Philip Krim is best known as the co-founder and former CEO of Casper, one of the fastest-growing direct-to-consumer (DTC) startups in history. Under his leadership, Casper hit $100M in revenue in its first year, went public in early 2020, and was later taken private. Today, Philip is building again—this time through Montauk Climate, a platform innovating in what he calls the “electron economy.” We talked about lessons from hypergrowth, managing through crisis, organizational design, and the future of climate investing.
Highlights:
- How Casper hit $100M revenue in its first year
- Building a brand consumers want to talk about
- What it takes to lead through hypergrowth
- Lessons from taking a company public right before COVID
- Why he believes DTC was just the beginning of a bigger thesis
- What the “electron economy” means and why it matters
- Why Montauk Climate is vertically integrated across venture, credit, and incubation
- How Philip evaluates early-stage founders—and what makes a good bet
- Why portfolio construction is the most underrated concept in venture
--
Guest Bio:
Philip Krim is the founder of Montauk Climate and the former co-founder and CEO of Casper. Under his leadership, Casper became one of the most iconic DTC brands in the world, reaching $100M in revenue in its first year and going public in 2020. After exiting Casper, Philip launched Montauk Climate, a platform focused on building and investing in the “electron economy,” with a mix of venture incubation, growth investing, and credit strategies. He is also an active early-stage investor, with early bets in Ramp, MasterClass, and Relativity Space.
Our Podcast now receives more than 300,000 downloads a month. Are you interested in sponsoring an episode? Please email David Weisburd at david@weisburdcapital.com.
#VentureCapital #VC #Startups #OpenLP #AssetManagement
--
Stay Connected:
X / Twitter:
David Weisburd: @dweisburd
LinkedIn:
David Weisburd: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dweisburd/
Philip Krim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-krim/
Links:
Montauk Climate: https://www.montaukclimate.com/
--
Questions or topics you want us to discuss on How I Invest? Email us at david@weisburdcapital.com.
(0:00) Episode preview
(11:12) Hiring for new skills and functions
(16:50) Organizational design for startups
(19:42) Task structuring for scalability
(20:56) Adapting core beliefs while maintaining credibility
(22:21) Data-driven decisions versus gut instincts
(23:02) Skills needed for founding a company
(26:19) Venture vs. public investors' perspectives
(31:09) Introduction to Montauk Climate and its strategy
(34:47) Role of credit in energy transition
(37:21) Electron economy and incubated companies
(50:42) Investment approach for private allocators
(53:08) Exploring the electron economy
(54:35) Traits of successful early-stage founders
(57:16) Predicting investment success challenges
(59:35) Portfolio construction in venture capital
(1:00:13) Closing remarks
