Jason Starr, Consumer Ventures, Awakened Foods
@JasonStarr
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GP @ConsumerVenture and CEO @AwakenedFoods . Proud to play a small role in helping build great consumer brands and companies.
Chicago, IL
Joined April 2008
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Pinned Tweet
I spent some time this week demoing our new Cybele's Free to Eat Ancient Grain Pops, the latest products by
@CybelesFTE
and the first products developed in collaboration with
@AwakenedFoods
.
A 🧵 (1 of 9)
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You know what is an even stronger flex?
Doing this and not feeling the need to tell anyone
I tip at least 50% every time I go out to a restaurant to eat.
The staff are STOKED to see me and my wife on a date night!
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4K
@NoContextHumans
Best or worst pickup line in history?
"This card is a ticket to a $1.50 hot dog and soda combo meal!"
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@jimmiller17
@RexChapman
Why are “wearing a mask” and “resume your life” mutually exclusive? Do you not wear a coat in winter? Sunscreen in summer? Why is wearing a mask political?
I desperately want things to open back up (most people do). If wearing a mask helps that happen faster WHY NOT WEAR ONE!?
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@ericstromberg
Truly new ideas are very, very rare. There were social networking sites before Facebook, electric cars long before Tesla, etc.
Execution, execution, execution...a little luck and good timing (not always required, but certainly helps)...and execution!!!
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@HarryStebbings
No question, our rescue pup, who hasn’t left my side throughout pandemic WFH
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@ChrisJBakke
My first startup in 1999 we had Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP, CVS and Netbeans IDE. Felt like a golden age of tools for building a tech startup. In many ways it was...all that was basically free (only $ for HW + hosting)...didn’t worry about (or need) all the stuff on your list. 🤷♂️
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@OfficialBBrooks
@paul_griffiths
It’s almost like maybe we should stop using amount of capital raised and paper valuations as the metrics for success
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@CanadaKaz
@tobi
@Shopify
So…back to management fads and signaling instead of just good old fashioned management, leadership, and creating great company culture?
The problem isn’t meetings…the problem is effective meetings.
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@guyfosel
@soundslikecanoe
When I was with a big consulting firm we used to end interview day by have very recent hires take the candidate to lunch and would watch how they treated the wait staff very carefully...it literally cost some people getting a job offer if they were jerks to the waiter
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@GaryWinslett
TBF there's no way you are fitting 30 housing units, commercial space, and bank into that building...
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@RepSwalwell
Why don't you write it up as standalone legislation and let people in Congress stand up to support this issue (or let it be clear that they don't) instead of burying it in a big kitchen sink quagmire of a bill that makes it political and allows people to avoid accountability?
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@lukesophinos
I asked my teenage kids if they had heard of the Gas app, they had visceral reaction, said it is absolutely toxic…they and friends tried it but now hate it and will never use it again
I’m not throwing shade and my kids may be outliers, but curious to hear experience of others
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@alexrkonrad
$25M up front to build a new DTC consumer product company with high shipping costs and low repeat purchase rate…what could go wrong?
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@cszhu
My code once brought down AT&Ts cellular network in the Pacific Northwest
Ah, to be young and carefree again…
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@crockpics
Amazing
@PearlJam
album!
Favorite track:
"Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town"
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@digitallynativ
@jgulden
@web
The original comment was on D2C companies. A D2C company that thinks they are a tech business is in for a rude awakening. Innovation helps build the brand, IP buys you time, but the value is not the tech but the experience and brand. For a CPG business, the brand is your moat.
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@Jason
I think it would be amazing karma if Adam Neumann spent his personal fortune buying and trying to revive WeWork…and blew all his own money in the process
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@maiab
Having someone hand deliver you a single dish is a luxury…don’t ask how people can “afford” it, ask why people would ever pay it (so many options to have that meal at significantly less cost to you).
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@girdley
Great list, I'll add one more...
