Consumer VC

My guest today is Matthias Metternich, one of the co-founders and CEO of Art of Sport. Art of Sport is a complete line of daily essential body and skin care products made for athletes. Some of the things we spoke about were his approach to building a world class skincare business, how he partners with Athletes, and his thoughts around fundraising and investing in CPG businesses.

A couple books that inspired Matthias - Arrow In The Blue by Arthur Koestler and American Colossus by W.H. Brands.

You can follow Matthias on Twitter Here. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.

Here are some questions I ask Matthias -

1. What was the insight that led you to found Art of Sport?
2. How did you approach building a superior product from day 1?
3. There's a ton of DNVB brands in the market since it's become very affordable to start a brand. How did you think about brand differentiation and building something that was compelling in the early days?
4. Building off this, what was your approach to online growth?
5. How did you seek partnerships with athletes?
6. How do you think about brand authenticity?
7. How were you able to build a story and construct a brand that retailers wanted and what was your approach to retail / omnichannel strategy?
8. How were you able to get into Target nationally? Since you entered retail right before COVID, has COVID been a huge headwind for you this year?
9. When it comes to building DNVBs, you no longer have those growth arbitrage opportunities like you did in the late 00s/early 10s, so your customer acquisition costs are much higher. How do you think about capital efficiency?
10. What was your fundraising strategy?
11. This is now your fifth company you've started and all your companies seem to be in different verticals - enterprise SaaS, consulting - what were some of your takeaways from those experiences that impacted how you are building Art of Sport?
12. What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you personally?

Our guest today is Aaron Fu, Head of Growth at Catalyst Fund. Catalyst Fund is an inclusive fintech accelerator that is focused on investing in companies located in different parts of Africa, India and Mexico. They support innovative startups building affordable, accessible and appropriate solutions to reach the world's 3 billion underserved, while accelerating innovation ecosystems across emerging markets. We focus on the difference between selling to a consumer, SMB and enterprise business, how he analyzes emerging markets and how some of these companies scale cross border.

And there you have it. It was such a pleasure chatting with Aaron. I highly recommend following him on Twitter @aaronQfu.

Some of the questions I ask Aaron:

1. What are some of the differences in your due diligence approach then a company focusing on selling to enterprises?
2. What are some of the differences in the business model that entrepreneurs need to account for when the customer is a small business vs. a consumer?
3. Looking at your portfolio, it seems as though one of the themes is cross-border exchange. When we spoke with Maya from Ingressive, she spoke how when a company expands crossborders, it’s not as straightforward. When you are thinking about investing in these types of companies, what are some of the risks?
4. When we spoke previously, you mentioned how some of the businesses started in Africa also have overlap and have done quite well outside of Africa (i.e. South American and Mexico). What are some of the reasons why these companies have been able to be successful overseas?
5. What have been some of the challenges when investing in consumer facing businesses that are in emerging markets?
6. We’ve discussed at length on this show how investors think about opportunities relating to the american market. When it comes to emerging markets, how do you think about opportunities?
7. Can you walk me through your due diligence process?
8. Has it been hard establishing conviction amongst founders remotely?
9. What is one of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to investing in emerging markets?
10. What’s one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital?
11. What’s one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?
12. What’s one piece of advice that you have for founders, wanting to build a business?

Our guests today are Vincent Diallo and Joseph Sartre, founding partners of Interlace Ventures. Interlace is a seed stage fund that invests in founders that are re-inventing commerce and retail for better consumption. We focus this conversation on their learnings in innovation when they both worked in China, opportunities in future of retail they are focused on in the United States, and how we can make venture capital more inclusive.

Highly recommend following them on Twitter @Vincent11D and @josartre. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.

Some of the topics we discuss -

1. What was your initial attraction to consumer and commerce innovation?
2. How did Interlace Ventures come together?
3. You both worked in China for an extended period. What are a few examples of how retail technology is different and more advanced compared to the United States?
4. How do you think about commerce technology that doesn’t exist yet in the United States, but can vs. technology that could only work in China?
5. What is “headless commerce” and how do you think about the software stack for e-commerce?
6. Walk me through your due diligence process.
7. BLCK VC's mission
8. What’s one thing you would change as it relates to venture capital?

Thank you Anna Barber for the intro to today's guest, Michael Barlow, founder and CEO of Fernish. Fernish offers premium furniture rentals that feel like home, delivered and assembled in a week. We discuss how Michael approached validating his idea of furniture rental, figuring out the supply chain, and how they adjusted to shifts in demand for certain products during COVID.

