://medium.com/ground-up-ventures/the-value-of-a-velvet-rope-effects-of-hype-and-exclusivity-on-launch-strategies-41be2e4db71e ) and Cult Wars: The Making of a Cult Brand ( https://medium.com/@jordanodinsky/cult-wars-the-making-of-a-cult-brand-152bce93981f ) On this episode you will learn: * If a brand wants to use scarcity and waiting lists as a strategy, how should they first go about finding their early adopters? How are brands taking advantage of mimetic theory * On the surface, how does he define a Cult Brand? When a brand is picking their enemy, what are traits that the enemy has to have? How should a startup think about defining the enemy? How he thinks about the balancing act of why people "feel most like themselves when they are part of a group, but the initial drive to join a cult is to discover and clarify one’s individualism". If a brand is experiencing high organic growth and engagement from customers, is that early signs that they have a cult brand? * As an investor, does he think a company that has high organic growth as a cult brand? What's the principal reason why a cult brand might fail or a brand would never get into cult status? Does he come across early opportunities that he believes will develop into cult brands? His focus at Groundup. One thing he would change when it came to venture capital What's one piece of advice for founders?

23 Mar 07:34

Yury Lifshits (Openland) - How to Build a Community, The Hard Pivot, and Minimizing Friction

Our guest today is Yury Lifshits ( https://twitter.com/yurylifshits ) , founder and CEO of Openland ( https://openland.com/ ). a modern social platform for communities. Yury is a serial entrepreunor, founding Zonaspace, Blended Labs and Entangled Solutions. On this episode we talk about Openland, how he thinks about the future of online social, how he thought about friction when downloading a new app, and pivots. You can follow Yury @yurylifshits ( https://twitter.com/yurylifshits ) on Twitter. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Some of the questions I ask Yury - * What attracted you to software and then entrepreneurship? Are we in the age of community? Has audience been replaced by community? What doesn’t work when it comes to community building? What is the competitive landscape when it comes to online communication? * How he tackles friction when launching a new app? What’s one thing that you would change when it comes to venture capital? What’s one piece of advice for founder

23 Mar 07:34

Elaine Russell (Greycroft) - The Future of Retail, How to Choose a Co-Founder, and Running a Single LP Fund

Our guest is Elaine Russell ( https://www.greycroft.com/team/elaine-russell/ ) , who co-leads Greycroft's Albertsons Fund. Greycroft ( https://www.greycroft.com/ ) is one of the premier full lifecycle investors, investing out of both their venture fund and growth fund. Greycroft's Albertsons fund is one of their sidecar funds that focuses on the future of retail. Previously, Elaine was a Partner at PLG Ventures and was the Co-founder / CEO of Little Key in Chicago, an on-demand marketplace for parents to discover and book kids classes and activities. A book that inspired Elaine is Good to Great ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0066620996?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0066620996&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Jim Collins. Here are some of the questions I ask Elaine: * You’ve worked on both sides of the table as founder and operator and also as an investor. What were some of the learnings from when you were a founder? What attracted you to become a VC? * You lead Greycroft’s Albertson’s fund. Talk to me about the structure of the fund and where the fund falls on the financial vs. corporate/strategic? How do you think about the future of retail? * Seems like during COVID, there has been a huge pressure on grocery to innovate very quickly when it comes to ecommerce. What are some opportunities that you are excited about or how do you think about retail tech? Has COVID changed how you think about what the in store experience within grocery stores will look like? What are the milestones that an entrepreneur has to have achieved in order for you to be interested? * What are some qualities within founders that you like to see? Has it been difficult to establish conviction within founders since you have to meet with them remote? In grocery tech, what has been the current fundraising climate? What’s one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital? What’s your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it?What’s one piece of advice to founders that are currently fundraising?

23 Mar 07:34

Han Shen (iFly.VC) - How He Thinks About Overlooked Opportunities, Focusing on a Sector Rather Than Becoming Opportunistic, and How One of His Portfolio Companies Was Able to Pivot Successfully

Our guest today is Han Shen ( https://twitter.com/_Han_Shen_ ). Han is the Founding Partner of iFly.vc ( http://ifly.vc/ ) , an early-stage seed/VC fund based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The fund follows a sector-thesis driven process and aims to build a concentrated portfolio with meaningful value add to entrepreneurs. We discuss the different sectors he's focused in, how he became a VC and how he thinks about uncovered opportunities. And there you have it. Han, thank you again for your time. You can follow Han on Twitter at @ *Han_Shen * A few books that inspired Han professionally is David and Goliath ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316204374?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0316204374&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Malcolm Gladwell and The Harry Potter Series ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0545044251?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0545044251&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by J.K. Rowling. Some of the questions I ask Han - * What attracted you initially to venture capital? * Tell me how iFly.VC ( http://iFly.VC ) came together? * At iFly.VC ( http://iFly.VC ) , I know you take a very thematic, sector driven approach. We’ve had quite a few VCs that are more generalists, if a founder has a choice in taking capital from a fund that is more sector driven vs. generalist, what are some of the advantages when choosing an investor that is thematic? * What sectors or trends are you particularly interested in? * When it comes to food deliver and specialty food, what do you think is most overlooked? * Walk me through your due diligence process. * Has it been tough finding conviction within founders during COVID? * What’s one thing you would change when it came to venture capital? * What’s your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? * What’s one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? * Harry Potter Series - friendship * Malcolm Gladwell - David and Goliath * What’s one piece of advice you have for founders?

23 Mar 07:34

Carlton Fowler (Goat Rodeo Capital) - The Changing Landscape In Beverage, Why Beverage is Poised For Ecommerce, and His Thoughts Around Portfolio Construction

Our guest today is Carlton Fowler, ( https://www.goatrodeocapital.com/about ) Managing Partner of Goat Rodeo Capital ( https://www.goatrodeocapital.com/ ). Carlton invests in the beverage space with some of his invests including lemon perfect, sourced, and one hope. Previously, he led spirits innovation and brand development at E&J Gallo. In this episode we focus our conversation on the change in beverage during covid, how brands are becoming creative and how he sees value add from investors in the space. A couple books that inspired Carlton are Pattern Recognition ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0425198685?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0425198685&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by William Gibson and Against The Gods ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471295639?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0471295639&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Peter L. Bernstein. Here are some of the questions I asked Carlton: * What initially attracted you to the beverage industry? * You came from an operator background, working at E & G Gallo. What attracted you working with early stage beverage companies and to head into venture capital? * Talk to me about your due diligence process. * What are some of the changes that you have seen when it comes to the beverage industry, specifically during COVID? * What's one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital? * What's your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? * What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?

23 Mar 07:34

Nikhil Basu Trivedi (Next Big Thing) - Why Investing in Consumer Subscription Businesses Has Become The Next Big Thing, and The Reasons Physical Goods and Software Businesses Aren't That Different

Thank you Ezra Galston for the intro to today's guest, Nikhil Basu Trivedi ( https://twitter.com/nbt ). Nikhil previously was the managing director of Shasta ventures and writes The Next Big Thing, which is an awesome online publication. Some of his investments include Literati, Tally, Canva, Farmer's Dog and The Pill Club. His focus has been on consumer, particularly consumer subscription businesses, which was the main focus on today's conversation. Check out Nikhil's three part series about consumer subscription - Consumer Subscriptions ( https://nbt.substack.com/p/consumer-subscriptions ) , 10 Factors To Consider When Evaluating Consumer Subscriptions ( https://nbt.substack.com/p/10-factors-to-consider-when-evaluating ) , and The Farmer's Dog: A Consumer Subscription Case Study ( https://nbt.substack.com/p/the-farmers-dog-a-consumer-subscription ). A couple books that inspired Nikhil are Between The World and Me ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812993543?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0812993543&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015HNV1IO?camp=1789&creativeASIN=B015HNV1IO&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Sir Alex Ferguson and Michael Moritz. Highly recommend following Nikhil on Twitter @nbt ( https://twitter.com/nbt ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Here are some of the questions that I ask him: * What are the shortcomings of advertising and marketplace type businesses? * Why has it taken this long for subscription businesses to take off? * What is the one factor that you think is often overlooked in a subscription business? * What are the similarities between physical subscription businesses and software subscription businesses? * What are some questions that a founder should ask him or herself to help him or her decide which would be the best option for the business as it pertains to trial periods? * In your 10 factors framework, are there particular factors that actually are more important than others? * How do you think about blue oceans and new markets when analyzing opportunities? * What initially attracted you to venture capital and technology? * Tell me about your due diligence process. * Has it been hard to establish conviction amongst founders while meeting with them remotely? * What’s your favorite question to ask founders? * What’s one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital? * What’s one company on your an

23 Mar 07:34

Taylor Nieman (Toucan) - Browser Extension Businesses, The Power of Partnerships, and Her Unique Approach to Fundraising

Our guest today is Taylor Nieman ( https://twitter.com/Taylor_Nieman?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor ) , founder of Toucan ( https://jointoucan.com/dashboard ). Toucan is a free chrome extension that helps you learn a language without even trying. It's pretty cool, I've been using it for the past few months and The Consumer VC owns the word "episode" on the platform. We discuss the opportunity in browser chrome extension businesses, the insight she had when founding Toucan and all her different monetization avenues, which I must say are pretty amazing and wide ranging. You can follow Taylor at @taylor_nieman ( https://twitter.com/Taylor_Nieman ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). One book that inspired her is Extreme Ownership ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250183863?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1250183863&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Jocko Willink. Here are a few questions I ask Taylor * What initially attracted you to technology? What were some of the learnings as an early employee at Headspace? Why did you decide to take the leap and found Toucan? One of your main strengths has been to form partnerships. When your company is young and scrappy what is some advice you might have for founders when trying to form partnerships? * Take us behind the scenes when it comes to the multiple strategies and business models you are pursuing with Toucan? Gamification is a trend we've heard in social, commerce, how does gamification relate to education? What was your process raising capital? * What is one thing you would change when it came to venture capital? What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?

