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

Thank you Ezra Galston for the intro to today's guest, Nikhil Basu Trivedi. Nikhil previously was the managing director of Shasta ventures and writes The Next Big Thing, which is an awesome online publication. Some of his investments include Literati, Tally, Canva, Farmer's Dog and The Pill Club. His focus has been on consumer, particularly consumer subscription businesses, which was the main focus on today's conversation.Check out Nikhil's three part series about consumer subscription - Consumer Subscriptions, 10 Factors To Consider When Evaluating Consumer Subscriptions, and The Farmer's Dog: A Consumer Subscription Case Study.A couple books that inspired Nikhil are Between The World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson and Michael Moritz.Highly recommend following Nikhil on Twitter @nbt. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.Here are some of the questions that I ask him:What are the shortcomings of advertising and marketplace type businesses?Why has it taken this long for subscription businesses to take off?What is the one factor that you think is often overlooked in a subscription business?What are the similarities between physical subscription businesses and software subscription businesses?What are some questions that a founder should ask him or herself to help him or her decide which would be the best option for the business as it pertains to trial periods?In your 10 factors framework, are there particular factors that actually are more important than others?How do you think about blue oceans and new markets when analyzing opportunities?What initially attracted you to venture capital and technology?Tell me about your due diligence process.Has it been hard to establish conviction amongst founders while meeting with them remotely?What’s your favorite question to ask founders?What’s one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital?What’s one company on your anti-portfolio and what was the reason why you passed?What’s one piece of advice for founders building subscription businesses?

Our guest today is Carlton Fowler, Managing Partner of Goat Rodeo Capital. Carlton invests in the beverage space with some of his invests including lemon perfect, sourced, and one hope. Previously, he led spirits innovation and brand development at E&J Gallo. In this episode we focus our conversation on the change in beverage during covid, how brands are becoming creative and how he sees value add from investors in the space.A couple books that inspired Carlton are Pattern Recognition by William Gibson and Against The Gods by Peter L. Bernstein.Here are some of the questions I asked Carlton:What initially attracted you to the beverage industry?You came from an operator background, working at E & G Gallo. What attracted you working with early stage beverage companies and to head into venture capital?Talk to me about your due diligence process.What are some of the changes that you have seen when it comes to the beverage industry, specifically during COVID?What's one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital?What's your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it?What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?

Our guest today is Han Shen. Han is the Founding Partner of iFly.vc, an early-stage seed/VC fund based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The fund follows a sector-thesis driven process and aims to build a concentrated portfolio with meaningful value add to entrepreneurs. We discuss the different sectors he's focused in, how he became a VC and how he thinks about uncovered opportunities.And there you have it. Han, thank you again for your time. You can follow Han on Twitter at @*Han_Shen*A few books that inspired Han professionally is David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell and The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling.Some of the questions I ask Han -What attracted you initially to venture capital?Tell me how iFly.VC came together?At iFly.VC, I know you take a very thematic, sector driven approach. We’ve had quite a few VCs that are more generalists, if a founder has a choice in taking capital from a fund that is more sector driven vs. generalist, what are some of the advantages when choosing an investor that is thematic?What sectors or trends are you particularly interested in?When it comes to food deliver and specialty food, what do you think is most overlooked?Walk me through your due diligence process.Has it been tough finding conviction within founders during COVID?What’s one thing you would change when it came to venture capital?What’s your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it?What’s one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?Harry Potter Series - friendshipMalcolm Gladwell - David and GoliathWhat’s one piece of advice you have for founders?

