You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube

This Episode is Brought to You by Propeller Industries.

Propeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies. Thinking about profitability, extending your runway, and improving efficiency in your operations? Managing your company’s finances requires multiple skill sets. Propeller’s fractional model offers a dynamic solution that provides a cost-effective alternative to hiring full-time finance talent.

Hey friends,

Thank you Jerry Staub for the intro to our guest today is Terri Rockovich, Founder & CEO of Jinx. Jinx is a dog food brand that offers premium kibble, homemade toppers, and beef crumbles and are made by a team of pet nutritionists and veterinarians.

We discuss:

* How legacy brands create their dog food

* The inspiration behind Jinx

* Her nutrition philosophy for pets

* Sourcing the right manufacturing partners & convincing them to work on Jinx

* Approach to testing if the product tastes good

* The reasons why she raised venture money (most recently a Series B)

* How she launched online

* Why Walmart has been a great partner for a premium brand

* Jinx’s market positioning compared to other premium dog food brands

* Approach to launching SKUs & new products

* How she thinks about celebrity partnerships & more

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube

This Episode is Brought to You by Propeller Industries.

Propeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies. Thinking about profitability, extending your runway, and improving efficiency in your operations? Managing your company’s finances requires multiple skill sets. Propeller’s fractional model offers a dynamic solution that provides a cost-effective alternative to hiring full-time finance talent.

Hey friends,

Our guest today is Jonathan Keidan, founder of Torch Capital. Torch Capital invests in visionary founders using technology to revolutionize how consumers and businesses operate. Their portfolio includes Sweetgreen, Recess, Savage X Fenty, good Weird, and Little Otter. Previously he was a manager in the music industry – working with artists like John Legend, The Dave Matthews Band.

We discuss:

* The similarities of venture and entertainment

* Difference between fund 1 and fund 2

* Why he shifted his focus away from brands and towards consumer infrastructure

* When down rounds make sense

* Analysis of this current market

* Are consumer brands venture-backable

* His diligence process & valuations today & more

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube

This Episode is Brought to You by Propeller Industries.

Propeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies. Thinking about profitability, extending your runway, and improving efficiency in your operations? Managing your company’s finances requires multiple skill sets. Propeller’s fractional model offers a dynamic solution that provides a cost-effective alternative to hiring full-time finance talent.

Hey friends,

So today’s episode is all about the gaming industry. Our guest today is Brian Cho, Co-Founder and General Partner at Patron. Patron is an early stage venture firm investing in a future shaped by games. Previously he was a founding member of a16z’s investment team and held senior leadership roles at Riot Games.

We discuss:

(0:03:47) - Gamification in Social Media and Investment

(0:09:08) - Building IP and Gamification in Gaming

(0:17:46) - Evolution of Gaming Business Models

(0:25:29) - Future of VR Platforms

(0:34:53) - Emerging Trends in Gaming Innovation

(0:46:10) - Gaming Industry Growth and Investment

Thank you for listening!

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube

This Episode is Brought to You by Propeller Industries.

Propeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies. Thinking about profitability, extending your runway, and improving efficiency in your operations? Managing your company’s finances requires multiple skill sets. Propeller’s fractional model offers a dynamic solution that provides a cost-effective alternative to hiring full-time finance talent.

Hey friends,

Our guest today is Marcel Bens, CEO of Emil Capital. Emil Capital is an early stage investment firm that backs the next generation of consumer brands. They are backed by Tengelmann Group which is one of the world’s largest private consumer goods holding companies today. Some of their investments include Renewal Mill, Wish, Uber, Milk + Honey.

We discuss:

* Why Do Consumers Pay a Premium for High-Quality Products?

* How Is the Investment Deployment Strategy Structured?

* What Are the Opportunities in Better-for-You Products?

* What Are the Market Strategies for Premium Products?

* How to Decode Nutrition Labels for Better Choices?

* How to Select the Right Brands at Conventions?

* How to Identify Niche Emerging Categories?

* How to Invest in Consumer Brands and Tech?

* What Is the Approach to Building a Company Brick by Brick?

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube

This Episode is Brought to You by Propeller Industries.

Propeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies. Thinking about profitability, extending your runway, and improving efficiency in your operations? Managing your company’s finances requires multiple skill sets. Propeller’s fractional model offers a dynamic solution that provides a cost-effective alternative to hiring full-time finance talent.

Hey Friends,

Our guest today is Vanessa Larco, Partner at NEA. NEA is one of the largest and most iconic VC firms with $25 billion in committed capital. Vanessa started her career in the gaming industry, but doesn’t invest in gaming. Some of her consumer investments include Mejuri, Kindred and Greenlight.

