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

Kate McAndrew (Bolt) - Distributed Teams, Fundraising Outside the Major Hubs, and Impact of COVID

Brian is an executive coach and owner of Dashing Leadership. He helps early-stage founders grow into more effective leaders. Previously he started and ran Fitocracy, one of the largest fitness social networks of its time, and sold it in 2015. Afterwards, he joined 500 Startups as a venture partner and later led major product initiatives at Credit Karma and Eaze.If you’re interested in learning more about how coaching can help you perform better as a leader, please schedule an introduction call at www.dashingleadership.com If you want to keep up to date on Brian you can follow him on Twitter @brianmwang. 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 me and follow Mike on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.One of Brian’s favorite author’s is Haruki Murakami. A book that inspired Brian personally is Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang. A book that inspired Brian professionally is Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson.On this episode you will learn - What attracted him to entrepreneurship and founding Fitocracy? What were some of the learnings from his experience as a founder? What is coaching and what attracted you to it? How is coaching different to advising and mentoring?What are some of the ways that you help founders? How is the impact different to advising and mentoring? What’s typically the cadence?What are some typical or common areas that founders might need help in that you think about?How do you think about effective leadership?What is one piece of advice that you would have for all founders?

This episode explores the Paycheck Protection Program as it relates to venture backed small businesses. Zac Dearing is a J.D. Candidate at Harvard Law School and Venture Fellow at AlleyCorp. Zac has a deep appreciation for start-ups and small businesses starting when he was 12 when he founded and ran his own computer assembling business. He has gone on to have quite the career in consulting, finance, and technology.Here is a link to Zac’s tool for companies to understand how much government assistance they could expect to receive from PPP.You are also welcome to follow Zac on Twitter @zacdearing.In this episode we discuss -What is the PPP / SBA Loans program? How did Zac become interested in learning about PPP? Who is the program intended for? What types of businesses should apply?What makes a company eligible for PPP? What’s the affiliate rule? How can companies change their governance terms with VCs in order to become eligible? Does the affiliate rule only concern those that own a certain percentage of the business?What has been VCs response to the affiliate rule? Are venture backed companies eligible? Does he see any potential change regarding PPP eligibility regarding the affiliate rule? Will a business need to repay the loan? What’s the forgiveness factor?What does the good faith certification of necessity mean? Where does one apply? Are all payroll costs eligible?

Rishi Garg is a partner at Mayfield. Mayfield global venture capital firm with a people-first philosophy of investing. Mayfield invests primarily in early-stage technology companies in the enterprise and consumer sectors. Some of Rishi’s investments include Grove Collaborative, Oliver Space and Projector.Rishi backs consumer focused entrepreneurs and has been a longtime executive and entrepreneur at some of the world’s most innovative companies. He’s held senior positions at Twitter, Square, Google, MTV, co-founded FanSnap,a leading venture-backed live event ticket search company acquired by Nextag, Inc. It was great speaking with Rishi about the future of social, consumer distrust in legacy brands, and curation. It was a really fascinating conversation, so without further ado here is Rishi.Thank you Gautam Gupta for the introduction!You can follow Rishi @rishigarg. You can also read his latest article Why Trusted Commerce Platforms Will Redefine Key Categories in the Next Ten Years. 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 on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.A book that inspired Rishi both personally and professionally is Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl.In this episode you will learn - What fascinated him working in technology then becoming a founder? What made him interested in venture capital? When a B2C startup doesn’t have alot of traction, what are some qualities he looks for in founders? His due diligence process?How does he think about commerce and retail in today’s landscape? What are some solutions that he gets excited about in retail that is solving some of these issues? What are changes in consumer behavior is he most focused on?I’ve heard some folks say it’s a contrarian time to be investing in consumer. Why is that and does he believe it? What is one thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? What is one book that inspired him personally and one book that inspired him professionally? What is his most recent investment and what makes him excited about it? What’s one piece of advice for B2C founders?

