Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage Investing I Brands | Technology

Mike Gelb
  • 5,0 (4)
  • INVESTISSEMENT
  • 2 FOIS PAR SEMAINE

Consumer VC takes a look into early-stage consumer investing and venture capital. If you are interested in learning about consumer trends, have a b2c business and interested in learning about the fundraising process at the early stage, you have come to the right place. Mike interviews some of the top venture capitalists in the world that focus on B2C and consumer type companies or have a deep track record investing in these categories such as marketplaces, SaaS, social, CPG and non-tech subscription. Mike also interviews founders that are building some of the most disruptive consumer facing companies in the world. The conversation usually includes the insight the founder discovered, fundraising strategy, and the pitch. This podcast also includes bonus episodes. Each bonus episode dives into a particular subject that might not have to due with the fundraise or venture capital, but still would be helpful to founders. For example, a bonus episode on brand strategy or how to construct a board of directors. All bonus episodes will be clearly labeled. For all episodes, please visit www.theconsumervc.com. For updates, you can follow @mikegelb on Twitter.

  1. -3 J

    Harsh Truth Behind Beauty Exits ft. Rich Gersten

    Glimpse is the all-in-one, AI-powered deductions management platform for CPG brands—automating deduction capture, classification, disputes, and accounting. Recover more revenue while saving time – https://www.tryglimpse.com He’s one of the most respected investors in beauty and wellness—and he’s seen every boom, bust, and bubble the industry has gone through. In this episode, Mike sits down with Rich Gersten, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of True Beauty Ventures, a beauty and wellness–focused investment firm built by operators for founders. Rich has spent over 20 years investing in consumer brands—from early private equity days at North Castle Partners to launching True Beauty Ventures, one of the most influential early-stage funds in the category. Rich shares how he accidentally stumbled into beauty investing, what makes the category so resilient, and why he believes the “beauty bubble” is finally normalizing. He also opens up about the reality of early-stage investing, the rise (and decline) of celebrity brands, and what he’s learned from building a beauty-focused fund from scratch. You’ll learn:✅ Why beauty and personal care outperform other consumer categories✅ How Sephora and Ulta transformed the entire retail landscape✅ The biggest mistakes founders make when scaling beauty brands✅ How True Beauty Ventures approaches early-stage investing✅ Why most celebrity brands fail (and what makes Rhode different)✅ What’s really happening in beauty M&A and why exits have slowed✅ How Rich thinks about valuation discipline and pro-rata investing✅ Why execution—not product—is the #1 differentiator 👉 If you’re a founder, operator, or investor in beauty or consumer, this episode offers a rare inside look at what it really takes to build and back the next breakout brand. Timestamps00:00 Intro01:20 How Rich Got Into Beauty Investing04:00 What Makes Beauty Unique vs. Other Consumer Categories07:00 Sephora, Ulta, and the Rise of Specialty Retail08:30 Why Rich Started True Beauty Ventures11:00 How They Add Value Beyond Capital13:00 The Difference Between Private Equity and Early Stage15:00 Lessons from Fund I & II: Check Sizes, Risk, and Returns19:00 The “Back Up the Truck” Investment Strategy22:00 How True Thinks About Pro-Rata and Founder Relationships25:00 Sephora & Ulta: Still Essential or Optional?28:00 The $5M Revenue Trap (and Why Early Might Be Better)31:00 How True Evaluates a Brand’s Potential34:00 Outbound vs. Inbound Deal Flow37:00 The Real Economics of Beauty40:00 Why Luxury Skincare Is Failing42:00 Amazon’s Surprising Role in Beauty44:00 The Problem With Celebrity Brands47:00 Why Rhode Worked—and Others Didn’t50:00 Returns, Risk, and How Beauty VC Actually Works55:00 The M&A Slowdown: Too Many Sellers, Not Enough Buyers01:00:00 The Future of Beauty Exits and Strategic Buyers01:03:00 Makeup’s M&A Problem Explained01:05:00 Valuations, Prefs, and Founder Pitfalls01:06:30 Book Picks: Outlive by Peter Attia & Founder Stories in Beauty 📬 Subscribe for more founder stories & scaling insights:👉 The Consumer VC Newsletter - https://www.theconsumervc.com/ Follow Mike Gelb:Twitter / IG / TikTok → @mikegelb / @consumervc

    1 h 9 min

  2. 5 NOV.

