Nicotine, Caffeine, Scaling JUUL & Consumer Investing with Alex Cantwell, Founder of Cartograph Ventures
Consumer VC #353: Alex Cantwell, Founder of Cartograph Ventures
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Hey friends,
On today’s episode, I chat with Alex Cantwell, Founder of Cartograph Ventures, an early-stage technology and consumer fund built by operators for operators. Alex previously scaled JUUL from under $1 million in revenue to over $1 billion in just three years, a journey marked by explosive growth, regulatory hurdles, and cultural backlash.
Alex shares how he became involved with JUUL, why the company’s success was driven by its ability to pivot in the market, and what he learned about hypergrowth, distribution, and investor-founder relationships. We also dive into his current work as an investor, where he focuses on finding the next big disruptive category—while navigating the challenges that come with scaling and regulatory scrutiny.
Whether you’re building a consumer brand, navigating regulatory challenges, or investing in the next big thing, this episode is packed with lessons on how to build and scale businesses that change industries.
Here’s what 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)
I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!