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Consumer VC episodes
- Laura Chau (Canaan) - The Five Pillars of Social Media, Moving Towards Status and the Power of Grit
Laura Chau is a Principal at Canaan. Canaan is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in visionaries with transformative ideas. Some of her current investments include Coterie, Curtsy, and Jumpcut. At Canaan, she focuses on consumer technology. She previously worked in Deloitte’s Strategy and Operations practice. She has also worked in sales and marketing functions within Kabam (acq. by Netmarble), Branch Metrics and Greenhouse, as well as working closely with Marie Kondo to launch the author’s product business.
Thank you Caitlin Strandberg for the introduction!
In this episode, we focus on Laura’s chapter in Finding Genius by Kunal Mehta. Here is a link to excerpts of her contribution to the book.
Worked at Kabam
In this episode you will learn -
- What attracted Laura to work in startups and technology? What were some of the learnings while she worked at Kabam that influenced her as an investor and what attracted her to venture capital, specifically early stage investing? In the early stages, when there isn’t much data, what are some of the qualities that she looks for in founders?
- What’s her due diligence process? What makes consumer investing challenging compared to enterprise? What is some advice for founders that might live in secondary or tertiary markets? A recap of the five pillars of social media in her “Finding Genius” chapter. At what stage does social media hit saturation? How she thinks about privacy? The future and opportunity in social media? Consumer trends that she is most excited about?
- What is one thing that she would change about venture capital? What is one book that inspired her personally and one book that inspired her professionally? What is her most recent investment and what makes her excited about it? What is one piece of advice that you have for founders of consumer companies?
29 min - What attracted Laura to work in startups and technology? What were some of the learnings while she worked at Kabam that influenced her as an investor and what attracted her to venture capital, specifically early stage investing? In the early stages, when there isn’t much data, what are some of the qualities that she looks for in founders?
- Ethan Austin (Techstars) - Punched in the Face with a Problem, Analyzing Teams and EQ
Ethan Austin is the Managing Director of Techstars Western Union Accelerator. Techstars Western Union Accelerator is the premier program for global startups shaping the future of money movement. Companies participating in the program gain direct access to the world's best fintech execs, founders and investors covering everything from customer development, global go-to-market strategy, access to capital and biz dev opportunities. You can currently apply Here to be part of their summer cohort. The application deadline is April 5th, 2020.
Previously, Ethan co-founded Giveforward, the world's first medical crowdfunding platform which was acquired by gofundme, and Deal Gooder, an E-commerce site where proceeds benefitted local non-profits and schools.
You can follow Ethan on Twitter @ethanaustin. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow @mikegelb and @consumervc.
One book that inspired Ethan professionally is Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell. One book that inspired Ethan personally is Arc of Justice by Kevin Boyle.
In this episode you will learn -
- What attracted Ethan to entrepreneurship? Why he is mission-driven. How going through Techstars changed his life? How to analyze teams? The importance of distribution.
- The requirements of the Techstars Western Union Accelerator. Some trends that Ethan is focused on in fintech? What is one company in your most recent cohort that you are excited about? What is one thing that you would change about venture capital?
- What is one piece of advice that he has for founders?
49 min - What attracted Ethan to entrepreneurship? Why he is mission-driven. How going through Techstars changed his life? How to analyze teams? The importance of distribution.
- Ethan Austin (Techstars) - Punched in the Face with a Problem, Analyzing Teams and EQ
Ethan Austin is the Managing Director of Techstars Western Union Accelerator. Techstars Western Union Accelerator is the premier program for global startups shaping the future of money movement. Companies participating in the program gain direct access to the world's best fintech execs, founders and investors covering everything from customer development, global go-to-market strategy, access to capital and biz dev opportunities. You can currently apply Here to be part of their summer cohort. The application deadline is April 5th, 2020.
Previously, Ethan co-founded Giveforward, the world's first medical crowdfunding platform which was acquired by gofundme, and Deal Gooder, an E-commerce site where proceeds benefitted local non-profits and schools.