    Harsh Truth About European Startups ft. Joe Seager

    Glimpse is the all-in-one, AI-powered deductions management platform for CPG brands—automating deduction capture, classification, disputes, and accounting. Recover more revenue while saving time – ⁠https://www.tryglimpse.com What happens when a venture investor builds inside one of the world’s most consumer-obsessed ecosystems? In this episode, Mike sits down with Joe Seager, Partner at True, a multi-stage investment and advisory platform that’s redefining what a consumer-specialist VC can be. Before True, Joe spent five years working alongside Sir Richard Branson at Virgin, helping launch ventures across autonomous vehicles, fintech, and digital banking—giving him a front-row seat to innovation at global scale. Joe shares what he learned from working inside Virgin’s founder-driven culture, what makes True’s vertically integrated model so unique, and how he’s seeing consumer venture evolve across Europe. You’ll learn: ✅ What it was really like working with Richard Branson ✅ How True’s “multi-stage” structure gives founders an unfair advantage ✅ Why Europe’s venture landscape is so fragmented—and where it’s winning ✅ How Brexit changed the flow of capital, LPs, and cross-border investing ✅ What consumer categories are still venture-backable (and which aren’t) ✅ The truth about power-law outcomes in consumer investing ✅ Why AI will reshape—not replace—the future of consumer brands ✅ The founder traits Joe looks for when writing a first check 👉 If you’re a founder, operator, or investor curious about the intersection of consumer, venture, and Europe’s next wave of innovation, this episode is packed with insight from one of the most thoughtful voices in VC. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:40 What It Was Like Working With Richard Branson 03:00 The Moment Joe Fell in Love With Venture 05:00 Why He Joined True & What Makes It Different 07:00 Inside True’s Multi-Stage Model (VC + PE + Public + Advisory) 09:00 How the Ecosystem Helps Founders Win 12:00 Leveraging True’s Corporate Network for Startups 15:00 True’s Split: B2B vs. B2C Investments 16:00 How Europe’s Venture Scene Differs From the U.S. 18:00 The Rise of Sweden, Estonia & the Nordics 22:00 How Brexit Reshaped Capital Flows in Venture 26:00 LP Structures: Why Europe Lags Behind the U.S. 28:00 The Need to Unlock Pension Capital in the UK 31:00 How Brexit Changed Startup Global Expansion 35:00 Is Consumer Still Venture-Backable? 38:00 Building Venture-Scale Consumer Brands 41:00 Why Now Might Be the Best Time to Invest in Consumer 43:00 How True Thinks About AI in Consumer 47:00 New Consumer Categories AI Is Unlocking 49:00 How Europe Differs Culturally From the U.S. 51:00 What Joe Looks for in Founders 54:00 The “Jockey vs. Horse” Debate in Early Stage VC 57:00 Why True Avoids Vice Categories 59:00 Book Picks: James Dyson Autobiography & The Technology Trap 📬 Subscribe for more founder stories & venture insights: 👉 The Consumer VC Newsletter - https://www.theconsumervc.com/  Follow Mike Gelb: Twitter / IG / TikTok → @mikegelb / @consumervc

    1 h 5 min

  3. 7 OCT.