**This episode is brought to you by WeStock.io. WeStock streamlines the product request process and helps your brand get on retail shelves faster. Learn more at WeStock.io and when scheduling a demo, use promo code ConsumerVC for 25% off for your first year.**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. Previously, David Founder/CEO of FreshNeck, an online, subscription-based, men's neckwear exchange service. He also was the Assistant District Attorney, representing the people of Brooklyn, New York and then worked at Merrill Lynch and Jefferies & Co.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.A book that inspired David professionally is Measure What Matters by John Doerr. A book that inspired David personally is Reboot by Jerry Colonna.In this episode you will learn - How did David go from a criminal defense attorney to finance to founding freshneck.com? What compelled him to shift to angel investing and transition to venture capital and how did some of your prior experiences help him as an investor? How Corigin came together? At the seed stage, what is he looking for? A walk through his diligence process.When personalization and customization are you differentiators, how do you scale? How is the sharing economy going to evolve? How he thinks about the consumerization of software. What he thinks about the future of venture capital? What’s one thing you would change about venture capital?What is his most recent investment and what makes him excited about it? What is one piece of advice that he has for founders of consumer companies?

*Please note this episode was recorded back in January before the global pandemic.*Natalie Dillon is a Principal at Maveron. Maveron is a premier consumer focused fund that invests in seed and Series A companies that empower consumers to live on their terms. Some of their investments include eBay, Everlane, and AllbirdsPrior to Maveron, Natalie was at Susa Ventures, a premier seed-stage fund in San Francisco. At Susa, Natalie worked with the team to source and help diligence several investments, largely in the consumer space. Before Susa, Natalie was a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs and a research associate at Silicon Valley Bank.I would like to thank Sumeet Shah for the introduction!A book that inspired Natalie professionally is Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight. A book that inspired her personally is Why We Sleep by Matthew WalkerYou can follow Natalie on Twitter @ntdillon. 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 and follow on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.What attracted Natalie to venture capital and consumer investing? Walk us through Maveron’s due diligence process and founder checklist? What are specific attributes that you think are non-negotiable and what founders need to have? What subculture trends she is focused on? What makes Natalie interested in consumer vs. enterprise?How she thinks about the future of social applications and what are you noticing about Gen Z? What is her most recent investment? What is one thing that she would change when it came to venture capital?What is one company you had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t and in retrospect wish you did? What is one piece of advice for B2C founders?For all episodes, please visit www.theconsumervc.com.

*This episode features two conversations I’ve had with Kiva*Kiva Dickinson is the managing partner at Selva Ventures. Selva Ventures invests in emerging brands that make their consumers’ lives better. Some of their portfolio includes Haus, Mud Water, and Three Wishes.Prior to founding Selva Ventures Kiva was a Partner at CircleUp, where he joined during the launch of the Company’s first discretionary equity fund CircleUp Growth Partners. While at CircleUp Kiva led Series B investments in Nutpods and Liquid I.V., working closely with both companies following investment.You can follow Kiva on Twitter @kivadickinson. 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 and follow the host @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.One book that inspired Kiva personally is How Will You Measure Your Life by Clay Christensen. One book that inspired him professionally is Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke.On this episode, you will learn - What attracted Kiva to VC? How Selva came together? His due diligence process. How he thinks about competitive vs. non-competitive categories? How does he think about the future of retail and O2O strategy for companies? How has DTC changed retail?How does he think about portfolio management and construction when it comes to return on investment? How does he think about geography when it comes to starting a brand and investing and why did he choose the bay area to set up shop? What is one thing that he would change when it came to venture capital?What’s one company that is in his anti-portfolio - you had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t and in retrospect wish you did? What’s your most recent investment and what makes him excited about it? What is one piece of advice he has for founders of consumer companies?His reaction to coronavirusIs he shifting strategy away/towards companies/verticals?Is he pausing investments in a particular space?Is he concerned about some current portfolio companies' ability to raise?Is he having to adjust to new work protocols (remote working, etc) and if so, is that having an impact?

