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

Our guest today is Chuck Newhall, who is one of the founders of New Enterprise Associates or also known as NEA. NEA is one the largest and most renowned venture capital firms in the world. The companies he financed have over $400 billion in revenues today. He’s also a Vietnam War veteran and earned many combat decorations including the purple heart and is an American hero.  Chuck released his latest book “Dare Disturb the Universe, a memoir on venture capital” which is an amazing story about the history of investing in innovation and that gets to the core about what it is and it’s role in the economy. Some of the questions we discuss: 1. What is the purpose of venture capital and what are its origins?2. When does it make sense to bring in a seasoned CEO vs. a CEO entrepreneur?Recruiting Sidgemore forLoss money for a period of time3. What attracted you to venture capital? 4. Why did you want to be a financier rather than an entrepreneur? 5. What makes a great venture capitalist? What qualities do you need? 6. How did the partnership come together? How did NEA raise your first fund, what was the size of your first fund? 7. What are your rules of fundraising? 8. What is your approach to portfolio management? 9. You had the line that NEA and Kleiner Perkins could not be more different firms. What did you mean by that?10. How do you think about focus when you are multi-stage? What makes a great VC firm and what tends to be their downfall? How do you think about innovation vs. sustainability? Most of the tech companies for example that go public aren’t profitable. Uber and Lyft for example that have been How do you think about founder uniqueness? You mention in the book how venture capital is different to other forms of financing. What regulations or legal systems would you change? What has been the biggest changes / shifts in venture capital since you started?

Our guest today is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures. New Stack's mission is to invest in the Outsiders. Nick is also the host of The Full Ratchet. We discuss why he’s bearish about Web 3 short term, how he thinks about deploying capital in this current market and how he thinks about long-term sustainability of a company when he invests. Without further ado, here’s Nick. Some of the questions I ask: You’re long Web 3, but during the short term you aren’t investing in it. Mind explaining your reasoning? How have you seen valuations change in companies that are outside silicon valley? Is it as drastic?What’s still overlooked when it comes to ecosystems outside the bay? How do you view this investing period? How do you think about deploying capital currently? Has this environment changed how you invest? How do you think about company sustainability, profitability vs. growth? What about consumer technology do you focus on in today’s environment? Walk us through your diligence process. What are the must-haves from a founding team? What’s your biggest piece of advice for new fund managers? Recently raised over $40 million for your latest fund. Why that amount specifically? What’s one thing you would change about venture capital? What’s one book that inspired you personally and one book that’s inspired you professionally?Can’t Hurt Me by David Gogans Who is Michael Ovitz? What’s one piece of advice for founders?

Thank you Oscar Adelman for the introduction to our guest today, Sita Chantramonklasri, Founding Partner at Siam Capital. Siam Capital is in search of innovation that betters people and the planet. We discuss how Sita got into investing, what it was like raising a fund for the first time, what investing in sustainability really means, and her underwriting guidelines. Some of the questions I ask Sita: Tell me about your journey into venture and your interest in investing Innovation and capital Why did you decide to raise your own fund? What was it like raising a fund for the first time? Was it hard raising a single GP fund as a woman? What did you think was missing from the market of venture capital? What’s your thesis? What is the fund’s mandate? What does sustainability and ESG mean to you? Where do you see the opportunities in better for the planet and better for you? Are you more focused on investing in physical products vs. software? How do you also think about the future of your fund? Do you want to be a single GP always or do you want to grow into a larger fund? What’s the difference between Siam and an impact fund? How do you think about this term conscious consumer? What are your guidelines of better for the planet vs better for you? (repetitive?) What’s one thing you would change about venture capital? (repetitive?) What do you look for in founders?* (added) What advice would you give emerging managers/folks looking to raise a fund? (added) What’s one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? Educated by Tara Westover Hidden Valley Road Noise By Daniel Kayman Think Again by Adam Grant

