Jonathan Krieger

When we asked CPG founders who they wanted at Founderland... Their answer was clear: People who can help them grow their business & achieve their goals. Specifically: - The top retailers - The most founder-friendly investors, and - Other founders they can learn from and share with This conversation that I'm hosting at Founderland is a perfect representation of this group, plus one BIG bonus. We're also including Joel Toledano and ChargeUp.ai which is one of my favorite tech companies that is supporting consumer brands today. They automate the retail deduction and chargeback process for brands, saving them an insane amount of time and money. Such a cool co. Excited to teach, share and connect...and get some deals done, while of course having lots of fun. Joel Toledano Jen Zeszut Kim Coffin Deb Conklin

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At the CFA Society Indianapolis Venture Breakfast last week I mentioned how SaaS is losing its VC footing to AI. A couple of folks asked for more information, so I figured I'd share today's PitchBook newsletter on the topic. (https://lnkd.in/eJ285n-a) Amid shifting landscapes in the tech sector, corporate innovation funds and investment dollars are increasingly pivoting towards AI experimentation. As traditional SaaS startups experience a deceleration in revenue growth, the focus is shifting. 💡 As we witness this transition, it's crucial for professionals in tech and investment sectors to understand how AI can drive not only efficiency but also innovation. ❓ Let's discuss how your organizations are adapting to this shift. Are you experimenting with AI? What impacts do you foresee in your industry? #AI #CorporateInnovation #TechTrends #StrategicInvestment

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Recently, I joined Daniel Scharff on the Startup CPG Podcast to break down these core financial pillars to help founders build a resilient and scalable brand. Here’s a quick rundown: 1. Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) → Understand the full cost to develop, produce and receive each product (it’s way more than materials.) 2. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) → You need to use your CAC as your constant in the spend equation. 3. Cash Flow → Scaling without a handle on cash flow is a recipe for disaster. Too fast of growth can kill a company as quickly as too slow of growth. 4. Margins → Razor-thin margins (stand alone or via discounting) means playing on hard mode. 5. Retention Rate → Repeat customers are the foundation of long-term success in e-commerce. I break down each one in more detail on the podcast. Listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/eJzypw6x

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We continue to deliver on our turnaround at BODi (NYSE: BODi). We just reported the BODi Q2 2024 financial results with: 1. Our third consecutive quarter of positive Adjusted EBITDA 2. We posted our best quarterly gross margin since going public in 2021 3. We announced multiple partnerships, including the American Diabetes Association, Dr. B and True Med   We are excited to launch our Nutrition Supplements Direct-to-Consumer via eCommerce in Q3 of 2024, which positions us to target the $164B Nutritional TAM.    While our turnaround plan is still in the execution stage, we are excited by our progress and the strategy ahead.    @Carl Daikeler, @Marc Suidan and I will be hosting the conference call which will also be available to interested parties through a live and recorded webcast at https://lnkd.in/gHs8TXXj or https://lnkd.in/gkvVrNsg   Q2 2024 Earnings Release: https://lnkd.in/gvmadTwA htps://lnkd.in/gt-AYmFX   #Shareholdervaluecreation #DigitalFitness #DigitalHealth

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Today marks Recharge’s 10th anniversary. There’s a lot to celebrate with this moment, and 2024 was a banner year, surpassing $100 million in ARR, powering 20,000 merchants and topping 100 million subscribers served by our platform. But I also want to be real for a second. The last ten years haven’t been easy but two things have kept me focused and made the highs even better, and pushed me to persevere during the lows. 1. “From humble beginnings come great things.” This quote has been with us since the earliest days of Recharge and it’s with us today. We never lose sight of the fact that we are always at the beginning of something great, and bigger than we know. 2. Focusing on helping the lives of merchants. Our mission of making the lives of everyone that we serve at Recharge better is why I get up in the morning ready to solve new problems. There’s no doubt that our merchant-first mission has enabled us to scale and hit those exciting milestones. We started Recharge because we saw an opportunity and a need in the ecommerce space. Looking back, I don’t think we could have predicted how much growth, change, and excitement would come over the course of a decade. I’m grateful to everyone who’s been part of the Recharge journey. We could not have made it to year 10 without the hard work of our team, the trust of the brands we work with, and the collaboration from our ecosystem partners. Reflecting on the past 10 years is what energizes me to plan for the next 10. So, here’s to tomorrow.