    Untold Truth Behind JUUL’s Explosive Growth ft. Alex Cantwell

    Glimpse is the all-in-one, AI-powered deductions management platform for CPG brands—automating deduction capture, classification, disputes, and accounting. Recover more revenue while saving time – ⁠https://www.tryglimpse.com He helped scale JUUL from $1M to $1B in just three years. Now, he’s investing in the next generation of consumer brands. In this episode, Mike sits down with Alex Cantwell, founder of Cartograph Ventures, an early-stage technology and consumer fund built by operators for operators. Alex shares what it was really like to scale one of the most controversial startups in the world—and what he learned about hypergrowth, backlash, regulation, and leadership along the way. You’ll learn: ✅ How JUUL went from failure to billion-dollar rocket ship ✅ Why vape shops—not gas stations—became JUUL’s secret weapon ✅ What founders get wrong about retail expansion ✅ The dark side of hypergrowth and founder burnout ✅ Why “disruption” always invites controversy ✅ How operator-investors think differently about building vs. funding ✅ The future of vice categories: nicotine, caffeine, and beyond ✅ Why fiber might be the next big consumer trend 👉 If you want to understand how to build a disruptive brand, survive a backlash, and think like an operator-investor—this conversation is packed with hard-won lessons. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:00 From Wharton to JUUL: The Accidental Entry Point 03:00 Why JUUL Failed in Gas Stations 05:00 Finding Early Adopters in Vape Shops 07:00 Rethinking Retail & Route to Market 09:00 The Fallacy of “Instant Scale” with Big Retail 11:00 Lessons from Hypergrowth Inside JUUL 13:00 The Psychological Cost of Scaling Too Fast 15:00 What JUUL Got Right (and Wrong) 17:00 Should JUUL Have Been Banned? 19:00 Why Every Disruptive Brand Becomes a Lightning Rod 21:00 How Operator VCs Think Differently from Traditional Investors 25:00 The Real Difference Between Operators and Financial Investors 30:00 Betting on Regulated Categories (and Knowing When to Walk Away) 33:00 The Nicotine Pouch Boom: Zen vs. JUUL 36:00 Is Nicotine in a Harm Reduction Era? 38:00 Nicotine vs. Caffeine: The Mental Shift 41:00 Why Venture Has Become Hits-Driven 43:00 The “Cowboy Diet”: Protein, Nicotine & Caffeine 45:00 The Future of Consumer: Simplicity, Identity, and Less Friction 48:00 When to Go Deep vs. Broad in Retail 50:00 What Great Founders Do Differently 53:00 Why Operator-Led Funds Push Founders Harder 56:00 The Real Bubble in AI (and What Comes Next) 60:00 Underrated Categories: Why Fiber Might Be the Next Big Thing 63:00 Lightning Round: Lessons, Regrets & Fast Food Favorites 📬 Subscribe for more founder stories & scaling insights: 👉 The Consumer VC Newsletter - https://www.theconsumervc.com/ Follow Mike Gelb: Twitter / IG / TikTok → @mikegelb / @consumervc

    1 h 10 min

  4. 16 SEPT.

