The HotStart VC Podcast

When Ben Acott received a phone call from Reed Duchscher (MrBeast's manager) in late 2020, he had no idea he was about to help engineer one of the most explosive brand launches in CPG history. Within 90 days of joining what would become Feastables, Ben and a scrappy team hand-coded a Shopify store, broke platform records, and pulled three all-nighters to meet an unmovable deadline: MrBeast's main...

When Gabriel Jarrosson started publishing one YouTube video per day in French back in 2017, he had no idea he was building the foundation for what would become a $50 million venture capital fund exclusively focused on Y Combinator startups. From French engineer to accidental YouTuber to Silicon Valley investor, Gabriel's journey reveals a counterintuitive truth: in 2025, distribution isn't just a...

When Daniel Faierman first connected with Scott 3 years ago, he made one thing clear: he was skeptical about celebrity-founded brands. Fast forward to today, and the Habitat Partners investor has backed Ayo by Molly Baz, Sincerely Yours by Salish Matter, and Elm Biosciences by Martha Stewart. But here's the twist—his skepticism hasn't disappeared. Instead, Daniel has developed a ruthless framework...

When Katy Perry and master distiller Morgan McLachlan met while both pregnant, they discovered a shared passion for sophisticated non-alcoholic beverages. Now, with Scout Brisson at the helm as CEO, De Soi has become the #1 non-alcoholic cocktail brand at Target and is reshaping how we think about drinking culture. Scout reveals how she went from McKinsey consultant to leading a celebrity-founded...

When Haley Pavone's foot was impaled by a stiletto heel at a college sorority formal, she didn't just nurse her wound, she invented an entirely new category in women's footwear. Now, as founder and CEO of Pashion, she's built the world's first fully convertible high heel protected by utility patents in 30 countries. But here's the twist: Haley never set out to be a content creator. She accidentall...

When Gabriella Murray decided to take on the skincare industry, she didn't just want to slap her name on another white-label product. Instead, the content creator with 12 million followers bootstrapped Natics from scratch, created her own formulations, and became a certified B-Corp - all while reimagining how we think about skincare in real life. From cleansing tablets that work without a sink to...

Natalie Barbu's journey with Rella is nothing short of remarkable. After telling investors they'd shut down in January, one viral video changed everything - catapulting them from $3,500 to $21,000 monthly revenue overnight. Now at $2M ARR, Natalie opens up about the brutal reality of pivoting a VC-backed startup, why 98% of creators shouldn't launch companies, and how she transformed from beauty Y...