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

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter about venture capital and consumer startups delivered straight to your inbox. If you aren’t subscribed, come and subscribe below.

🎧 You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast players.

Today’s issue is brought to you by Burkland Associates and Skillful.

Hey Friends,

During Hannukah and Christmas, I’m going to be sharing highlight episodes from some of my favorite conversations from 2021.

Today’s highlight episode is with Alex Fine, founder & CEO of Dame Products.

Dame is the home of phenomenally fun toys for adults, that helps people upgrade their self-care with toys for sex. They were also named one of the most innovative wellness companies in 2020 by Fast Company.

Please enjoy!

This episode is brought to you by Burkland Associates.

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. From ensuring your fundamentals are sound to make sure you're prepared for that next funding round, Burkland Associates gets consumer startups. For more information head to burklandassociates.com and check out their startup toolkits as well.

This episode is also brought to you by Skillful

Skillful runs online, immersive programs that help people launch and accelerate careers in business roles in tech.

Skillful's January Core Sprint is great for business generalists - anyone looking to get into BizOps and build their SQL and problem-solving skills.

Early bird applications for the Core Sprint are now open - use the exclusive code EARLYBIRD2021 if you apply before Dec 1 at joinskillful.com/

They also have two additional Sprints that will be dropping soon:

* Strategic Finance - for finance professionals looking to learn how to level up their experience for a Strategic Finance Role.

* Product Strategy - for professionals who currently work cross-functionally with the Product team or if you want to understand how product strategy & business strategy intersect. No prior product experience is required.

To learn more head to joinskillful.com/

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter about venture capital and consumer startups delivered straight to your inbox. If you aren’t subscribed, come and subscribe below.

🎧 You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast players.

Today’s issue is brought to you by Burkland Associates and Skillful.

Hey Friends,

Thank you Charlie Hanna for the introduction to our guest on The Consumer VC Podcast, Denise Woodard, Founder & CEO of Partake Foods.

Partake Foods produces super delicious cookies are made with real, healthy, and safe ingredients that everyone can enjoy. They are gluten-free, vegan, non-GMO and free of the top 14 allergens.

Personally, I’m a HUGE FAN of Partake Foods - I buy them every time I’m in the grocery store.

We discuss:

* The inspiration behind starting Partake Foods

* Leaving her high paying job at Coca-Cola

* Managing with no venture capital in the early days

* How she created the right formation and found the right manufacturer

* Strategy for getting into retail

* How she was able to raise money with no initial VC network

* Adjusting through COVID

* Getting into Trader Joe’s

* What’s next?

I hope you all enjoy listening!

This episode is brought to you by Burkland Associates.

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. From ensuring your fundamentals are sound to make sure you're prepared for that next funding round, Burkland Associates gets consumer startups. For more information head to burklandassociates.com and check out their startup toolkits as well.

This episode is also brought to you by Skillful

Skillful runs online, immersive programs that help people launch and accelerate careers in business roles in tech.

Skillful's January Core Sprint is great for business generalists - anyone looking to get into BizOps and build their SQL and problem-solving skills.

Early bird applications for the Core Sprint are now open - use the exclusive code EARLYBIRD2021 if you apply before Dec 1 at joinskillful.com/

They also have two additional Sprints that will be dropping soon:

* Strategic Finance - for finance professionals looking to learn how to level up their experience for a Strategic Finance Role.

* Product Strategy - for professionals who currently work cross-functionally with the Product team or if you want to understand how product strategy & business strategy intersect. No prior product experience is required.

To learn more head to joinskillful.com/

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter about venture capital and consumer startups delivered straight to your inbox. If you aren’t subscribed, come and subscribe below.

🎧 You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast players.

Today’s issue is brought to you by Burkland Associates and Skillful.

Hey Friends,

Thank you Madeline Keulen for the intro to our guest today, Lori Coulter, founder of Summersalt.

Summersalt produces flattering swimwear designed to fit you, not the other way around. But Summersalt is more than the internet’s favorite swimwear — they are now your new go-to for everything from activewear to PJs.

We discuss:

* Developing a fast supply chain to cater to new sizes and products

* Scanning over 10,000 women and creating a 1 to 1 feedback loop to determine sizes

* The differences when raising capital as a woman vs. a man

* How women typically buy swimwear

* Approach to eCommerce and how she tackles growth

Thanks for listening.

This episode is brought to you by Burkland Associates.

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. From ensuring your fundamentals are sound to make sure you're prepared for that next funding round, Burkland Associates gets consumer startups. For more information head to burklandassociates.com and check out their startup toolkits as well.

