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

Our guest today is Bruce Smith, CEO and Founder of Hydrow. Hydrow is a connected home rowing machine that offers live and pre-recorded fitness content on demand, where the instructors are outside rowing on the water.We discuss:The origin story of founding a rowing-connected fitness companyPrototyping & finding the right manufacturerWhy it was important to have the instructors on the water rowingThe ratio between treadmills, bikes and rowers at gymsHow he met Kevin Hart & became Creative DirectorThe current headwinds in connected fitness & much more****Sponsor****This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta. Vauban from Carta is the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing. They offer SPVs, and fund vehicles for GPs at all stages of the journey - from your first syndicate to operating a multi-million dollar venture fund. Their end-to-end platform automates your back-office and manual workflows so you can focus on what matters: finding the next unicorn & building investor relationships.Click Here to Get Started

Thank you Clement for the introduction to our guest today, Ken Sadowsky, or, as Forbes dubbed him “The Beverage Whisperer”. Ken grew up in the beverage business. His grandfather started the beverage distributor Atlas Distributing and he was the first to distribute Vita Coco and also was the Director of Energy Brands Inc., makers of Vitamin Water, Smart Water and Fruit Water, which they eventually sold to Coca Cola for $4.1 Billion. Now he’s a Beverage Advisor to Verlinest, which is Anheuser-Busch InBev’s investment arm. We discuss his story, what are the opportunities within beverage today, if there’s a trend that he’s not sold on and how to identify great entrepreneurs.****Sponsor****This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta. Vauban from Carta is the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing. They offer SPVs, and fund vehicles for GPs at all stages of the journey - from your first syndicate to operating a multi-million dollar venture fund. Their end-to-end platform automates your back-office and manual workflows so you can focus on what matters: finding the next unicorn & building investor relationships.Click Here to Get Started

Our guest today is Deepak Shahdadpuri, Founder and Managing Director of DSG Consumer Partners. DSG Consumer Partners is India & Southeast Asia's leading consumer-only venture capital fund. Some of their investments are Veeba, Piccolo Organic, and The Golden Duck. We focus this conversation on what makes India an exciting and different consumer market than the U.S., why Indian premium brands are ripe for growth, and he went from growth stage / later stage investing to earlier stage investing. This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta. Vauban from Carta is the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing. They offer SPVs, and fund vehicles for GPs at all stages of the journey - from your first syndicate to operating a multi-million dollar venture fund. Their end-to-end platform automates your back-office and manual workflows so you can focus on what matters: finding the next unicorn & building investor relationships.Click Here to Get Started

Thank you Caroline McMorrow for the intro to our guest today Will Nitze, Founder & CEO of IQ Bar. IQ Bar is a plant-based protein bar company for your brain and body! We discuss how Will got turned on to brain food and the origin story of IQ Bar, how he growth hacked his Indie Gogo campaign which I had never heard of anything like he did before, getting into retail, why they went conventional first, which is unusual and why they aren’t in Whole Foods currently. Without further ado, here’s Will.Some of the questions I ask Will:What were you doing before IQ Bar?What was the genesis behind the brand?What is brain food?Why a bar? What was still left to be conquered in bars?How did you get into retail?How did you approach formulation?How do you think about your branding a copy and being accessible but also very serious about nutrition?Did you first do DTC?Why did you do a Kickstarter campaign?***Sponsor*** Introducing aVenture - venture capital for everyoneWith aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options.If you agree, sign-up for their waitlist at aventure.vc. aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform, http://aventure.vc. aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status. Mike is a paid spokesperson for aVenture and is compensated $6,000. Want to keep up to date with The Consumer VC? Subscribe to my newsletter Here.