You can follow Ethan on Twitter @ethanaustin. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow @mikegelb and @consumervc.
One book that inspired Ethan professionally is Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell. One book that inspired Ethan personally is Arc of Justice by Kevin Boyle.
In this episode you will learn -
- What attracted Ethan to entrepreneurship? Why he is mission-driven. How going through Techstars changed his life? How to analyze teams? The importance of distribution.
- The requirements of the Techstars Western Union Accelerator. Some trends that Ethan is focused on in fintech? What is one company in your most recent cohort that you are excited about? What is one thing that you would change about venture capital?
- What is one piece of advice that he has for founders?
49 min - What attracted Ethan to entrepreneurship? Why he is mission-driven. How going through Techstars changed his life? How to analyze teams? The importance of distribution.
- Lee Hower (NextView Ventures) - Making Good Decisions Fast, Going With Your Gut and Why Trust at the Early Stages Is Vital
Lee Hower is the Co-Founder and Partner of NextView Ventures. NextView is a high-conviction hands on seed-stage VC firm that invests in founders who are redesigning the everyday economy. Some of their investments include Grove Collaborative, Skillz, Plastiq, Attentive, LetGo and TapCommerce. Previously, Lee was an early employee at Paypal and served as the Director of Financial Services. He then went on to co-found LinkedIn and serve as a Principal and Venture Partner at PJC.
Thank you Gautam Gupta for introducing me to Lee!
One of Lee’s blog posts that we discuss on the show is Denouement. All of Lee’s and NextView’s blog posts are available here.
One book that inspired Lee professionally is Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't by Jim Collins. One book that inspired Lee personally is Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordoff
If you would like to keep up to date with Lee, you can follow him on Twitter @leehower. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow @mikegelb and @consumervc.
In this episode you will learn -
- What attracted Lee to work in technology and what was it like working with the Paypal Mafia? What were some of the learnings from those moments and what led him to co-founding LinkedIn? Is operational experience important to an investor?
- What are some of the qualities in a founder that he focuses on and look for? His due diligence process? How does he think about portfolio construction at the seed level? What are data points when it comes to consumer companies that you most focus on in the early stages? What he means by the everyday economy? How he thinks about today’s venture capital era and why he refers to it as the denouement era?
- How does he think about the future of venture capital in the new decade? What are some consumer trends that he is most excited about?
- What is one thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? What is his most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? What’s one piece of advice for early stage B2C founders?
54 min - What attracted Lee to work in technology and what was it like working with the Paypal Mafia? What were some of the learnings from those moments and what led him to co-founding LinkedIn? Is operational experience important to an investor?
- Lee Hower (NextView Ventures) - Making Good Decisions Fast, Going With Your Gut and Why Trust at the Early Stages Is Vital
Lee Hower is the Co-Founder and Partner of NextView Ventures. NextView is a high-conviction hands on seed-stage VC firm that invests in founders who are redesigning the everyday economy. Some of their investments include Grove Collaborative, Skillz, Plastiq, Attentive, LetGo and TapCommerce. Previously, Lee was an early employee at Paypal and served as the Director of Financial Services. He then went on to co-found LinkedIn and serve as a Principal and Venture Partner at PJC.
Thank you Gautam Gupta for introducing me to Lee!
One of Lee’s blog posts that we discuss on the show is Denouement. All of Lee’s and NextView’s blog posts are available here.
One book that inspired Lee professionally is Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't by Jim Collins. One book that inspired Lee personally is Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordoff
If you would like to keep up to date with Lee, you can follow him on Twitter @leehower. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow @mikegelb and @consumervc.
In this episode you will learn -
- What attracted Lee to work in technology and what was it like working with the Paypal Mafia? What were some of the learnings from those moments and what led him to co-founding LinkedIn? Is operational experience important to an investor?