Our guest today is Clément Pointillart, Executive Director at Verlinvest. Verlinvest is an international, evergreen investment company with over €2bn assets under management backed by families who have together built some of the world’s largest consumer brands.Their portfolio includes Oatly, Who Gives a Crap, Vita Coco and Hint. Clement leads the Verlinvest US office and am part of the Consumer Products and Retail practice. We discuss how he examines brand equity, if product differentiation really matters, and how he thinks about grocery distribution strategy. Without further ado, here’s Clement. What attracted you to consumer investing? How did you end up joining Verlinvest? How do you evaluate if a company has brand equity? And how do you spot and predict a consumer trend early? Product differentiation Only long-lasting How do you analyze product differentiation? Does it matter? How do you think about distribution? Even though conventional grocery is introducing organic/better for you options, does it make sense for all better for you products to go into conventional grocery? What are categories that you’re particularly excited about? What are signs that a premium product could achieve mass adoption? How do you analyze price for better-for-you products and if they are priced properly? How should a brand focus on international expansion? Mission that is clear, authentic, and bring in status quo When does it make sense to What does a successful outcome look like to you? Does a brand have to have a mission in order for you to be interested? People spending more time at home, purchasing an e-bike What are the differences between VC and growth equity investing? What’s one thing you would change about growth investing?

Our guest today is Jonathan Wolfson, who is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Brainiac Foods. Brainiac Foods produces brain-boosting snacks with the nutrients young minds need. We discuss his framework for founding a company and the origin story of Brainiac and what he thought was missing from the market and his approach to building product and new SKUs. Without further ado, here’s Jonathan. And there you have it. I hope you all enjoyed that. Before founding Brainiac, you’ve been a very successful serial entrepreneur. What’s your framework from brainstorming ideas to committing to found a new company? Why did you decide to found Brainiac? Very science-led that’s focused on what the brain is made of Would you allow your kid? Could they do adulting? Because Supply chain challenges have been pretty enormous What nutrients is the brain made of that are different to the rest of the body? How do you think about nutrition? There’s been lots of innovation within food to make snacks and meals healthier. What do you think was missing from the market? What were the first steps you took when founding Brainiac? What age demographic are you targeting and where brain food might be the most beneficial? How did you conduct market feedback since this seems like a new category requiring education for the consumer (parent)? What are the benefits of brain nutrition-oriented food? How did you approach your sales channel mix from the beginning? Did you start out as digitally native and then decide to move into retail? How do you approach new SKU development and product expansion? What was it like raising from VCs? What was their response?Investing in CPG products tends to be out of style with VCs. What do you think made Brainiac so interesting as a company? How do you think about competitive advantages for Brainiac vs new entrants? What’s so far been the biggest challenge when founding Brainiac? You’ve been successful both as a B2C founder and a B2B founder. What are some of the challenges when founding a B2C company? What’s one book that has inspired you personally and one book that has inspired you professionally?Free Solo Notebook and plan everything to a notebook What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve received? What’s one piece of advice for founders?

Thank you Oksana Stowe for the introduction to our guest today, Susan Lin. Susan is a Partner at Felix Capital. Felix Capital is one of the premier consumer investors based in the UK. Some of their investments include Goop, Oatly, Peloton, Seller X. We discuss what consumer-driven means and how that’s even spilled over to B2B, difference when scaling a european company vs. U.S., what are real competitive advantages for companies, and why Felix recently raised $600 million What was your attraction to entrepreneurship and venture capital? How do you think about investing in consumer-driven companies today? What do you think about How do you spend your time? Do you have a thesis? Congratulations on raising $600m! We’ve seen this trend in consumer that as funds get larger and larger, investing in consumer brands becomes less of a focus. Will this be the case with Felix? Why did you decide to join Felix Capital? What’s different about the European venture ecosystem vs. U.S.? What are your thoughts on the fundraising market of today? Where are some of the trends and opportunities you’re seeing in Europe? What do you make of this current market? What’s one thing you would change about VC? What’s one book that has inspired you personally and one that inspired you professionally?When breath becomes air What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve received?Authentic self

Our guest today is Ollie Forsyth, Global Community Manager and Investor at Antler. The global venture capital firm enabling and investing in the world's most exceptional people from the earliest stages. Ollie recently published a piece called “The New Creator Economy: A guide on Web3 creator platforms”. We focus our conversation on his learnings while researching this paper and as you can imagine the future of the creator economy and Web3.

