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

Will McClelland is the Co-founder and Partner of Elizabeth Street Ventures, an early stage investment firm focused on the digital consumer and next generation brands that improve daily life. He is also the Co-founder of Bambike, a family business that builds bamboo bicycles and operates eco-tourism activities in the Philippines. One book that impacted Will personally is The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell and one book that impacted him professionally is Pioneering Portfolio Management by David Swensen You can follow Will on Twitter @data_01. You are also welcome to follow your host @mikegelb and @consumervc for updates. On this episode you will learn - 1. What attracted Will to invest in startups and transition his career in investment banking and hedge funds to co-founding a bamboo bicycle company and early stage investing? When evaluating startups, does it help when you are the target consumer? How Elizabeth Street came together? Why consumer could be its own asset class? 2. What’s the difference when having a family office as a partner rather than a venture capital fund? The growth expectations for consumer companies. How he looks at the DTC landscape currently and how the funding model has evolved? What Elizabeth Street’s check size? What qualities Will looks for in founders? What types of qualities does he look for in a founder? 3. When should a founder know when they have found product-market fit? How Will thinks about market sizing. How he thinks about investing in digitally native brands today when online marketing and online customer acquisition costs are becoming so expensive? Consumer trends that Will is focused on. If you would like to follow along you can click “Subscribe” on the Apple podcast app or whichever platform you are listening on. If you enjoyed the episode, feel free to also leave a review. You are also to see all episodes here and learn more at www.theconsumervc.com and follow Mike on Twitter or Instagram

Mike Duboe joined Greylock Partners in 2018 and leads investments in commerce, marketplaces, and consumer more broadly. Previously, he led growth at Stitch Fix, Tilt, and others and has created, scaled, led growth teams from Series A through IPO across a span of businesses. Greylock Partners is one of the oldest venture capital firms, founded in 1965. Some of their investments include Facebook, Airbnb, LinkedIn, Instagram, RedFin, Pandora and many many more. Two books that impacted Mike were Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse and The One Thing by Gary Keller You can follow Mike on Twitter @mduboe. You are also welcome to follow your host @mikegelb and @consumervc for updates. In this episode you will learn - What attracted you to leave consulting in order to pursue working on growth at startups? Lessons learned as head of growth at Stitch Fix and Tilt? The reason why Mike switched from being an operator to investor? How Mike thinks about online customer acquisition costs in today’s landscape? When should a founder make his/her first growth hire? How does a consumer company know when they have found product market fit? In the early stage, during the pitch, what do you like to see from founders when there isn’t much data to go on when evaluating opportunities? How he thinks about health of acquisition and customer acquisition costs? What are some of the challenges when evaluating consumer businesses? What are some consumer trends and opportunities that he is most excited about? What is something that he would change when it came to venture capital? What is one piece of advice that Mike has for founders of consumer companies?

David Wu is a Partner 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 Maveron’s investments include Allbirds, General Assembly, eBay, and Coursehero. David joined Maveron to help identify new investments in emerging direct-to-consumer brands – especially those in the hardware and tech categories. Some of David’s investments include Booster, Eargo, Illumix, Modern Fertility, and August. If you would like to keep up to date with David, you can follow him @davewu. You are also welcome to follow your host @mikegelb and @consumervc for updates. In this episode, you will learn: How building a houseboat to cruise down the Mississippi River has its parallels to building a company? What being a professional bassist taught David about himself? What attracted David to work at high growth startups? What led you to move from being an operator to investor? Why he is so interested in early-stage consumer investing and why is it so difficult? Traits he likes to see in founders. Advice for founders in secondary and tertiary markets that are looking to fundraise. What makes a good venture capital partner? What does founder-friendly mean to you? Why Maveron turned down $70 million in investment? How he thinks about the importance of ecosystems and startup hubs? What are some consumer trends and opportunities that he is excited about? What is something that he would change when it came to venture capital? Will an impact mission brand lead to higher margins? Maveron’s core values. What his most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? One company that he had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t, and in retrospect wish he did? One piece of advice he has for founders of consumer companies? How he thinks about online customer acquisition in today’s age?

Rick Heitzmann is a founder and partner of FirstMark Capital and focuses on consumer and enterprise investments. Rick has led investments in market leaders such as Pinterest, StubHub (acquired by eBay), Riot Games (acquired by Tencent), Airbnb, Shopify and much more. Prior to founding FirstMark, Rick was an entrepreneur including being a founding member of the senior management team at First Advantage which he helped grow and sell to First American. Rick has been recognized by CB Insights and the New York Times as a Top 100 Venture Capitalist globally.  He serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Venture Capital Association. If you want to follow Rick on Twitter, you can do so here @rickheitzmann. If you would like to follow your host, Mike, for updates on the show, you can follow him Here on Twitter. New episodes released every Monday and Thursday. If you would like to follow along, you can click “Subscribe” on the Apple podcast app or whichever platform you are listening on. If you enjoyed the episode, feel free to also leave a review. What attracted Rick to venture capital and high tech? What types of qualities in a founder he looks for? What makes investing in consumer difficult and different than investing in enterprise? FirstMark Capital’s competitive advantages. How founders should conduct due diligence on VC funds? What is the cadence of communication amongst founders in his portfolio? How he thinks about product market fit? What are the kinds of new marketplaces that Rick is paying attention to? How Rick thinks about online customer acquisition costs today? What are some consumer trends that Rick is excited about? What is something Rick would change when it came to venture capital? What Rick thinks about entrepreneurs building companies in secondary and tertiary markets? What is something that founders could believe is a competitive advantage, but Rick feels actually isn’t? When should a founder focus on profitability and sustainability rather than growth? One company that Rick had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t and in retrospect wish he did? One piece of advice for founders of consumer companies.

