This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Magdalena Kala, or "Mags" as she's better known. Mags has an incredible back story, which involves immigrating from Poland on her own to attend boarding school in the United States. Admission to Harvard and Stanford, working for Bain Capital, and even running a notorious female blackjack ring. She's now the founder of Double Down, an early-stage investor focused on Web3 companies. We discuss her story, how she learned to invest in the consumer space, and why people like the owner of Boston Celtics trust her with their capital. Please enjoy my conversation with Mags.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.
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Show Notes
[00:02:23] - [First question] - Her surprising and unique background
[00:04:31] - To what she attributes her drive and ambition
[00:05:25] - Her big move from Poland to the US at 16 years old
[00:07:42] - Challenges in adapting to American culture
[00:08:57] - Her analysis of the world as a game
[00:10:44] - How she approaches both failure and risk
[00:14:10] - Her time with a group of all-female card-counting blackjack hustlers
[00:16:14] - Her most memorable blackjack game
[00:17:29] - Getting a start in consumer investing at Bain Capital
[00:20:24] - Criteria she looks for in consumer investment targets
[00:23:27] - Analyzing the stickiness of identity-driven consumer brands
[00:25:58] - Using customer demographics to pinpoint long-lasting brands
[00:28:18] - Why she goes after cheap partnership arbitrage
[00:29:44] - The push-pull between exclusivity and mainstream success of a brand
[00:31:38] - Her transition from Bain Capital to striking out on her own
[00:34:13] - Why she chose to pursue early-stage VC investing
[00:36:57] - What drew her to Web3-integrated consumer products
[00:40:02] - Her focus on mainstream adoption of crypto and blockchain tech
[00:43:00] - How both traditional brands and crypto natives are impacting the space
[00:46:34] - The gestation period of a crypto-native brand compared to traditional big brands
[00:48:46] - Venture pitch deck characteristics she’s seeing in 2022 and 2023
[00:52:22] - The eccentric non-crypto-native people that back her fund
[00:54:14] - How she managed to close her fund right before the FTX collapse
[00:57:35] - Her philosophies for handling both early adopters and mainstream consumers
[01:00:28] - Her current hot takes on the venture market
[01:01:42] - How LPs are handling committing their capital in 2023
[01:03:57] - What she looks for when evaluating founders
[01:06:06] - Why a founder might want to avoid picking her as an investor
[01:06:46] - What she’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years
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