23 Mar 07:34

Elizabeth Edwards (H Ventures) - Why Some DNVBs Don't Work On Shelf, Different Customer Insights You Receive in Retail vs. DTC and Demystifying Corporate Venture Capital

My guest today is Elizabeth Edwards ( https://h.ventures/elizabeth-edwards ) , the founder and Managing Partner of H Venture Partners ( https://h.ventures/ ). H Ventures invests in brands that are disrupting billion-dollar categories and changing the way we live our lives. She was an early investor in Peloton , Roots, Freshly to name a few. Previously, Elizabeth was a partner with Maywic Select Investments and West Ventures. We discuss what makes a brand compelling, the mystery of corporate venture capital, and how to increase diversity in the venture and startup ecosystems. A couple books that inspired Elizabeth are Pretty Good Advice ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1419742140?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1419742140&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Leslie Blodgett and Principles ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501124021?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1501124021&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ray Dalio. Highly recommend following her on Twitter @eedwards ( https://twitter.com/eedwards ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). Here are a few questions I ask Elizabeth - * Let’s start at the beginning. What attracted you to consumer brands? * How did H Ventures come together? * Alot of VCs talk about the added value that they provide entrepreneurs. At the early stages, what is the biggest added value that an investment partner can bring? * Corporate venture capital is sometimes viewed as a dirty word as strategic partners might not be as focused or add as much value. How do you think about the landscape when it comes to corporate venture capital? * Walk me through your due diligence process. * Has it been hard finding conviction amongst founders during COVID since you have to meet with them remotely? * Alot of investors seem to be looking for paths to profitability when they analyze opportunities. How do you think about the balance between growth vs. profitability? * You’re the first investor that’s out of Cincinnati that I’ve interviewed. Do you have any advice for companies that might be located in secondary or tertiary markets? * What’s one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital? * What’s one company that is on your antiportfolio and why did you end up passing? * What’s your most recent investment? * What’s one piece of advice that you have for founders?

23 Mar 07:33

Samara Hernandez (Chingona Ventures) - Why Chicago, How Diverse VC Teams Lead To Investing In Markets That Are Overlooked, and Some of the Differences When Investing In Consumer vs. Enterprise

My guest today is Samara Hernandez ( https://www.chingona.ventures/team ) , founder of Chingona Ventures ( https://www.chingona.ventures/ ). Samara invests at the preseed and seed stages on industries that are massively changing and founders whose backgrounds uniquely position them to create businesses in growth markets that are often overlooked. We discuss how she analyzes overlooked opportunities, some of the differences when investing in consumer vs. enterprise, and Chicago. A book that inspired Samara is The Alchemist ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062315005?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062315005&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Paulo Coelho. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Here's a few questions I ask Samara - * What initially attracted you to finance? * How did Chingona Ventures come together? * Why Chicago? * Walk me through your due diligence process. * Has it been harder to find conviction within founders during COVID since you have to meet with them remote? * You are a strong advocate of increasing diversity in tech. What is the key to making the startup ecosystem more diverse? * Where do you sit on the thematic vs. generalist spectrum and what is your approach to investing? * When you are talking with founders, is there a question that is most important that you ask? * What's your most recent (public) investment and what makes you excited about it? * What is one thing that you would change in venture capital? * What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? * What's the best advice that you've received? * What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?

23 Mar 07:33

Michael Barlow (Fernish) - The Advantage of Not Knowing, His Approach to Building a Rental Furniture Supply Chain, and The Biggest Hurdle When Fundraising

Thank you Anna Barber for the intro to today's guest, Michael Barlow ( https://twitter.com/mleebarlow ) , founder and CEO of Fernish ( https://fernish.com/ ). Fernish offers premium furniture rentals that feel like home, delivered and assembled in a week. We discuss how Michael approached validating his idea of furniture rental, figuring out the supply chain, and how they adjusted to shifts in demand for certain products during COVID. A book that inspired Michael is Against The Gods ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471295639?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0471295639&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Peter L. Bernstein. I highly recommend following Michael on Twitter @mleebarlow ( https://twitter.com/mleebarlow ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Here are a few questions that I ask Michael - * You originally came from a finance background, what attracted you to innovation and entrepreneurship in general? * Tell me about the aha moment that you had for Fernish and how were you able to validate your idea? * It seems like on the supply chain side of things, renting/transporting furniture would be very complex since the pieces are typically large, you have to store them. How did you manage to get around that in the early days? Also, under the hood, how does your supply chain function? * When I speak with founders, we talk about how when testing ideas, they focus on demand over the supply. And if that idea gets validated (i.e. there is a demand for it) then they go and build it. Was this part of your approach? If so, what were some of your early tactics? * What were some of your early growth levers? * What were some of the challenges regarding COVID? * Has their been a shift in demand towards certain products i.e. office desks, and chairs? * Did you have to make any pivots - whether that's with your supply chain or product offerings? * How did you approach raising capital? * Why did you choose to go through Techstars/an accelerator instead of trying to raise your own round off the bat? * We used to be in the age of optimizing for growth no matter what, now we've shifted as profitability has become what companies want to achieve. How do you think about that balance? * What's one thing you would change about the fundraising process? * Was there an early mistake that you made while building Fernish that changed the way you thought about business strategy or business in general? * What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?

23 Mar 07:33

Vincent Diallo & Joseph Sartre (Interlace Ventures) - Why ecommerce is boring, Why is China at the Forefront of Retail Tech, and Headless Commerce Explained

Our guests today are Vincent Diallo ( https://interlaceventures.com/team/ ) and J oseph Sartre ( https://interlaceventures.com/team/ ) , founding partners of Interlace Ventures ( https://interlaceventures.com/ ). Interlace is a seed stage fund that invests in founders that are re-inventing commerce and retail for better consumption. We focus this conversation on their learnings in innovation when they both worked in China, opportunities in future of retail they are focused on in the United States, and how we can make venture capital more inclusive. Highly recommend following them on Twitter @Vincent11D ( https://twitter.com/Vincent11D ) and @ josartre ( https://twitter.com/josartre ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Some of the topics we discuss - * What was your initial attraction to consumer and commerce innovation? * How did Interlace Ventures come together? * You both worked in China for an extended period. What are a few examples of how retail technology is different and more advanced compared to the United States? * How do you think about commerce technology that doesn’t exist yet in the United States, but can vs. technology that could only work in China? * What is “headless commerce” and how do you think about the software stack for e-commerce? * Walk me through your due diligence process. * BLCK VC's mission * What’s one thing you would change as it relates to venture capital?

23 Mar 07:33

Aaron Fu (Catalyst Fund) - The Biggest Misconception When Investing In Emerging Markets, Difference Between Selling to SMBs and Consumers, and the Effects of Mobile First

Our guest today is Aaron Fu ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronqfu ) , Head of Growth at Catalyst Fund ( https://bfaglobal.com/catalyst-fund/ ). Catalyst Fund is an inclusive fintech accelerator that is focused on investing in companies located in different parts of Africa, India and Mexico. They support innovative startups building affordable, accessible and appropriate solutions to reach the world's 3 billion underserved, while accelerating innovation ecosystems across emerging markets. We focus on the difference between selling to a consumer, SMB and enterprise business, how he analyzes emerging markets and how some of these companies scale cross border. And there you have it. It was such a pleasure chatting with Aaron. I highly recommend following him on Twitter @aaronQfu ( https://twitter.com/AaronQFu ). Some of the questions I ask Aaron: * What are some of the differences in your due diligence approach then a company focusing on selling to enterprises? * What are some of the differences in the business model that entrepreneurs need to account for when the customer is a small business vs. a consumer? * Looking at your portfolio, it seems as though one of the themes is cross-border exchange. When we spoke with Maya from Ingressive, she spoke how when a company expands crossborders, it’s not as straightforward. When you are thinking about investing in these types of companies, what are some of the risks? * When we spoke previously, you mentioned how some of the businesses started in Africa also have overlap and have done quite well outside of Africa (i.e. South American and Mexico). What are some of the reasons why these companies have been able to be successful overseas? * What have been some of the challenges when investing in consumer facing businesses that are in emerging markets? * We’ve discussed at length on this show how investors think about opportunities relating to the american market. When it comes to emerging markets, how do you think about opportunities? * Can you walk me through your due diligence process? * Has it been hard establishing conviction amongst founders remotely? * *What is one of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to investing in emerging markets?* * What’s one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital? * What’s one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? * What’s one piece of advice that you have for founders, wanting to build a business?

