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 aVenture - venture capital for everyone.

Hey friends,

Thank you Alex Pattis for the intro to our guest today, Kyle Cooke, Founder & CEO of Loverboy. Loverboy is a better-for-you alcohol beverage brand that produces sparkling hard teas, spritzes, and RTD cocktails brand. Kyle also stars in the reality shows “Summerhouse” and “Winterhouse”.

We discuss:

* The origin story of the show “Summerhouse”

* Kyle’s entrepreneurial journey before Loverboy

* Why Loverboy worked and how he leveraged Bravo’s audience

* Thoughts around product formulation and releasing new SKUs

* Why alcohol doesn’t have labels

* How they got into retail stores, their overarching retail strategy & much more

Thanks for listening.

This episode of The Consumer VC is brought to you by aVenture - venture capital for everyone.

With aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options. For fund managers, aVenture can help streamline your operations while providing the infrastructure to raise from accredited & non-accredited investors.

aVenture believes this will revolutionize the venture capital industry by unlocking a latent supply of capital from public investors.

Disclosures: aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status.

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 aVenture - venture capital for everyone.

Hey friends,

Our guest on The Consumer VC podcast is Marc Washington, Founder & CEO of Supergut. Supergut is the world's only clinically validated food that nourishes the gut microbiome and delivers meaningful results across gut health, blood sugar levels, well-being, sleep, weight management, and other categories of overall health. I’ve personally been very impressed with their products.

We discuss:

* Marc’s health journey

* How Dave Friedberg pushed him to think deeper about the microbiome

* How the microbiome affects gut health

* What is DNA sequencing

* What is real product innovation within CPG

* Why he’s focused on creating real foods instead of supplements

* His approach to marketing, positioning, and the right sales channels

Thanks for listening.

This episode of The Consumer VC is brought to you by aVenture - venture capital for everyone.

With aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options. For fund managers, aVenture can help streamline your operations while providing the infrastructure to raise from accredited & non-accredited investors.

aVenture believes this will revolutionize the venture capital industry by unlocking a latent supply of capital from public investors.

Disclosures: aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status.

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

This issue is brought to you by aVenture - venture capital for everyone.

Hey friends,

Our guest today is Steve Berg, one of the founders and Partners at Stride Consumer Partners. Stride Consumer Partners is a private equity firm that specializes in partnering with talented and dynamic founders, entrepreneurs, and business leaders to build the next generation of great consumer brands. Last year they closed their debut $420 million fund 1. Some of their investments include Chomps, Jeni’s Ice Cream, DryBar and TRX.

We discuss:

* How Stride Consumer Partners came together

* His investment philosophy and how he measures if a brand has a passionate base

* What types of CPG brands work both in natural and conventional

* Due diligence and his ideal stage

* The signs a retail outlet could be ripe for success & much more

Thanks for listening

This episode of The Consumer VC is brought to you by aVenture - venture capital for everyone.

With aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options. For fund managers, aVenture can help streamline your operations while providing the infrastructure to raise from accredited & non-accredited investors.

aVenture believes this will revolutionize the venture capital industry by unlocking a latent supply of capital from public investors.

Disclosures: aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status.

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

This issue is brought to you by aVenture - venture capital for everyone.

Hey friends,

Thank you Yuriy Dovzhansky for the introduction to our guests today Joey Guerra and Alex Dashefsky, founders of Airsign. Airsign makes tools for modern living, starting with their award-winning HEPA vacuum.

We discuss:

* Joey’s industrial design background and why this was the opportunity to start a brand

* The history of innovation within vacuum cleaners

* When Alex joined and the opportunity he saw

* Winning awards and building an organic audience

* How customer feedback altered their approach to pricing & more

I hope you enjoy it.

This episode of The Consumer VC is brought to you by aVenture - venture capital for everyone.

With aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options. For fund managers, aVenture can help streamline your operations while providing the infrastructure to raise from accredited & non-accredited investors.

aVenture believes this will revolutionize the venture capital industry by unlocking a latent supply of capital from public investors.

Disclosures: aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status.

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

This issue is brought to you by aVenture - venture capital for everyone.

Hey Friends,

Our guest today is Mateo Marietti, founder and CEO of CookUnity. CookUnity is reinventing the food delivery experience and making it easy for busy people to eat well at home by curating a marketplace of great chefs and unique crafters.

We discuss:

* Why this product needed to exist

* How he developed relationships with some of the top chefs in the world

* Addressing the cold-start problem of a marketplace business

* How he thinks about affordability

* What parts in the supply CookUnity needs to own

* Response from the pandemic

This episode of The Consumer VC is brought to you by aVenture - venture capital for everyone.

With aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options. For fund managers, aVenture can help streamline your operations while providing the infrastructure to raise from accredited & non-accredited investors.

aVenture believes this will revolutionize the venture capital industry by unlocking a latent supply of capital from public investors.