- What are some of the qualities in a founder that he focuses on and look for? His due diligence process? How does he think about portfolio construction at the seed level? What are data points when it comes to consumer companies that you most focus on in the early stages? What he means by the everyday economy? How he thinks about today’s venture capital era and why he refers to it as the denouement era?
- How does he think about the future of venture capital in the new decade? What are some consumer trends that he is most excited about?
- What is one thing that he would change when it came to venture capital? What is his most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? What’s one piece of advice for early stage B2C founders?
54 min - What attracted Lee to work in technology and what was it like working with the Paypal Mafia? What were some of the learnings from those moments and what led him to co-founding LinkedIn? Is operational experience important to an investor?
- Bonus - Matt Hirst (West): Brand and Marketing - What is Brand?, How to Hire at the Early Stages, and Trusting Your Gut vs. Data Driven
Matt Hirst is the Managing Partner at West. West is a venture studio, a team of market and brand experts with investor discipline. Since 2011, West has partnered with some of the world’s most innovative companies and founders to maximize their opportunity and make impact including Impossible Burger, GofundMe, Square and Twitter.
Matt joined West 4 years ago after serving as the Global Head of Brand Experience at Google. Prior to Google, Matt spent 10 yrs at Red Bull as head of Sports, Events and Culture and the Director of Culture Marketing.
One book that inspired Matt personally and professionally is Alchemy by Rory Sutherland.
In this episode you will learn -
- Some of the differences working for Red Bull vs. Google. How he thinks about the differences between brand strategy vs. growth marketing. How he thinks about data vs. trusting your gut when it comes to brand and marketing? What are questions founders should ask when building a brand identity? The differences in skill set that founders should be aware of if they are hiring a brand management professional from a large company vs. someone with startup experience to join their team?
- When an entrepreneur is thinking about brand for his or her startup, the types of questions should they be asking themselves? Why does he feel that brand is still undervalued asset? Why is building a brand the most expensive assets you can build and the hardest? How he thinks about the brand agency ecosystem and if a startup is looking to hire an agency, what are some questions should they be asking?
- Is this best time or worst time to build a CPG Brand? His due diligence process at West. One thing he would change when it came to the perception of brand? One piece of advice for founders when it comes to brand?
To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow @mikegelb and @consumervc.
45 min - Some of the differences working for Red Bull vs. Google. How he thinks about the differences between brand strategy vs. growth marketing. How he thinks about data vs. trusting your gut when it comes to brand and marketing? What are questions founders should ask when building a brand identity? The differences in skill set that founders should be aware of if they are hiring a brand management professional from a large company vs. someone with startup experience to join their team?
- Bonus: Matt Hirst (West): Brand and Marketing - What is Brand?, How to Hire at the Early Stages, and Trusting Your Gut vs. Data Driven
Matt Hirst is the Managing Partner at West. West is a venture studio, a team of market and brand experts with investor discipline. Since 2011, West has partnered with some of the world’s most innovative companies and founders to maximize their opportunity and make impact including Impossible Burger, GofundMe, Square and Twitter.
Matt joined West 4 years ago after serving as the Global Head of Brand Experience at Google. Prior to Google, Matt spent 10 yrs at Red Bull as head of Sports, Events and Culture and the Director of Culture Marketing.
One book that inspired Matt personally and professionally is Alchemy by Rory Sutherland.
In this episode you will learn -
- Some of the differences working for Red Bull vs. Google. How he thinks about the differences between brand strategy vs. growth marketing. How he thinks about data vs. trusting your gut when it comes to brand and marketing? What are questions founders should ask when building a brand identity? The differences in skill set that founders should be aware of if they are hiring a brand management professional from a large company vs. someone with startup experience to join their team?
- When an entrepreneur is thinking about brand for his or her startup, the types of questions should they be asking themselves? Why does he feel that brand is still undervalued asset? Why is building a brand the most expensive assets you can build and the hardest? How he thinks about the brand agency ecosystem and if a startup is looking to hire an agency, what are some questions should they be asking?