23 Mar 07:33

Matthias Metternich (Art of Sport) - Building the Nike of Body Care, The Power of the Athlete, and How to Build a Compelling Story for Retail

My guest today is Matthias Metternich ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthiasmetternich/ ) , one of the co-founders and CEO of Art of Sport ( https://artofsport.com/ ). Art of Sport is a complete line of daily essential body and skin care products made for athletes. Some of the things we spoke about were his approach to building a world class skincare business, how he partners with Athletes, and his thoughts around fundraising and investing in CPG businesses. A couple books that inspired Matthias - Arrow In The Blue ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1784876178?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1784876178&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Arthur Koestler and American Colossus ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307386775?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0307386775&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by W.H. Brands. You can follow Matthias on Twitter Here ( https://twitter.com/MMetternich ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Here are some questions I ask Matthias - * What was the insight that led you to found Art of Sport? * How did you approach building a superior product from day 1? * There's a ton of DNVB brands in the market since it's become very affordable to start a brand. How did you think about brand differentiation and building something that was compelling in the early days? * Building off this, what was your approach to online growth? * How did you seek partnerships with athletes? * How do you think about brand authenticity? * How were you able to build a story and construct a brand that retailers wanted and what was your approach to retail / omnichannel strategy? * How were you able to get into Target nationally? Since you entered retail right before COVID, has COVID been a huge headwind for you this year? * When it comes to building DNVBs, you no longer have those growth arbitrage opportunities like you did in the late 00s/early 10s, so your customer acquisition costs are much higher. How do you think about capital efficiency? * What was your fundraising strategy? * This is now your fifth company you've started and all your companies seem to be in different verticals - enterprise SaaS, consulting - what were some of your takeaways from those experiences that impacted how you are building Art of Sport? * What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you personally?

23 Mar 07:33

Annoucement: Consumer VC Holiday Schedule

Hey Everyone! For this holiday period, I'll be releasing an episode every morning of Hanukkah (starting tomorrow) that will be some of the best moments from my conversations with founders over this past year. I'll also be releasing an episode everyday during the twelve days of Christmas that will be some great moments with investors on this show during 2020. Click this link on your mobile to join my Upstream Community ( https://link.upstreamapp.com/eEoV65h1U6 ) Sign up here to receive updates about the summit. ( https://forms.gle/p7mGFwsHaRutbVWr8 ) hoJsKsOKdYfTDO7r1PY4

23 Mar 07:33

Holiday Recap: Kate Boyle, CEO of Banjo Robinson

Kate Boyle is the founder and CEO of Banjo Robinson ( https://www.banjorobinson.com/ ). Banjo Robinson is a magical cat that writes personalized letters that turn reading, writing and learning about the world into a magical game for 5-8 year olds. Banjo Robinson graduated London Techstars Accelerator fall 2019 and recently raised a pre-seed round led by Collaborative Fund and Sesame Ventures. Previously, Kate worked at William Morris and in screenwriting and script development. If you enjoyed this, here is a link to check out Kate's full episode. ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/24-kate-boyle-banjo-robinson-expanding-into-different-countries-her-unfair-advantage-and-storytelling/ )

23 Mar 07:33

Holiday Recap: Adelle Archer, CEO of Eterneva

This episode are highlights from my episode with Adelle Archer. Adelle Archer ( https://eterneva.com/about ) is the founder of Eterneva ( https://eterneva.com/ ) , which celebrates remarkable lives by making diamonds from Ashes. Eterneva was featured on Shark Tank ( https://abc.com/shows/shark-tank ) , in which Mark Cuban ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Cuban ) joined other incredible angels and VCs as an investor. This episode focuses in the end of life space. If you enjoy this, click here to listen to Adelle's full episode. ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/46-adelle-archer-eterneva-from-ashes-to-diamonds-a-new-way-to-honor-loved-ones-and-experience-innovation/ ) Click here on your phone to join The Consumer VC Community ( https://link.upstreamapp.com/eEoV65h1U6 )

23 Mar 07:33

Holiday Recap: Coulter Lewis, CEO of Sunday

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Coulter Lewis. Coulter Lewis is the founder and CEO of Sunday ( https://www.getsunday.com/ ). Sunday provides nutrient and soil health plans for garden and lawn care. Previously, Coulter founded Quinn Snacks, the successful farm to bag snack company. *If you enjoy this episode, click here to listen to my full conversation with Coulter* ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/67-coulter-lewis-sunday-introducing-d2c-environmentally-friendly-lawn-care-and-lessons-from-a-serial-entrepreneur/ )

23 Mar 07:33

Holiday Recap: George Milton, CEO of Yellowbird Sauce

This episode are highlights from my conversation with George Milton. George Milton ( https://twitter.com/geemilton ) is the co-founder and CEO of Yellowbird Sauce ( https://www.yellowbirdfoods.com/ ) , Spicy condiments crafted to take you on a fiery–fresh food adventure. *If you enjoy this episode, click here to listen to my full conversation with George* ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/56-george-milton-yellowbird-sauce-becoming-the-hot-sauce-guy-while-playing-gigs-in-austin-early-distribution-growing-pains-getting-into-national-retail/ )

23 Mar 07:33

Holiday Recap: Betsy Fore & Sofia Laurell, Co-CEOs of Tiny Organics

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Betsy Fore & Sofia Laurell, Co-CEOs and Founders of Tiny Organics. Tiny Organics ( https://www.tinyorganics.com/ ) delivers organic, fresh, nutrient-rich baby and toddler meals created by their Infant Nutritionist. Their goal is to help every parent feed their baby and toddler the healthiest food. *If you enjoy this episode, click here to listen to my full conversation with Betsy and Sofia.* ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/72-betsy-fore-and-sofia-laurell-tiny-organics-delivering-the-healthiest-food-to-babies-approaching-a-co-ceo-partnership-and-their-unique-way-of-approaching-organic-growth/ )

23 Mar 07:33

Holiday Recap: Michael Barlow, CEO of Fernish

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Michael Barlow, CEO of Fernish. Thank you Anna Barber for the intro to today's guest, Michael Barlow ( https://twitter.com/mleebarlow ) , founder and CEO of Fernish ( https://fernish.com/ ). Fernish offers premium furniture rentals that feel like home, delivered and assembled in a week. If you enjoy this episode, click here to listen to my full conversation with XXX

23 Mar 07:33

Holiday Recap: Jessica Rolph & Rod Morris, Co-CEOs of Lovevery

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Jessica & Rod. Jessica Rolph ( https://lovevery.com/pages/about-us ) and Rod Morris ( https://lovevery.com/pages/about-us ) , the co-founders of Lovevery ( https://lovevery.com/ ) , staged-based play essentials designed by experts, built for babies and toddlers up to age 3. If you enjoy this episode, click here to listen to my full conversation with Jessica & Rod ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/57-jessica-rolph-and-roderick-morris-lovevery-building-toys-for-different-stages-of-a-childs-development-advice-when-co-founding-a-company-and-their-approach-to-fundraising/ )

23 Mar 07:33

Holiday Recap: Jiake Liu, CEO of Outer

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Jiake. Outer ( https://liveouter.com/ ) is an extraordinary company that is reengineering outdoor furniture. Business Insider named them the #1 fastest growing DTC brands. If you enjoy this episode, click here to listen to my full conversation with him. ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/75-jiake-liu-outer-how-outer-became-the-fastest-growing-dnvb-in-the-us-his-approach-to-showrooms-and-why-you-cant-rely-on-build-it-and-they-will-come/ )

23 Mar 07:33

Holiday Highlights: Rishi Garg, Partner at Mayfield Fund

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Rishi Garg. Rishi Garg Rishi is a partner at Mayfield. Mayfield is a global venture capital firm with a people first philosophy of investing. Links: Full Episode with Rishi Garg ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/38-rishi-garg-mayfield-consumer-distrust-curated-experiences-and-whats-next-for-social-media/ ) Click on Mobile to Join Community ( https://link.upstreamapp.com/eEoV65h1U6 )

23 Mar 07:33

Holiday Highlights: Soraya Darabi, Founding Partner TMV

This is a highlight from my conversation with Soraya Darabi. Soraya is one of the Founding Partners of TMV, where she focuses on the future of living well. Links: Click Here to Listen to Full Episode with Soraya Darabi ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/64-soraya-darabi-tmv-the-care-economy-where-change-needs-to-start-in-vc-and-how-to-approach-market-sizing/ ) Click Here on Mobile to Join Our Community ( https://link.upstreamapp.com/eEoV65h1U6 )

23 Mar 07:33

Holiday Highlights: Eric Paley, Founding Partner at Founder Collective

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Eric Paley. Thank you Adelle Archer ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/05/11/adelle-archer/ ) for introducing me to today's guest, Eric Paley ( https://twitter.com/epaley ) , who is one of the Managing Partners at Founder Collective ( https://www.foundercollective.com/ ). Founder Collective's mission is to be the most aligned VC for founders at seed. Some of Eric's investments include Uber, CoverWallet, Seat Geek, Whoop, Thred Up and so many other incredible companies. Links: Click here to listen to my full conversation with Eric. ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/62-eric-paley-founder-collective-why-most-successful-companies-struggle-to-convince-vcs-of-their-market-size-the-biggest-risk-after-finding-product-market-fit-and-why-pro-rata-only-benefits-investors-not-founders/ ) Click here on Mobile to join our Community. ( https://link.upstreamapp.com/eEoV65h1U6 )

