The Consumer VC

We would be like, well, wait. We added one lavender drop and it got better. But what if the right answer is actually half of a lavender drop? Let's try that. And so we'd run it all back and see if it was better or worse, it's almost like an eye exam.

Vivid behind-the-scenes look at obsessive product development with the memorable 'eye exam' analogy. Shows the level of detail that separates great products from good ones.

39:02 - 39:2120s

The Consumer VC · Alec Jaffe

If we can't define it internally as a group, how are we supposed to expect shoppers to define it in their minds when they need to make decisions in seconds?

Exposes a fundamental flaw in the regenerative agriculture movement with sharp, quotable language. The contrast between internal confusion and consumer expectations creates a powerful moment of industry critique.

38:56 - 39:1721s

The Consumer VC · Joe Seager

You look at the ollie pots and the roads and the on running from Switzerland. I mean, you know, it's clear you can create billion dollar plus outcomes on consumer product based businesses.

Challenges skepticism about consumer products being venture-backable by citing specific billion-dollar European consumer successes. Concrete examples counter the prevailing narrative.

38:59 - 39:1415s

The Consumer VC · Alex Cantwell

Who are your early adopters? Go find your early adopters. It turns out that going into ten, twenty thousand gas stations and immediately trying to get the hardcore pack of a Marlboro smoker, that's really hard. What are you doing to convince them to shell out $50 for your unheard of Apple like device that they've never heard of before?

Combines a simple framework (find early adopters) with a specific, contrarian insight about why mass retail is actually harder than niche markets. The Marlboro smoker example makes it visceral and quotable.

4:49 - 5:1324s

The Consumer VC · Alex Cantwell

There's a difference between, like, missing a revenue plan that's fundamentally altering the trajectory of the business and clearing stage gates or roadblocks that are getting you to that exponential growth curve. Like, those are two pretty different things.

Provides a nuanced framework for evaluating startup performance misses. The distinction between trajectory-altering vs stage-gate misses is immediately useful for founders and investors.

23:19 - 23:5637s

The Consumer VC · Alec Jaffe

So many customers reach out to us and say that they can finally enjoy ice cream again because of the a two dairy that we use, and they don't have digestion issues.

Specific product differentiation with emotional customer impact. The phrase 'finally enjoy ice cream again' creates a before/after transformation story that's highly relatable.

8:19 - 8:3516s

The Consumer VC · Alex Cantwell

There are VCs out there who are really, really, really good at treating, like, the stock is the product, and, like, playing the valuation game exceptionally well. Us personally, like, that's not in our ethos. We're much more on the belief system of, like, if you build the right fundamentals, everything else comes with it.

Takes a clear contrarian stance against valuation-focused VCs, positioning fundamentals over financial engineering. The repetitive 'really, really, really' emphasis and direct comparison makes it quotable.

24:54 - 25:1724s

The Consumer VC · Michael Duda

Origin Story

They have zero revenue right now. She could one day be building the healthy Frito Lay, and that's very enticing.

Specific example of pre-revenue betting with a vivid comparison ('healthy Frito Lay') that makes the opportunity tangible. The zero-revenue admission followed by big vision creates compelling narrative tension.

33:28 - 33:5223s

The Consumer VC · Ezra Galston

Origin Story

The nine months between June 2022 and ChatGPT coming out were the slowest months I've ever seen in the venture capital industry. So many firms were like, 'We're on pause.' By the way, that's when we chose to raise our third fund.

Perfect timing story with specific dates and vivid industry context. The self-deprecating humor about 'great timing' makes it relatable while showing contrarian decision-making during market lows.

48:19 - 48:4324s

The Consumer VC · Rich Gersten

I started calling myself the human version of Unilever. Unilever started in food and beverage, divesting itself out of it, and is largely a personal care company today. That's because the dynamics of those categories are more attractive.

Creative analogy comparing personal investment evolution to corporate strategy. Shows pattern recognition between individual investor behavior and large company portfolio optimization decisions.

38:03 - 38:3330s

The Consumer VC · Michael Duda

Consequences

As an early stage investor, I love AI because it's advantage entrepreneur to embrace this stuff. But as a citizen and someone who cares about the economy, I think there's gonna be a lot of good people whose jobs will get eliminated.

Balanced take on AI's impact showing both the opportunity and the human cost. The dual perspective (investor vs citizen) creates tension and the specific prediction about job elimination is timely and provocative.

42:37 - 42:5216s

The Consumer VC · Alex Cantwell

Consequences

If you had, a render of a cool looking product, you were getting $2,000,000 to go launch it. Then there was, like, the twenty twenty two, twenty twenty three clap down where you were like, hey, we're doing $5,000,000 in sales. We're profitable. We're growing like crazy, and and VC investors were like, sorry.

Captures the absurdity of venture market timing with specific dollar amounts and a perfect contrast between funding a render vs rejecting profitable companies. The 'sorry' punchline makes it quotable.

40:49 - 41:0516s

The Consumer VC · Akash Raju

There's anywhere from a 100 to 200 different types of fees that a brand can get hit with. For every single retailer or distributor that they work with, there's a fee to actually run a discount.

This reveals the shocking complexity of retail fees that most people don't know exists. The specific numbers (100-200 fees) make it concrete and quotable, while the counterintuitive insight that there's 'a fee to run a discount' challenges common assumptions.

2:14 - 2:5036s

The Consumer VC

Many debt options are predatory. Sometimes doing equity super early in a depressed market can also feel that way. It's about a blended cost of capital. If you can get reasonable debt with genuine collateral, that makes sense.

Balanced view on debt vs equity with market timing considerations. The 'predatory' language is strong and the framework around 'reasonable debt with genuine collateral' is actionable.

9:40 - 10:3858s

The Consumer VC · Rachel Springate

We came to the conclusion that there was still a gaping hole for some kind of 360 degree virtual clinic that only catered to women 40+. We made that thesis internally, and then we went to our network and found exactly what we were looking for.

Shows the systematic approach to thesis-driven investing with a specific market gap identified. The networking element demonstrates how professional relationships drive deal flow.

29:13 - 29:5340s

The Consumer VC · Akash Raju

Origin Story

Talked over 500 brands, and deductions were just one of those things that kept coming up. Every brand wants to focus on the most important thing, which is growth. But having to spend a lot of time to actually deal with deductions.

The founder's journey with specific validation (500 brands) creates credibility. The tension between wanting to focus on growth vs. dealing with deductions resonates with entrepreneurs.

4:24 - 4:4926s

The Consumer VC · Rachel Springate

My business partner is definitely very visionary in terms of seeing things ten years ahead of everybody else, like first with Spotify and streaming and then women's sport and women's health. Today, people understand it. Back then, not so much, but isn't that what makes a good venture capitalist?

This is a perfect contrarian take on venture success - identifying 'taboo' markets years before they become obvious. The hook is self-contained and challenges conventional thinking about timing and market validation.

19:52 - 20:1927s

The Consumer VC · Rachel Springate

Something pretty unique to us as a fund is we already know what we're looking for. We do these three months deep dives with our interns, and we are trying to identify white spaces before the market catches up. Five years ago, we knew that menopause was a huge opportunity.

Reveals a specific, contrarian investment process - doing deep research to find white spaces before markets recognize them. The menopause example makes it concrete and memorable.

28:38 - 29:1234s

The Consumer VC · Rachel Springate