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

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter and podcast about venture capital and consumer. If you aren’t subscribed, come and subscribe below.

Hey Friends,

Our guest today is Mike Jones, one of the co-founders of Science Inc. Science Inc is a venture studio and fund that develops and invests in consumer-focused businesses. Some of their portfolio includes Liquid Death, Dollar Shave Club, and Grove Collaborative.

We discuss:

* How Science Inc. came together

* How the venture studio model is different from typical venture

* Venture studio model’s best practices

* How he evaluates entrepreneurs and ideas

* How he met Mike Cessario and invested in Liquid Death

* What he’s learned about viral content through Liquid Death and Dollar Shave Club

* How he thinks about product distribution today with brands & more

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

Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter and podcast about venture capital and consumer. If you aren’t subscribed, come and subscribe below.

Hey Friends,

Our guest today is Gail Becker, founder of CAULIPOWER, the most disruptive company in the better-for-you frozen food space named as one of the top 10 World’s Most Innovative Food Companies in 2022 by Fast Company. The hyper-growth company reached more than $100m in revenue in three years under her leadership as CEO.

We discuss:

* How and why she left corporate America to start CAULIPOWER

* The challenges of building a frozen food product

* Her approach to retail expansion

* Her thoughts about fundraising & how much capital to raise

* What capital efficiently means

* Product line expansion & much more

Thank you for listening

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

Hey Friends,

Thank you Vincent Diallo for the introduction to our guest today, Kevin Parakkattu, Partner at Plug and Play Ventures. Plug and Play is the leading Global Innovation Platform - they connect, empower, and invest in tomorrow’s innovators. For the past decade, they’ve developed a world-class ecosystem that provides entrepreneurs the best opportunity to succeed by bringing together startups, growth-stage companies, investors, mentors, and Fortune 500 corporations. Plug and Play is one of the most active venture capital firms in Silicon Valley making over 150 investments a year in leading companies such as Dropbox, Lending Club, Honey, N26, Rappi and several others.

We discuss:

* The Future of GenAI in Media

* Challenges and Opportunities in Media and Commerce

* The Evolution of Plug and Play

* The Investment Landscape in Consumer

* The Differences Between Software and Inventory-Based Businesses

* When venture capital makes sense vs. debt & more

Thanks for listening.

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

This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta - the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing.

Hey Friends,

Our guest today is Helene Servillon, Founder of JourneyOne Ventures. JourneyOne Ventures is a 100% woman and minority-owned early-stage fund that invests in the billion-dollar opportunities of misunderstood markets that are highly regulated and fragmented.

We discuss:

* The opportunity to invest in cannabis companies

* Different regulations within cannabis

* How she built her LP network

* Other “vice” industries she finds attractive

* Why she’s more focused on infrastructure than brands

Thank you for listening.

This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta. Vauban from Carta is the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing. They offer SPVs, and fund vehicles for GPs at all stages of the journey - from your first syndicate to operating a multi-million dollar venture fund. Their end-to-end platform automates your back-office and manual workflows so you can focus on what matters: finding the next unicorn & building investor relationships.

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

This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta - the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing.

Hey Friends,

Last month we did a live podcast interview at RevTech Ventures’ HQ in Dallas, TX, with Matt Alexander, founder & CEO of Neighborhood Goods. Neighborhood Goods is a new type of department store, featuring an ever-changing landscape of the world's most thoughtful, progressive, and exciting brands.

We discuss:

* Why Dallas was the right city to launch Neighborhood Goods

* How he expanded to Austin and NYC

* The different types of locations Neighborhood Goods is targeting

* How they partner with brands and their criteria

* How many Neighborhood Goods can exist at scale

Thank you for listening.

This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta. Vauban from Carta is the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing. They offer SPVs, and fund vehicles for GPs at all stages of the journey - from your first syndicate to operating a multi-million dollar venture fund. Their end-to-end platform automates your back-office and manual workflows so you can focus on what matters: finding the next unicorn & building investor relationships.

Click Here to Get Started

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

This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta - the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing.

