LA Venture

Venture investment in consumer brands goes in and out of vogue.  Amanda Schutzbank explains how Willow Growth takes a unique approach to consumer investing that combines the best of venture and private equity investing.

One of everyone's favorites, Ed Wilson, joins to talk to about Impulsum Ventures, how they've built a venture firm alongside a 30-person dev shop and his sunny approach to life.

Another great Series A fund in LA!     Yelena Shkolnik is a partner at Jump Capital.  Jump may be most recognized for their crypto work, but we have a broad conversation on content, commerce, fintech and how those are converging in today's ownership economy.

Every pitch today involves community.  Upfront partner and former CMO Kobie Fuller tells us how the best brands are giving users the tools to be brand advocates and how those same brands are tapping into the community to get insights.   We also talk about being black in venture and what inspired Kobie to build Valence, a network for black professionals.

The Gotham Gal herself, Joanne Wilson, tells us that department stores are dead, but gives us a glimpse into the future and her own upcoming cannabis store that will pair your cannabis with your needs, mood and even the food you're serving that night.   We also cover the state of VC today and much more.

We couldn't be more excited for Carter Reum and M13's newly announced $400M Fund III.  There are still only a few funds in LA that are true lead Series A investors.   Carter tells us how they have doubled in size from Fund I to Fund II and again from Fund II to Fund III (it helps to have 11(!) unicorns in Fund I) and how their thesis has continued to evolve as they've built the fund.

Earth's population has doubled in Cody's lifetime.  96% of mammals on earth by biomass are now humans and livestock.  China emits more greenhouse gases than all developed countries combined.     This and much more from Cody at MCJ Collective.

How are sports evolving to match the changing tastes of fans?  What can traditional sports learn from esports?  How is sports betting rolling out across the country?   This and much more with Steve Ahern, partner at KB Partners.

Zach Noorani is a partner at Foundation Capital where he leads FinTech investing.   Zach shares why he is excited for composability in finance, why he's still excited for neobanks and why traditional finance is not going to be disrupted by web3 overnight.

Great discussion with Richard Wolpert on the convergence of tech and media. Some punchlines: * Movie theaters will only be for tent-pole movies * Live concerts are not going away * The metaverse will happen * Social media is toxic and needs to be fixed