Disclosures: aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status.

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

This episode of The Consumer VC is brought to you by aVenture - venture capital for everyone.

With aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options. For fund managers, aVenture can help streamline your operations while providing the infrastructure to raise from accredited & non-accredited investors.

aVenture believes this will revolutionize the venture capital industry by unlocking a latent supply of capital from public investors.

Disclosures: aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status.

Hey Friends,

Our guest today is Anthony Zhang, founder of Vinovest. Vinovest allows you to invest in wine globally without leaving home and without storing it yourself.

We discuss:

* How he founded his previous businesses EnvoyNow & Know Your VC

* Becoming paralyzed and leading EnvoyNow to a successful exit from the hospital

* How he discovered wine as an alternative asset class

* The underpinnings that became Vinovest

* How he thought about building a marketplace and solving the cold-start problem

* Other alcohol asset classes that have potential to be profitable asset classes

Thanks for listening.

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

This episode of The Consumer VC is brought to you by aVenture - venture capital for everyone.

With aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options. For fund managers, aVenture can help streamline your operations while providing the infrastructure to raise from accredited & non-accredited investors.

aVenture believes this will revolutionize the venture capital industry by unlocking a latent supply of capital from public investors.

Disclosures: aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status.

Hey Friends,

Our guest today is James Currier, Founder & General Partner of NFX. NFX is a VC firm investing in pre-seed and seed-stage startups. Their investments include Triple Whale, YoEgg, Poshmark and Outdoorsy.

We focus this conversation primarily on investing in A.I. startups. We discuss:

* The difference between how A.I. was viewed in the past and now

* Which layer in the tech stack is the most investible opportunity within A.I.

* Why the language layer may not be the most valuable

* How much opportunity is there for startups vs. incumbents

* How A.I. will change search and other use cases

* His analysis of OpenAI & more

Thank you for listening

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

This episode of The Consumer VC is brought to you by aVenture - venture capital for everyone.

With aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options. For fund managers, aVenture can help streamline your operations while providing the infrastructure to raise from accredited & non-accredited investors.

aVenture believes this will revolutionize the venture capital industry by unlocking a latent supply of capital from public investors.

Disclosures: aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status.

Hey Friends,

Our guest today is Adam Ross, Founder & CEO of Heyday. Heyday is a skincare establishment that is overhauling the facial experience.

We discuss:

* Why start a retail shop focused on facials

* How he thought about expanding his footprint

* Corporate store model vs. franchise model

* Approach to partnering with franchises

* Heyday’s product business

* What he learned from the pandemic & much more

Thank you for listening.

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

Subscribed

This episode of The Consumer VC is brought to you by aVenture - venture capital for everyone.

With aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options. For fund managers, aVenture can help streamline your operations while providing the infrastructure to raise from accredited & non-accredited investors.

aVenture believes this will revolutionize the venture capital industry by unlocking a latent supply of capital from public investors.

Disclosures: aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status.

Hey Friends,

Our guest today is Ryan Woodbury, co-founder & CEO of Needed. Needed is on a mission to empower every woman with the fundamental nutrition information, products, and community they need to be optimally nourished before, during, and after pregnancy.

We discuss:

* How she got started in nutrition

* Why she decided to create a prenatal supplement company

* Spending 3 years in R&D

* Her approach to marketing and partnering with practitioners

* Why she’s purely focused on the DTC channel & subscription

* How she thinks about LTV & more

Thank you for listening

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

This episode of The Consumer VC is brought to you by aVenture - venture capital for everyone.

With aVenture everyone can now invest directly into venture capital funds through our platform while also benefiting from periodic liquidity options. For fund managers, aVenture can help streamline your operations while providing the infrastructure to raise from accredited & non-accredited investors.

aVenture believes this will revolutionize the venture capital industry by unlocking a latent supply of capital from public investors.

Disclosures: aVenture is a San Francisco, California-based financial technology company that permits users to launch, manage and invest in venture funds on its platform aVenture operates independently of any investment advisors on its platform. Certain funds listed on the aVenture platform are provided by independent fund managers and may be registered as investment advisors in the U.S., or qualify for exempt reporting status.

Hey Friends,

Our guest today is Lydia Jett, Managing Partner and Head of eCommerce / Consumer Internet at SoftBank Investment Advisers Vision Fund. Some of her investments include Coupang, Fanatics, and Misfits Market.

We discuss:

* Why she took an interest in eCommerce in the mid-2010s

* Investing in companies serving emerging markets

* The evolution of the Vision Fund

* The state of eCommerce aggregators

* What she learned from 2022

* What makes Fanatics an incredible business

* How she thinks about capital deployment in this economic environment

* If it makes sense to buy secondaries in companies

* What it’s like working with Masayoshi Son & more

I hope you enjoy.