Consumer VC

By Mike GelbBusiness Investing

Consumer VC episodes

December 02, 2021 Holiday Recap: Andy Dunn, Founder of Bonobos
Presenter: Burkland Associates helps you build the right systems that can keep up with your growth and can handle all the finance, accounting, tax and hiring services that consumer startups need to scale.
For more information head to burklandassociates.com
Presenter: Skillful runs online, immersive programs that help people launch and accelerate their careers in business roles in tech - Strategy & Ops, Product, Strategic Finance and Growth.
Early bird applications for the Core Sprint are now open - use the exclusive code EARLYBIRD2021 if you apply before Dec 1
Click Here to Apply to the Next Cohort
This episode is a highlight from my conversation with Andy Dunn, the founder of Bonobos.
27 min
November 30, 2021 Holiday Highlights: Alex Fine, CEO of Dame Products
Presenter: Burkland Associates helps you build the right systems that can keep up with your growth and can handle all the finance, accounting, tax and hiring services that consumer startups need to scale.
For more information head to burklandassociates.com
Presenter: Skillful runs online, immersive programs that help people launch and accelerate their careers in business roles in tech - Strategy & Ops, Product, Strategic Finance and Growth.
Early bird applications for the Core Sprint are now open - use the exclusive code EARLYBIRD2021 if you apply before Dec 1
Click Here to Apply to the Next Cohort
This episode is a highlight from my conversation with Alex Fine, Founder and CEO of Dame Products. To listen to the full episode, Click Here.
23 min
November 23, 2021Denise Woodard (Partake Foods) - How Her Daughter Inspired Denise to Leave Her Well Paying Job and Create A Cookie Everyone Can Eat, How She Started in Retail from Day One, and Impact of COVID
Presenter: Burkland Associates helps you build the right systems that can keep up with your growth and can handle all the finance, accounting, tax and hiring services that consumer startups need to scale.
For more information head to burklandassociates.com
Presenter: Skillful runs online, immersive programs that help people launch and accelerate their careers in business roles in tech - Strategy & Ops, Product, Strategic Finance and Growth.
Early bird applications for the Core Sprint are now open - use the exclusive code EARLYBIRD2021 if you apply before Dec 1
Click Here to Apply to the Next Cohort
Thank you Charlie Hanna for the intro to our guest today, Denise Woodard CEO and founder of Partake Foods. Partake Foods is produces super delicious cookies are made with real, healthy, and safe ingredients that everyone can enjoy gluten-free, vegan, non-GMO and free of the top 14 allergens, our super delicious cookies are made with real, healthy, and safe ingredients that everyone can enjoy. We discuss the origin story of Partake and inspiration from Denise's daughter, that decision of leaving Coca-Cola, how she managed to get into grocery stores and raise capital.
A few questions I ask Denise
Why did you decide to leave big corporate CPG and your job at Coke in order to start Partake Foods?
How did you approach experimenting with ingredients, tastetesting and finding the right formula?
How did you go about building your supply chain?
What were some of your learnings working for Coke that helped you build Partake Foods?
Once you had your product what channels did you start off with?
When did you realize you were on to something?
When and why did you decide to raise venture capital?What was your fundraising strategy
Once you got into retail, what was the strategy to expand?
How did COVID affect Partake Foods?
Since you grew and are growing so fast, how do you think about leadership and building/hiring a team?
What's the future of Partake Foods? What's next on the horizon?
What's one thing that you would change about venture capital and fundraising?
What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?
What's the best piece of advice that you've received?
What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?
36 min
November 18, 2021Lori Coulter (Summersalt) - How She Built an Inclusive Swimwear & Apparel Brand
Presenter: Burkland Associates helps you build the right systems that can keep up with your growth and can handle all the finance, accounting, tax and hiring services that consumer startups need to scale.
For more information head to burklandassociates.com
Presenter: Skillful runs online, immersive programs that help people launch and accelerate their careers in business roles in tech - Strategy & Ops, Product, Strategic Finance and Growth.
