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

Today’s guest is Matt Higgins, Founder and CEO of RSE Ventures. RSE is a private investment firm that focuses on sports and entertainment, media and marketing, food and lifestyle, and technology. Most recently he wrote the book “Burn The Boats”, which is a counterintuitive formula for a life of perpetual growth can find a link in the shownotes to get your copy. Some of their investments include Vaynermedia, Milk Bar, Magic Spoon and Banza. We discuss:Why he pivoted his career from the public sector to the private sectorWorking for the NY Jets and DophinsHow he met Gary Vee & why he invested in VaynermediaHis thoughts on direct to consumer brandsWhy he likes investing in restaurantsPickleballWant to keep up to date with The Consumer VC? Subscribe to my newsletter Here.***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 Josh Cliffords, Founder & CEO of FreeWater. FreeWater is exactly what you think it is. FreeWater. Where they give away water and make money on selling ads on the bottle. We discuss the origin story of FreeWater, the economics of an ad-based physical product business, how he approached his distribution and finding sponsors, reactions to him building FreeWater, other products he wants to move into. Without further ado, here’s Josh.***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.

Our guest today is Sean Riley, co-founder and CEO of DUDE Wipes. DUDE Wipes makes flushable wipes—billions of 'em—assembled right here in the USA. DUDE is bootrapped, only taking outside investment of $300k from Marc Cuban on SharkTank and are set to do $90 million this year in sales. We discuss his entire journey from the aha moment up until scaling the brand.***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.

My guest today is Mike Ghaffary who is a partner at Canvas Ventures, a firm that specializes on leading Series A. Some of their investments include Flyhomes, Nubrakes, and Zola. This is Mike’s second time on Consumer VC and is our first second time guest. His first appearance we went deep on how to evaluate and invest in marketplace businesses. On this episode, we discuss what is the next big thing in consumer after the iPhone? Is it web3, metaverse, remote work applications or something completely different?

This is a recap episode of my conversation with Greer Terrler and Cara Kaufman, founders of Simple Food Ventures. Simple Food Ventures is an early stage venture firm that invests in the future of healthy foods and products. We discuss how they both began investing in better for you products, do they only invest in better for the planet or better for you, and what makes a product work on shelf.