This episode is also brought to you by Skillful

By joining a Skillful Sprint, you get access to the Skillful Community even after your Sprint ends. It’s an incredible network of ambitious, humble and generous business professionals from across North America who take action to accelerate each other’s careers - referrals, candid advice, mentors hiring mentees and so much more magic.

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter about venture capital and consumer startups delivered straight to your inbox. If you aren’t subscribed, come and subscribe below.

🎧 You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast players.

Today’s issue is brought to you by Burkland Associates and Skillful.

Hey friends,

Thank you Will McClelland for the intro to our guest today on The Consumer VC Podcast, 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.

We discuss:

* What led to founding M.M.Lafleur

* How she convinced manufacturers to take a chance on her

* Doing things that don’t scale

* Her approach to brand launch and distribution

* Growing beyond women’s workwear

* Adapting to COVID

Thanks for listening.

This episode is brought to you by Burkland Associates.

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. From ensuring your fundamentals are sound to make sure you're prepared for that next funding round, Burkland Associates gets consumer startups. For more information head to burklandassociates.com and check out their startup toolkits as well.

This episode is also brought to you by Skillful

By joining a Skillful Sprint, you get access to the Skillful Community even after your Sprint ends. It’s an incredible network of ambitious, humble and generous business professionals from across North America who take action to accelerate each other’s careers - referrals, candid advice, mentors hiring mentees and so much more magic.

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter about venture capital and consumer startups delivered straight to your inbox. If you aren’t subscribed, come and subscribe below.

🎧 You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast players.

Today’s issue is brought to you by Burkland Associates and Skillful.

Hey Friends,

Our guest today on The Consumer VC podcast is is Michael Markesbery, co-founder and CEO of OROS. OROS produces award-winning apparel with their patented SOLARCORE® Insulation.

In Michael's words, “they science the s*** out of everything” when it comes to outdoor apparel that keeps you warm.

In this episode we discuss:

* How one trip led him to rethink heavy jackets

* How Michael established a relationship with NASA

* Why no company ever used space technology in apparel

* How he and his co-founder developed the compound that became the base for OROS

* Creating a Kickstarter campaign to prove to his parents this was a good idea

* How an investor backing out last minute nearly folded OROS

* What’s next in 2022 and 2023

Thanks for listening.

This episode is brought to you by Burkland Associates.

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. From ensuring your fundamentals are sound to make sure you're prepared for that next funding round, Burkland Associates gets consumer startups. For more information head to burklandassociates.com and check out their startup toolkits as well.

This episode is also brought to you by Skillful

Accelerate your transition into a strategic business role at a high-growth tech company by taking part in an immersive learning experience that simulates on-the-job learning (and doubles as interview prep). Get direct access to mentors who live and breathe these jobs daily.

Apply Here to Join Skillful

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter about venture capital and consumer startups delivered straight to your inbox. If you aren’t subscribed, come and subscribe below.

🎧 You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast players.

Today’s issue is brought to you by Burkland Associates and Skillful.

Hey Friends,

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:

* What was missing from eCommerce

* His unique C2M business model in luxury

* Problem-solving the chicken or the egg marketplace problem

* How he signed on his first manufacturer

* Learnings from Costco and Amazon

* His approach to scale and what’s next

Thank you for listening

This episode is brought to you by Burkland Associates.

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. From ensuring your fundamentals are sound to make sure you're prepared for that next funding round, Burkland Associates gets consumer startups. For more information head to burklandassociates.com and check out their startup toolkits as well.

This episode is also brought to you by Skillful

Trying to break into strategic business roles in Tech? Join Skillful to learn what you need to know from who you need to know. Upskill for roles like BizOps, Product Ops, and Growth through immersive programs taught by mentors who work at companies like Netflix, Uber and Shopify.

Apply Here to Join Skillful

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter about venture capital and consumer startups delivered straight to your inbox. If you aren’t subscribed, come and subscribe below.

🎧 You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast players.

Today’s episode is brought to you by…

Hey there,

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.

We discuss:

* Starting a career in the wine industry

* What led to the founding of Krave Jerky

* Learnings as he scaled the company

* Why he decided to sell Krave to Hershey

* What led to the founding of Sonoma Brands

* Investing in single category vs. multi-category brands

* Why he bought back Krave

I hope you enjoy listening!

Are you looking to invest in a business, or you're considering investment from someone else? How do you actually know if they're legit?

Ferret is the first relationship intelligence tool for savvy investors and CEOs who need to know who they can trust. Running a quick search on Ferret can get you information like past lawsuits, bankruptcy, fraud allegations, news coverage and can also be used to verify past successes that they claim. To get to the front of the line and access Ferret's exclusive beta sign up here.