11) As part of welcome package (biz cards, laptop, etc) show them were a key is hidden just outside the front door to office so they can get in outside of normal hours (I recommend fake rock that can hold a key)
Bonus: Your list now goes to 11
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@d_feldman
To a large degree it is a failure to do the math and make reasonable assumptions
BTW, it works for Pizza and Chinese food due to (a) better margins and (b) delivery person is usually just another employee on the clock delivering to tight geograhic area (marginal time/expense)
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@TheKingOfSuede
@GaryWinslett
50/50 odds that someone gets my jokes is better than what I get at home (I have teenage kids…though to be fair they are Alice in Chains fans so they don’t exactly have a great sense of humor)
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@chrissisanders8
The two happiest days in a boat owner's life: the day you buy the boat, and the day you sell the boat
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@dvasishtha
Facts. It is a huge CYA for execs on risky projects.
As the old saying goes, "No one ever got fired for hiring [insert big consulting firm name]"
That doesn't mean they don't have really smart or great people (I used to be one of them), but paying for CYA more than anything.
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@girdley
@FoundersPodcast
I grew up in Omaha and we bought all our furniture at Nebraska Furniture Mart. Everyone knew Mrs. B, not because of the press but because when you shop there she would pull up in her wheelchair and haggle with you personally…and always, and I mean always closed the deal.
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@RepAdamSchiff
Why don’t you propose single issue bills so people can see exactly what those in Congress support (or don’t)?
For example, how about a simple bill that makes Election Day a federal holiday?
Overloading bills just gives people a way to avoid accountability (in both directions).
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@levie
Hindsight is always 20/20
I think a better understanding of the VC process helps people avoid their bitter view of VC. VCs hear multiple pitches/day to make 5-10 investments/year. No diff than colleges...many great people get turned away, its not because they aren't any good. 🤷♂️
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@anothercohen
I never liked the "Give us $10k and we help you raise" pitch
Didn't like it back in 1999, don't like it now
If you can find someone really helpful who is willing to dig in and spend real time, I think it is appropriate + fair to give a little equity...but they gotta earn it
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@MadiLAlexander
@Amanda_Clinton
It’s even more ridiculous in later stage PE: “You won the deal of the year award (light industrials, upper midwest category) for your buyout of a ball bearing company...to accept, just take out a full page ad in our mag for $X and let us know where to send the acrylic trophy”
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@deemurthy
Contrarian view…wish them well and offer to give a loan to help pay for grad school, which will be forgiven if they come back to work for you after they graduate
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Growth hack for CPG businesses: Grassroots marketing at local events
Too many brands/teams think they are above it, but the reality is CPG is a ground war, you win in the trenches, one neighborhood at a time
It’s all about the turns…and building your email list
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@JonErlichman
Had a Palm Treo through grad school, then took a job in 2007 where everyone was issued Blackberries
The Treo was a great product, just as good as Blackberry. The diff was BRAND and MOAT...two things Blackberry would forget and Apple would use to crush everyone a few years later.
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@Trace_Cohen
Disagree...if biz model actually works. Any biz with good margins + profitable at $100M in sales will have options (even if just dividend recap)
I get why you might want to raise more capital at $100M, but don't build a business where you *need* to raise capital at $100M sales
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@mynameis_davis
CEO = the person in charge and has overall responsibility (aka the buck stops here)
If your plan is to hire people you are putting a stake in the ground as to who is in charge…I have no problem with it
People overthink titles too much IMHO…
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You aren’t as important to the world as you think you are.
But you are more important to your family than you could ever imagine.
Just a little reminder to myself that I thought was worth sharing…
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I've been a huge fan of and investor in Awakened Foods for some time now. With the closing of our Series A, I'm joining the team as CEO to help them execute on the company's mission of making amazingly delicious snacks without the junk, for a healthier planet and a healthier you!
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@becca_peng
We invest in consumer ventures
@CompanyFirstEBA
...our LP updates are as much look book to highlight our brands as they are to tell the numbers (a few examples below, coming right out of one of my LP updates):
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@GiantBrobots
@cszhu
I keep it in the “Hobbies and Interests” section:
Likes coaching youth sports, traveling internationally, playing really loud guitar, and occasionally bringing down big sections of telecommunications infrastructure with poorly tested code and infinite loops
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@matt_vanswol
It’s very nice of you to do, and I’m sure they appreciated it (I’ve worked for min wage, as a server working for tips, etc)…I’m just saying IMHO it will mean more to you as well (and them, actually) if you do things like this and actually not tell anyone 🤷♂️
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@bfeld
Confusion!