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We've released the latest edition of our EQ/IQ Crypto Newsletter, and it's packed with key industry developments. Here are my top three takeaways: 1️⃣ U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis officially introduced the BITCOIN Act in the U.S. Senate, proposing to pay down the national debt through the creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve. 2️⃣ Historic levels of volatility swept across broader markets as the VIX reached levels we've only seen a handful of times in the past two decades. 3️⃣ U.S. presidential candidates are increasingly signaling a pro-crypto stance in an effort to capture tens of millions of "crypto votes." We cover all of these topics and more in our weekly newsletter. Stay up-to-date on this rapidly evolving market by downloading your copy today. 🤝

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If you are a CPG founder interested in learning more about community rounds, this is a good 101 overview. Thanks to Daniel Scharff and the team at Startup CPG for hosting, and James Reina for sharing his personal experience of running a Wefunder community round for Jibby Coffee. Without question, the best slide of the deck screenshotted below. https://lnkd.in/gHyxFuDa

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Amongst the most successful VCs in consumer in the past decade has been Kirsten Green at Forerunner So I asked her all about how startups can navigate the 70% reduction in consumer investing & why now might be the best time for VCs to look harder at the category. I loved this discussion. I always learn something from Kirsten. Click below to watch / listen https://lnkd.in/g3kiMPD5

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I just wrapped up a panel with the Marketing Leadership affinity group within the How Women Invest community with my hero Auntie Nancy Hayes, aka the Yoda of board membership, angel investing, and general badassery. We talked about different ways to serve on boards, a role in which experienced Marketers seem to be often underrepresented. Why? If I had to guess, I'd say: 1 - Most heads of marketing are women 2 - marketing is undervalued, especially under sales/revenue experience 3—Compound the first two with the messages you tell yourself about your own worthiness, and suddenly, you're a great marketer for everyone else but yourself. ___________ For those who are interested in getting closer or into the board room, there are so many ways to start/get experience: 1—Board Observer (one of my current board roles)—you represent the investor but have no votes. It is unpaid, but/and hugely essential to act as a bridge of visibility and communication between the fund you've invested with and the company in which the fund has invested. My role brings value to both sides with much less bias than the other VC board seats. 2—Corporate board director—There is much governance but not much influence on the product, as the company usually has big enough teams for that. There is a lot of hiring/firing CEOs (read: drama), which can still be fun, especially for those fresh-popcorn-in-my-bag swag kinda folks (both grossly generalizing and way understating this role's fiduciary importance, but you get the idea). 3—Independent board director—this is another of my favorite places to sit. It is much like the Board observer role but with voting rights and equity (although not always, as these terms are negotiated and influenced by the shareholding board seats). You are NOT representing a VC fund (typically), but you might have subject matter expertise in the product or are a generalist boss gal like myself and bring a sense of neutrality and balance to the board. 4—Advisor. Advisors are similar to IBD in terms of influence and type of advice but are not part of the board or its meetings. This role is usually paid in some combination of equity and cash. It's another of my faves. (Are you seeing the trend here?) We have not even touched non-profit boards (where I got my start and am currently sitting on my sixth), but we will save it for next time as it's a whole 'nother Oprah. If you want to learn more, How Women Lead is hosting its 5th annual #getonboard week, starting October 21. Hybrid virtual and in-person. Check it out: https://lnkd.in/diizwv8j #womeninleadership #boardofdirectors #howwomenlead #governance #boarddiversity #corporategovernance #boardservice #businessleadership #leadership Julie Candelon Susan Greenwood Schroeder Mikayla Ludwig