    From Garage Startup to Celebrity-Backed Brand ft. Jake Bullock

    Glimpse is the all-in-one, AI-powered deductions management platform for CPG brands—automating deduction capture, classification, disputes, and accounting. Recover more revenue while saving time – ⁠https://www.tryglimpse.com What if cannabis could become a true social beverage—an alternative to alcohol that delivers the buzz without the hangover? That’s the bet Jake Bullock, co-founder of Cann, made when he left the world of finance to reinvent drinking culture. Today, Cann is the #1 THC-infused beverage brand in the U.S., sold in liquor stores across 30 states, backed by celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Hudson, and changing the way people think about unwinding. In this episode, Jake shares the full story of how Cann went from a garage experiment to a category-defining brand: ✅ Why lowering THC to 2mg unlocked cannabis’ social potential ✅ How Cann turned stigma into approachability with smart branding ✅ The brutal challenges of selling drinks through dispensaries ✅ The regulatory pivot that opened up liquor store distribution ✅ Competing head-to-head with alcohol (and winning shelf space) ✅ Product innovation: Grapefruit Rosemary, Lemon Lavender, and Roadies ✅ What celebrity investors really bring to the table ✅ The future of THC vs. non-alcoholic drinks in American culture 👉 If you’re curious about the future of social drinking—or want to hear what it really takes to build a disruptive CPG brand—this conversation is a must-listen. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:00 Why 100mg Drinks Were a Problem 03:00 Cann’s Insight: Low-Dose, Great Taste 07:00 Unlocking the Social Buzz at 2mg 10:00 Making Cannabis Approachable (Not Premium-Elite) 13:00 Campaigning Against Alcohol Culture 15:00 Breaking Out of Dispensaries 18:00 Regulatory Challenges & State-by-State Growth 22:00 The Big Pivot: From Dispensaries to Liquor Stores 28:00 Winning Shelf Space vs. Craft Beer & RTD Cocktails 33:00 The Rise of Roadies & Naked Highboys 38:00 Flavor Innovation: Grapefruit Rosemary, Lemon Lavender 42:00 Gross Margins & Beverage Economics 45:00 Fundraising & Celebrity Investors 49:00 What Value-Add From VCs Really Means 51:00 Defining Success: Exit, IPO, or Independence? 53:00 Cann’s Mission to Change Drinking Culture 55:00 Lightning Round: Humor, Misconceptions & Mistakes 01:02:00 Book Recommendations 📬 Subscribe for more founder stories & scaling insights: 👉 The Consumer VC Newsletter - https://www.theconsumervc.com/ Follow Mike Gelb: Twitter / IG / TikTok → @mikegelb / @consumervc

    1 h 5 min

  5. 9 SEPT.

    Why Women’s Health, Parenting, and Sports Are the Next Big Bets in Venture ft. Rachel Springate

    Glimpse is the all-in-one, AI-powered deductions management platform for CPG brands—automating deduction capture, classification, disputes, and accounting. Recover more revenue while saving time – https://www.tryglimpse.com What does it take to raise and run a venture fund focused on the overlooked—and why women’s health, parenting, and sports are the future? In this episode, Mike sits down with Rachel Springate, Co-Founder & General Partner of Muse Capital, to unpack her journey from luxury partnerships and entertainment to building a venture capital firm with a mission. Rachel shares how she and her partner Assia uncovered their thesis through personal experience, why women’s health remains one of the most underserved opportunities in venture, and how Muse balances investing in overlooked sectors with the hype cycles of AI and beyond. Here’s what you’ll learn: ✅ How Rachel’s career in partnerships and entertainment shaped her investing style ✅ Why Muse Capital doubled down on women’s health long before it was popular ✅ What LPs really said when Rachel and Asya pitched Fund I—and how they overcame it ✅ How Muse approaches partnerships with celebrities and Fortune 500s authentically ✅ Why proprietary data in women’s health and family tech is a hidden AI moat ✅ The thinking behind Muse Sport and investing in women’s sports + SailGP ✅ How to avoid hype-driven investing and focus on recession-proof markets ✅ Rachel’s one-sentence mission for Muse: “Investing in companies that should exist” 👉 If you’re a founder, investor, or operator navigating consumer, healthcare, or sports in 2025, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:00 Rachel’s path from luxury partnerships to venture 06:00 The authentic way to approach celebrity + startup partnerships 11:00 Founding Muse Capital & the personal experience that shaped its thesis 16:00 Raising Fund I with a contrarian focus on women’s health 22:00 How Muse filters noise from venture hype cycles 27:00 Early conviction in MIDI Health and spotting overlooked opportunities 35:00 How Muse helps portfolio companies through partnerships 38:00 The origin of Muse Sport and investing in women’s teams & leagues 44:00 The SailGP Italia story & sports investing strategy 47:00 Books Rachel recommends (professional & personal) 50:00 Muse’s mission distilled 📬 Subscribe for more founder stories & venture insights: 👉 The Consumer VC Newsletter - https://www.theconsumervc.com/ Follow Mike Gelb: Twitter / IG / TikTok → @mikegelb / @consumervc