- Is this best time or worst time to build a CPG Brand? His due diligence process at West. One thing he would change when it came to the perception of brand? One piece of advice for founders when it comes to brand?
To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow @mikegelb and @consumervc.
45 min - Some of the differences working for Red Bull vs. Google. How he thinks about the differences between brand strategy vs. growth marketing. How he thinks about data vs. trusting your gut when it comes to brand and marketing? What are questions founders should ask when building a brand identity? The differences in skill set that founders should be aware of if they are hiring a brand management professional from a large company vs. someone with startup experience to join their team?
- Elizabeth Yin (Hustle Fund) - Investing When There’s No Traction and How To Mitigate Risk When Founding
Elizabeth Yin is a co-founder and General Partner at Hustle Fund, a pre-seed fund for software entrepreneurs. One of Hustle Fund’s missions is to level the playing field in the world of venture-backed businesses by investing in non-Stanford and non-Ivy League founders.
Previously, Elizabeth was a partner at 500 Startups where she invested in seed-stage companies and ran the Mountain View accelerator. Elizabeth also co-founded and ran an ad tech company called LaunchBit (acq 2014). Her work and writing on startup fundraising have been featured in numerous publications including TechCrunch, Forbes, Huffington Post, BetaKit, and more.
If you’d like to keep up to date with Elizabeth, you can @dunkhippo33 and subscribe to her insightful blog posts at www.elizabethyin.com. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow @mikegelb and @consumervc.
One book that inspired Elizabeth personally is Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. One book that inspired Elizabeth professionally is The Lean Startup by Eric Ries.
In this episode you will learn -
- What compelled Elizabeth to start LaunchBit and what attracted her to startups in general? Why did she switch to become an investor? What were some of the learnings from being a founder that influenced her as an investor? What compelled her and Eric to leave 500 startups and start Hustle Fund? Advice for founders that didn’t go to Stanford or Ivy League schools? Advice for founders that live in secondary and tertiary markets?
- What are some of the differences in her diligence process when investing in consumer vs enterprise? What is her own due diligence process? What are her expectations for companies at pre-seed? What are some qualities she likes to see founders have?
- What are the ideal traits of an investor for startups? What are some consumer trends that she is excited about? What is one thing that she would change when it came to venture capital? What is your most recent consumer investment and what makes her excited about it? What is one company she had the opportunity to invest, didn’t, and in retrospect wish she did? What is one piece of advice she has for founders of consumer companies?
31 min - What compelled Elizabeth to start LaunchBit and what attracted her to startups in general? Why did she switch to become an investor? What were some of the learnings from being a founder that influenced her as an investor? What compelled her and Eric to leave 500 startups and start Hustle Fund? Advice for founders that didn’t go to Stanford or Ivy League schools? Advice for founders that live in secondary and tertiary markets?
- Elizabeth Yin (Hustle Fund) - Investing When There’s No Traction and How To Mitigate Risk When Founding
Elizabeth Yin is a co-founder and General Partner at Hustle Fund, a pre-seed fund for software entrepreneurs. One of Hustle Fund’s missions is to level the playing field in the world of venture-backed businesses by investing in non-Stanford and non-Ivy League founders.
Previously, Elizabeth was a partner at 500 Startups where she invested in seed-stage companies and ran the Mountain View accelerator. Elizabeth also co-founded and ran an ad tech company called LaunchBit (acq 2014). Her work and writing on startup fundraising have been featured in numerous publications including TechCrunch, Forbes, Huffington Post, BetaKit, and more.
If you’d like to keep up to date with Elizabeth, you can @dunkhippo33 and subscribe to her insightful blog posts at www.elizabethyin.com. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow @mikegelb and @consumervc.
One book that inspired Elizabeth personally is Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. One book that inspired Elizabeth professionally is The Lean Startup by Eric Ries.
