Consumer VC

My guest today is Jordan Odinsky , investor and head of platform at Ground Up Ventures . GroupUp is an early stage venture capital firm investing in pre-seed and seed stage startups in the United States and Israel. Some of their investments include Fast, Shapeshift Gaming, and Neighborhood Goods. In this episode, we discuss cult brands and unique product launches. I highly recommend following Jord...

Our guest today is Wayne Wu , General Partner at VMG . VMG focuses on investing and building iconic consumer brands. They've invested in some incredible companies like Kind Healthy Foods, Justin's, Drunk Elephant, Health Warrior, Quest Nutrition. Disclaimer: This is the opinion of Wayne Wu, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions and thoughts of VMG Partners. Any opinions, projection...

Thank you Soraya Darabi for the intro to our guest today Maya Horgan Famodu . Maya's the partner and founder of Ingressive Capital . Ingressive Capital is an early venture capital fund located in Nigeria and invests in founders and companies in sub-saharan Africa. Some of her investments include Paystack, AWA Bike, and Vesicash. I highly recommend following Maya on Twitter @mayahorgan . You ca...

Our guest today is Nate Cooper , partner at Barrel Ventures . Barrel is seed stage fund based in the heart of the midwest. Some of their investments include Haus, Olipop and Clove. Previously, Nate founded L3 Hospitality Group and Wise Apple. If you want to keep up to date on him, follow him on Twitter @Nrcoope . You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb . You can also follow for e...

Thank you Soraya Darabi for the intro to today's guest Sarah Kunst , managing director of Cleo Capital . Cleo Capital is an an early stage VC fund focused on the preseed & seed stages. Some of their investments include 42 Birds, Athena and Lovewellness. She's also a contributing editor at Marie Claire Magazine and previously served as a senior advisor to Bumble. A couple of book that S...

Our guest today is Sunny Dhillon , one of the Managing Director of Signia Ventures . Signia invests at the seed & series A stages in great entrepreneurs that are applying new technologies and innovative business models to old industries. Sunny's investments include Manscaped, Boxed, and MomentFeed. Previously Sunny cofounded Barstool, one of the first dating apps in the App store. Feel fre...

Our guest today is Hilary Quartner , one of the founders and Co-CEOs of Hilma . Hilma creates natural remedies for your medicine cabinet that are backed by science. Previously Hilary worked at The Wonderful Company, FIJI Water and was part of the founding team at Jet Black. You can Hilary on Instagram @hilarykquartner and Hilma @hilma_co . You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb...

Thank you Fernando Gentil for the introduction to today's guest, Alix Peabody , CEO and founder of Bev . Bev is a wine company that is breaking down barriers in the heavily male dominated alcohol space. Feel free to follow Alix on Instagram and Bev @alixpeabody and @drinkbev . You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb . You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc...

This episode is part of a live recording Office Hour / AMA with David Goldberg. David Goldberg  is a General Partner at  Corigin Ventures . Corigin Ventures is a New York based venture capital firm leading seed stage investments in the founders defining the future of daily living. Some of their investments include Perch Interactive, The Inside, Classpass and Imperfect Foods. If you enjoy this epis...

I'd like to thank Adelle Archer for introducing me to today's guest, Jiake Lu , CEO of Outer . Outer is an extraordinary company that is reengineering outdoor furniture. Business Insider named them the #1 fastest growing DTC brands. I chat with Jiake about how he went from founding a B2B business to B2C, his really unique showroom strategy. And there you have it, lots of fun chatting with...

Our guest today is Dan Gluck , Managing Partner of Powerplant Ventures a growth equity fund investing in emerging consumer food, beverage, and foodservice companies leading disruptive plant-centric brands. Some of their investments include Beyond Meat, Thrive Market, and Veggie Grill. Previously, Dan co-founded Health Warrior, which was acquired by PepsiCo in 2018. This was fantastic conversation...

Our guest today is Alex Levitt , one of the heads of Yellow . Yellow is Snap Inc. 's ecosystem to serve companies at the intersection of creativity and technology with its Accelerator Program, Collabs Program, and Community Programming. Yellow is currently accepting applications through Sunday, August 23rd for its inaugural Collabs Program. If you're interested in integrating your product...

Thank you Will McClelland for the introduction to today's guests Betsy Fore and Sofia Laurell , the co-founders and co-CEOs of Tiny Organics . Tiny Organics delivers organic, fresh, nutrient-rich baby and toddler meals created by their Infant Nutritionist. Their goal is to help every parent feed their baby and toddler the healthiest food. Previously, Betsy worked and created product lines for...