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💰 Some quick hits in investment land: -Bally’s Corporation's raises $940M in debt for new projects -Oats Overnight raises $35M to expand in retail channel -Lotus Foods Raises $22.5M to source new global rice cultivation communities -Kudos raises $3M seed round to scale cotton-based disposable diapers -Naturaz raises $1M to bring all-natural products to the mass market -STYLEST raises $1.1M for growth Key Takeaways: -Health, wellness and sustainability are popular in recent fundings -IRL is rebounding & investments seem to follow despite market conditions -Less consumer investments occurring, yet larger concentrated rounds still happening -Alternative protein a category to watch 👀

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Ty Hoffer joined me to discuss the rising importance for small-cap companies to build a retail investor audience. "Many management teams are trying to compete in the marketplace today with old, outdated strategies. "It's a pretty common occurrence for a company to put out a press release and get crickets." "You have to evolve and embrace digital media." Ty has been helping small-cap management teams get their stories out to retail audiences for over 20-years. You can listen to the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/gg9EMkUp

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Big milestone: DVx Ventures has raised $100 million for its company creation platform-- a huge show of support especially in the tough fundraising market these past few years, and an important validation for our unique approach to venture capital, what we call a company creation platform. At DVx, we don’t just invest, we build companies from the ground up with an operator-first mentality and assemble uniquely talented and diverse teams to solve the biggest problems on our planet. We’ve achieved a success rate of 7 in 10 companies (compared to the industry’s 1 in 20). We’ve already launched 12 companies with 5 of those externally funded by VCs, creating hundreds of jobs and enabling leaders to achieve their dreams.  Here’s how the DVx team stands out: - VC 2.0. We assemble a highly curated portfolio and maintain a high rate of equity ownership through Series C/D and skip management fees. At DVx, a higher success rate + high equity ownership = great returns for our investors and our companies. - High touch: We know what great teams look like, what great product looks like, and what great go-to-market looks like. We are hands-on operators and builders, and spend all our time building and solving problems (vs reading pitch decks) - Top talent factory: We bring together and empower the best teams and stay with them in the trenches for years (vs moving to the next one after a few months) Here are just a few highlights of the portfolio we built: Atomic - Reinventing supply chain and inventory management. - 15x ARR in 12 months, 100% customer satisfaction, zero churn. Curbee - Bringing mobile service tech to dealerships to change car care for consumers. - Live in 25+ dealerships, with 400 more in the pipeline. - Fully integrated with dealers existing management systems, generating new revenues in service for dealers and a loveable customer experience for all consumers. Cork - Eliminating cyber risk for small businesses. - 590% projected growth this year and 90% new customers in 6 months. - Doubled endpoint protection coverage. With this new funding, we’re ready to scale and keep building for the future. Thanks to everyone who believes in our vision. We’re just getting started!

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This article really resonated with me, especially the section below about founders knowing their numbers. What skill set should a founder starting a brand today have?  Drew F.: "Now, more than ever, you have to know your numbers. You have to be able to describe your unit economics, not only certainly to any prospective investor, but also to yourself because the odds that you’re going to get any capital are near zero. If you don’t know your unit economics and cash flow, you won’t have a business. The founder that knows their numbers and how to scale the business in a healthy and efficient way is the founder that will prevail." Scaling a beauty brand has never been easy, but it has gotten increasingly more difficult over the past few years. Capital efficiency and a focus on margins and profitability have also become more important for investors seeking to deploy in the category. True Beauty Ventures Cristina Nuñez Rachel Brown Beauty Independent #beautyinvesting https://lnkd.in/egBiFhPC

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I recently saw this metric from Carta’s 1Q24 VC Fund Report, which is very concerning. DPI... is nowhere to be found in earlier vintages that probably should start showing DPI. Funding early-stage projects is great, but ultimately, these venture dollars need to exit their investments and pay back their limited partners. That’s where the metric Distributed to Paid-In Capital (DPI) comes in. While managing a fund, we get interim measures during the life of the fund (e.g. IRR, MOIC), but ultimately, “you can’t eat IRR.” If you want to build a lasting venture capital organization, you need to start showing DPI for your fund. Keep in mind that this is traditional VC data from Carta, and is not strictly crypto venture. Crypto venture tends to get liquidity earlier (tokens) and things tend to go parabolic sooner (faster, more unicorns) - but I’d wager that the data here is somewhat similar for Crypto VCs… Not as much DPI as there should be from these earlier vintages. Read the full article, as well as a recap of all the crypto fundraising rounds for August, here: https://lnkd.in/g3eVJ-iF