A book that inspired Michael is Against The Gods by Peter L. Bernstein.

I highly recommend following Michael on Twitter @mleebarlow. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.

Here are a few questions that I ask Michael -

1. You originally came from a finance background, what attracted you to innovation and entrepreneurship in general?
2. Tell me about the aha moment that you had for Fernish and how were you able to validate your idea?
3. It seems like on the supply chain side of things, renting/transporting furniture would be very complex since the pieces are typically large, you have to store them. How did you manage to get around that in the early days? Also, under the hood, how does your supply chain function?
4. When I speak with founders, we talk about how when testing ideas, they focus on demand over the supply. And if that idea gets validated (i.e. there is a demand for it) then they go and build it. Was this part of your approach? If so, what were some of your early tactics?
5. What were some of your early growth levers?
6. What were some of the challenges regarding COVID?
7. Has their been a shift in demand towards certain products i.e. office desks, and chairs?
8. Did you have to make any pivots - whether that's with your supply chain or product offerings?
9. How did you approach raising capital?
10. Why did you choose to go through Techstars/an accelerator instead of trying to raise your own round off the bat?
11. We used to be in the age of optimizing for growth no matter what, now we've shifted as profitability has become what companies want to achieve. How do you think about that balance?
12. What's one thing you would change about the fundraising process?
13. Was there an early mistake that you made while building Fernish that changed the way you thought about business strategy or business in general?
14. What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?

My guest today is Samara Hernandez, founder of Chingona Ventures. Samara invests at the preseed and seed stages on industries that are massively changing and founders whose backgrounds uniquely position them to create businesses in growth markets that are often overlooked. We discuss how she analyzes overlooked opportunities, some of the differences when investing in consumer vs. enterprise, and Chicago.

A book that inspired Samara is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.

Here's a few questions I ask Samara -

1. What initially attracted you to finance?
2. How did Chingona Ventures come together?
3. Why Chicago?
4. Walk me through your due diligence process.
5. Has it been harder to find conviction within founders during COVID since you have to meet with them remote?
6. You are a strong advocate of increasing diversity in tech. What is the key to making the startup ecosystem more diverse?
7. Where do you sit on the thematic vs. generalist spectrum and what is your approach to investing?
8. When you are talking with founders, is there a question that is most important that you ask?
9. What's your most recent (public) investment and what makes you excited about it?
10. What is one thing that you would change in venture capital?
11. What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?
12. What's the best advice that you've received?
13. What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?

My guest today is Elizabeth Edwards, the founder and Managing Partner of H Venture Partners. H Ventures invests in brands that are disrupting billion-dollar categories and changing the way we live our lives. She was an early investor in Peloton , Roots, Freshly to name a few. Previously, Elizabeth was a partner with Maywic Select Investments and West Ventures. We discuss what makes a brand compelling, the mystery of corporate venture capital, and how to increase diversity in the venture and startup ecosystems.

A couple books that inspired Elizabeth are Pretty Good Advice by Leslie Blodgett and Principles by Ray Dalio.

Highly recommend following her on Twitter @eedwards. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb.

Here are a few questions I ask Elizabeth -

1. Let’s start at the beginning. What attracted you to consumer brands?
2. How did H Ventures come together?
3. Alot of VCs talk about the added value that they provide entrepreneurs. At the early stages, what is the biggest added value that an investment partner can bring?
4. Corporate venture capital is sometimes viewed as a dirty word as strategic partners might not be as focused or add as much value. How do you think about the landscape when it comes to corporate venture capital?
5. Walk me through your due diligence process.
6. Has it been hard finding conviction amongst founders during COVID since you have to meet with them remotely?
7. Alot of investors seem to be looking for paths to profitability when they analyze opportunities. How do you think about the balance between growth vs. profitability?
8. You’re the first investor that’s out of Cincinnati that I’ve interviewed. Do you have any advice for companies that might be located in secondary or tertiary markets?
9. What’s one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital?
10. What’s one company that is on your antiportfolio and why did you end up passing?
11. What’s your most recent investment?
12. What’s one piece of advice that you have for founders?

Our guest today is Taylor Nieman, founder of Toucan. Toucan is a free chrome extension that helps you learn a language without even trying. It's pretty cool, I've been using it for the past few months and The Consumer VC owns the word "episode" on the platform. We discuss the opportunity in browser chrome extension businesses, the insight she had when founding Toucan and all her different monetization avenues, which I must say are pretty amazing and wide ranging.

