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

Our guest today is Adam Ross, Founder & CEO of Heyday. Heyday is a skincare establishment that is overhauling the facial experience. We discuss how he got interested in skincare, why he only wanted to focus on facials, how he thought about expanding foot print with a combination of corporate and franchise stores and much much 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 Ryan Woodbury, co-founder of Needed. Needed is on a mission to empower every woman with the fundamental nutrition information, products, and community they need to be optimally nourished before, during, and after pregnancy. We discuss how she got involved / started in nutrition, why she decided to create a prenatal supplement company, why she took 3 years in R&D, how she thinks about the DTC channel and LTV of her customers and much much more.Some of the questions I ask Ryan:What was your introduction to entrepreneurship?How did you end up founding Needed?What were the first steps?How do you think about the lifetime value of the customer?When does a person use prenatal vitamins?Distribution play as opposed to an Pulvis VenturesHow did you think about financing the business?CACChallengesWhat have you learned from your customersConsumers want a two a dayHow did Needed different? What’s the bare minimum?How do you think about product development?Why did you decide DTC?Nutrients How do you think about customer acquisition in today?How do you think about retention and customer experience?How did you approach raising venture capital?What’s one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?Professionally - Let my people go surfing; No Rules, Rules by Reed HastingsPersonally - The Sense of Wonder***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.

Lydia Jett, Managing Partner at SoftBank, discusses e-commerce investing and global scale strategies. Topics include evaluating emerging markets, capital deployment challenges, and adaptation to market shifts. Insights on consumer shopping trends and the importance of trust in entrepreneurship

Thank you Taylor Foxman for the introduction to our guest today Aimy Steadman. Aimy is is the COO of BeatBox Beverages. the World's Tastiest Portable Party Punch.Some of the questions I ask Aimy:How did you found Beatbox?What was the reason why you founded it? You were early with the RTD trend?What’s the difference between wine and spirits vs. beer?How did you think about the category you were creating and the product that you originally set out to create? How did you think about the right alcohol?How did you approach distribution? Was there a moment you realized you were on to something? What was the first retailer you entered and how did you do it?Why did you switch from working with wine distributors to beer distributors? How did you make the transition?What was it like going from a box to tetra paks? Why did you make the jump?What was it like going on SharkTank and what was the bump?Were there time when growth flatlined? How did you handle that? What were the reason?What does that mean community oriented?How did Brizzy and Corkless Wine come about?How do you leverage or build community around BeatBox Beverage? How did you incorporate music?How did Future Proof come about?What was your process for fundraising? Why did you only raise $15 million on a $200 million valuation?Where do you believe Beatbox should be? What are the right retail chains and on-prem locations?What are you doing now with events and music festivals since events are coming back?What’s one book that has inspired you personally and one book that has inspired you professionally?Dan Seigal MindsightTraction - EOS Entrepreneur’s Operator System***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 Wyatt Taubman, Founder of Vive Organic. Vive Organic is fresh pressed wellness shots from organic superfoods.Some of the questions I ask Wyatt:What led to the founding of Vive Organic?How did you approach your supply chain?How did you envision the brand?How did you think about distribution channels?How did you think about product expansionHow did you approach fundraising?Why did you sell to Suja?***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 CJ Fowler for the introduction to our guest today, Yanni Hufnagel, Founder & CEO of Lemon Perfect. Lemon Perfect is a super-refreshing, full-flavored, hydrating lemon water with no sugar, artificial flavors, or sweeteners.Some of the questions I ask Yanni:Why did you become a coach?Why did you leave college basketball to found Lemon Perfect? What was the insight that led you?How did you think about the hydration category?What was your first steps when you started Lemon Perfect?How did you think about testing?Curious as to how their omnichannel strategy started, evolved(lessons learned), and what next steps areHow Beyonce drinking their product has helped them grow, did it help get into retailers?And more generally, his thoughts on working and taking money from celebrities.How did you get into retail?Moving forward what will be the best avenues to pursue for sampling ?What’s the biggest change from your role going from early stage to growth stageWhat was the most surprising part in CPG since you were an outsider?How has college basketball helped shape you?How did you approach raising capital? How big do you want to go?Why did you go to recycled plastic? How do you think about margins?***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 Elly Truesdell, Founder & Managing Partner at New Fare Ventures. a venture capital fund centered on the modern eater and evolving American palate. Some of the investments include Made By Nacho, Mid-Day Squares, Foxtrot and Tacombi. We discuss her time at Whole Foods, how she ended up meeting Bobby Flay and founding Made by Nacho, why she wanted to start a fund and how she thinks about investing in food and retail.Some of the questions I ask her:Were you always into nutrition and buying food from natural channels? What was your role at Whole Foods? What is the global director of local brands and product innovation?What has to go right for a brand to get into Whole Foods?Why did you decide to leave to become the CEO of Canopy Foods?What attracted you to investing?Co-packers is the #1 issue - can’t scale because they don’t have What led you founding Made by Nacho?How did you meet Bobby Flay?What was it like working with an iron chef who is used to restaurants and creating these incredible dishes vs. starting a CPG brand?Why did you found New Fare? What’s the origin story? What attracted you to venture capital?Why is there room in consumer investing and CPG? Is there a statistic that you keep coming back to?What causes a trend to have it’s moment?Upcycled ingredientsEasy to entry - what’s it like fundraisingHow do you think about portfolio construction?What are some of the trends in consumer that you’re really excited about?How do you approach portfolio construction?How do you think about vertical integration?***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 Annie Kadavy, Managing Director at RedPoint Ventures. Redpoint partners with exceptional entrepreneurs starting at the earliest stages of the climb some of her investments include Tend, Shash, and SIlk & Sonder. We discuss her introduction to entrepreneurship building in her garage, tiptoeing the line throughout her career between operator and investor, the business models she’s intrigued by and investible in her opinion. Without further ado, here’s Annie.We discuss:Building products in her garageHow she founded BetterSitterBecoming a GP at CRV VenturesHow she invested ClassPass, DoorDash, PatreonWhat it was like working at UberWhy she joined RedPoint Ventures***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 Chris Ashenden, Founder & CEO of Athletic Greens and AG1. AG1 is the world’s most comprehensive and convenient daily nutrition product in green powder form. We discuss:Why he founded Athletic GreensApproach to formulationHow he met Tim FerrissHow he built relationships with customersScaling onlineCreating a subscription business and new consumer habitWhy he bootstrapped to $150m in revenueWhen it made sense to fundraise***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 Luke Vernon for the intro to our guest today Davis Smith, Founder & CEO of Cotopaxi. Cotopaxi builds gear that fuels both outdoor experiences and global change.We discuss:Why he founded digitally native businessesFounding businesses with his cousinThe mission behind CotopaxiHow he was able to raise capitalEarly approach to promotion for CotopaxiThe differences between Cotopaxi and PatagoniaHow he grew the brandWhy he shut down his store in San Francisco***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.