23 Mar 07:32

Holiday Highlights: Samara Hernandez, Founding Partner Chingona Ventures

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Samara Hernandez. My guest today is Samara Hernandez ( https://www.chingona.ventures/team ) , founder of Chingona Ventures ( https://www.chingona.ventures/ ). Samara invests at the preseed and seed stages on industries that are massively changing and founders whose backgrounds uniquely position them to create businesses in growth markets that are often overlooked. We discuss how she analyzes overlooked opportunities, some of the differences when investing in consumer vs. enterprise, and Chicago. Links: Click here to listen to my full conversation with Samara. ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/91-samara-hernandez-chingona-ventures-why-chicago-how-diverse-vc-teams-lead-to-investing-in-markets-that-are-overlooked-and-some-of-the-differences-when-investing-in-consumer-vs-enterprise/ ) Click here on Mobile to join our Community. ( https://link.upstreamapp.com/eEoV65h1U6 )

23 Mar 07:32

Holiday Highlights: Kanyi Maqubela, Managing Partner Kindred Ventures

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Kanyi Maqubela. Kanyi Maqubela, is the Managing Partner at Kindred Ventures. Kindred Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital fund, whose mission is to back visionary and dedicated founders who want to solve the most important problems and vastly improve people’s lives around the world. Some of their investments include Uber, Poshmark, Otis and Blue Bottle Coffee. Links: Click here to listen to my full conversation with Kanyi. ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/54-kanyi-maqubela-kindred-ventures-why-theres-been-an-explosion-in-seed-and-late-stage-funds-diversity-amongst-investors-market-risk-and-why-hes-interested-in-learning-why-something-is-not-fundable/ ) Click here on Mobile to join our Community. ( https://link.upstreamapp.com/eEoV65h1U6 )

23 Mar 07:32

Holiday Highlights: Michael Duda, Founding Partner of Bullish

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Michael Duda. Michael Duda, Founder and one of the Managing Partners at Bullish. Bullish is a pre-seed fund and creative agency, investing in early stage consumer companies. Some of their investments include Warby Parker, Peloton, Casper and Birchbox. Click here to listen to my full conversation with Michael ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/44-michael-duda-bullish-why-tam-is-overrated-empathize-but-dont-listen-and-dtc-30/ ) Click here on Mobile to join our Community. ( https://link.upstreamapp.com/eEoV65h1U6 )

23 Mar 07:32

Holiday Highlights: Sasha Astafyeva, Partner at Atomico

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Sasha Astafyeva. Sasha Astafyeva ( https://www.atomico.com/team/sasha-astafyeva/ ) , Partner at Atomico ( https://www.atomico.com/ ). Atomico invests in Europe’s most ambitious tech founders at Series A and beyond. Some of their investments include Farmdrop, Habito, and teatime games. Sasha leads new investments in consumer. Previously, she was a Principal at Felix Capital and VP of Finance and Business Intelligence at VivaReal. Links: Click here to listen to my full conversation with Sasha. ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/70-sasha-astafyeva-atomico-growing-a-real-estate-tech-company-in-brazil-series-a-consumer-landscape-in-europe-and-how-she-thinks-about-international-expansion/ ) Click here on Mobile to join our Community. ( https://link.upstreamapp.com/eEoV65h1U6 )

23 Mar 07:32

Holiday Highlights: Sarah Kunst, Managing Director of Cleo Capital

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Sarah Kunst. Thank you Soraya Darabi for the intro to today's guest Sarah Kunst ( https://twitter.com/sarahkunst ) , managing director of Cleo Capital ( https://www.cleocap.com/ ). Cleo Capital is an an early stage VC fund focused on the preseed & seed stages. Some of their investments include 42 Birds, Athena and Lovewellness. She's also a contributing editor at Marie Claire Magazine and previously served as a senior advisor to Bumble. Links: Click here to listen to my full conversation with Sarah. ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/79-sarah-kunst-cleo-capital-the-future-of-work-complicated-consumer-and-how-to-have-a-diverse-portfolio/ ) Click here on Mobile to join our Community. ( https://link.upstreamapp.com/eEoV65h1U6 )

23 Mar 07:32

Holiday Highlights: Charles Hudson, Founding Partner Precursor Ventures

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Charles Hudson. Charles Hudson is the Managing Partner and Founder of Precursor Ventures. Precursor Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in the first institutional round of investment for the most promising software and hardware companies. Some of their investments include The Athletic, Goodr and Co-Star. Links: Click here to listen to my full conversation with Charles Hudson ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/32-charles-hudson-precursor-ventures-the-state-of-seed-investing-the-early-stage-ecosystem-and-why-consumer-has-been-out-of-favor-with-vcs/ ) Click here on Mobile to join our Community. ( https://link.upstreamapp.com/eEoV65h1U6 )

23 Mar 07:32

Holiday Highlights: Anna Whiteman, Vice President at Coefficient Capital

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Anna Whiteman. I'm excited to share highlights from my conversation with Anna Whiteman, Vice President at Coefficient Capital. Coefficient Capital is a new venture capital fund that leads early growth investments in fast-moving consumer goods, typically investing in Series A and B rounds. So far they've invested in Just Spices, NomNom, Hydrant and Personal Care. Without further ado, here's Anna. Links: Click here to listen to my full conversation with Anna. ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/47-anna-whiteman-coefficient-capital-bold-marketing-using-non-standardizing-channels-when-a-dnvb-should-think-about-omnichannel-and-milestones-for-cpg-companies-at-series-a/ ) Click here on Mobile to join our Community. ( https://link.upstreamapp.com/eEoV65h1U6 )

23 Mar 07:32

Holiday Highlights: Natalie Dillon, Principal at Maveron

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Natalie Dillon. I'm excited to share highlights from my conversation with Natalie Dillon, Principal at Maveron. Maveron is a premier consumer focused fund that invests in seed and Series A companies that empower consumers to live on their terms. Some of their investments include eBay, Everlane, and Allbirds. Without further ado, here's Natalie. Links: Click here to listen to my full conversation with Natalie Dillon ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/36-natalie-dillon-maveron-subcultures-sustainability-and-the-differences-between-gen-z-and-millennials/ ) Click here on Mobile to join our Community. ( https://link.upstreamapp.com/eEoV65h1U6 )

23 Mar 07:32

Holiday Highlights: Ezra Galston, Founding Partner of Starting Line

This episode are highlights from my conversation with Ezra Galston. Ezra Galston, is the founding partner of Starting Line. a seed stage, consumer tech focused fund based in Chicago. Previously he was a Principal at Chicago Ventures. Some of his investments include Cameo, Flyhomes, and Spothero. Links: Click here to listen to my full conversation with Ezra ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/68-ezra-galston-starting-line-benefits-of-chicago-managed-vs-lightly-managed-marketplaces-and-consumer-for-the-99/ ) Click here on Mobile to join our Community. ( https://link.upstreamapp.com/eEoV65h1U6 )

23 Mar 07:32

Sapna Shah (Red Giraffe) - Future of Retail, Drop Shipping, and Small World, Long Life

Thank you Joseph Sartre ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/vincent-diallo-joseph-sartre-interlace-ventures-why-ecommerce-is-boring-why-is-china-at-the-forefront-of-retail-tech-and-headless-commerce-explained/ ) for the introduction to today's guest Sapna Shah ( https://www.redgiraffeadvisors.com/about/ ) , founder of Red Giraffe ( https://www.redgiraffeadvisors.com/ ). Red Giraffe makes pre-seed investments in start-ups in the retail industry, including retail tech, marketplaces, brands and consumer sectors. Select current investments include: The Wing, FINDMINE, Robyn, and Swoonery. She's also the founder of Retail X Series, an ecosystem for retail startups in New York and around the US. We discuss what it was like founding a B2C and B2B companies, opportunities in retail innovation and the changes in consumer behavior due to COVID. A couple books that Sapna highly recommends are Caste ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0593230256?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0593230256&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Isabel Wilkerson and Invisible Influence ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1476759731?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1476759731&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Jonah Berger. Here are some of the questions I ask Sapna - * What was your initial attraction to retail? * You founded two companies, both within retail. One on the B2B side and the other consumer facing. What were some of the learnings from both experiences that helped shape how you analyze opportunities? * One trend we haven't yet spoken about on this show is drop shipping. Has drop shipping affected how you look at brands? * We've seen new consumer habits develop during COVID that has sped up the penetration of ecommerce. What are other consumer habit changes that you believe will happen or that you find interesting? * You've been a prolific angel investor for quite a few years. What are some of the differences entrepreneurs should be aware of when accepting money from angels vs. VC funds? * Walk me through your due diligence process. Has the process changed or become more challenging during COVID? * What are some other trends in retail that you are passionate about? * What's one thing in venture capital that you would change? * What's the best piece of advice you've received?

