Technology Episodes
Aaron Fu (Catalyst Fund) - The Biggest Misconception When Investing In Emerging Markets, Difference Between Selling to SMBs and Consumers, and the Effects of Mobile First
Dec. 3, 2020
Our guest today is Aaron Fu , Head of Growth at Catalyst Fund . Catalyst Fund is an inclusive fintech accelerator that is focused on investing in companies located in different parts of Africa, India and Mexico. They support innovative startups building affordable, accessible and appropriate soluti…
Vincent Diallo & Joseph Sartre (Interlace Ventures) - Why ecommerce is boring, Why is China at the Forefront of Retail Tech, and Headless Commerce Explained
Dec. 1, 2020
Our guests today are Vincent Diallo and J oseph Sartre , founding partners of Interlace Ventures . Interlace is a seed stage fund that invests in founders that are re-inventing commerce and retail for better consumption. We focus this conversation on their learnings in innovation when they both wor…
Michael Barlow (Fernish) - The Advantage of Not Knowing, His Approach to Building a Rental Furniture Supply Chain, and The Biggest Hurdle When Fundraising
Nov. 24, 2020
Thank you Anna Barber for the intro to today's guest, Michael Barlow , founder and CEO of Fernish . Fernish offers premium furniture rentals that feel like home, delivered and assembled in a week. We discuss how Michael approached validating his idea of furniture rental, figuring out the supply cha…
Samara Hernandez (Chingona Ventures) - Why Chicago, How Diverse VC Teams Lead To Investing In Markets That Are Overlooked, and Some of the Differences When Investing In Consumer vs. Enterprise
Nov. 19, 2020
My guest today is Samara Hernandez , founder of Chingona Ventures . Samara invests at the preseed and seed stages on industries that are massively changing and founders whose backgrounds uniquely position them to create businesses in growth markets that are often overlooked. We discuss how she anal…
Taylor Nieman (Toucan) - Browser Extension Businesses, The Power of Partnerships, and Her Unique Approach to Fundraising
Nov. 12, 2020
Our guest today is Taylor Nieman , founder of Toucan . Toucan is a free chrome extension that helps you learn a language without even trying. It's pretty cool, I've been using it for the past few months and The Consumer VC owns the word "episode" on the platform. We discuss the opportunity in brows…
Nikhil Basu Trivedi (Next Big Thing) - Why Investing in Consumer Subscription Businesses Has Become The Next Big Thing, and The Reasons Physical Goods and Software Businesses Aren't That Different
Nov. 10, 2020
Thank you Ezra Galston for the intro to today's guest, Nikhil Basu Trivedi . Nikhil previously was the managing director of Shasta ventures and writes The Next Big Thing, which is an awesome online publication. Some of his investments include Literati, Tally, Canva, Farmer's Dog and The Pill Club. …
Han Shen (iFly.VC) - How He Thinks About Overlooked Opportunities, Focusing on a Sector Rather Than Becoming Opportunistic, and How One of His Portfolio Companies Was Able to Pivot Successfully
Oct. 27, 2020
Our guest today is Han Shen . Han is the Founding Partner of iFly.vc , an early-stage seed/VC fund based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The fund follows a sector-thesis driven process and aims to build a concentrated portfolio with meaningful value add to entrepreneurs. We discuss the different sec…
Elaine Russell (Greycroft) - The Future of Retail, How to Choose a Co-Founder, and Running a Single LP Fund
Oct. 22, 2020
Our guest is Elaine Russell , who co-leads Greycroft's Albertsons Fund. Greycroft is one of the premier full lifecycle investors, investing out of both their venture fund and growth fund. Greycroft's Albertsons fund is one of their sidecar funds that focuses on the future of retail. Previously, Ela…
Yury Lifshits (Openland) - How to Build a Community, The Hard Pivot, and Minimizing Friction
Oct. 8, 2020
Our guest today is Yury Lifshits , founder and CEO of Openland . a modern social platform for communities. Yury is a serial entrepreunor, founding Zonaspace, Blended Labs and Entangled Solutions. On this episode we talk about Openland, how he thinks about the future of online social, how he thought…
Maya Horgan Famodu (Ingressive Capital) - Investing in Sub-Saharan Africa, What She Looks For When Entering New Countries, How to Build Startup Ecosystems in Frontier Markets
Sept. 11, 2020
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 Pa…
Sarah Kunst (Cleo Capital) - The Future of Work, Complicated Consumer and How to Have a Diverse Portfolio
Sept. 3, 2020
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 Cla…
Sunny Dhillon (Signia Partners) - Grocery Store Technology, Why Beauty Brands Are Great To Invest In, and Changes in Retail
Sept. 1, 2020
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.
Office Hour 2. David Goldberg (Corigin Ventures)
Aug. 24, 2020
This episode is part of a live recording Office Hour / AMA with David Goldberg.
Alex Levitt (Yellow) - Inside Snap Inc.'s Launchpad for Startups, Building Products On Top of Social Platforms, and Her Diligence Process
Aug. 13, 2020
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.
Sasha Astafyeva (Atomico) - Growing a Real Estate Tech Company in Brazil, Series A Consumer Landscape in Europe, and How She Thinks About International Expansion
Aug. 4, 2020
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…