In this episode you will learn -
- What compelled Elizabeth to start LaunchBit and what attracted her to startups in general? Why did she switch to become an investor? What were some of the learnings from being a founder that influenced her as an investor? What compelled her and Eric to leave 500 startups and start Hustle Fund? Advice for founders that didn’t go to Stanford or Ivy League schools? Advice for founders that live in secondary and tertiary markets?
- What are some of the differences in her diligence process when investing in consumer vs enterprise? What is her own due diligence process? What are her expectations for companies at pre-seed? What are some qualities she likes to see founders have?
- What are the ideal traits of an investor for startups? What are some consumer trends that she is excited about? What is one thing that she would change when it came to venture capital? What is your most recent consumer investment and what makes her excited about it? What is one company she had the opportunity to invest, didn’t, and in retrospect wish she did? What is one piece of advice she has for founders of consumer companies?
31 min - What compelled Elizabeth to start LaunchBit and what attracted her to startups in general? Why did she switch to become an investor? What were some of the learnings from being a founder that influenced her as an investor? What compelled her and Eric to leave 500 startups and start Hustle Fund? Advice for founders that didn’t go to Stanford or Ivy League schools? Advice for founders that live in secondary and tertiary markets?
- Jason Shuman (Primary Ventures) - Payback Period, Market Timing, and The Importance of Distribution
Jason Shuman is a Principal at Primary Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital firm responsible for backing NYC's most promising founders. Some of their investments include Ticketfly, Jet, Deliveroo, and Package Free.
Jason has been working in New York as a VC for the past four years. In college, Jason launched a direct-to-consumer footwear company that sold hand-sewn boat shoes and driving moccasins. He later went on to work at New York-based seed fund Corigin Ventures, where he invested in several companies including Latch, Loftsmart and Morty.
Thank you Sumeet Shah for the intro.
One book that inspired Jason personally is Attached by Amir Levine. One book that inspired Jason professionally is Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
If you’d like to keep up to date with Jason, you can follow him on Twitter @boatshuman. To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow @mikegelb and @consumervc.
In this episode you will learn -
- What attracted him to start his own footwear company and become an entrepreneur? What were some of the learnings from that experience? How does he think about market timing? What attracted him to switch from being a founder to venture capital and working on the other side of the table? What makes seed investing as a stage so interesting to him? What attracted him to consumer?
- What are his own KPIs for founders that are looking to fundraise a seed round? What are some qualities in founders that you look for? What is his own due diligence process? What metrics does he focus on and how has his evaluation changed the past few years What should the diligence process be for an early hire? How does he think about growth - organic vs. paid. Why does Primary Ventures only invest in New York Companies? What is some advice for founders that live in secondary and tertiary markets? What are changes in consumer behavior or consumer trends that he is most excited and focused on and looking at investment opportunities? What is something that he would change when it came to venture capital?
- What is one company that he had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t, and in retrospect wish he did? What is one piece of advice that he has for founders of consumer companies?
30 min - What attracted him to start his own footwear company and become an entrepreneur? What were some of the learnings from that experience? How does he think about market timing? What attracted him to switch from being a founder to venture capital and working on the other side of the table? What makes seed investing as a stage so interesting to him? What attracted him to consumer?
About Consumer VC
From the publisher's feed
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…
fundraising process at the early stage, you have come to the right place.
Mike interviews some of the top venture capitalists in the world that focus on B2C and consumer type companies or have a deep track record investing in these categories such as marketplaces, SaaS, social, CPG and non-tech subscription.
Mike also interviews founders that are building some of the most disruptive consumer facing companies in the world. The conversation usually includes the insight the founder discovered, fundraising strategy, and the pitch.
This podcast also includes bonus episodes. Each bonus episode dives into a particular subject that might not have to due with the fundraise or venture capital, but still would be helpful to founders. For example, a bonus episode on brand strategy or how to construct a board of directors. All bonus episodes will be clearly labeled.
For all episodes, please visit www.theconsumervc.com. For updates, you can follow @mikegelb on Twitter.
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