23 Mar 07:32

Brian Requarth (Latitud + Viva Real) - Building an Online Real Estate Marketplace in Latin America, Raising Money Without a Network, and Solving Supply vs. Demand

Thank you Sasha Astafiva ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/70-sasha-astafyeva-atomico-growing-a-real-estate-tech-company-in-brazil-series-a-consumer-landscape-in-europe-and-how-she-thinks-about-international-expansion/ ) for the introduction to my guest today, Brian Requarth ( https://twitter.com/brianrequarth ) , co-founder and former CEO of Viva Real ( https://www.vivareal.com.br/venda/ ). Viva Real is the online real estate marketplace in Latin America. He is also the founder of Latitud ( https://latitud.com/ ) , helping build the next generation of iconic tech startups in Latin America. You can follow Brian on Twitter @brianrequarth ( https://twitter.com/brianrequarth ). You can also follow your host @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). A few books that inspired Brian: The Courage to be Disliked ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078MDSV8T?camp=1789&creativeASIN=B078MDSV8T&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ichiro Klshimi The Hard Things About Hard Things ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062273205?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062273205&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ben Horowitz Venture Deals ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1119594820?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1119594820&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Brad Feld Some of the questions I ask Brian - * What was your initial attraction to South America? * What led you to founding Viva Real? * What steps did you take in order to validate your idea? * On this show, we mostly focus on the U.S. landscape, what are some of the differences or things you have to take into account in Brazil that you normally wouldn't in the U.S. when thinking of starting a company? * In the early days - * How did you approach building your team? * How did you approach growth? * How did you think about international expansion into other markets? * When you were thinking of raising money, did you first look for local partners or did you look towards the U.S. / outside of South America? * Tell me a little bit about Latitud and how that came together? * When investing, I know your focus is Latin America. What are some of the challenges when investing in companies that are focused on this geography? * Has it been harder finding conviction in founders since you have to meet with them remote? * What is one thing that you would change in the fundraising process? * What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?

23 Mar 07:32

Lucy Deland (Inspired Capital) - Founding Paperless Post, How Design Became Critical To Software, and Why She's A Generalist Investor

My guest today is Lucy Deland ( https://inspiredcapital.com/team/lucydeland ) , Partner at Inspired Capital ( https://inspiredcapital.com/ ) , who back early-stage founders with transformative ideas, brilliant teams, and relentless determination. Some of her investments include Geneva, Habi and Dandy. A couple of books that inspired Lucy: Amazing Grace ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0770435661?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0770435661&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Jonathan Kozol Why We Sleep ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501144324?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1501144324&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Matthew Walker. Here's some questions I ask Lucy: * Since you went from investor to founder to investor, where it makes sense to start is what attracted you to focus your career on technology and innovation? * What was the insight that led you to founding Paperless Post? * What led you to going back to your "roots" (so to speak) and become an investor again? * Tell me a little bit about Inspired Capital and the formation. * What were some of the lessons learned from your experience as COO that made you a better investor? * I know that you're a generalist, but thesis driven. How do you approach which categories to focus on and opportunities? * In our prior conversation, we spoke about some of the differences when your customer is a consumer, SMB and enterprise. When it comes to technology, IU, and feature set, depending on who you are selling to, what are your must haves? * How has your due diligence process been disrupted by COVID? * What are some of the different milestones a company has to have at the seed vs. series A? * What are current trends (that are consumer facing) that you're focused on? * What's one thing that you would change when it comes to venture capital? * What's the best piece of advice that you received? * What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?

23 Mar 07:32

Andrew Goletka & Franklin Isacson (Coefficient Capital) - Behaviors that changed forever in 2020, Investing in CPG at the Series A, and when to go into retail

My guests today are Franklin Isacson ( https://www.coefficientcap.com/team/franklin-isacson/ ) & Andrew Goletka ( https://www.coefficientcap.com/team/andrew-goletka/ ) , Founders and Managing Partners of Coefficient Capital ( http://coefficientcap.com ). Coefficient partners with entrepreneurs to build brands, tell stories and engage consumers across the digital and physical worlds, typically at the series A. Some of their investments include Magic Spoon, Hawthorne, Haus and Hydrant. We discuss how they think about omnichannel, insights learned from their consumer trends report that was produced in partnership with The New Consumer, and criteria at Series A. Some of the questions I ask Andrew and Franklin: * What was both your attraction to consumer? * What's interesting about both your stories is that you came from the consumer world from opposite angles - Andrew from the ecommerce side, Franklin from the retail side. From each of these positions, what is most overlooked when evaluating an ecommerce brand vs. a retail brand? * What are some of the differences when analyzing a successful DNVB vs. a brand that has done really well in traditional retail? * When DNVBs reach scale and have to expand to retail, what do you find is the most challenging part of that expansion process? * When you have a brand that is successful in retail, do they need to have an ecommerce strategy? * When does an ecommerce strategy not make sense? * When it comes growth marketing, you no longer have the arbitrage opportunities that you had in the late 00s and early 10s. What are some creative strategies that you've seen disruptive brands execute in order to get above the noise? * What is a reason why a DNVB might not be able to work in retail? * Have you seen online brands having to rebrand themselves in order to position themselves differently when it comes to retail? * Walk me through your due diligence process. * Has it been harder to establish conviction amongst founders when meeting with them remotely? * What's one thing each of you would change as it pertains to venture capital? * What's one book that inspired each of you personally and professionally? * What's the best piece of advice that you've ever received? * What's your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? * What's one piece of advice that you have for founders building brands?

23 Mar 07:32

Michael Nogen (Overton VC) - Founding Theality Maternity Wear, Learnings Working at Gap and How He Thinks about Innovation

Thank you Joe Tonnos ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/43-joe-tonnos-ketch-ventures-mistral-equity-partners-cricket-protein-tequila-and-investing-in-sustainability/ ) for the introduction to today's guest, Michael Nogen ( https://twitter.com/michael_nogen ) , one of the founding partners of Overton VC ( https://www.overtonvc.com/ ). Overton Venture Capital invests in early stage companies (Pre Series A) who demonstrate early success through revenue and market validation. Some of their portfolio includes Perch, Stantt and Joy Lux. Previously, he founded Theality, which became a national maternity apparel manufacturer and distributor carried by over 200 retailers and led global strategy at Gap and headed finance and strategy at 1800Flowers.com ( http://1800flowers.com/ ). A few books that inspired Michael: Good to Great ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0066620996?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0066620996&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Jim Collins The Culting of Brands ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591840961?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1591840961&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Douglas Atkin No Rules Rules ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1984877860?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1984877860&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Reid Hastings Questions I ask Michael: * What was your initial attraction to entrepreneurship, and founding Theality? * You then went into consulting and then working in senior positions at Gap and 1800 Flowers. What were some of the learnings working at legacy brands? * How did Overton come together? * During the summit, one of the focuses was why have corporations at times struggle to innovate, which lead to acquiring challenging brands. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this since you worked for established corporate brands, but also was a successful founder. * Walk me through your due diligence process - * When you evaluate early stage businesses, what are some of the most important elements of either the founder or the business to get you interested? * Has it been hard establishing conviction amongst founders since you have to meet with them remotely during COVID? * What I find really interesting about your portfolio at Overton is you invest in both software / b2b2c businesses as well as consumer brands. Many software investors have felt consumer brands aren't venture backable. I was curious since you invest in a wide range of businesses and business models, how you think about porfolio construction and the return profile on each business? * What are current trends that you are focused on? * Has COVID changed your point of view on any specific trends? * What's on

23 Mar 07:32

Jeff Housenbold (Softbank) - Approach to Risk with $100B AUM, Identifying Markets That Are Ripe for Disruption, and Assessing Value Chains

My guest today is Jeff Housenbold ( https://visionfund.com/team/jeff-housenbold ) , Managing Partner of Softbank's Vision Fund ( https://visionfund.com/ ) , the world's largest technology-focused venture capital fund, with over $100 billion in capital. Some of Jeff's investments are DoorDash, Compass, OpenDoor, and Whoop. Previously, Jeff was the CEO of Shutterfly. We discuss how he approaches investment themes, how he identifies opportunities on the value chain, and markets that are ripe for disruption. Without further ado, here's Jeff. Also, check out The Consumer VC Summit: February 23-25 about Ecommerce, Retail and Innovation. Full Lineup and to purchase tickets: *Summit.theconsumervc.com* ( https://app.redcircle.com/shows/3af1af78-a3bd-428f-a8f8-947073d6388c/ep/0fb856e1-7f1c-4c67-8a98-4c414cd58645/Summit.theconsumervc.com ) Enter *CONSUMERVC* at checkout for 20% off One book that inspired Jeff: The Fountainhead ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451191153?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0451191153&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ayr Rand I highly recommend following him on Twitter @jtbold. ( https://twitter.com/jtbold ) Here are the questions I ask Jeff - * So in your career it seems like you've done it all as it relates to business. What led you to joining Softbank and be part of the vision fund? * You're part of something that no one else has done - an $100 billion venture capital fund. Now, every fund has their ups and downs across the portfolio, but your fund has far greater AUM than any other fund in the ecosystem. How do you approach risk and portfolio construction? * How do you think about returns? Since it's that large a fund, are you still expecting venture capital type returns or returns more similar to growth stage private equity? * What's your process of deploying capital? What's your average check size? * What criteria do you look for in companies? * I imagine since you are writing large checks, you might have a more intensive due diligence process. If you could walk me through it. * After you invest, how do you think about growth execution? * I know you are a thematic investor and you extensive reports about large industries. How do you go about deciding what industry to focus on and your process creating the reports? * An area that I know you focus on is real estate technology. What are current trends that you are focused on in the space and has COVID changed your perception of that industry? * SPACs have become very popular in the past couple of years and I know Opendoor is going public via Chamath's SPAC. On this show, we've talked about the impact of SPACs when it comes to CPG and food and beverage brands and the impac