People think wearing mask prevents you from getting germs from OTHERS, but this is wrong thinking
You should wear mask so YOU don't spread germs to others
This is part of Asian cultures, not just during pandemic, common courtesy
Not sure why we don't get this in US
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@joshqharris
This, along with…
How to build a unicorn:
1. Raise over $1 billion
2. Write a press release
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Sampling at
@WholeFoods
in Cherry Creek. Love telling our story and seeing people try our new products and love them so much (sold out…again)! Plus so many people have allergies and can’t eat most snacks, and they are SOOO excited to have a free-from AND delicious snack like our
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Family enjoying the day together, Chicago is so amazing this time of year!
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@johnhfio
Disagree...so many people have great ideas like this (and even the innovation behind it) but just don't have the ability and perseverance to execute on it.
Stop overthinking and execute, execute, execute!
(Also helps to fail fast and move on if something isn't working)
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So many tweets from VCs advising founders right now on how it can be damaging to raise capital at high valuations...from the same VCs who drove up valuations up over the past few years.
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@lessin
Imagine being so wrapped up in trying to turn the scheduling of meetings into the Art of War that you can’t figure out to simply say, “Feel free to book some time via the link below, or if you prefer send me some dates/times that work for you and we will get something scheduled.”
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@InnocenceCapit1
@buccocapital
Their advice would have been "shut down the show and just rent out the apartment...do you have any idea what a place like this is going for in the city these days?"
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@anothercohen
My understanding is when checked it look for updates whenever you start the app, then prompts you to update when one is available...which helps avoid the situation where updates are required for app to work and you are about to start a meeting with incompatible version
@Zoom
?
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@awwstn
Get an extra set of car keys…because while you are obsessing over the vent, you kid is plotting their next move (I’m not going to spoil the surprise, but it will involve calling a plumber)
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@sabakarimm
I have an incredibly flexible work schedule…though I basically never stop working 🤷♂️
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@NoCodeKenny
@WHOOP
I'm truly amazed by all these people who never had a hangover and needed an expensive wearable device to tell them drinking alcohol had side effects. 🤷♂️
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CPG entrepreneurs, this should be your goal and barometer of success:
$100M+ in revenue
exit at 3-4x sales
takes 10+ years to achieve
Trying to build a unicorn in CPG in the short timeframe as tech just isn't the right approach...sure it can happen, but more often backfires
Compass Diversified (NYSE: CODI) acquired a majority stake in black-owned feminine care brand The Honey Pot Company at an enterprise value of $380M.
Founded in 2012 by Beatrice Dixon, The Honey Pot Company retails at more than 33,000 stores across the U.S.
Annual revenue is
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Hot take?
Many creators don't care about their products or consumers, they are just cashing in on their momentary fame. I don't blame them, but I do blame consumers for falling for it.
Authenticity matters...
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The only way I know how to get teenagers out of bed on the weekends…and still only works about half the time. 🤷♂️
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@orrdavid
@C_J_Jeffcoat
@CurtisHouck
@AnnCoulter
TBF I also know a lot of brilliant software developers who would fail miserably at a service job, let alone managing people, retail locations, regions, companies, etc. Not every retail related job is flipping burgers, and for many it IS a career and marketable skill.
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@zachcoelius
I’ve been saying similar, even just wearing a bandana helps (plus makes you look like a cool cowboy robbing a bank or something...so a win-win!)
@Adrian_H
@DLBHATTMD
@bfeld
If you feel sick, even using a bandana as a mask would help. Sick people coughing all over the place is the bigger problem. People cough into their hands and then touch everything, that is how things spread. Not because you aren't wearing a mask and walk into a cloud of virus.
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@lolitataub
The percent you own should be based on how much you raise, how capital efficient you have been, and what valuation you can justify for your company...not the opposite
I know that's not a popular opinion...but approach it that way and it will actually be easier to raise capital
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If you are a CPG investor, don't ask for samples as part of your diligence...just go spend the $5 or $10 to buy the product (and help the company out with a little bit of sales). Plus then you get to experience the product the way customers buy it (online or on shelf).
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@shl
If you are starting a business and want an honest vs. hot take on MBAs,
@ChicagoBooth
and the
@polskycenter
have launched 370 startup companies that have gone on to raise more than $1.2 billion in funding and have more than $8.5 billion in exits.