Our guest today is Mark Samuel, Founder & CEO of IWON Organics. IWON Organics snacks are delicious, high-protein, Non-GMO, gluten-free, plant-based snacks made from purely organic ingredients. This was a treat for me as I’ve been following Mark on LinkedIn for a long time and it was great to finally connect with him. We discussed his health journey and entrepreneur journey, why his road eventually led to CPG, what he thought about building a brand vs. what he knows now, how he thinks about new sales channels and growth and more.We discuss:When did you get serious about your health?What attracted you to entrepreneurship?How do you found IWON organics? What’s the problem that you’re attempting to solve?What was your approach to creating the product?How did you approach creating the supply chain?How did you get into your first retail accounts?What are the future areas of expansion, and what is the end game for them?When did you start posting on LinkedIn and starting a podcast/Youtube channel?How has your role evolved?How do you think about how much capital to raiseWhat were some of the early mistakes you made in CPG?How is CPG different to some of the other businesses you’ve founded?How are you approaching today’s market?What’s one book that has inspired you personally and one ***Sponsor*** Introducing aVenture - venture capital for everyoneWith aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options.If you agree, sign-up for their waitlist at aventure.vc. aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform, http://aventure.vc. aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status. Mike is a paid spokesperson for aVenture and is compensated $6,000. Want to keep up to date with The Consumer VC? Subscribe to my newsletter Here.

Our guest today is Dario, Founder and CEO of Tacombi and Vista Hermosa. Tacombi is a tacqueria chain that is one of the fastest growing restaurants in the U.S. and is bringing 100% authentic Mexican food and flavors to the U.S. Vista Hermosa is their CPG brand, that produces tortilla chips and tortillas. We discuss why Dario got a VW Kombi van in the first place, why he thought New York City was the right city to start a restaurant in the U.S., how he approached expansion to different cities and some of the lessons he learned from one of his investors, Danny Meyer. Without further ado, here’s Dario.Some of the questions I ask Dario:So you purchased this Voltzwagon kombi van, why did you decide to start selling tacos in this way?What took you to Playa Del Carmen?Transient, tourism spotWhat’s your approach to cooking tacos? What were you doing that was different to other taco shops/trucks?Observing mexican cuisineUnderstand what the differences were madeDifference to Mexican hospitality to american hospitality?Taqueria’s differentHow did you approach scaling and what brought you to the States?At what point did you think about raising money?What was your approach?How did you build your network?What led you to Danny Meyer?What do investors look for when thinking about new restaurants or food companies?Did you find you had to change some of your ingredients/flavor profiles to appeal to the United States audience?Where was your first shop in the U.S.? Why did you decide on that location?What demographic are you appealing to? How did you approach price point?How do you think about design for your restaurants?How do you approach new locations?What was missing in the U.S. market in your mind regarding Mexican cuisine and taquerias specifically?What is real mexicanHow did Vista Hermosa start? Why did you want to build a CPG business? Why did you build both congruently?What’s one part about the restaurant business that you still don’t think is obvious or known to outsiders?What’s one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?Professionally – Biography of Ben Franklin – An American LifePersonally – Pedro ParamoWhat’s one piece of advice for any restaurant or CPG entrepreneur?***Sponsor*** Introducing aVenture - venture capital for everyoneWith aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options.If you agree, sign-up for their waitlist at aventure.vc. aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform, http://aventure.vc. aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status. Mike is a paid spokesperson for aVenture and is compensated $6,000. Want to keep up to date with The Consumer VC? Subscribe to my newsletter Here.

This was recorded live in Austin, during SXSW. Allison and Stephen Ellsworth are the founders of Poppi, the fun(ctional) prebiotic soda for all.We discuss:– Their introduction to prebiotics– How they went on SharkTank– Rebranding from Mother to Poppi– Launching during COVID– Expanding to new markets– Their approach to content & more***Sponsor*** Introducing aVenture - venture capital for everyoneWith aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options.If you agree, sign-up for their waitlist at aventure.vc. aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform, http://aventure.vc. aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status. Mike is a paid spokesperson for aVenture and is compensated $6,000. Want to keep up to date with The Consumer VC? Subscribe to my newsletter Here.