Click Here to Apply to the Next Cohort
Thank you Madeline Keulen for the intro to Lori Coulter, founder of Summersalt. Summersalt produces flattering swimwear designed to fit you, not the other way around. The internet’s favorite swimwear — & your new go-to for everything from activewear to PJs. It was so fun chatting with Lori about how she developed Summersalt into one of the fastest growing swimwear brands. Without further ado, here's Lori.
Here are some of the questions I ask Lori.
What was your attraction to fashion?
You were designing swimwear for 10 years, what sparked Summersalt?
Body scanning
Could you IP
Scanned over 10,000 women, 1to1 fit
Customer who was neglected
What was the insight that you found that incumbents weren't understanding?
How did you approach distribution? What was the old way to distribute swimwear and gain consumer trust?
Resort businesses
Privacy from the own home, direct mail
How did you approach brand and your positioning?
Swimwear (I'd imagine) is a seasonal business. How do you think about introducing new products so you aren't only a seasonal business?
How did you go about hiring a team?
Why did you decide to raise venture money?How was that process? What's the biggest reason why a fund passed on you?
What's one thing you would change about the fundraising process?
What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?Peter Thiel Zero to OneBillion Dollar Brand
What's the best piece of advice that you've received?The highs are never as high as you think they are
What's one piece of advice for founders?
38 min
November 16, 2021Sarah LaFleur (M.M.LaFleur) - Changing workwear for women and adapting through COVID
Presenter: Burkland Associates helps you build the right systems that can keep up with your growth and can handle all the finance, accounting, tax and hiring services that consumer startups need to scale.
For more information head to burklandassociates.com
Presenter: Skillful runs online, immersive programs that help people launch and accelerate their careers in business roles in tech - Strategy & Ops, Product, Strategic Finance and Growth.
Click Here to Apply to the Next Cohort
Thank you Will McClelland for the intro to our guest today, Sarah LaFleur, founder of M.M.LaFleur. M.M.LaFleur creates luxury apparel and accessories with the same attention to detail as high-end fashion houses. This was a great chat about how to launch an apparel brand and as well as how to adapt during COVID and new market tastes. Without further ado, here's Sarah.
Some of the questions I ask her:
What was your attraction to entrepreneurship?
Why did you decide to focus on women's workwear?
What were the current options for women when it came to workwear and what did you set out to change?
What were the first steps when deciding you wanted to found the company?
How did you think about sourcing materials?
What was your approach to production?
How do you approach personalization to your customers?
What was the launch strategy? How did you reach your target audience?
Has COVID changed your business since people are not yet going back into the office?
As we come out of COVID (hopefully soon), what do you see changing when it comes to formal wear (if anything)?
When did you decide to raise capital?What was that process like?What was the most common reason why an investor would pass?
What's one thing you would change about the fundraising process?
What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?The Second Sex by Simone DebuarInternal
What's one piece of advice for founders?
What's the best piece of advice that you've received?
42 min
November 11, 2021Michael Markesbery (OROS) - How he is Sciencing the S*** Out of Everything and Bringing Space Tech to Outdoor Apparel
Presenter: Burkland Associates helps you build the right systems that can keep up with your growth and can handle all the finance, accounting, tax and hiring services that consumer startups need to scale.
For more information head to burklandassociates.com
Presenter: Skillful runs online, immersive programs that help people launch and accelerate their careers in business roles in tech - Strategy & Ops, Product, Strategic Finance and Growth.
Click Here to Apply to the Next Cohort
My guest today is Michael Markesbery, co-founder and CEO of OROS. OROS produces award winning apparel with their patented SOLARCORE® Insulation. It's the warmest Zero-Bulk Gear. In Michael's words, they science the shit out of everything when it comes to outdoor apparel that keeps you warm. This was such a fun chat about how he's building this incredible brand that uses space technology to build their product. Without further ado, here's Michael.
What was your attraction to space?
How did you develop a relationship with NASA?
Arogel - very brittle
Arogel to foam
Solarcore
Really warm fiber
What IP
How did you come up with the idea for OROS?
Walk us through the technology.
Why did you think there was a need for this?
What was your first product?
When did you decide to fundraise?How was that experience?What was investor reactions?