But, whatever floats your boat…
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@Hforood
@vivianmshen
For anyone who lived through dot-com 1.0 this is a great answer…it’s hard given their position today to explain how many Amazon naysayers there were back in the 90s
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@deanharitos1
@MacConwell
You don’t need to pay for a solution. Let your lead VC manage the cap table in excel and teach the management team how cap tables (with projected future rounds + waterfalls) work. Of all the areas where a VC firm can add value, this is a legit one...we do cap tables in our sleep!
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@SeanEcom
Ecom isn’t dead, it’s just not low hanging fruit anymore. Ecom is just a channel…like any other.
Welcome to the world people selling wholesale have had to deal with for generations, where it takes more than clever online ads or viral videos to make a brand and sell products 🤷♂️
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@AmandaMGoetz
Let’s be honest. Most people saying they had zero balance in their 20s actually have (or had) 10x+ the social life, free time, and flexibility in their 20s than they have (or will have) as working parents in their 40s. You just don’t have this perspective until it is hindsight…
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Trade shows are the lifeblood of many businesses. I keep a bunch of old badges in my office on a saber used by one of my relatives who was a Union Soldier. Reminds me both of the sacrifices of those who came before us and how hard you have to work for what you want to achieve.
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Whatever amount you think you need to raise now...double it
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@scheff61
Always love to hear these stories!
VC is an amazing tool for funding R&D or to move faster to capitalize on market opportunities. But the reality is the majority of successful companies (and multigenerational wealth) never took venture financing.
(And I’m saying this as a VC)
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@SMB_Attorney
And yet not a single one of those states is on the western half of the country... 🤷♂️
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@lolitataub
Hard to find investors who look at a convertible note and say “if only you were doing a SAFE”
But the opposite happens a fair amount
Why limit your options? The docs/legal work are about the same…and to many investors a SAFE shows lack of conviction in the business IMHO
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@businessbarista
I don't know what percent you should hold in cash
But I do know you should never take financial advice from a hedge fund manager
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@cyvanessali
I go to trade shows and hand out hundreds of business cards
If you don’t understand that VC is a sales job you are missing opportunities
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If I sent you samples of some healthier snacks would you be willing to fill out a short survey with your feedback?
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You aren’t the first one with that idea (but that’s ok, you don’t need to be)
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Emerging CPG brands, study public companies in your space, especially those who managed (decided?) to go public when still earlier/smaller like Laird Superfoods. You can learn a lot about things like margins and growth rates (and see how you compare):
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@jefielding
@jpmorgan
I use
@Chase
for my emerging fund, just walked in and opened an account. Free wires with $50k balance.
Many of our portfolio companies use Chase as well
I’d be curious to know what Chase is lacking, unless you want a capital call line…which SVB wouldn’t give me anyway 🤷♂️
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@digitallynativ
Amazing product and brand with good margins (50%+) but growth not great past year and (ugh) raised $200M to get to $200M in sales and STILL not profitable?
We need to change what it means to build a successful consumer brand (eg look at marketing as % of sales…not sustainable)
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@girdley
Not gonna lie, I just got new business cards and excited to be heading to a trade show next week where I will hand out 100+ of them.
On the flip side, this is my entourage (also closest thing I have to assistants):
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@SenTinaSmith
@SenWarren
@SenSchumer
Honest question, why not a government program to refinance the debt (e.g. spread payments out over next 30 years at zero interest) instead of cancellation?
Then maybe focus on the SOURCE of the problem (e.g. better educate students on how loans work, skyrocketing tuition costs)?
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@pitdesi
I’ve been saying this for years (and was part of the restaurant practice at former PE firm)…I’m baffled a Chipotle-format Indian restaurant chain hasn’t been done and taken off yet!!!
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@iiiitsandrea
Just drinking water has a relatively similar effect...they even show this on their science page, using water as a placebo in their study
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Aldi acquires Winn Dixie
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@villi
The Cooley Go doc generators / templates are another great resource. Similarly gives boilerplate and can redline changes vs standard and options.
We also prefer / advise priced equity round, but if doing a note we use Cooley Conv Note vs YC SAFE
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~ DEMO TIME ~
Was up in Boulder last night sampling our new
@CybelesFTE
Ancient Grain Pops…they were a HUGE hit, thanks for all your support
@WholeFoods
!!!
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