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Why European Brands Scale Differently
What’s the difference between a great European consumer founder and a great American one? A lot more than you’d think.
Sam Kaplan returns to In The Money to break down the biggest differences between U.S. and European consumer investing; from founder psychology and capital efficiency to TAM, exit paths, and what growth really looks like on each side of the Atlantic.
This is a sharp conversation about how consumer brands scale, why Europe produces a different type of operator, and what investors are actually looking for in 2026.
We cover:
The real founder differences between the U.S., UK, and Europe
Why American founders pitch bigger and European founders often build more durable businesses
Why UK founders look more like U.S. founders than continental Europeans
How role models shape founder ambition
Why many European founders don’t need outside capital at all
The rise of secondary deals in consumer because the best founders don’t need primaries
How Five Seasons thinks about stage, check size, and underwriting
Why “high AOV, high margin, high repeat” is the holy trinity
Why some categories look exciting but still aren’t right for the fund
Portfolio examples:
YFood and category creation in RTD nutrition
Tallow + Ash and premiumization in laundry
How Five Seasons does category work before it even meets a company
Why timing matters as much as being right on a thesis
Retail strategy in Europe: why earlier retail entry can work
What’s driving growth right now:
Massive content volume
Faster creative testing
Short-form video supporting retail sell-through
Why Sam is especially interested in fragrance-led disruption across adjacent categories
This isn’t a fluffy geography comparison.
It’s a practical conversation about what actually wins in consumer and why the playbook looks different in Europe than it does in the U.S.
If you’re a founder, investor, or operator trying to understand the next generation of consumer brands, this episode is packed with signal.
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By In The Money: eCommerce, DTC, and CPGWhat’s the difference between a great European consumer founder and a great American one? A lot more than you’d think.
Sam Kaplan returns to In The Money to break down the biggest differences between U.S. and European consumer investing; from founder psychology and capital efficiency to TAM, exit paths, and what growth really looks like on each side of the Atlantic.
This is a sharp conversation about how consumer brands scale, why Europe produces a different type of operator, and what investors are actually looking for in 2026.
We cover:
The real founder differences between the U.S., UK, and Europe
Why American founders pitch bigger and European founders often build more durable businesses
Why UK founders look more like U.S. founders than continental Europeans
How role models shape founder ambition
Why many European founders don’t need outside capital at all
The rise of secondary deals in consumer because the best founders don’t need primaries
How Five Seasons thinks about stage, check size, and underwriting
Why “high AOV, high margin, high repeat” is the holy trinity
Why some categories look exciting but still aren’t right for the fund
Portfolio examples:
YFood and category creation in RTD nutrition
Tallow + Ash and premiumization in laundry
How Five Seasons does category work before it even meets a company
Why timing matters as much as being right on a thesis
Retail strategy in Europe: why earlier retail entry can work
What’s driving growth right now:
Massive content volume
Faster creative testing
Short-form video supporting retail sell-through
Why Sam is especially interested in fragrance-led disruption across adjacent categories
This isn’t a fluffy geography comparison.
It’s a practical conversation about what actually wins in consumer and why the playbook looks different in Europe than it does in the U.S.
If you’re a founder, investor, or operator trying to understand the next generation of consumer brands, this episode is packed with signal.