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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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/

EisnerAmper provides financial advisory services tailored to the specific needs of consumer product companies. Looking for a strategic CFO partner? Learn more – https://www.eisneramper.com/

Clayton Christopher and Brian Goldberg are two legends in the CPG space—between them, they’ve built and scaled brands like Sweet Leaf Tea, Waterloo Sparkling Water, Austin Eastciders, and SkinnyPop. Now, they’ve teamed up to launch Astro Consumer Partners, a $400M+ growth-stage investment firm focused on scaling consumer brands.

In this episode, recorded live at Austin’s Consumer Week, Clayton and Brian share what they’ve learned as both operators and investors—and what it really takes to build a brand that lasts:

✅ The biggest differences between early-stage and growth-stage investing

✅ How to know when you’re ready to raise capital—and why profitable brands still choose to do it

✅ The distribution trap: when to go deep vs. wide with retail

✅ DTC vs. retail: which to prioritize and why

✅ What “eliminating strategic risk” looks like in practice

✅ Real talk on CPG categories: why some brands crush DTC but flop in stores

✅ What actual value-add looks like from an investor

✅ Why profitability and leverage matter more than ever

👉 Whether you're scaling past $5M in revenue or wondering how investors really evaluate CPG brands—this conversation is packed with wisdom from two of the best in the game.

Timestamps-

00:00 Intro

01:10 Meet Astro Consumer Partners: $400M Growth-Stage CPG Fund

05:30 What They Look For in Brands: People, Margins, & Category Leadership

08:00 When Should a CPG Brand Be Profitable?

10:35 Why Profitable Founders Still Raise Capital

13:30 Avoiding the Strategic Risk Trap

16:45 When to Go Deep vs. Wide in Retail

20:00 DTC Brands Going to Retail: What Works, What Doesn’t

24:00 Launching in Natural vs. Mass Retail

28:00 Building Retail Leverage Through Velocity and Data

31:00 Positive Leverage: Retail, Manufacturing & Celebrities

34:00 What “Value-Add” from Investors Actually Means

38:00 Advice for Early-Stage Founders

41:00 The Emotional Journey of Entrepreneurship

45:00 Live Audience Q&A

📬 Subscribe for more founder stories & scaling insights: 👉 The Consumer VC Newsletter -https://www.theconsumervc.com/

Follow Mike Gelb:Twitter / IG / TikTok → @mikegelb / @consumervc

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

Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali started Chomps with nothing but a simple idea, some grassroots hustle, and their first month bringing in… just $500 in revenue.

Fast forward, Chomps is now an $80M+ powerhouse sold in Trader Joe’s, Walmart, and Whole Foods—all built before taking a single VC check.

In this episode, Pete and Rashid share how they turned a $500 side hustle into a national brand:

✅ Why starting small gave them the discipline to stay profitable

✅ The scrappy marketing tactics that turned $500 into their first $5,000

✅ How a Trader Joe’s deal transformed their growth overnight

✅ Why they ignored the “raise early” startup playbook and bootstrapped instead

✅ How their opposite personalities created the perfect founder duo

✅ The systems and strategy that took them from a side hustle to shelves nationwide

👉 If you’re building a business from scratch—or wondering if you really need VC money—this episode is proof that you can start lean, grow smart, and win big.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:10 How a $500 Side Hustle Became Chomps

03:25 Pivoting From Frozen Meat to Beef Sticks

06:20 Early Influencer Hacks That Fueled Growth

10:45 The Trader Joe’s Breakthrough

14:10 Staying Profitable Through Scale

18:30 The Founder Dynamic That Made It Work

22:00 Why They Waited Until $80M to Raise

26:30 Building a Brand Customers Love

30:00 The Next Chapter for Chomps

34:20 Building Systems and Teams for Scale

37:00 Staying Profitable While Competing with Legacy Brands

40:10 Why They Raised Only After $80M in Revenue

44:00 Becoming a B‑Corp and Setting Higher Standards 48:10 Their Take on the Protein Trend and What’s Next for Chomps

51:30 Book Picks: Rocket Fuel & Die With Zero

📬 Subscribe for more founder stories & scaling insights: 👉 The Consumer VC Newsletter

Follow Mike Gelb: Twitter / IG / TikTok → @mikegelb / @consumervc

Larry Cheng is the Managing Partner at Volition Capital, a $1.7B growth equity firm behind breakout brands like Chewy, Chamberlain Coffee, BURST, and Grove Collaborative. Volition’s unique approach? No early VC checks. No burn-at-all-costs playbooks. Just capital-efficient businesses with traction—and a partner who’s okay being the first check in.

In this episode, Larry breaks down:

• How Chewy went from a “low-margin pet food startup” to the largest e-commerce acquisition in history
  

• Why Volition bets on unsexy markets and skips the Valley hype
  

• How Chamberlain Coffee learned the hard way that virality cuts both ways
  

• Why most VCs misunderstand capital efficiency—and how it actually creates alpha
  

• What makes a founder irresistible without raising a single VC dollar
  

If you’re building or backing brands in today’s cautious market—this is a masterclass in discipline, scaling smart, and going big without losing your company.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro 01:10 Why Larry Left Traditional VC to Start Volition 03:25 The Two Types of Founders Who Bootstrap to $5M+ 06:20 How Volition Approaches Valuations 07:55 Why They Backed Chewy When No One Else Would 10:45 Investing in Physical Products vs. SaaS 12:30 The Truth About Virality and Bad Product Experience 14:10 How They Evaluate Customer Acquisition Channels 16:30 Defining Capital Efficiency (Pre and Post Investment) 19:00 Why Most of Their Portfolio Never Raises a Series B 22:00 What Changed Post-ZIRP: Founder Power vs. Investor Power 24:45 The Secret Sauce to Surviving the Hype Cycles 26:30 The “Unsexy Markets” That Became Home Runs 29:45 Why AI Might Be SaaS 10 Years Ago—But Riskier 33:00 Lessons From Grove Collaborative’s Public Struggles 36:50 Chewy’s Secret Weapon: Negative Working Capital 38:40 Existing vs. New Market Creation (And Why Larry Prefers Existing) 41:10 Knowing When to Exit—and What That Conversation Looks Like 44:10 Fund Horizon, Exit Timing, and Founder Alignment 45:40 Larry’s Book Picks: The Bible and 5 Types of Wealth 46:30 The Biggest Consumer Red Flag Today: “Made in China” 48:40 Favorite Innovation: Teslas Driving His In-Laws Around 49:50 The Biggest Venture Lesson: Power Law Is Real 51:20 Why Volition Intentionally Concentrates Their Bets 52:10 Pattern Matching: Useful Signal or Dangerous Bias? 53:25 The Biggest Myth About VCs (Hint: They’re Not All Sharks)

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Follow Mike Gelb: Twitter / IG / TikTok → @mikegelb / @consumervc