Thank you Joe Tonnos for the introduction to today's guest, Mitch Hayes, founder and CEO of Los Sundays Tequila. Los Sundays is the tequila for the millennial and founded on the principles of Quality, Originality and Style. One book that inspired Mitch personally is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho . One book that inspired him professionally is Damn Good Advice by George Lois. You can follow Los...

Our guest today is Sasha Astafyeva , Partner at Atomico . Atomico invests in Europe’s most ambitious tech founders at Series A and beyond. Some of their investments include Farmdrop, Habito, and teatime games. Sasha leads new investments in consumer. Previously, she was a Principal at Felix Capital and VP of Finance and Business Intelligence at VivaReal. A couple of books that inspired Sasha perso...

Our guest today is Nick Mindel , Partner at Amberstone . Amberstone invests at the early stages in entrepreneurs building breakthrough consumer companies. Some of their investments include Daily Harvest, Juneshine, Bev and Honey Mama's. Previously, Nick worked at Piper Sandler and a co-founder of Trail Post Ventures. Thank you Justin Gordon for the introduction! A book that he recommends that...

Our guest today is Ezra Galston , Founding partner of Starting Line , a seed stage consumer tech focused fund based in Chicago. Previously he was a Principal at Chicago Ventures. Some of his investments include Cameo, Flyhomes, and Spothero. One book that inspired Ezra personally is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. One book that inspired him professionally is Essentialism: The Discip...

Thank you Jordan Nof for introducing me to today's guest Coulter Lewis, founder and CEO of Sunday . Sunday provides nutrient and soil health plans for garden and lawn care. Previously, Coulter founded Quinn Snacks, the successful farm to bag snack company. But in this episode we focus on Sunday and lawn care. We talk about pesticides, why lawn care is an overlooked massive category, and Coulte...

Our guest today is Adam Cohen-Aslatei, founder and CEO of dating app S'More , the dating app that is built for relationships. Adam has had an extensive career working in the online dating industry and the advertising world. He walks us through why S'More is different, how he thinks about bringing inclusivity to online dating and how he successfully fundraised. You can check out S'more...

Our guest today is Jesse Draper , Founding Partner of Halogen Ventures . Halogen Ventures is a Los Angeles, California based Venture Capital fund focused on investing in early stage consumer technology startups with a female in the founding team. Some of their investments include Hop Skip Drive, Clover Letter, and Binti. Previously, Jesse was an actress and founded/hosted The Valley Girl Show, whe...

Our guest today is Soraya Darabi , General Partner at Trail Mix Ventures where she focuses on the future of living well. Previously, she worked at the New York Times, co-founded Foodspotting (acq. by OpenTable) and Zady. Some of her investments include Classtag, The Wing, and Alleyoop. Lots of insights on this episode as Soraya shares her amazing experiences both as a founder and investor, so with...

Thank you Sumeet Shah for the introduction to today's guest, Meera Clark , Senior Associate at Obvious Ventures. Obvious Ventures invests in startups that combine profit and purpose for a better world. Some of their investments include Beyond Meat, Carezone, Goodeggs and Medium. I highly recommend following Meera on twitter @itsmeeraclark . You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mike...

I would like to thank Adelle Archer for introducing me to today's guest, Eric Paley , who is one of the Managing Partners at Founder Collective . Founder Collective's mission is to be the most aligned VC for founders at seed. Eric is a pretty legendary seed stage investor, some of his investments include Uber, CoverWallet, Seat Geek, Whoop, Thred Up and so many other incredible companies....

*Please note Office Hour episodes are not edited and the sound quality will not be as good as other episodes as they are recorded on one track.* Office Hours are opportunities for listeners to ask past guests questions themselves. We will be releasing the recorded versions each Saturday. This Office Hour with Jason Shuman was recorded live on June 9th. Jason Shuman  is a Principal at  Primary Vent...

Our guest today is Alex French, founder and CEO of Bizzy Coffee , the #1 seller of cold brew coffee on Amazon. We discuss Alex's initial approach to entrepreneurship, how they've been able to maintain #1 Best Seller on Amazon, how he approached fundraising and was able to raise, and COVID's effects on Bizzy. Without further ado, here's Alex A couple books that inspired Alex are The...