*Please note that this episode was recorded before the coronavirus global pandemic*Madeline Keulen is Vice President at Victress Capital. Victress Capital is an early stage venture capital firm that provides visionary and diverse founding teams in the consumer space with capital and resources for growth. Victress has backed 21 innovative companies led by tenacious founders including Alyce, Daily Harvest, Harper Wilde, Rae, and Summersalt. Prior to Victress, Madeline developed her consumer expertise as an operator, experiencing first-hand the importance of customer-centric values while working at Apple and The Walt Disney Company. She then moved to Oliver Wyman, where she focused on partnering with leading consumer product and services businesses on strategic growth initiatives, operational improvement, and post-merger integrations.You can follow Madeline on Twitter @mkeulen and check out her blog mkeulen.com To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow @mikegelb and @consumervc.One book that inspired her professionally and personally is How Will You Measure Your Life? By Clay Christensen. A couple other books that inspired her professionally are Sam Walton’s Made in America and Phil Knight’s Shoedog.On this episode you will learn - What attracted Madeline to startups and venture capital in the first place? How was she able to break into venture? A bit about Victress Capital? What she looks for at the seed stage? Her diligence process?Boston’s startup ecosystem. What is the value of a brand? How to think about competitive advantage and moat? How she thinks about contrasting trends? Is this the hardest period to build a brand in today’s climate since it seems so easy to launch a brand?How the DTC channel has changed? Why she is so bullish on consumer? What she would change about venture capital? Advice for founders in secondary and tertiary markets. The importance of knowing your why.

*Please note that this episode was recorded before the coronavirus global pandemic*Logan Langberg is a Principal at Imaginary Ventures. Imaginary is a Venture Capital Fund that invests in early–stage opportunities at the intersection of retail and technology in Europe and the US. Some of their investments include Everlane, Glossier, and Daily Harvest.Logan was previously an investor at Alliance Consumer Growth, a leading consumer growth equity fund, where he invested in and supported Harry’s, LOLA, Honest Kitchen among other innovative consumer companies. It was a blast talking with Logan about food and bev, future of retail and much more.You can follow Logan on Twitter @LangbergLogan. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow @mikegelb and @consumervc.A book that impacted Logan personally is Boris Johnson’s The Churchill Factor. One book that impacted Logan professionally is Brad Feld’s Venture Deals.In this episode you will learn - Why did Logan come down from growth equity to venture capital? What interested him in consumer? How does he think about good growth vs. bad growth? How does he think about optimizing for growth vs. profitability? What is his investment criteria for companies? What’s his due diligence process? How important is market expertise? How does he think about price in this current investment landscape? What is the reason that PE firms have come down stream? Do founders need to be concerned with over raising? What are some metrics that he focuses on the most? How does he think about portfolio construction and returns for each investment? How Logan thinks about the future of retail? What is one thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? What is his most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? What is one piece of advice for consumer entrepreneurs?

Charles Hudson is the Managing Partner and Founder of Precursor Ventures. Precursor Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in the first institutional round of investment for the most promising software and hardware companies. Some of their investments include The Athletic, Goodr and Co-Star. Prior to founding Precursor Ventures, Charles was a Partner at SoftTech VC and Co-Founder and CEO of Bionic Panda Games, an Android-focused mobile games startup. He also was the VP of Business Development for Serious Business (acq. Zynga) and Director of Business Development at Gaia Interactive. You can follow Charles on Twitter @chudson. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow @mikegelb and @consumervc. A couple books that impacted Charles professionally are The New Geography of Jobs by Enrico Maretti and Who Gets What and Why by Alvin Roth . A book that impacted him personally is The Wright Brothers by David McCullough. On this episode you will learn - How did Charles make his way into Venture Capital? How did Precursor come together? How does Charles think about the early investment landscape? His due diligence and decision making process. How he thinks about domain expertise. Why are there two different seed markets with radically different round sizes and valuations and what does seed look like today? What are some of the differences in the diligence process when investing in consumer vs. enterprise startups? How he thinks about pivoting in the early stages? How he thinks about portfolio composition?  Advice for founders that are in tertiary or secondary markets or have a network of VCs when fundraising? What consumer trends is he most focused on? What is one thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? What is one piece of advice for founders of consumer companies?