    51 min

  6. 27 AOÛT

    VC Playbook Has Changed. Here’s What Founders Must Do ft. Ezra Galston

    Glimpse is the all-in-one, AI-powered deductions management platform for CPG brands—automating deduction capture, classification, disputes, and accounting. Recover more revenue while saving time –https://www.tryglimpse.com What does it take to build a truly durable consumer brand in today’s volatile venture environment? In this episode, Mike sits down with Ezra Galston, Founding Partner of Starting Line, to unpack the shifting dynamics in consumer, marketplaces, and venture capital. Ezra shares why the Midwest VC ecosystem looks different from the coasts, what’s changing in consumer investing post-2021, and how founders can position themselves to raise smarter—not just bigger. Here’s what you’ll learn: ✅ Why consumer investing still matters (even if VC sentiment has cooled) ✅ The difference between “good” growth and “unsustainable” growth ✅ How geography shapes venture outcomes (and why Chicago is unique) ✅ Why Ezra believes today’s founders must optimize for efficiency over hype ✅ The traps consumer founders fall into when chasing scale too early ✅ What LPs really want from consumer-focused funds right now ✅ How Starting Line is approaching the next generation of consumer brands ✅ Why resilience and margin discipline are the new non-negotiables 👉 If you’re a founder, investor, or operator navigating consumer markets in 2025, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:10 Why Consumer Still Matters in Venture 05:00 Growth vs. Unsustainable Growth 09:20 The Midwest VC Lens vs. The Coasts 14:00 Lessons from Building Starting Line 18:30 Why Scale Too Early Destroys Consumer Startups 23:00 LP Expectations in a Reset Market 27:00 Ezra’s View on the Future of Consumer Brands 32:00 Optimizing for Efficiency in Fundraising 38:00 Why Margins Are the New Moat 42:00 Advice for Founders Raising in 2025 47:00 Ezra’s Recommended Books & Resources 📬 Subscribe for more founder stories & venture insights:👉 The Consumer VC Newsletter - https://www.theconsumervc.com/ Follow Mike Gelb: Twitter / IG / TikTok → @mikegelb / @consumervc

    1 h 18 min

  7. 21 AOÛT

    Recaps, Downrounds and Cap Table Engineering: What Really Happens When Your Growth Plan Fails with Steven Finn

    Glimpse is the all-in-one, AI-powered deductions management platform for CPG brands—automating deduction capture, classification, disputes, and accounting. Recover more revenue while saving time – ⁠https://www.tryglimpse.com When fundraising stalls, valuations reset, and the cap table gets messy—what really happens next? In this episode, Mike sits down with Steven Finn, Partner at Siddhi Capital, to break down the tough realities of down rounds, recaps, and cap table engineering. Steven has been in the room when brands shift from celebration to survival—and shares what founders and investors need to know when things don’t go as planned: ✅ Why overcapitalization often leads to a “death spiral” ✅ When to use equity vs. debt—and why both can be predatory ✅ How mega funds create distorted valuations (and walk away fast) ✅ The psychology of “dead equity” and how to reset expectations ✅ Why insiders matter most in distressed situations ✅ How to keep founders aligned (and motivated) during a recap ✅ Why margins = runway, and why that matters more than ever ✅ What smart founders can do early to avoid being wiped out 👉 If you’re a founder, investor, or operator navigating today’s tougher fundraising environment, this episode is essential listening. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:00 Why Fundraising Feels Harder Than Ever 04:50 Fuel on the Fire vs. Finding the Fire 07:00 Debt vs. Equity (and Predatory Capital) 12:00 When Equity Deals Get Ugly 16:30 The Mega Fund Trap & Overcapitalization 23:00 How Huge Rounds Re-Risk Companies 27:00 Recaps, Option Pools & Dead Equity 30:00 Why Venture is Now “Financing Risk First” 34:30 Rethinking Portfolio Strategy 39:50 Are Down Rounds Still a Scarlet Letter? 43:00 Why Margins = Runway 46:00 Selling Distressed Assets (and Why It’s So Hard) 50:00 How Founders Can Protect Themselves Early 53:00 Spotting Coachable vs. Uncoachable Founders 56:00 Growing in Retail Without Growing Too Fast 58:00 Steven’s Book Recommendations 📬 Subscribe for more founder stories & venture insights: 👉 The Consumer VC Newsletter - https://www.theconsumervc.com/ Follow Mike Gelb: Twitter / IG / TikTok → @mikegelb / @consumervc