Our guest today is David Friedberg, Founder of The Production Board and Bestie on the All-In podcast. The Production Board is a holding company that builds and invests in businesses that transform global systems of production and distribution across: Agriculture, Life Sciences, Energy and Manufacturing. On the consumer facing side, some of their investments and/or companies they’ve built include Supergut, The Every Company, Cana, and Soylent. The All-In podcast is one the top podcasts in the world. I try to focus this conversation on the consumer side to The Production Board’s business and how David thinks about brand building in the future. You’ll also here how he founded his previous company, The Climate Corporation and origin story to The Production Board, his investment philosophy and at the end a little chat about the All-In podcast.***Sponsor*** Introducing aVenture - venture capital for everyoneWith aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options.If you agree, sign-up for their waitlist at aventure.vc. aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform, http://aventure.vc. aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status. Mike is a paid spokesperson for aVenture and is compensated $6,000. Want to keep up to date with The Consumer VC? Subscribe to my newsletter Here.

Hey friends,Our guest today is Mike Fata, Founder of Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods, which sells hemp-based foods, oils, and supplements. The company was acquired for 9 figures by Tilray in 2019. Now he’s an investor, coach, writer and author of “Grow: 12 Unconventional Lessons for Becoming an Unstoppable Entrepreneur”, which will be released on March 29th 2023. Highly recommend pre-ordering your copy.***Sponsor*** Introducing aVenture - venture capital for everyoneWith aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options.If you agree, sign-up for their waitlist at aventure.vc. aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform, http://aventure.vc. aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status. Mike is a paid spokesperson for aVenture and is compensated $6,000. Want to keep up to date with The Consumer VC? Subscribe to my newsletter Here.

Thank you Deb Benton for introducing me to Carle Stenmark, General Partner at VMG. VMG, short for Velocity Made Good, is one of the premier consumer private equity funds known for their investments in KIND, Quest Nutrition, Sun Bum, and Justin’s. However, Carle leads VMG’s technology practice and recently the firm went through a bit of a rebrand, which we will discuss. This conversation is around why and what types of technology companies VMG invests in. Without further ado, here’s Carle.Some of the questions I ask Carle:What attracted you to consumer investing?How did you end up working at VMG?What’s VMG PhilosophyWhen I think about VMG I think KIND Bars, Quest, Sun Bum, Natural Balance, Drunk Elephant, brands that have to work in retail where you make your money shipping pallets and not individual orders like to do online. Why create VMG Catalyst What was the original thesis?How has VMG evolved? Why do a rebrand?Did you have to present this rebrand for LPs? Does it change how your funds get deployed?How do you approach tech investing and how is it different from consumer investing?What’s the added value from VMG? What’s the way you’re able to make introductions?The evolution That was the rebrand What’s your typical check size and range of investing on the technology side?We’ve seen tech investor How will your day to day change?What types of questions do you ask yourself?Do you think it’s different from what it takes to grow a technology business vs a consumer business?Do you think a technology business can be started from anywhere?Purpose built for one verticalMirror ecommerce with onlineInventory management systemsInnovation within consumer journeys and dataIs there synergy with VMG growth and VMG Catalyst?How is it different from VMG growth?How do you think about returns and portfolio expectation from VMG Growth to VMG Catalyst?How do you balance the number of investments in commerce infrastructure plays like Shogun and Swell with ecommerce / consumer facing brands selling physical goods?How do you analyze founders? When do you feel is the right time to get involved in a company?Recently closed $400 million. How are you thinking about capital deployment in this market?Online grocery is really tough to nail. What stuck out when you made the investment in Wee!!!?How are you thinking about these macro economic times? I’ve heard it’s become very tricky pricing growth rounds.How do you analyze consumer pain points that could develop into big opportunities?What would you like to see changed when it comes to products within ecommerce infrastructure?What’s one thing he would change about venture capital?What’s one book that inspired him personally? What’s one book that inspired him professionally?ShoedogUnbrokenWhat’s one piece of advice?***Sponsor*** Introducing aVenture - venture capital for everyoneWith aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options.If you agree, sign-up for their waitlist at aventure.vc. aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform, http://aventure.vc. aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status. Mike is a paid spokesperson for aVenture and is compensated $6,000. Want to keep up to date with The Consumer VC? Subscribe to my newsletter Here.