Where did you decide to sell? What was the launch strategy?
How do you describe your target consumer?
What were some of the stumbling blocks along the way?
Are you the exclusive holder of the license with NASA? What's that relationship like?
What's your percentage of B2C vs. B2G sales?
What do you have on the roadmap for new products?
What's one thing you would change about the fundraising process?
What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?
What's the best piece of advice that you've received?Don't ever ask for favors, ask for advice
What's one piece of advice for founders?Take the moonshot
28 min
November 09, 2021Jeremy Cai (Italic) - How he created THE C2M Online Marketplace for Luxury Goods, What he learned from Amazon and Costco, and The Evolution of eCommerce
Presenter: Burkland Associates helps you build the right systems that can keep up with your growth and can handle all the finance, accounting, tax and hiring services that consumer startups need to scale.
For more information head to burklandassociates.com
Presenter: Skillful runs online, immersive programs that help people launch and accelerate their careers in business roles in tech - Strategy & Ops, Product, Strategic Finance and Growth.
Click Here to Apply to the Next Cohort
Thank you Daniel Gulati for the introduction to our guest today, Jeremy Cai, founder and CEO of Italic. Italic is the destination for the best luxury goods without the brand names. In this episode we touch on his unique C2M business model in luxury, the evolution of ecommerce, learnings from Costco and Amazon and his approach to scale. Without further ado, here's Jeremy.
Questions I ask Jeremy:
What was the insight that led you to found Italic and how did you approach the business model?
What were some of the first steps you took whether that's market research or speaking with manufacturers that helped made you release this could be an opportunity?
Now Italic changes the manufacturers business model?
Since your dealing with manufacturers directly, what is there business model. I'd image it's heavy inventory
When it comes to ecommerce, how do you think about differentiation and your focal point in building a marketplace + subscription business?
Who do you believe is your target customers?
Walk us through a little bit of the world of contract manufacturing and your model?Do contract manufacturers typically have exclusive partnerships with the major brands?How do you ensure quality?What's your current take rate?What's the delivery process?What is C2M? Has it been the missed opportunity in ecommerce?How do you see the model evolving?
What were some of the effects of COVID?
As retail opens back up, how do you think about
What's the vision? What are we going to see from Italic in the next 5-10 years?
What was your approach to fundraising?
What's one thing you would change about venture capital?
What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?
What's the best piece of advice that you've received?
What's one piece of advice to founders?
42 min
November 04, 2021Tali Vogelstein (Avid Ventures) - Are Valuations High, How to invest globally, and What Verticalized Fintech means
Presented by Ferret: Ferret is the first relationship intelligence tool for all business savvy investors to know, for the first time, who they can trust
Click Here to jump to the top of the waitlist.
Presented by Gorgias: Gorgias is the #1 helpdesk for Shopify, Magento and BigCommerce stores, and can turn your customer support into a profit center.If you’re looking to increase your retention for your business, mention Consumer VC and get 2 months of Gorgias for free.
Click Here to get started.
Our guest today is Tali Vogelstein, who is one of the founding investors at Avid Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm in NYC that invests in visionary founders building transformative businesses across consumer internet, fintech, and software in North America, Europe, and Israel. On this episode, we focus on how to invest at a global scale and the opportunities, breaking down different verticals for fintech, as well as their fund strategy.
Here's some the questions I ask Tali:
What was your attraction to finance and venture capital?
How did Avid Ventures come together?
What's the structure of how you deploy capital?
How do you think about risk? Why do you choose not to lead rounds?
How do you stay price disciplined?
How do you think about market size? How do you make sure you don't underestimate markets?
What do you think about copying business models, x for y market that work well in one market and a founder is trying to replicate that business in a new market?
How do you think about the current environment where you have soaring evaluations?
What's the biggest misconception when it comes to fintech?
How do you think about distribution innovation vs. product distribution?
Since you invest globally, how do you think about markets and consumer or prosumer pain points?How do you analyze that pain point?How do you analyze if this is a good market to invest in? What makes a market nice to invest in?
How do you break down future of work? What type of businesses are you bullish on?
What's one thing you would change about venture capital?