Susan Lyne is the co-founder and Managing Partner of BBG Ventures, a fund that invests in visionary entrepreneurs building the next generation of market-defining consumer products and services. Every company in their portfolio has at least one female founder. Some of their investments include Zola, Blueland, Beautycon, and NextGenVest (acq. by CommonBond) Susan began her career in the magazine industry, where she founded and led Premiere Magazine. She spent almost a decade at Disney, rising to President of Entertainment at ABC. She was the CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia; CEO and then Chair of Gilt.com; and she led AOL’s Brand Group, overseeing such brands as TechCrunch, Engadget and Moviefone, immediately before launching BBG Ventures. A couple of books that Susan recommends are The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger and Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century by George Packer You can follow Susan on Twitter Here @smlyne, where she posts lots of great content on startups. If you would like to follow your host, Mike, for updates on the show, you can follow him Here on Twitter. New episodes released every Monday and Thursday. If you would like to follow along you can click “Subscribe” on the Apple podcast app or whichever platform you are listening on. If you enjoyed the episode, feel free to also leave a review. In this episode, you will learn - 1. Why Susan decided to leave her prestigious career in media, television, ecommerce and as an operator for some of the world's biggest companies to start her own fund?Her mission when founding a venture capital fund and some of her learnings as an operator. 2. Does she think venture capital is moving quickly enough to bridge the gap between the number of women founders that are able to fundraise compared to male founders that are able to fundraise? What are some of the things that need to happen to help empower women entrepreneurs? 3. When should startups optimize for profitability rather than growth? How does she think about price and evaluation in today's climate? 4. In her due diligence process when evaluating startups, how she knows if the startup is solving a real consumer pain point? How she thinks about founder-market fit? How she thinks about online customer acquisition today given the rising prices? 5. How she thinks about time allocation and cadence of communication amongst her portfolio companies. Consumer trends she is most excited about and some of the differences between millennials and Gen Z.

Caitlin Strandberg is a Principal at Lerer Hippeau, the most active early-stage venture capital fund in New York. The firm has more than 250 active portfolio companies with investments in leading consumer and enterprise companies, including Allbirds, Casper, Guideline, and K Health. Lerer Hippeau invests across all sectors, backing founders with product vision, customer insight, and a keen instinct for brand building. Previously, Caitlin was an early employee at LearnVest (acquired by Northwestern Mutual) and Behance (acquired by Adobe), as well as served as Vice President of FirstMark Capital. You can follow Caitlin on Twitter Here, where she posts lots of great content on startups. If you would like to follow your host, Mike, for updates on the show, you can follow him Here on Twitter. Two books that Caitlin would like to recommend are The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon by Brad Stone and Ready Player One by Earnest Cline. In this episode, you will learn – What attracted Caitlin to startups and venture capital? The learnings and takeaways from being an operator at early-stage startups to venture capital? The challenges when investing in consumer startups at the early stages? How she evaluates opportunities and identifies if a startup is solving a real consumer pain point? Is the DTC area the golden age of brand? How she thinks about margin in relation to DTC? How much do consumers care about sustainable, eco-friendly products in relation to price? After investment, the cadence of communication among founders. What makes New York special? How she thinks about online customer acquisition today. What is one company that she is excited about investing in? What is one company she wishes she invested in? One piece of advice for founders of consumer companies? If you would like to follow along you can click “Subscribe” on the Apple podcast app or whichever platform you are listening on. If you enjoyed the episode, feel free to also leave a review. You are also to see all episodes here and learn more at www.theconsumervc.com and follow Mike on Twitter or Instagram

Ajay Kamat is a Partner at Pear, one of the premier early stage venture capital funds in Silicon Valley. Prior to Pear, Ajay founded Wedding Party, which was acquired by Instacart. Pear was founded by Mar Hershenson and Pejman Nozad, who were early investors in Dropbox, Lending Club, Zoosk, Addepar, Path and many others. Some of Pear's notable investments include DoorDash, Philz Coffee, Instaread, and Memebox. You can follow Ajay on Twitter Here.  If you would like to follow your host, Mike, for updates on the show, you can follow @mikegelb  and the show @ConsumerVC In this episode you will learn: Ajay's journey from biomedical engineering to founding Wedding Party. Some of the lessons Ajay learned from being a founder and how it has influenced him as a venture capitalist. The importance of grit when founding a company. The importance of complementary skills and vetting co-founders. The reason why he switched from being a founder to a venture capitalist. What qualities Ajay looks for from founders at the pre-seed and seed level? How he evaluates startups building products in markets that don't exist yet? The advantages of being in Silicon Valley. How he thinks about customer acquisition costs in today's age. What industry consumer verticals he's excited about the most? One company that he is excited to be an investor in? One piece of advice for founders of consumer companies? If you would like to follow along you can click “Subscribe” on the Apple podcast app or whichever platform you are listening on. If you enjoyed the episode, feel free to also leave a review. You are also to see all episodes here and learn more at www.theconsumervc.com and follow Mike on Twitter or Instagram