23 Mar 07:31

Steven Wolfe Pereira (Encantos) - Teaching Kids 21st Century Skills, Building a Direct to Learner EdTech Company, and Overlooked Opportunities That Make Real Impact

Thank you Samara Hernandez ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/91-samara-hernandez-chingona-ventures-why-chicago-how-diverse-vc-teams-lead-to-investing-in-markets-that-are-overlooked-and-some-of-the-differences-when-investing-in-consumer-vs-enterprise/ ) for introducing me to today's guest, Steven Wolfe Pereira ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/wolfepereira/ ) , co-founder and CEO of Encantos ( https://www.encantosbrands.com/ ) , an award-winning edtech company that believes kids learn best through play while teaching kids 21st century life skills. We discuss some of the learnings of working at technology companies and communication companies, the inspiration and insight behind Encantos and how he introduces new brands. Without further ado, here's Steven. You can follow Steven on Twitter @wolfepereira ( https://twitter.com/wolfepereira ). You can also follow your host, Mike @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). The Consumer VC Summit: February 23-25 Full Lineup and to purchase tickets: *Summit.theconsumervc.com* ( https://app.redcircle.com/shows/3af1af78-a3bd-428f-a8f8-947073d6388c/ep/0fb856e1-7f1c-4c67-8a98-4c414cd58645/Summit.theconsumervc.com ) Enter *CONSUMERVC* at checkout for 20% off A couple of books that inspired Steven: The Element ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143116738?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0143116738&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ken Robinson Unscaled ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073P3CMWM?camp=1789&creativeASIN=B073P3CMWM&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Hemant Taneja Some of the questions I ask Steven - * What was your initial attraction to technology and media? * I can understand how the media background would be super helpful, but what were some of your learnings in enterprise SaaS that influenced your approach to building Encantos? * Take me to the beginning of when you founded Encantos. What was the insight that led you to start your company? * Talk to me a little bit about the company's mission and where you think education might miss or feel outdated in this current climate? * When you think about giving back and legacy. What do you believe are some modern traits in a business that might have been overlooked/nonexistent 20-30 years ago? * Walk us through the three brands that you've developed under Encantos and how each of them came to be? * How do you think about creating new characters or building new brands? * What's your strategy when it comes to physical products, software products and shows? * What was your process when you decided to raise venture capital funding? * Was it harder to fundraise during COVID? * What's one thing that you would change about venture ca

23 Mar 07:31

Rick Desai (Listen) - What Makes a Compelling Brand, Why He Loves Patagonia, and His Approach to Investing in Consumer Products

Thank you Samara Hernandez ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/91-samara-hernandez-chingona-ventures-why-chicago-how-diverse-vc-teams-lead-to-investing-in-markets-that-are-overlooked-and-some-of-the-differences-when-investing-in-consumer-vs-enterprise/ ) for introducing me to our guest today, Rick Desai ( https://twitter.com/rickdesai ) , one of the Partners at Listen ( https://www.listen.co/ ). Listen is a consumer venture capital fund that backs and builds the brand of tomorrow. Some of their investments include Calm, Factor and Public Goods. Rick is also the founder of Dashfire, which invests in early stage entrepreneurs and provides near-term technical extension and long-term strategic guidance. We talk about opportunities he's seeing both in consumer products and consumer technology, how he thinks about growth vs profitability and investing in founders in secondary markets. You can follow Rick on Twitter @RickDesai ( https://twitter.com/rickdesai ). The Consumer VC Summit: February 23-25 Full Lineup and to purchase tickets: *Summit.theconsumervc.com* ( https://app.redcircle.com/shows/3af1af78-a3bd-428f-a8f8-947073d6388c/ep/0fb856e1-7f1c-4c67-8a98-4c414cd58645/Summit.theconsumervc.com ) Enter *CONSUMERVC* at checkout for 20% off Here are some of the questions I ask Rick - * What was your attraction to finance and consumer? * I'd love to hear the origin story of Listen? * At the beginning of Listen, when it came to growing brands online, you had arbitrage opportunities in growth. Now, the landscape has changed. How do you define and build a compelling brand now? * We've seen investors shift away from investing in consumer brands. How do you think about opportunities? * Walk me through your due diligence process * Has COVID disrupted that process? * Seems like we went through a long phase of grow at all costs, now we've shifted the focus to to profitability. When do you feel it makes sense to shift the focus from growth to profitability? * What trends are you currently focused on? * What's one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital? * What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? * What's the best piece of advice you've ever received? * What's one piece of advice for founders?

23 Mar 07:31

Beatriz Acevedo (SUMA) - Why Personal Finance, How Content Can Build Community and Educate, and Creating Products Serving the Latinx Community

Thank you Samara Hernandez ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/91-samara-hernandez-chingona-ventures-why-chicago-how-diverse-vc-teams-lead-to-investing-in-markets-that-are-overlooked-and-some-of-the-differences-when-investing-in-consumer-vs-enterprise/ ) to our guest today, Beatriz Acevedo ( https://www.beatrizacevedo.com/ ) , CEO and co-founder of SUMA Wealth. ( https://sumawealth.com/ ) SUMA is a revolutionary financial wellness company with the mission to engage, educate, and empower the Latinx community via a holistic approach of Digital Media, Experiences, and FinTech. Previously, Beatriz founded mitu, a digital media company that elevates and celebrates the voices of our multidimensional LatinX community. We discuss her approach to founding a fintech company, examples of creative ways she uses content to build community and why she wanted to focus on personal finance. Without further ado, here's Samara. The Consumer VC Summit: February 23-25 Full Lineup and to purchase tickets: *Summit.theconsumervc.com* ( https://app.redcircle.com/shows/3af1af78-a3bd-428f-a8f8-947073d6388c/ep/0fb856e1-7f1c-4c67-8a98-4c414cd58645/Summit.theconsumervc.com ) Enter *CONSUMERVC* at checkout for 20% off A couple books that inspired Beatriz are The Four Agreements ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878424319/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?creative=9325&creativeASIN=1878424319&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=e1d9d0b064b03ac0206a31c7a7cc46c0&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Don Miguel Ruiz and Lean In ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385349947/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?creative=9325&creativeASIN=0385349947&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=fc4fa11516c14a71e91fbaf0159ea9c2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Sheryl Sandberg. Highly recommend following her on Twitter @Bea_latina ( https://twitter.com/Bea_latina ). You can also follow me on Twitter for updates @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). Some of the questions I ask Beatriz * What was your attraction to entrepreneurship and media? * How did you go on to found mitú? * What are some of hurdles when founding a media business? * What led you to founding your latest venture, SUMA Wealth? * What was the opportunity and how did you become so passionate in helping folks learn about personal finance? * Walk me through the business model. * We've seen other fintech products focus on the product first, then content. You've seem to take the other approach, starting with the content. How did you think about go-to-market strategy? * When you think about target market - Gen Z and Millennial latinx - what are some of the tactics that you use to find that audience and create brand presence? * What was your approach when you decided

23 Mar 07:31

Amanda Groves (PLUS Capital) - The Power of Celebrity, The Most Unlikely Partnership, and Managing an Advisory Practice with a VC Fund

Thank you Sita for the intro to our guest today, Amanda Groves ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-groves-42b67037/ ) , one of the partners at PLUS Capital ( https://www.pluscapital.com/ ). PLUS Capital is an advisement and venture fund trusted by elite artists and athletes to invest in and build transformative companies. We talk about how to think about analyzing true value from celebrities to brands, what a successful partnership could like it and the most surprising partnership on paper she's come across. The Consumer VC Summit: February 23-25 Full Lineup and to purchase tickets: *Summit.theconsumervc.com* ( https://app.redcircle.com/shows/3af1af78-a3bd-428f-a8f8-947073d6388c/ep/0fb856e1-7f1c-4c67-8a98-4c414cd58645/Summit.theconsumervc.com ) Enter *CONSUMERVC* at checkout for 20% off A couple books that inspired Amanda: Greenlights ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0593139135/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?creative=9325&creativeASIN=0593139135&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=d7c71d159c44765676d6b8e62365e38e&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Matthew McConaughey Big Lies ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062390864/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?creative=9325&creativeASIN=0062390864&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=fd03692c8978b9bda292e128d6c9c70b&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz Here are some of the questions I ask Amanda - * What was your attraction to finance and technology? * What led you to joining PLUS Capital? * Talk to me about the ways you engage with celebrities? * Talk to me about how you manage the fund vs. advisory practice. How do you think about making investments and manage LPs, that are family offices as well as celebrities? * When a celebrity does decide to make a check and participate, are their certain activities or clauses the celebrity has to do in order to own up to receiving a larger stake in the company then what the check size is? * Are there specific categories or types of companies that your celebrity clients tend to find interesting? * Has there been any surprises when it comes to a partnership between a celebrity and company? i.e. company was very different to perceived interests from celebrity? * We've seen more and more celebrities become founders and start their own businesses rather then just becoming endorsers. Does this affect your advisory position? * How do you think about authenticity when a celebrity and a company collaborate? * What's your due diligence process when find attractive opportunities? * What are some current trends that you are focused on? * What's one thing you would change about venture capital? * What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you profes

23 Mar 07:31

Brendan Rogers (Wag! and 2 a.m.) - Founding Wag!, Scaling by Doing Unscalable Things, and Investment Opportunities in India