    1 h

  8. 11 AOÛT

    The $400B Question: How AI Is Redefining Venture Capital and the Future of Startups

    Glimpse is the all‑in‑one, AI‑powered deductions management platform for CPG brands—automating deduction capture, classification, disputes, and accounting. Recover more revenue while saving time – ⁠https://www.tryglimpse.com Q1 2025 was the slowest fundraising quarter for consumer VC in recent memory. So what's really happening in venture capital—and how is it impacting founders in consumer, SaaS, and AI? In this episode, Mike sits down with Peter Walker, Head of Insights at Carta, to break down what's beneath the data:  ✅ Why seed valuations are holding—but fewer deals are closing ✅ What’s behind the Series A “chasm” in consumer ✅ How mega funds are reshaping early-stage investing ✅ The rise of solo GPs and the slow decline of mid-sized funds ✅ Why LPs are getting frustrated with VC ✅ What founders risk when a mega fund passes on their Series A ✅ Why AI is warping the current “reset” in venture ✅ And what the future of venture might really look like 👉 If you're a founder, investor, or emerging manager trying to navigate the post-2021 world, this is a must-listen. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:00 Why Consumer VC Has Higher Highs & Lower Lows 04:00 What Went Wrong with DTC and VC Expectations 06:00 Fund Size Creep & Why Some Firms Abandoned Consumer 10:00 The “Thesis Drift” Problem in Venture 13:00 Why Most VCs Don’t Stay in Their Zone of Genius 15:00 Mega Funds vs. Seed Funds: Optics, Pressure, and Power 21:00 Why Series A Has Become a Brick Wall 26:00 Will AI Companies Actually Be Durable? 31:00 The Rise of 3-Year Fundraising Cycles 35:00 The Future of Emerging Managers 38:00 The Squeeze on Mid-Sized Funds 40:00 The “Just a Little VC” Founder Strategy 44:00 Why Seed Valuations Haven’t Crashed 47:00 How Tariffs Are Impacting Consumer Deal Flow 51:00 Where Is the Liquidity? (& Why M&A is Surging) 54:00 Are We Actually in a Reset? 56:00 The AI Hype Cycle and OpenAI Risk 59:00 Peter’s Favorite Books (Personal & Professional) 📬 Subscribe for more founder stories & venture insights: 👉 The Consumer VC Newsletter - https://www.theconsumervc.com/ Follow Mike Gelb: Twitter / IG / TikTok → @mikegelb / @consumervc

    1 h 2 min
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À propos

Consumer VC takes a look into early-stage consumer investing and venture capital. If you are interested in learning about consumer trends, have a b2c business and interested in learning about the fundraising process at the early stage, you have come to the right place. Mike interviews some of the top venture capitalists in the world that focus on B2C and consumer type companies or have a deep track record investing in these categories such as marketplaces, SaaS, social, CPG and non-tech subscription. Mike also interviews founders that are building some of the most disruptive consumer facing companies in the world. The conversation usually includes the insight the founder discovered, fundraising strategy, and the pitch. This podcast also includes bonus episodes. Each bonus episode dives into a particular subject that might not have to due with the fundraise or venture capital, but still would be helpful to founders. For example, a bonus episode on brand strategy or how to construct a board of directors. All bonus episodes will be clearly labeled. For all episodes, please visit www.theconsumervc.com. For updates, you can follow @mikegelb on Twitter.

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