Gorgias is the #1 helpdesk for Shopify, Magento and BigCommerce stores, and can turn your customer support into a profit center. Brands like OLIPOP, Death Wish Coffee and Steve Madden have reduced their response times and increased efficiencies by using Gorgias.

If you’re looking to increase your retention for your business, mention Consumer VC and get 2 months of Gorgias for free.

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter about venture capital and consumer startups delivered straight to your inbox. If you aren’t subscribed, come and subscribe below.

🎧 You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast players.

Today’s episode is brought to you by…

Hey there,

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.

We discuss:

* What led to the founding of Grove

* The price difference between eco-friendly vs. non-eco-friendly products

* Why Stuart had a tough time fundraising for the first few years of Grove

* His product launch strategy

* The biggest eye-opening metric

Enjoy!

Are you looking to invest in a business, or you're considering investment from someone else? How do you actually know if they're legit?

Ferret is the first relationship intelligence tool for savvy investors and CEOs who need to know who they can trust. Running a quick search on Ferret can get you information like past lawsuits, bankruptcy, fraud allegations, news coverage and can also be used to verify past successes that they claim. To get to the front of the line and access Ferret's exclusive beta sign up here.

Gorgias is the #1 helpdesk for Shopify, Magento and BigCommerce stores, and can turn your customer support into a profit center. Brands like OLIPOP, Death Wish Coffee and Steve Madden have reduced their response times and increased efficiencies by using Gorgias.

If you’re looking to increase your retention for your business, mention Consumer VC and get 2 months of Gorgias for free.

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter about venture capital and consumer startups delivered straight to your inbox. If you aren’t subscribed, come and subscribe below.

🎧 You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcast players.

Today’s episode is brought to you by…

Hey there,

Our guest today on Consumer VC is Carter Reum, one of the founders of M13. M13 is one of the largest LA-started venture capital funds. Some of their investments include Lyft, Tonal, Classpass, Daily Harvest.

Previously Carter founded VeeV spirits, which he sold to Luxco.

We discuss:

* Why LA has become a consumer hub

* His shift from investing in brands to ecommerce technology

* Learnings from fund 1 to fund 3

* How the characteristics of the modern entrepreneur has changed

* Specializing in stage vs. being multi-stage

* What value-add means in today’s market

* What its like founding companies with your brother

I hope you enjoy.

Are you looking to invest in a business, or you're considering investment from someone else? How do you actually know if they're legit?

Ferret is the first relationship intelligence tool for savvy investors and CEOs who need to know who they can trust. Running a quick search on Ferret can get you information like past lawsuits, bankruptcy, fraud allegations, news coverage and can also be used to verify past successes that they claim. To get to the front of the line and access Ferret's exclusive beta sign up here.

Gorgias is the #1 helpdesk for Shopify, Magento and BigCommerce stores, and can turn your customer support into a profit center. Brands like OLIPOP, Death Wish Coffee and Steve Madden have reduced their response times and increased efficiencies by using Gorgias.

If you’re looking to increase your retention for your business, mention Consumer VC and get 2 months of Gorgias for free.

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter about venture capital and consumer startups delivered straight to your inbox. If you aren’t subscribed, come and subscribe below.

🎧 You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcast players.

Today’s episode is brought to you by…

Hey there,

Our guest today is Will Schmitt, Head of Venture Strategy at Miroma Ventures. Miroma just launched a $100 million fund focused on consumer and media brands.

Previously he was at Naturaza and led investments in OROS, Yellowbird, and Cleancult. He also previously co-founded Trail Post Ventures with Nick Mindel.

We also touch on:

* Why Miroma launched a venture fund

* Should founders focus on building in one category vs. several from the beginning?

* How to build a diverse network

* What “value-add” means to Will

* When it makes sense for a brand to head into retail

Enjoy!

Are you looking to invest in a business, or you're considering investment from someone else? How do you actually know if they're legit?

Ferret is the first relationship intelligence tool for savvy investors and CEOs who need to know who they can trust. Running a quick search on Ferret can get you information like past lawsuits, bankruptcy, fraud allegations, news coverage and can also be used to verify past successes that they claim. To get to the front of the line and access Ferret's exclusive beta sign up here.

Gorgias is the #1 helpdesk for Shopify, Magento and BigCommerce stores, and can turn your customer support into a profit center. Brands like OLIPOP, Death Wish Coffee and Steve Madden have reduced their response times and increased efficiencies by using Gorgias.

If you’re looking to increase your retention for your business, mention Consumer VC and get 2 months of Gorgias for free.