Consumer VC

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 Greens
• Approach to formulation
• How he met Tim Ferriss
• How he built relationships with customers
• Scaling online
• Creating a subscription business and new consumer habit
• Why he bootstrapped to $150m in revenue
• When it made sense to fundraise

***Sponsor***

 Introducing aVenture - venture capital for everyone

With 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 businesses
• Founding businesses with his cousin
• The mission behind Cotopaxi
• How he was able to raise capital
• Early approach to promotion for Cotopaxi
• The differences between Cotopaxi and Patagonia
• How he grew the brand
• Why he shut down his store in San Francisco

***Sponsor***

 Introducing aVenture - venture capital for everyone

With 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.

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 sector
• Working for the NY Jets and Dophins
• How he met Gary Vee & why he invested in Vaynermedia
• His thoughts on direct to consumer brands
• Why he likes investing in restaurants
• Pickleball

Want to keep up to date with The Consumer VC? Subscribe to my newsletter Here.

***Sponsor***

 Introducing aVenture - venture capital for everyone

With 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 everyone

With 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 everyone

With 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.