Hey Friends,

Thank you to my brother, Rob Gelb for the introduction to our guest today, Nigel Eccles, Co-Founder of Vault. Vault is introducing digital music collectibles as a new format for collecting exclusive, authenticated, limited-run collectibles from your favorite artists. Nigel is also one of the co-founders and former CEO of FanDuel

We discuss:

* The state of the music business

* How music artists are currently monetizing

* His introduction to Solana and crypto

* Establishing new fan behaviors or rewarding existing behaviors

* Fandom in the digital age & more

Thank you for listening!

This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta. Vauban from Carta is the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing. They offer SPVs, and fund vehicles for GPs at all stages of the journey - from your first syndicate to operating a multi-million dollar venture fund. Their end-to-end platform automates your back-office and manual workflows so you can focus on what matters: finding the next unicorn & building investor relationships.

Click Here to Get Started

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

This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta - the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing.

Hey friends,

We have two amazing investors on the show today who just came off raising a $34 million Fund 2. Kiva Dickinson and Madeline Kaplan from Selva Ventures. Selva Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to partnering with consumer brands that promote healthier living.

We discuss:

* How Fund 2 is different to Fund 1

* The difference between clean and clinically backed beauty brands

* Do they value $1 of online revenue more than $1 in retail revenue

* What’s changed across the DTC landscape throughout the pandemic & more

Thank you for listening!

This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta. Vauban from Carta is the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing. They offer SPVs, and fund vehicles for GPs at all stages of the journey - from your first syndicate to operating a multi-million dollar venture fund. Their end-to-end platform automates your back-office and manual workflows so you can focus on what matters: finding the next unicorn & building investor relationships.

Click Here to Get Started

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

This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta - the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing.

Hey friends,

Our guest today is Rakesh Narayana, who is the General Manager of Access VC. Access is the venture capital arm of Reckitt. Reckitt is a publicly traded consumer goods conglomerate focused on the hygiene, health, and nutrition spaces. You probably recognize their brands Lysol, Dettol, and Calgon. Some of Access VC’s investments include Beekeeper’s Naturals, Maude, and Future Method.

We discuss:

* Why Reckitt has a VC arm & if it relates to their M&A business

* How corporate venture capital is perceived and how Access VC is changing the narrative

* Evaluating consumer categories from an exit potential

* Their due diligence process & more

This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta. Vauban from Carta is the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing. They offer SPVs, and fund vehicles for GPs at all stages of the journey - from your first syndicate to operating a multi-million dollar venture fund. Their end-to-end platform automates your back-office and manual workflows so you can focus on what matters: finding the next unicorn & building investor relationships.

Click Here to Get Started

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

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This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta - the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing.

Hey friends,

Our guest today is Andrew Blackmon, Co-Founder and CEO of The Black Tux. The Black Tux designs and manufactures modern suits and tuxedos for rent or keeps.

We discuss:

* Why Andrew decided to start a DTC rental tuxedo business

* How he thinks about size, fit & scale

* How they are influenced by fashion trends

* Approach to fundraising & more

This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta. Vauban from Carta is the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing. They offer SPVs, and fund vehicles for GPs at all stages of the journey - from your first syndicate to operating a multi-million dollar venture fund. Their end-to-end platform automates your back-office and manual workflows so you can focus on what matters: finding the next unicorn & building investor relationships.

Click Here to Get Started

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

This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta - the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing.

Hey Friends,

Thank you CJ Fowler for the introduction to our guest today, Melissa Facchina, Co-Founder & Co-Managing Partner of Siddhi Capital. Siddhi Capital is an operationally-focused food and beverage growth equity firm. Their portfolio includes Mid-Day Squares, Aura Bora (who both have been on the show) Copper Cow Coffee, Mud/Wtr, Magic Spoon, Momofuku Goods.

We discuss:

* How she ended up in retail

* The distinction between entrepreneur and operator

* The evolution from Siddhi Ops to Siddhi Capital

* How she thinks about sustainability and growth

* Why she isn’t currently investing in more beverage brands & much more

Thank you for listening.

This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta. Vauban from Carta is the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing. They offer SPVs, and fund vehicles for GPs at all stages of the journey - from your first syndicate to operating a multi-million dollar venture fund. Their end-to-end platform automates your back-office and manual workflows so you can focus on what matters: finding the next unicorn & building investor relationships.

Click Here to Get Started