You can follow Taylor at @taylor_nieman. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.

One book that inspired her is Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink.

Here are a few questions I ask Taylor

1. What initially attracted you to technology? What were some of the learnings as an early employee at Headspace? Why did you decide to take the leap and found Toucan? One of your main strengths has been to form partnerships. When your company is young and scrappy what is some advice you might have for founders when trying to form partnerships?
2. Take us behind the scenes when it comes to the multiple strategies and business models you are pursuing with Toucan? Gamification is a trend we've heard in social, commerce, how does gamification relate to education? What was your process raising capital?
3. What is one thing you would change when it came to 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?

Thank you Ezra Galston for the intro to today's guest, Nikhil Basu Trivedi. Nikhil previously was the managing director of Shasta ventures and writes The Next Big Thing, which is an awesome online publication. Some of his investments include Literati, Tally, Canva, Farmer's Dog and The Pill Club. His focus has been on consumer, particularly consumer subscription businesses, which was the main focus on today's conversation.

Check out Nikhil's three part series about consumer subscription - Consumer Subscriptions, 10 Factors To Consider When Evaluating Consumer Subscriptions, and The Farmer's Dog: A Consumer Subscription Case Study.

A couple books that inspired Nikhil are Between The World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson and Michael Moritz.

Highly recommend following Nikhil on Twitter @nbt. You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.

Here are some of the questions that I ask him:

1. What are the shortcomings of advertising and marketplace type businesses?
2. Why has it taken this long for subscription businesses to take off?
3. What is the one factor that you think is often overlooked in a subscription business?
4. What are the similarities between physical subscription businesses and software subscription businesses?
5. What are some questions that a founder should ask him or herself to help him or her decide which would be the best option for the business as it pertains to trial periods?
6. In your 10 factors framework, are there particular factors that actually are more important than others?
7. How do you think about blue oceans and new markets when analyzing opportunities?
8. What initially attracted you to venture capital and technology?
9. Tell me about your due diligence process.
10. Has it been hard to establish conviction amongst founders while meeting with them remotely?
11. What’s your favorite question to ask founders?
12. What’s one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital?
13. What’s one company on your anti-portfolio and what was the reason why you passed?
14. What’s one piece of advice for founders building subscription businesses?

Our guest today is Carlton Fowler, Managing Partner of Goat Rodeo Capital. Carlton invests in the beverage space with some of his invests including lemon perfect, sourced, and one hope. Previously, he led spirits innovation and brand development at E&J Gallo. In this episode we focus our conversation on the change in beverage during covid, how brands are becoming creative and how he sees value add from investors in the space.

A couple books that inspired Carlton are Pattern Recognition by William Gibson and Against The Gods by Peter L. Bernstein.

Here are some of the questions I asked Carlton:

1. What initially attracted you to the beverage industry?
2. You came from an operator background, working at E & G Gallo. What attracted you working with early stage beverage companies and to head into venture capital?
3. Talk to me about your due diligence process.
4. What are some of the changes that you have seen when it comes to the beverage industry, specifically during COVID?
5. What's one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital?
6. What's your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it?
7. What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?

Our guest today is Han Shen. Han is the Founding Partner of iFly.vc, an early-stage seed/VC fund based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The fund follows a sector-thesis driven process and aims to build a concentrated portfolio with meaningful value add to entrepreneurs. We discuss the different sectors he's focused in, how he became a VC and how he thinks about uncovered opportunities.

And there you have it. Han, thank you again for your time. You can follow Han on Twitter at @*Han_Shen*

A few books that inspired Han professionally is David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell and The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling.

Some of the questions I ask Han -

1. What attracted you initially to venture capital?
2. Tell me how iFly.VC came together?
3. At iFly.VC, I know you take a very thematic, sector driven approach. We’ve had quite a few VCs that are more generalists, if a founder has a choice in taking capital from a fund that is more sector driven vs. generalist, what are some of the advantages when choosing an investor that is thematic?
4. What sectors or trends are you particularly interested in?
5. When it comes to food deliver and specialty food, what do you think is most overlooked?
6. Walk me through your due diligence process.
7. Has it been tough finding conviction within founders during COVID?
8. What’s one thing you would change when it came to venture capital?
9. What’s your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it?
10. What’s one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?
11. Harry Potter Series - friendship
12. Malcolm Gladwell - David and Goliath
13. What’s one piece of advice you have for founders?