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A good dataroom makes a great impression, but is not that obvious what that looks like and what consumer VCs are looking for! Having gone through hundreds of these at dmg ventures and seen the good, the bad and the ugly we want to help entrepreneurs putting their best foot forward. So Taos Edmondson, CFA wrote a great piece on how B2C founders can build data rooms that investors will love. Have a read!

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Great points !! The dynamics of selling a SaaS business, especially to Private Equity (PE), can be complex and emotionally challenging. When considering this path, founders need to evaluate their role, ownership, and influence in the company post-sale. Here’s my take: 1️⃣ If you’re the **majority holder** and believe in the business’s future, continue as CEO to maintain influence and control over the direction. Retain enough "skin in the game" to drive results and keep a hand on the wheel. 2️⃣ If you’re a **minority holder**, with a new PE-appointed CEO, it may be wiser to take a substantial payout and invest in a new venture. In this situation, you often lose decision-making power, risking becoming a spectator in a company you helped build. 🔑 **What’s crucial?** If you still have meaningful equity, you should have a say in the direction. When you’re not in the driver’s seat, it’s often better to start fresh, investing your energy and passion into something new where you’re not just "cheering from the sidelines." Selling is a monumental decision; make sure it aligns with your values and vision for your future. #SaaSFounders #ExitStrategy #PrivateEquity #BusinessOwnership #EntrepreneurJourney #Leadership

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CAVA (~$35M/restaurant) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (~$20M/restaurant) far outperform other industry comps for valuation per location. What's their secret? A recent conversation with investor Andy Giacone from Roark Capital summed it up brilliantly: "I've done due diligence on a LOT of public and private restaurants. One of the assets that consistently leads to the highest valuations is the robustness of a brand's loyalty program. For B2C businesses, a scale and high-performing loyalty program is almost as important as recurring revenue in B2B." Why? Performant loyalty programs offers predictability and therefore downside protection while also making it far easier to achieve robust future growth. McKinsey & Company concurs: "While growth is difficult to sustain, it is generously rewarded. In examining 15 major publicly traded restaurant companies... there was a more than 80 percent correlation between annualized same-store sales growth and annualized total shareholder returns.... Successful loyalty programs translate directly into financial results, often encouraging both larger order sizes and greater order frequency from program members. These programs can funnel customers into brands’ first-party delivery businesses, which offer the brand higher margins than it receives from orders conducted through third-party delivery services."

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2H24 VC: Slow and Furious Race… We are racing to the election and then will likely crawl to a decision. The nasty rhetoric likely contributed to the slight down tick in consumer sentiment last month, the first time since the beginning of the summer. Headline inflation came in a touch hotter than expected at 2.4% in September. The paradox is that the Conference Board just increased its 3Q24 real GDP growth to 1.8%, up from 0.8% in its prior forecast. Conditions are quite good, but the world feels very chaotic. Obviously, the macro-economic conditions directly affect the venture capital industry as liquidity informs returns and the pace of new investments. The velocity of capital is critical and now the system feels stuck. According to a recent report from Pitchbook, both the number of investments and amount of capital invested significantly declined in 3Q24.  For the quarter, $37.5 billion was invested in 2,794 deals as compared to $55.5 billion in 3,661 deals and $35.0 billion in 3,365 deals in 2Q24 and 3Q23, respectively. Notwithstanding the obvious demand for innovative solutions, the healthcare technology sector also saw continued softness in investment activity. According to Rock Health, 3Q24 investment was $2.4 billion across 110 deals suggesting an annual pace between $10 - $11 billion, consistent with 2023. The data do not lie. Thoughts for the rest of year below…https://lnkd.in/ewBQceMk Flare Capital Partners #digitalhealth #venturecapital

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