My guest today is Brendan Rogers ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanprogers/ ) , one of the co-founders of Wag! ( https://wagwalking.com/ ) and 2 a.m ( https://www.2amvc.com/ ). Wag! is #1 app for pet parents and the leading on-demand dog walking platform. 2 a.m is a venture fund, investing in the next generation of entrepreneurs in India. We discuss the insight that led to the founding of Wag!, how they approached scale, and the opportunity he saw in India as an investor. The Consumer VC Summit: February 23-25 Full Lineup and to purchase tickets: *Summit.theconsumervc.com* ( https://app.redcircle.com/shows/3af1af78-a3bd-428f-a8f8-947073d6388c/ep/0fb856e1-7f1c-4c67-8a98-4c414cd58645/Summit.theconsumervc.com ) Enter *CONSUMERVC* at checkout for 20% off A couple books that inspired Brendan: Rudy: My Story ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0718080068/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?creative=9325&creativeASIN=0718080068&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=dcf677677effe02539a5fd25f98847ab&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Rudy Ruettiger The Start-up of You ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307888908/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307888908&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=4d2d775bafb83dc2907e4265d4b25126&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Reid Hoffman Some of the questions I asked Brendan: * What was your attraction to technology and consumer technology? * Wag! - * What was the insight that led you to found Wag!? * Which side of the marketplace did you have to initially focus on to get the wheel in motion - demand or supply? * What were some of the creative strategies that you employed in order for Wag! to become a successful marketplace? * How did you approach expanding to different markets? * What was the fundraising strategy? * After you left Wag!, how did you think about what you next want to do? * 2AM & India - * Why the interest in India? Why not focus on companies in the United States? * How did 2AM come together? * What are some of the differences you've had to experience when investing in Indian companies vs. U.S? * What are some of the differences in population that an entrepreneur has to take into account that they wouldn't have to in the United States? * What are some consumer trends in India that you're most excited about? * What's one thing that you would change about venture capital? * What's the best piece of advice that you've received? * What's one piece of advice to founders?

23 Mar 07:31

Deborah Benton (Willow Growth Partners) - The Need to Focus on Profitability from Day One, Why Raising Lots of Money Doesn't Mean Success, and Her Investment Philosophy at Willow Growth

Thank you Sunny Dhillon ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/78-sunny-dhillon-signia-partners-grocery-store-technology-why-beauty-brands-are-great-to-invest-in-and-changes-in-retail/ ) for the introduction to today's guest, Deborah Benton ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/debenton/ ). Deb is the founder and general partner of Willow Growth Partners ( https://willowgrowth.com/ ). Willow provides early growth capital to entrepreneurs building the next generation of transformative consumer brands and the disruptive technologies that power them. Prior to launching her fund, Deborah held many senior operational positions in companies like Nasty Gal, Shoe Dazzle and eToys. We discuss what investors don't get about investing in consumer brands, lessons learned working for established and aspiring brands and her approach to trends. The Consumer VC Summit: February 23-25 Full Lineup and to purchase tickets: *Summit.theconsumervc.com* ( https://app.redcircle.com/shows/3af1af78-a3bd-428f-a8f8-947073d6388c/ep/0fb856e1-7f1c-4c67-8a98-4c414cd58645/Summit.theconsumervc.com ) Enter *CONSUMERVC* at checkout for 20% off A couple books that inspired Deborah - Man's Search For Meaning ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807014273/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?creative=9325&creativeASIN=0807014273&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=7f58ded1eae0d301d9a818b5d9342ab5&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Viktor E. Frankl The Alchemist ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062315005/ref=as_li_tl?camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0062315005&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=b4163c2f9d5af5f7baf5f3fab8a57cce&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Paulo Coelho Some of the questions I ask Deb: * I'd love to first start with your career. What was your initial attraction to work in retail and consumer products? * You've witnessed companies raise lots of money and have lots of momentum and then not be able to become profitable or reach their goals and end up falling apart. What were some of the learnings from these experiences? * What attracted you to the world of investing and how did you make decisions as an angel investor? * When it comes to consumer products in 2020 where you no longer can scale efficiently like you could of 10 years ago, what is the key? * You're currently closing your first fund, what attracted you to shift to become a VC from being an angel investor? * What are current retail trends that you are focused on? * We've seen large corporations finally wake up to ecommerce during COVID. Do you think, even though ecommerce penetration has increased substantially this year, it's more competitive than it was pre-COVID? * What's one thing that you would change when it comes to venture capi

23 Mar 07:31

Tyler Morgan (BFG Partners): How His Passion for Health & Wellness Led Him Into CPG, Changes During COVID, and The Evolution of BFG

My guest today is Tyler Morgan ( https://www.bfgpartners.com/tyler-bio ) , Vice President at BFG Partners ( https://www.bfgpartners.com/ ). BFG Partners invests in entrepreneurs that build exceptional businesses in the better-for-you food, beverage, and consumer products space. Some of their investments include Olipop, Quinn Snacks, and Bear Naked. I really enjoyed my time with Tyler where we discuss his due diligence process, effects of COVID within CPG and the evolution of BFG. Without further ado, here's Tyler. The Consumer VC Summit: February 23-25 Full Lineup and to purchase tickets: *Summit.theconsumervc.com* ( https://app.redcircle.com/shows/3af1af78-a3bd-428f-a8f8-947073d6388c/ep/0fb856e1-7f1c-4c67-8a98-4c414cd58645/Summit.theconsumervc.com ) Enter *CONSUMERVC* at checkout for 20% off A couple of books that inspired Tyler: Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080214425X?camp=1789&creativeASIN=080214425X&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Gary Kinder Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465062881/ref=as_li_tl?camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0465062881&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=ae389698cb72f3b2cffce764a92a6c35&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Alfred Lansing Some of the questions I ask Tyler - * What was your initial attraction to consumer products? * Wellness in hospitals * What was your interest when it came to investing and venture capital? * Tell me a bit about BFG it seems like you did a rebrand. What are your focus areas? * Why did you expand to invest in other consumables? * What are some current trends that you're most interested in? Food as medicine * There are so many brands out there since it's never been easier to start a brand then at any other point in time. What's your evaluation process to judge if a brand might be able to cut through the noise? * Walk me through your due diligence process? * What makes a compelling brand? * What's one thing you would change about Venture capital? * Do you only invest in brands that have an online presence? * in store demoing * What's one thing that you would change about venture capital? * Do you only invest in companies that are DNVBs or do invest in companies that are already in retail? * What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? * What's the best piece that you've received? * What's one piece of advice to founders?

23 Mar 07:31

Hugh Thomas (Ugly) - The Opportunity He Saw With Sparkling Water, Why He Started OmniChannel, and Approach to Overseas Expansion

Our guest today is Hugh Thomas ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/uglyhugh/ ) , founder of Ugly ( https://uglydrinks.com/ ). Ugly is the refreshingly honest sparkling water in a can. No sugar, no calories, no sodium, no sweetners. We discuss his background and how working at Vita Coco impacted him to found Ugly, why he went retail on day one, and his expansion strategy and why being in two markets is like running two different companies. You can follow Hugh at @uglyhugh ( https://twitter.com/uglyhugh ) on Twitter. A couple books that inspired Hugh are: The Obstacle Is The Way ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G3L1B8K?camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00G3L1B8K&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ryan Holiday Give and Take ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143124986?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0143124986&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Adam Grant Some of the questions I asked Hugh: * What was your initial attraction to the food and beverage industry? * Talk to me about the early days and some of your learnings scaling Vita Coco? * What was the inspiration that led you to founding Ugly? * How did you approach ingredients and then your supply chain? * How did you think about brand in the early days? * Why did you decide to launch omnichannel off the bat? * What were some of the hurdles in the early days? * What was your strategy for growth in the U.K? * Why did you decide to expand so quickly into the U.S.? * We talk on this show about when it comes to ecommerce, getting past the noise. There's so many brands out there since it's easier then ever to start a brand. How do you think about differentiation? * Why did you decide to fundraise and what was your fundraising strategy? * How did you manage to pivot or change your strategy during COVID? * What's one thing you would change about the fundraising process? * What's the best piece of advice that you've ever received? * What's one piece of advice that you have to founders?

23 Mar 07:31

Mercedes Bent (Lightspeed) - The State of Series A, Future of EdTech, and Evolution of Investment Products

My guest today is Mercedes Bent ( https://lsvp.com/team/mercedes-bent/ ) , who is a Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners ( https://lsvp.com/ ) and is on their consumer investing team. Lightspeed Venture Partners's mission is to serve the world’s most extraordinary people who are building tomorrow’s companies today. Some of her portfolio includes Forage, Stori Card, Outschool and Flockjay among other amazing companies. Mercedes is primarily focused on investing in edtech/future of work, fintech, and consumer products. We talk about how consumer businesses are building new models that involve ownership for consumers, parts of edtech where there is opportunity, and how she thinks about optimism. I highly encourage you to follow her on Twitter @mercebent ( https://twitter.com/mercebent ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). A book that inspired Mercedes is: Delivering Happiness ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1610660242?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1610660242&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Tony Hsieh Some of the questions I ask Mercedes: * Let's start at the beginning. What was your initial attraction to technology and consumer facing businesses? * What were some of your experiences that had a lasting impact in how you approach investing? * What are some of the changes you've seen in consumer spend and how has that helped shaped where you spend your time when looking at opportunities? * What are some of the sectors you're currently focused on? * We've heard the expression the future of consumer is fintech. How do you think about the future of consumer relating to business model? * Walk me through your due diligence process * What are some of the milestones you have to see in order to be interested? * What are some qualities in founders you like to see? * What's one thing that you would change in venture capital? * What's the best piece of advice that you've received? * What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?