Amit Mukherjee is a Partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA), one of the premier and global venture capital firms that invests in all stages. Amit focuses on investing in consumer technology. He is a Board Observer for Casper, MasterClass, Brandless, and The Players’ Tribune, and was previously a Board Observer for Jet.com. Amit has led a number of seed stage investments for NEA, including Aquabyte, Holloway, Yumi and PumpUp. You can follow Amit on Twitter Here, where he posts a ton of great thought-provoking content about consumer and venture capital. If you would like to follow your host, Mike, for updates on the show, you can follow him Here on Twitter. In this episode you will learn - How Amit made his way into venture capital and what attracted him to consumer investing. In the pitch and his due diligence process, how he determines if there is a real pain point? How to evaluate two companies in the same space when there isn't much data? Difference when evaluating startups when it's a serial entrepreneur vs. first time founder? How he thinks about the investment landscapes today? Cold/No introduction vs. warm introduction - how should founders reach out to VCs? How he deals with time allocation across his portfolio? One thing he would change about venture capital? How he thinks about the D2C landscape today? Trends in consumer that he is most excited about. The Gen Z consumer and characteristics he focuses on? One company that he worked on or invested in that he's proud of? One company that in retrospect wish he did invest in? A business book that Amit would like to recommend is The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success by William N. Thorndike A book that helped shaped him personally is 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found a Self-Help That Actually Works by Dan Harris.

Nicole Quinn is a partner and investor at Lightspeed Venture Capital, a venture capital firm that is engaged in the consumer, enterprise, technology, and cleantech markets. Some of Nicole's investments include Calm, Goop, Rothy’s, Cameo, Brandable, Girlboss, Illumix, Zola, Daily Harvest & Lady Gaga’s Haus Labs. You can follow Nicole Here on Twitter. If you would like to follow your host, Mike, for updates on the show, you can follow him Here on Twitter. In this episode, you will learn - What attracted Nicole to early-stage investing from Morgan Stanley? Why she shifted from angel investing to joining Lightspeed? Her personal mission of venture capital becoming more inclusive to women founders. How she thinks about the successful qualities of a founder and how she assesses founder-market fit? How you know when a company has found product-market fit? In the due diligence process, how do you assess if the product is solving a real problem? The challenges and metrics she pays attention to when evaluating consumer startups? The major turn offs or deal-breakers from startups when they pitch their business to Nicole? Her thoughts about the future of media and the transition from an advertising model to a subscription model? What trends in media and consumer that she is most focused on? How she thinks about price in the diligence process? Some of the changes that need to happen in venture capital? Consumer trends that she’s focused on? What is one company that she should have invested in but didn’t? One piece of advice for founders of consumer companies?

Hayden Williams is a Partner of Investments at Brand Project, a venture capital fund that focuses on consumer investments at the early stage. Brand Project is hyper-focused on adding their operational value to founders as the team collectively has launched 100 new products and services for some of the most iconic companies. Hayden joined Brand Project this year and previously was an investor at BBG Ventures as well as has experience as a founder of Treatings, the business networking app. You can follow Hayden on Twitter here. If you would like to follow your host, Mike, for updates on the show, you can follow him Here on Twitter. In this episode, you will learn - Learnings and takeaways Hayden had as a founder that has influenced him as an investor. The advantages in having a smaller portfolio as well as Brand Project’s thesis When a founder should look to raise from one investor rather than a syndicate in a round? How Hayden thinks about investing in D2C brands. Trends he’s excited about in consumer? What makes consumer investing difficult? His investing due diligence and establishing trust amongst founders? Why a company might not be able to raise a round? How do you establish founder-market fit? One company that he’s particularly excited to work with? One company that he had a second chance to invest in? A book that has inspired Hayden both professionally and personally is “Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life” by Steve Martin “The Consumer VC” is a podcast hosted by Mike Gelb devoted to interviewing early-stage consumer-focused venture capitalists and founders of b2c businesses to educate and learn about the inner workings of consumer startup investing. A new episode will be released every Tuesday at 3:00 AM EST / 12:00 AM PST. If you would like to follow along you can click “Subscribe” on the Apple podcast app or whichever platform you are listening on. If you enjoyed the episode, feel free to also leave a review. You are also to see all episodes here and learn more at www.theconsumervc.com and follow Mike on Twitter or Instagram.