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, Managing Partner of Powerplant Ventures 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 by Dr. Edith Eva Eger.

You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.

Some of the questions I ask Dan -

1. What attracted you to finance and investing in health and wellness products?
2. Tell me the insight that you had with Chia seed bars and how that led to Health Warrior?
3. Take me behind your decision making process when you were thinking about taking the jump into entrepreneurship?
4. After the sale to Pepsi (which congratulations), did you have the urge to start another company?
5. How did Powerplant Ventures come together?
6. 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?
7. In the food and beverage spaces, how do you think about growth, profitability and what does a successful outcome look like?
8. What are some trends in food that you are excited about?
9. You've had a-lot of experience as a board member. What makes a good board member?
10. I believe your our first growth investor on the show. Talk to me a bit about your due diligence process?
11. What are some qualities that you like to see in founders?
12. COVID has been top of mind for everybody.
13. How has it effected you and your portfolio?
14. Has it been tough meeting with founders remotely rather than in person?
15. What's one thing you would change about venture capital?
16. What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?
17. What's your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it?
18. What's one company that you had the opportunity to invest in, didn't and in retrospect wish you did?
19. What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?