Our guest is Elaine Russell, who co-leads Greycroft's Albertsons Fund. Greycroft is one of the premier full lifecycle investors, investing out of both their venture fund and growth fund. Greycroft's Albertsons fund is one of their sidecar funds that focuses on the future of retail. Previously, Elaine was a Partner at PLG Ventures and was the Co-founder / CEO of Little Key in Chicago, an on-demand marketplace for parents to discover and book kids classes and activities.A book that inspired Elaine is Good to Great by Jim Collins.Here are some of the questions I ask Elaine:You’ve worked on both sides of the table as founder and operator and also as an investor. What were some of the learnings from when you were a founder? What attracted you to become a VC?You lead Greycroft’s Albertson’s fund. Talk to me about the structure of the fund and where the fund falls on the financial vs. corporate/strategic? How do you think about the future of retail?Seems like during COVID, there has been a huge pressure on grocery to innovate very quickly when it comes to ecommerce. What are some opportunities that you are excited about or how do you think about retail tech? Has COVID changed how you think about what the in store experience within grocery stores will look like? What are the milestones that an entrepreneur has to have achieved in order for you to be interested?What are some qualities within founders that you like to see? Has it been difficult to establish conviction within founders since you have to meet with them remote? In grocery tech, what has been the current fundraising climate? What’s one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital? What’s your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it?What’s one piece of advice to founders that are currently fundraising?

Our guest today is Yury Lifshits, founder and CEO of Openland. a modern social platform for communities. Yury is a serial entrepreunor, founding Zonaspace, Blended Labs and Entangled Solutions. On this episode we talk about Openland, how he thinks about the future of online social, how he thought about friction when downloading a new app, and pivots.You can follow Yury @yurylifshits on Twitter. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.Some of the questions I ask Yury -What attracted you to software and then entrepreneurship? Are we in the age of community? Has audience been replaced by community? What doesn’t work when it comes to community building? What is the competitive landscape when it comes to online communication?How he tackles friction when launching a new app? What’s one thing that you would change when it comes to venture capital? What’s one piece of advice for founder

My guest today is Jordan Odinsky, investor and head of platform at Ground Up Ventures. GroupUp is an early stage venture capital firm investing in pre-seed and seed stage startups in the United States and Israel. Some of their investments include Fast, Shapeshift Gaming, and Neighborhood Goods. In this episode, we discuss cult brands and unique product launches.I highly recommend following Jordan on Twitter @jordanodinsky You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.Links to Jordan's articles mentioned: The Value of a Velvet Rope: Effects of Hype and Exclusivity on Launch Strategies and Cult Wars: The Making of a Cult BrandOn this episode you will learn:If a brand wants to use scarcity and waiting lists as a strategy, how should they first go about finding their early adopters? How are brands taking advantage of mimetic theoryOn the surface, how does he define a Cult Brand? When a brand is picking their enemy, what are traits that the enemy has to have? How should a startup think about defining the enemy? How he thinks about the balancing act of why people "feel most like themselves when they are part of a group, but the initial drive to join a cult is to discover and clarify one’s individualism". If a brand is experiencing high organic growth and engagement from customers, is that early signs that they have a cult brand?As an investor, does he think a company that has high organic growth as a cult brand? What's the principal reason why a cult brand might fail or a brand would never get into cult status? Does he come across early opportunities that he believes will develop into cult brands? His focus at Groundup. One thing he would change when it came to venture capital What's one piece of advice for founders?

Our guest today is Wayne Wu, General Partner at VMG. VMG focuses on investing and building iconic consumer brands. They've invested in some incredible companies like Kind Healthy Foods, Justin's, Drunk Elephant, Health Warrior, Quest Nutrition.Disclaimer: This is the opinion of Wayne Wu, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions and thoughts of VMG Partners. Any opinions, projections, forecasts and estimates contained in this production are based on certain assumptions and may change without notice. This is not an offer to buy or sell any investments.Here's what you'll learn -His initial attraction to consumer and finance. How he ended up at VMG? How he thinks about organic vs. paid growth? His process when analyzing brands and founders? How he evaluates if the brand of a company is strong and authentic? How he thinks about portfolio construction? How does he think about thematic investing? How he thinks about investing in new categories?Advice for founders that are in secondary or tertiary markets. What has been some of the changes when it comes COVID? Has it been hard establishing conviction within founders when meeting with them remotely? How he thinks about the cold email? What's one thing that he would change when it comes to venture capital? What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.

