

Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage Investing I Brands | Technology
Mike Gelb
Consumer VC takes a look into early-stage consumer investing and venture capital. If you are interested in learning about consumer trends, have a b2c business and interested in learning about the fundraising process at the early stage, you have come to the right place.Mike interviews some of the top venture capitalists in the world that focus on B2C and consumer type companies or have a deep track record investing in these categories such as marketplaces, SaaS, social, CPG and non-tech subscription.Mike also interviews founders that are building some of the most disruptive consumer facing companies in the world. The conversation usually includes the insight the founder discovered, fundraising strategy, and the pitch.This podcast also includes bonus episodes. Each bonus episode dives into a particular subject that might not have to due with the fundraise or venture capital, but still would be helpful to founders. For example, a bonus episode on brand strategy or how to construct a board of directors. All bonus episodes will be clearly labeled.For all episodes, please visit www.theconsumervc.com. For updates, you can follow @mikegelb on Twitter.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 24, 2024 • 1h
What Consumers Care About in Health & Wellness Products, How Competition Builds New Categories, and Will Ozempic Have an Impact on CPG Demand? with Dayton Miller, BFG Partners
Our guest today is Dayton Miller, Managing Partner at BFG Partners. BFG Partners help entrepreneurs build exceptional businesses that deliver sustainable growth and outperform competitors in the better-for-you food, beverage, and consumer products space. Their investments include Olipop, Athletic Greens, Caulipower, and Bobo’s. We discuss the inflection points at seed, series A, and Series B in today’s market, categories he’s excited about in consumer today, ozempic, operations metrics, and his time as an entrepreneur building Function Drinks from scratch to $20 million in sales.Thank you to our Partner –– Propeller IndustriesPropeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies.

Apr 18, 2024 • 56min
Live from SXSW: George Milton and Erin Link – How They Founded Yellowbird Sauce
Our guest today is George Milton & Erin Link, Founders of YellowBird Foods a Modern Hot Sauce business.We discuss:• How did they get into Whole Foods?• How did they also get into Walmart?• How did their approach to retail expansion?• How did they approach branding and positioning for YellowbirdThank you to our Partner –– Propeller Industries – https://www.propellerindustries.com/Propeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies.

Mar 8, 2024 • 52min
What Gives a Brand Acquisition Energy with Amrit Richmond
Our guest today is Amrit Richmond, Founder of Indie CPG since 2019, and has also joined SecureCPG recentlyWe discuss:• What gives a food and drink brand accusation energy?• What are the different profiles of the acquire today?• Why acquire emerging brands?Thank you to our Partner –– Propeller IndustriesPropeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies.

Feb 29, 2024 • 1h 13min
He Worked with JAY-Z, Was an Olympian, and Now Runs a VC with Samyr Lainé, Founder of Freedom Trail Capital
Our guest today is Samyr Lainé, an Olympian, an amazing operator who worked with Jay-Z's, Will Smith and Jada Pickett Smith who is now the founder of Freedom Trail Capital.We discuss:• How he trained for the Olympics while being a full time law student• Working at Monumental Sports (owners of the Washington Capitals and Wizards)• Shifting towards the MLS• Getting the email that Jay-Z was looking for someone to help run his businesses• All of Jay-Z's businesses• His view on how brands can collaborate with talent• Why he left to work for Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith's Westbrook• His thesis behind launching Freedom Trail CapitalThank you to our Partner –– Propeller IndustriesPropeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies.

Feb 14, 2024 • 1h 1min
How He Built A Business Off a Fruit Peel, The Shocking Moment of Getting into Retail, and How One Chat Changed His Trajectory with Matt Weiss Founder & CEO at Rind Snacks
Our guest today is Matt Weiss, Founder & CEO at RIND SnacksMatt is the CEO of RIND Snacks, a sustainable fruit snack brand. He has over a decade of experience in the natural food industry and previously worked in investment research. Matt is also known for his advocacy in community and environmental causes, founding a nonprofit that helped establish a park in lower Manhattan.We discuss:• We discuss the inspiration behind creating a brand and a product that focuses on the peels of a fruit• How did he first get into retail?• Why he was part-time with it for two years? • What was kind of the moment that he switched to doing it full-time?Thank you to our Partner –– Propeller IndustriesPropeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies.

Feb 7, 2024 • 53min
Selling Group Nine Media, The Evolution of New York's Startup Scene and The Future of Digital Media with Ben Lerer, Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau
Our guest today is Ben Lerer. Ben Lerer is a Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau. Lerer Hippeau is a venture capital fund based in New York who were early investors in Warby Parker, Glossier, and Topicals. He also founded Thrillist, an online media website website back in 2004 and was former CEO of Group Nine Media until it was acquired by Vox Media.Thank you to our Partner –– Propeller Industries – https://www.propellerindustries.com/Propeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies.

Jan 29, 2024 • 46min
How He Buys Multi-Million Dollar Brands with Fan Bi, Founder/CEO of The Hedgehog Company
Fan Bi, Founder & CEO of Hedgehog, talks about valuing direct-to-consumer brands, challenges in the messy middle stage, expanding a DTC business to additional sales channels, and the Founder's predicament in the consumer acquisitions market.

Jan 18, 2024 • 1h 4min
What is a Cult Brand? With Sarah Woelfel, Co-Founder & Partner at Cult Capital
Our guest today is Sarah Woelfel, Co-Founder & Partner at Cult Capital. She combines her zeal for investing with her affection for cult consumer brands. Their investments include Supergoop!, Babo Botanicals, and Lawless Beauty. Prior to CULT Capital, Sarah served on the investment team at Audax and as an I-banking analyst at Deutsche Bank.-----------Thank you to our partner Propeller IndustriesPropeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies.

Jan 8, 2024 • 48min
How She's Adding The Belgian Waffle To The American Diet...and 8,400+ stores with Anouck Gotlib, CEO of Belgian Boys
She leads the day-to-day operations and long-term strategy for Belgian Boys and is bringing European treats like Belgian waffles, brioche french toast, crepes, and other delicious delights to the American home. They are now in over 8,400 stores including Walmart, Target, Whole Foods.Thank you to our partner Propeller IndustriesPropeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies.We discuss:• Anouck’s journey from fashion to joining her husband in starting a food CPG company• How they first got into retail• What it was like years of bootstrapping• How they landed KIND snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky’s venture firm Camino Partners as investors• Why they pivoted from frozen food to refrigerator food and much more.

Dec 21, 2023 • 37min
Selling 10 Million Soup Dumplings and Counting: The Story of MìLà with Caleb Wang
Caleb Wang, CEO and Co-Founder of MiLa, shares the story of their authentic soup dumplings and Chinese noodles business. They discuss starting as a restaurant, expanding to ecommerce, raising capital, challenges of Asian food brands, unique customer moments, and potential restaurant expansion.