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

Our guest today is Sunny Dhillon, one of the Managing Director of Signia Ventures. Signia invests at the seed & series A stages in great entrepreneurs that are applying new technologies and innovative business models to old industries. Sunny's investments include Manscaped, Boxed, and MomentFeed.Previously Sunny cofounded Barstool, one of the first dating apps in the App store.Feel free to follow Sunny on Twitter @sundhillon. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.What you'll learn on this episode -What initially attracted Sunny to venture capital and entrepreneurship? Some of the changes he's seeing and will continue to see in the grocery store model. How he's thinking about the current landscape when it comes to beauty, especially as it relates to trying new products and the sales process since folks aren't really going to stores/many stores aren't open?Has it been harder to find conviction in founders when he's meeting with them remotely? His due diligence process. The DTC channel during COVID. Other consumer trends that he's focused on. One thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? One book that inspired him personally and one book that inspired him professionally? His most recent investment. What's one company you had the opportunity to invest in, didn't and in retrospect wish you did?

Our guest today is Hilary Quartner, one of the founders and Co-CEOs of Hilma. Hilma creates natural remedies for your medicine cabinet that are backed by science. Previously Hilary worked at The Wonderful Company, FIJI Water and was part of the founding team at Jet Black.You can Hilary on Instagram @hilarykquartner and Hilma @hilma_co. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.A book that inspired her professionally is Competing Against Luck by Clayton Christensen and two books that inspired her personally are Educated by Tara Westover and The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley.Here's what you will learn:What attracted Hilary to consumer brands and entrepreneurship. How Hima came together and the opportunity her and her co-founders' saw. How they thought about differentiation. Lessons learned in developing "The Clinical Herbal" category.Decision making process when you have co-CEO business structure. How she thinks about organic growth. Some of the early mistakes when founding Hilma. What was most critical to her success? Why they chose to fundraise? Some of the effects COVID has had on their business? One piece of advice for founders

Thank you Fernando Gentil for the introduction to today's guest, Alix Peabody, CEO and founder of Bev. Bev is a wine company that is breaking down barriers in the heavily male dominated alcohol space.Feel free to follow Alix on Instagram and Bev @alixpeabody and @drinkbev. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.One book that inspired Alix personally is The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz and one that inspired her professionally is Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek.Here's what you'll learn:What attracted her to entrepreneurship? What was the insight that she saw that led her to starting Bev? Why she chose to raise money. How she was able to position herself to VCs? Her fundraising strategy.What worked and what didn't? What parts of her business did investors care about most? How she established her supply chain? What parts could she control? How she approached brand strategy? How did she think about growth?How has COVID changed her strategy or affected Bev? How did she think about product-market fit, where her customers spend their time and distribution? How she's thinking about growth vs. profitability now? What was the most surprising thing that she learned since founding Bev?What's one thing that she would change when it came to fundraising? What's one thing she would change in the fundraising process? What's one piece of advice for founders of B2C businesses?

This episode is part of a live recording Office Hour / AMA with David Goldberg.David Goldberg is a General Partner at Corigin Ventures. Corigin Ventures is a New York based venture capital firm leading seed stage investments in the founders defining the future of daily living. Some of their investments include Perch Interactive, The Inside, Classpass and Imperfect Foods. If you enjoy this episode, check out David's proper podcast episode #35.You can follow David on Twitter @davidrgoldberg. If you are a founder and working on something innovative, have a question you’d like to hear VCs or founders answer on the show you can DM him and follow me on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.This episode is brought to you by Crunchfirm : a full-stack finance, accounting & CFO advisory partner focused exclusively on VC backed startups. Listeners get the first month free of their services, by emailing hello@crunchfirm.com. Listeners get the first month free.

I'd like to thank Adelle Archer for introducing me to today's guest, Jiake Lu, CEO of Outer. Outer is an extraordinary company that is reengineering outdoor furniture. Business Insider named them the #1 fastest growing DTC brands. I chat with Jiake about how he went from founding a B2B business to B2C, his really unique showroom strategy.And there you have it, lots of fun chatting with Jiake about outdoor furniture. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @jiakeliu. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.One book that inspired Jiake is Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.Here's what we cover -His attraction to entrepreneurship and software. Learnings from starting ProspectWise and why he started Outer. How did he realize the insight that folks weren't using their outdoor furniture? What was his product innovation? How did he turn this into a brand rather than being a wholesaler?His unique distribution strategy and how he thought about show rooms? His launch strategy when they premiered May 2019? The competitive landscape in outdoor furniture?His initial growth strategy? Why did he you need to fundraise? The hardest part about fundraising or element of his business that it was hardest for investors to understand? Some of the effects of COVID on his business?What's one thing that he would change when it came to fundraising? One piece of advice for DNVB companies?This episode is brought to you by Crunchfirm : a full-stack finance, accounting & CFO advisory partner focused exclusively on VC backed startups. Listeners get the first month free of their services, by emailing hello@crunchfirm.com.