Thank you Soraya Darabi for the intro to our guest today Maya Horgan Famodu. Maya's the partner and founder of Ingressive Capital. Ingressive Capital is an early venture capital fund located in Nigeria and invests in founders and companies in sub-saharan Africa. Some of her investments include Paystack, AWA Bike, and Vesicash.I highly recommend following Maya on Twitter @mayahorgan. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.Excited to announce The Consumer VC Summit: October 13-15. It will be three days of discussions, talks about investing in CPG and physical goods at the early stages AND networking and mentoring sessions. Click Here to purchase your tickets.A few books that inspired Maya personally are Why Buddism is True? by Robert Wright, Fear by Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan, The Enlightened Gardner by Sydney Banks. A couple books that inspired her professionally are The Hard Things About Things by Ben Horowitz and Superforecast by Philip E. Tetlock and Dan Gardner.In this episode you'll learn -What inspired her to found Ingressive? What is special about founding a fund that seeks to invest in a frontier market like Sub-Saharan Africa? What are the particular opportunities and problems. What are some of the biggest opportunities that you focus on? What are some of the challenges when starting a technology company in Nigeria. Is finding exits difficult? I remember you mentioned how lots of folks talk about Kenya and the incredible innovation that's happening there, but 75% of those companies were founded by ex-pats. How do you see the process of building a local Nigerian, entrepreneurial community?What are some of the biggest misconceptions about a frontier region, like West Africa? What are some of the differences when it comes to your due diligence process and what milestones does a company have to achieve in order for you to be interested? What's one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital?10 day silent meditation retreat - passanaHelped takeaway preconceived notionWhat's your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it?What's one piece of advice for founders? Should more of them be looking at Africa?

Our guest today is Nate Cooper, partner at Barrel Ventures. Barrel is seed stage fund based in the heart of the midwest. Some of their investments include Haus, Olipop and Clove. Previously, Nate founded L3 Hospitality Group and Wise Apple.If you want to keep up to date on him, follow him on Twitter @Nrcoope. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.Excited to announce The Consumer VC Summit: October 13-15. It will be three days of discussions, talks about investing in CPG and physical goods at the early stages AND networking and mentoring sessions. Click Here to purchase your tickets.A couple books that inspired Nate is Now, Discover Your Strengths by Gallup and The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore.In this episode you will learn:His initial attraction to food and bev? His learnings as an operator when he founded L3 and Wise Apple? Why he started Barrel Ventures?How are you thinking of the seed stage landscape during these times? Have investments slowed down? Is there a shift towards new categories? His due diligence process?If it's been harder to find conviction within founders when meeting them online?Advice for founders located in secondary and tertiary markets? Consumer trends he's focused on right now. One thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? His most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? What's one piece of advice that he has for founders?

Thank you Soraya Darabi for the intro to today's guest Sarah Kunst, managing director of Cleo Capital. Cleo Capital is an an early stage VC fund focused on the preseed & seed stages. Some of their investments include 42 Birds, Athena and Lovewellness. She's also a contributing editor at Marie Claire Magazine and previously served as a senior advisor to Bumble.A couple of book that Sarah recommends is Attached by Amir Levine and Daring Greatly by Brene Brown.Click here to sign up for Lunchclub.You can follow her on Twitter @sarahkunst. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.In this episode we discuss -What initially attracted her to venture capital and investing in consumer facing companies in particular? How did Cleo Capital come together? Her diligence process. Is it harder to find conviction when meeting founders online? How do you think about the early stage landscape during these times? Her thoughts around raising a seed fund vs. series A during COVID.Her advice for companies in secondary and tertiary markets. Her thoughts around the warm introduction. Consumer trends that you are excited about and maybe leaned more during COVID What's one thing that she would change when it came to venture capital?Her most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? One piece of advice for founders?