Our guest today is Mike Asem, General Partner of M25. M25 is an early-stage venture firm based in Chicago, investing solely in companies headquartered in the Midwest. We discuss what movie got intrigued by venture capital, what’s misunderstood about investing in the midwest and the consumer landscape in that region, and his learnings since publishing M25 diversity report. Without further ado, here’s Mike What was your attraction to entrepreneurship and venture capital? How did you found M25? What’s your thesis?Was in the nano space Purdue research foundation Worked with portfolio companies Angel portfolio Established yourself as a former Many tech VCs have steered clear from investing in consumer brands. Why do you still think there’s an opportunity? What makes a consumer brand interesting to you? How do you approach looking at consumer trends and trying to understand consumer behavior? We talk about brands that are venture-backed have to appeal to the masses and not just the top 1%. How do you measure that when you’re in due diligence?If it plays in Peoria Lori Coulter - Summersalt M25 releases a diversity report. Can you explain the origins of how this began and what it includes? What’s your outlook as well for Chicago as a venture ecosystem and the midwest? What’s your thesis around consumer healthcare? Why did you decide to create Unicorn to the Moon? What’s one thing you would change about venture capital? What’s one book that’s inspired you personally and one book that’s inspired you professionally?Eboys - Benchmarks early days

On today’s episode we’re talking about cooking oils. Thank you Craig Shapiro for the introduction to our guest today is Jeff Nobbs, who is the founder and CEO of Zero Acre Farms. Zero Acre Farms is on a mission to remove destructive vegetable oils from the food system. Zero Acre Farms is an oil that’s instead made from fermentation. Some of the questions I ask him: When did you start to care about health and the science of nutrition? You’ve started quite a few businesses before and you’ve been very successful. When did you start thinking about alternatives to vegetable oil? What is the origin of vegetable oil? How did you land on microorganisms and fermentation? What were other processes you were considering? Can you walk us through the process? What’s been the challenging part on the R&D side? How do you think about your competitive advantage? Why did you choose to raise $37 million? How were you able to raise it? What resonated with investors? What’s the most expensive part to Zero Acre Farms? Have you seen tech investors shift away from investing in CPG or only in CPG where there isn’t product innovation? How do you approach the price point? With innovation comes a premium. How do you think about premium pricing vs. maximum impact? There’s kind of a bifurcation within better for you products – do you value products that are better for the planet or products that are better for your body, It’s hard to create products that can fill both those requirements. How do you think about it since you’ve been an entrepreneur within health and wellness for a long time? What were some of your lessons learned since you started a CPG brand before and a restaurant before that has impacted how you think and operate Zero Acre Farms? What’s the company you most admire (Craig Shapiro asked this question)? How do they impact you? What is the vision for Zero Acre Farms? What will be the most challenging to fulfill that vision? What’s one book that has inspired you personally and one book that’s inspired you professionally?The Three-Body Problem Think and Grow Rich The History of the World What’s the biggest piece of advice to founders?

My guest today is Mark Achler, who is a serial entrepreneur and Managing Partner at MATH Venture Partners. Recently he published his book that he co-wrote with Mert Iseri called Exit Right. which is about how to position and think about a successful exit way before it happens. So on this episode, we discuss how to Exit Right. What were your biggest learnings from those interviews in “Exit Right” Trust - we wish CEOs would come to us before Is there misalignment between VCs and founder/CEO How should you go about picking the right investors? Seems like there’s kind of a one way street when it comes to acquisitions with VCs and founders. It’s ok if the VC thinks about it and as it analyzes investing in certain companies, what an exit could look like, but founders aren’t allowed to talk about it or bring it up at all when they pitch because it means they “aren’t focusing on the growth of the business”. Do you both think there is a disconnect and a certain awkwardness that exists in these discussions? When should founders start to think about building relationships with corporate development teams? What were your learnings after you conducted these interviews and conduct this research project? In the FAIR framework, you emphasize how culture and values are critical for success. But it’s hard to know if the culture is the right culture for the team. How do you suggest founders understand the culture of the potential acquirer? On the fit question, what do you think about culture? How do decisions get made? What are your values? Is there a place where you want to live? Waterfall distribution - how much money goes through which share of class Should founders accept money from corporate VCs? We also talk about being aligned with your VCs. Of course, VCs are looking at a particular exit horizon. It could range from 5-10 years. Of course, it’s hard to know how the company is going to pan out and when you should start shopping for exits when it makes sense. How do you make sure you have alignment as a founder when you’re approaching VCs? How do you make sure it’s not a phishing expedition? I had on a founder who was building the business for acquisition and what that meant to him was growth at all costs, but it didn’t happen and he had to pivot to make the business sustainable and profitable. When you do build relationships with corporate development, should that impact how you build your business? What are ways founders can ensure they aren’t going on a fishing expedition? What are common mistakes founders make in the diligence process? What’s one book that has inspired each of you personally and professionally? What’s one piece of advice that you have for founders?