What's one thing book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?
What's the best piece of advice that you've received?
What's one piece of advice for founders?
50 min
November 02, 2021Jon Sebastiani (Sonoma Brands + Krave) - Growing up as a winemaker, How he started, scaled, sold Krave and why he decided to buy back the brand, & What's next in consumer
Presented by Ferret: Ferret is the first relationship intelligence tool for all business savvy investors to know, for the first time, who they can trust
Click Here to jump to the top of the waitlist.
Presented by Gorgias: Gorgias is the #1 helpdesk for Shopify, Magento and BigCommerce stores, and can turn your customer support into a profit center.If you’re looking to increase your retention for your business, mention Consumer VC and get 2 months of Gorgias for free.
Click Here to get started.
Thank you Ben Jang for the intro to our guest today, Jon Sebastiani, founder of Sonoma Brands and Krave Jerky. Sonoma Brands is a private equity firm focused on the growth sectors of the consumer economy. Krave was one of the first better for you beef jerky brands on the market. Jon is the first founder we've had on this show that not only scaled and sold his company to a strategic, but also reacquired the company.
Some of the questions I ask Jon:
You're a fourth generation wine maker, and was president of Viansa winery. Why did you decide to become an entrepreneur and focus on beef jerky?
What were your first steps when you decided to start the brand?
When did you realize Krave was gaining traction?
What were some of the things you did right or went your way that led to Krave's success?
Looking back, what were some of the mistakes that you made?
How did the sale to Hershey come about?
Why did you decide to create Sonoma Brands?
Why do you decide to focus on the growth stage instead of early stages?
What's different creating and scaling a brand now vs. when you did it with Krave?
What are elements you look for in businesses?
What is the opportunity investing in consumer brands?
Why did you buy Krave back?
What are current trends you're passionate about?
Do you only look at single category businesses?
How do you think about growth vs. profitability?
Is there a trend that you think is misunderstood?
As an investor what is a good exit?
What's one thing you would change about venture capital?
What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?
What's the best piece of advice that you've received?
What's one piece of advice for founders?
38 min
October 28, 2021Stuart Landesberg (Grove Collaborative) - How he built a brand devoted to eco-friendly products and why inve
Presented by Ferret: Ferret is the first relationship intelligence tool for all business savvy investors to know, for the first time, who they can trust
Click Here to jump to the top of the waitlist.
Presented by Gorgias: Gorgias is the #1 helpdesk for Shopify, Magento and BigCommerce stores, and can turn your customer support into a profit center.If you’re looking to increase your retention for your business, mention Consumer VC and get 2 months of Gorgias for free.
Click Here to get started.
Thank you Paul Martino for the intro to our guest today Stuart Landesberg, founder of Grove Collaborative. Grove Collaborative delivers eco-friendly home essentials, including household cleaning, personal care, baby, kid, and pet products. I had a blast chatting with Stuart. I know I say that a lot, but I found how he started and grew Grove Collaborative and dealt with the challenges that he faced especially raising capital fascinating, and really enjoyed learning from him.
Some of the questions I ask Stuart:
What was your attraction to entrepreneurship?
How did Grove Collaborative come together? What was the insight?
How do you think about price?
How do you balance creating and sourcing products that are better for the planet but are also able to compete in price against products that are not good for the planet / the incumbents?
How did you pay attention to growth?
How do you decide to launch a new product?Unique level of customer dataHow were you able to build this community?
Commitment to innovation?
Did you start out solely and then an online retailer and then decide to create your own brands?
How do you curate third party brands? How do you pick your partners?
How do you approach tone and the Grove customer?
How did you approach growth and scale?
How do you build consumer trust and balancing lots of SKUs, lots of choices but also simplicity?
What was your approach to hiring?
You will also be creating your own stores?
Why did you decide to fundraise? What was your fundraising process?
What was the reaction from investors in the beginning?
What's one thing you would change about venture capital?
What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?
What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?
What's the best piece of advice that you've received
53 min

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Consumer VC takes a look into early-stage consumer investing and venture capital. If you are interested in learning about consumer trends, have a b2c business and interested in learning about the…