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

Our guest today is Alex Levitt, one of the heads of Yellow. Yellow is Snap Inc.'s ecosystem to serve companies at the intersection of creativity and technology with its Accelerator Program, Collabs Program, and Community Programming.Yellow is currently accepting applications through Sunday, August 23rd for its inaugural Collabs Program. If you're interested in integrating your product into the Snap Platform through Snap Minis, Snap Kit Dynamic Lenses, Scan, SnapML or more, visit YellowLA.com to apply and learn more.You can follow Alex on Twitter @alexmlevitt. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.A couple books that inspired Alex are Educated by Tara Westover and Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull.Here are a few questions I asked Alex -What attracted you to media and technology in the first place?So you worked at WME, rising to digital. What was your focus in the digital department?Talk to me about Snap’s accelerator.What made you excited about joining?What verticals do you focus on?How involved is Snap?How do you think about where you stand in the overall market of accelerators?Walk me through your due diligence process.Launching Product on PlatformHow should a founder decide whether an accelerator or raising their own round is the appropriate choice?When it comes to business models, advertising business models are a bit out of favor, social has traditionally been tied to advertisingHow do you think about the early stage venture capital ecosystem?What trends are you currently focused on and makes you excited?How has running an accelerator changed during COVID?What’s one thing you would change about Venture Capital?What’s one piece of advice that you have for founders that are currently fundraising?

Thank you Will McClelland for the introduction to today's guests Betsy Fore and Sofia Laurell, the co-founders and co-CEOs of Tiny Organics. Tiny Organics delivers organic, fresh, nutrient-rich baby and toddler meals created by their Infant Nutritionist. Their goal is to help every parent feed their baby and toddler the healthiest food. Previously, Betsy worked and created product lines for Mattel, Hasbro and MindCandy (Moshi Monsters). She was also the Founder and CEO of Wondermento, creators of the WonderWoof BowTie dog activity monitor. Sofia is a marketing and PR veteran, most recently at Ascend Foundation helping elevate women and minorities onto U.S. corporate boards and built the brand into a powerhouse.A couple books that inspired Sofia are The Hard Things About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz and Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. One book that inspired Betsy is Shoedog by Phil Knight.You can follow Betsy on Instagram @betsyfore and Sofia @sofialaurell. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.Some of the questions I ask Betsy and Sofia -What attracted each of you to entrepreneurship and consumer products?How did Tiny Organics come together?What is the problem that you are trying to solve? BetsyYou are both Co-CEOs. Talk to me about your decision making process?The classic line when there are two co-founders is “complementary skills”. When I was talking with Jessica and Rod from Lovevery, we discussed how yes that is important, but also they are so collaborative on lots of the decision makings and not to restrict each other in a box. There are no right or wrong ways to build a company, but wanted to know how you think about your working relationship? Is it more siloed when it comes to decision making or is it more collaborative?How did you go about sourcing the food and your supply chain? It didn’t seem like you both came from a food and bev background (I could certainly be wrong here!), was that difficult to know where to begin?One of the trends that we’ve talked about on the show in consumer is curation. Now since there is so much information and choice out there, curation has become difficult. Tiny Organics seem to address that with these personalized menus and creating a plan for the child. Does that though make your supply chain more complicated?How did you think about the price point at the very beginning and the competitive landscape?Why did you decide to fundraise?What was your strategy when you approached fundraising?Did you already have a network?What was the toughest obstacle for investors to wrap their heads around when it came to your business?How do you think about growth vs. profitability? BetsyWhat has been the hardest part when starting Tiny Organics? - SofiaWhat’s one thing you would change when it came to fundraising? - SofiaWhat’s one piece of advice that you have for founders that are starting a CPG company?

Thank you Joe Tonnos for the introduction to today's guest, Mitch Hayes, founder and CEO of Los Sundays Tequila. Los Sundays is the tequila for the millennial and founded on the principles of Quality, Originality and Style.One book that inspired Mitch personally is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho . One book that inspired him professionally is Damn Good Advice by George Lois.You can follow Los Sundays on Instagram @los_sundays. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.Some of the questions I ask Mitch -Talk to me about your attraction to entrepreneurship and what led you to founding Los Sundays?What was your approach when it came to taste testings?How did you decide on your first type of Tequila and how do you think about product mix?Your approach from the beginning was thinking about demand first rather than supply and being able to capture demand.How were able to generate demand?What was your launch strategy?Is there pay to play when it comes to drinks in bars and recommendations from bartenders?How did you approach your supply chain from the very beginning?How did you think about your brand positioning?How did you think about growth, offline and online?Why did you choose to fundraise?What was your fundraising strategy?What has been some of the effects of COVID on your business?What's one piece of advice for founders that are planning on starting a food and bev type business?

Our guest today is Sasha Astafyeva, Partner at Atomico. Atomico invests in Europe’s most ambitious tech founders at Series A and beyond. Some of their investments include Farmdrop, Habito, and teatime games. Sasha leads new investments in consumer. Previously, she was a Principal at Felix Capital and VP of Finance and Business Intelligence at VivaReal.A couple of books that inspired Sasha personally and professionally are The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy and Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson.You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.Some of the questions that I ask Sasha are -What initially attracted you to venture capital?Talk to me about the European landscape when it comes to the startup ecosystem, what makes you excited about it?What's your definition of Series A? How do you think about that stage?What are milestones that a startup has to achieve in order to raise a Series A?What are some qualities you like to see in founders?Since the United States is such a big market, you can create a massive business in the United States alone. I imagine it must be harder to scale in Europe since you're dealing with many countries.What are some consumer trends that you are excited about?Has COVID changed some of your thesis' around certain trends?Has it been harder establishing conviction amongst founders since you have to meet with them remotely?I recently had on Ezra Galston, who runs Starting Line, a VC fund out of Chicago. He mentioned that deals are getting done really quickly, almost at pre-COVID pace. Is this the same in Europe?What's one thing that you would change about venture capital?What's one company you had an opportunity to invest in, didn't and in retrospect wish you did?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?What's one piece of advice that you have for B2C founders?