23 Mar 07:31

Kelsey Moreira (Doughp) - Leaving Tech to Start a Cookie Dough Company, Growth of Ecommerce During COVID, and Her Appearance on Shark Tank

Thank you Sumeet Shah ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/20-sumeet-shah-swiftarc-ventures-4th-generation-of-retail-periscope-founders-and-what-is-wrong-in-vc/ ) for introducing me to our guest today Kelsey Moreira ( https://twitter.com/kelsey_moreira ) , founder and Co-CEO of Doughp ( https://www.doughp.com/ ). Doughp makes 100% raw cookie dough. As you probably can guess, we talk all things cookie dough as well as why Kelsey moved from Oakland to set up shop in Las Vegas, effects of COVID in her store and ecommerce, her mission and her experience on Shark Tank. And there you have it. It was wonderful chatting with Kelsey. I highly recommend following her @kelsey_moreira on Twitter. A book that inspired Kelsey - You Are a Badass ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0762447699?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0762447699&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Jen Sincero Some of the questions I ask Kelsey - * You worked in tech for a long time, what attracted you to entrepreneurship and the food and beverage space? * What was the insight that led you to founding DOUGHP? * How did you decide to approach creating the product? * How did you think about DOUGHPs brand and positioning? * Why Las Vegas? * DOUGHP for Hope initiative * Mental health days for staff * What did you want to raise capital? * How was your experience on Shark Tank? * What was your fundraising approach? * How did you distribution and different channels? * What has been the effect of COVID on your business? * What's one thing you would change about fundraising? * What's the best piece of advice that you've received? * What's one piece of advice for folks building a consumer product?

23 Mar 07:31

Brandon Schwartz and Lawrence Cisneros (DRNXMYTH) - Creating World Class Cocktails, Partnering with Bartenders, and Creating a Marketplace Out of a Bottle

Thank you Carlton Fowler ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/87-carlton-fowler-goat-rodeo-capital-the-changing-landscape-in-beverage-why-beverage-is-poised-for-ecommerce-and-his-thoughts-around-portfolio-construction/ ) for the introduction to today's guests Brandon Schwartz and Lawrence Cisneros, co-founders of DRNXMYTH ( https://drnxmyth.com/ ). DRNXMYTH Makes The Best Cocktails Ever Bottled. I have to say, these are amazing. I tried the product a few weeks ago and think what they are building with DRNXMYTH is very innovative and I hope you'll see that as well. We discuss their origin story of how they created this amazing bottle for cocktails, how their business is becoming a marketplace, how they think about collaborations. A couple of books that inspired Brandon and Lawrence: Zero to One ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804139296/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?creative=9325&creativeASIN=0804139296&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=8832c37ddbaac761632151d25cea47d2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Peter Thiel Rich Dad Poor Dad ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1612680178/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?creative=9325&creativeASIN=1612680178&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=c482b48be24eb7eb8311dd878f3e9909&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Robert T. Klyosakl The questions I ask Brandon and Lawrence: * Let's start from the beginning. How did you two meet and become interested in the alcohol and beverage industries? * What was the insight or pain point that you wanted to solve that led to the founding of Drnxmyth come together? * When you started realized * How did you develop the technology and your supply chain? * What were some of the early hurdles? * How did you think about brand and brand positioning? * Lunchables * Pancakes * How were you able to validate your idea? * What was some of the early growth levers you used and your approach to retail and ecommerce? * How were you able to pivot during COVID? * What was your approach to fundraising? * What was the biggest hang up from investors when they were evaluating your business? * How did you approach building community with Drnxmyth? * How did you think about flavors and creating different cocktails? * Do you plan on creating your own hard alcohols? * What's one thing you would change about the fundraising process? * What's one piece of advice that you have for founders currently building?

23 Mar 07:31

Helaine Knapp (CITYROW) - How Running Injuries Led Her To Start Boutique Rowing Fitness Gyms and Transforming The Studio Experience to At-Home

Thank you Katie Shea for introducing me to today's guest Helaine Knapp ( https://twitter.com/HelaineKnapp ) , founder and CEO of CITYROW ( https://www.cityrow.com/ ). CITYROW ( https://www.cityrow.com/ ) is a boutique fitness studio which started in New York City that specializes in a total body, high-intensity, low-impact workout using a water-based rowing machine and strength-training exercises. They have since launched Cityrow go, taking the boutique rowing experience into your home with on demand classes. I highly recommend following her on twitter @HelaineKnapp ( https://twitter.com/HelaineKnapp ) A few books that inspired Helaine: The Four Agreements ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878424319?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1878424319&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Don Miguel Ruiz Shoe Dog ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501135929?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1501135929&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Phil Knight Good to Great ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0066620996?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0066620996&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Jim Collins Questions I ask Helaine: * Let's begin before you became an entrepreneur. How did your experiences at Olapic and Buddy Media help you as a founder? * What was your attraction to fitness and athletics? * What was the insight the led you to founding CITY ROW? * Why rowers? * What were some of the biggest hurdles when starting out? * Why did you decide on the franchise model? * Since we haven't discussed the franchise model on this show before, could you walk us through some of the innerworkings? * How did you think about growth? * What led you to create CITY ROW Go? * What were some of the biggest challenges when you decided to introduce this product? * What has been some of the challenges with the roll out? * What has been some of the effects of COVID? * How do you think about the future of the in store rowing experience once we all have the vaccines and people are able to work out in studios and gyms? * Walk me through your fundraising process. * What was the biggest hangup from investors? * People invest in what you know * What's one thing you would change about the fundraising process? * Not so much of a dance, wish more of a equality * What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? * What's the best piece of advice you've ever received? * What's one piece of advice for founders?

23 Mar 07:31

Carey Smith (Unorthodox) - Scaling Big Ass Fans to $250 million and What It Means to be a Contrarian Investor

My guest today is Carey Smith ( https://unorthodoxventures.com/team/ ). Carey is the founder of Big Ass Fans ( https://www.bigassfans.com/ ) , which in less than two decades he took the company from 0 to $250 million in revenue, without the help of investors. Following the sale of Big Ass Fans, Carey started Unorthodox Ventures ( https://unorthodoxventures.com/ ) , where he partners with extraordinary founders, providing capital and expertise to build companies faster. Their portfolio includes Fit Joy, Go Fish and Lumun. This was a great conversation whre we chat about Carey's transition from a founder to investor and how that has helped shaped his decision making process. Without further ado, here's Carey. And there you have it. It was great learning from Carey and what it means to be a contrarian investor. One book that inspired Carey is Blue Ocean Strategy ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1625274491?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1625274491&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by W. Chan Kim. Some of the questions I ask Carey: * What was your attraction to entrepreneurship? * What was the insight that led you to founding Big Ass Fans? * Why did you want to sell Big Ass Fans * Why did you decide to become an investor? * You don't have a sector of focus, how do you think about opportunities? * What's your approach to investing in companies? * How did you go about building your team? * What are some of the advantages for entrepreneurs fundraising from a family office as opposed to a VC fund. * How do you approach portfolio construction and exercising pro-rata? * What's one thing you would change about the fundraising process? * How do you think about sourcing? * What's your most recent investment? * What's one company you had the opportunity invest in, didn't, and in retrospect wish you did? * What's the best piece of advice you've received? * What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?

23 Mar 07:31

Leigh Radford (P&G Ventures) - What is Corporate Venture Capital, and the Advantages For Aspiring Brands

Thank you Elizabeth Edwards ( https://www.theconsumervc.com/90-elizabeth-edwards-h-ventures-why-some-dnvbs-dont-work-on-shelf-different-customer-insights-you-receive-in-retail-vs-dtc-and-demystifying-corporate-venture-capital/ ) for introducing me to our guest today. Leigh Radford ( https://pgventuresstudio.com/teams/ ) , the Senior Vice President, Founder & General Manager of P&G Ventures ( https://pgventuresstudio.com/ ). We discuss what is corporate venture capital, how P&G partners with brands, and the advantages for aspiring brands. Without further ado, here's Leigh. Some of the questions I ask Leigh * What was your initial attraction to consumer products? * How did you end up working at P&G? * Of course, when it comes to building brands, P&G are one of the world's best at doing so. What were some of your learnings of brand building at P&G? * Tell me a bit about P&G Ventures. * Startup studio, partners with entrepreneurs both inside and outside of the company. * What do you look for when analyzing brands? * Walk me through your due diligence process. * What are some of the advantages for aspiring brands that's hard for incumbents to adapt to? * What are some of the advantages for an aspiring brand to partner with corporate venture capital arm vs. a "normal" venture capital firm? * When you are analyzing online brands, what are some of the attributes they need to have in order to work in retail? * Going the other way, what types of brands might work in retail without having an online presence? * What are the KPIs you look for when brands are in retail? * What's one thing that you would change about venture capital? * What's the best piece of advice that you've received? * What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?

23 Mar 07:31

Comment for:



Financial Independence for Every Human

Comment for:

Financial Independence
for Every Human