We discuss:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:03:23 - Microsoft's Early Touch Screen Technologies

0:05:36 - Designing Surface Device Controls Without Mouse

0:09:11 - Xbox Connect Speech Recognition Evolution

0:14:33 - Innovative Technologies and Timing

0:17:12 - A-B Testing and Data-Driven Decisions

0:23:10 - Profitability and Growth in Different Industries

0:26:55 - Investing Across Different Categories

0:29:53 - Robinhood Revolutionizes Commission-Free Investing

0:36:33 - Identifying Winning Consumer Companies

0:54:15 - Venture Capital in Tech Innovation

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube

This Episode is Brought to You by Propeller Industries.

Propeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies. Thinking about profitability, extending your runway, and improving efficiency in your operations? Managing your company’s finances requires multiple skill sets. Propeller’s fractional model offers a dynamic solution that provides a cost-effective alternative to hiring full-time finance talent.

Hi friends,

Our guest today is Osman Khan, CEO and Co-Founder of Squared Circles. Squared Circles, a consumer-focused venture studio incubating brands grounded in science and already launched three businesses. Magic Molecule, Algae Cooking Club and Freaks of Nature. The studio is committed to using bioscience IP with generative AI to create highly targeted product experiences

We discuss:

* What IP is valuable?

* How they partner with IP providers

* Constructing IP licensing deals

* What can be commercializable vs. not

* Consumer categories that are ripe for innovation

* How they use generative AI to craft brands

* The next stage for plant based products

* IP exclusivity & much much more

I hope you enjoy listening!

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter and podcast about venture capital and consumer. Brought to you by Propeller Industries.

Hey Friends,

Our guest today is Anouck Gotlib, CEO of Belgian Boys. Belgian Boys is bringing european treats like belgian waffles, brioche french toast, crepes and other delicious delights to the American home. They are now retailers like Walmart, Target, Whole Foods.

This episode is brought to you by Propeller Industries.

Propeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies. Thinking about profitability, extending your runway, and improving efficiency in your operations? Managing your company’s finances requires multiple skill sets. Propeller’s fractional model offers a dynamic solution that provides a cost-effective alternative to hiring full-time finance talent.

Click Here To Learn More

On today’s episode we discuss:

* Anouck’s journey from fashion to joining her husband in starting a food CPG company

* How they first got into retail

* How they financed and grew their business during years of bootstrapping

* How they landed KIND snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky’s venture firm Camino Partners as investors

* How they rebranded how they described Belgian Waffles to make the product more accessible to consumers

* Why they pivoted from frozen food to refrigerator food and much more.

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter and podcast about venture capital and consumer.

Hey Friends,

Our guest today is Caleb Wang, CEO and Co-Founder MìLà – which produces authentic soup dumplings, chinese noodles and chef crafted sauces.

We discuss:

* Brief history of the soup dumpling

* Why his wife, Jen, and him first started a restaurant

* How that expanded to an ecommerce business

* Brand positioning & approach to marketing

* Why they eventually needed to raise capital

* Getting into retail and rebranding strategy

Hope you enjoy listening & Happy Holidays

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter and podcast about venture capital and consumer. The full transcript will be released on Friday to premium subscribers. Upgrade your subscription for full access.

Hey Friends,

Our guests today are David Wagner and Jesse Marble, Co-Founders of Wildwood Ventures. Wildwood Ventures is backed by VF corporation, a holding company whose portfolio includes iconic outdoor and activity-based lifestyle and workwear brands like Vans, North Face, Timberland, Dickies. Wildwood Ventures invests in consumer technology companies that make lives better.

We discuss:

* The origin of Wildwood Ventures and its relationship with VF Corp

* How they typically structure deals as an incubator

* The venture studio model

* How they position themselves as a new fund and approach sourcing

* Consumer technology they want to be part of & more

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter and podcast about venture capital and consumer. The full transcript will be released in 24 hours to premium subscribers. Upgrade your subscription for full access.

Hey Friends,

Our guest today is Denise Lambertson, Managing Partner at Constellation Capital and Chairwoman & Founder of LMS, the influencer marketing agency. We actually didn’t get into the Constellation Capital / VC / Investing side for this episode, we ran out of time. We focused on the relationship between talent and brand and how that partnership could work and how it could not work.

We also discuss:

* How she became Madonna’s assistant & why she left the music industry after 6 years

* How she started working with celebrities and Fortune 500 brands

* Her shift to focus on emerging companies

* How talent thinks about business opportunities

* Relationship between talent x brand & more

📖 The full transcript will be released in 24 hours to premium subscribers.