December FirstLook Brands

Welcome to our 13 new readers since last weeks newsletter. We'll try our best to keep this fun, light, and informative. It's a pleasure to have you join us. 

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Merhaba! ("Hi" in Turkish)

This newsletter is coming in HOT considering I just sent the November box newsletter last week. I need to play ketchup here. Plus my trial for Beehiiv expires Tuesday. Lame. 

To pick up from last week, looks like this banking crisis is continuing to unfold. I came up with this clever solution to solve it. TBD on whether that works. Shout out to everyone who continues inciting panic. I wish I had as much free time as you. 

In other news, right now I'm in the midst of pulling together an SPV for Tally Kids. Of the 1000's of brands I see, I'm really bullish on them. We've already reached 50% of our goal raise. If you're an accredited investor interested in reviewing our investment memo, please email - [email protected]

FirstLook recently partnered with BallBox to roll out something very special for FirstLook brands only. I'll share more on that in the coming newsletters. This leads me to my next point: 

FirstLook is not a silver bullet. I can't make investors write checks, or change how hard it is to fundraise. Especially in this climate. That being said, I try my absolute best to provide value to founders so whether they land an investor check or not, it's still worth every penny to jump in our boxes. I provide access to opportunities that move the needle for brands. If you're on the fence about jumping in, sign up - I'm happy to chat. I'm not the sales-y type either. I let our work speak for itself. 

To bring this full circle, our partnership with BallBox is something special for FirstLook founders. So whether you're a brand that investors are begging to invest in, or not, jumping in our boxes is always a smart move. 

Company Updates

• The FirstLook Syndicate is fielding interest for an SPV in Tally Kids. Please email [email protected] if you're interested in participating.

• The subscriber count for our Founder Horror Stories! newsletter is growing. Hopefully I can roll out the debut copy soon.

• FirstLook's Job Board continues to grow, as does our CPG Sampling Group which now has over 85 founders!

• I wrote a Linkedin Post on questions new investors may want to consider when diligencing founders.

Alumni Brands Making Moves

• Wunderkecks (July 2022) basically won the award for 'Who Made the Biggest Splash' at SXSW. They were everywhere, and they're raising a new round right now. Email us if you're interested to learn more.

• Nutr (Jan 2023) has a big launch event in LA this week on Friday the 31st!

• Tim Tebow continues helping keto-friendly NuSkool Snacks (Sept 2021) grow. Friendly reminder - it was FirstLook who initially helped introduce Tim and NuSkool :)

• Rupee Beer (Jan 2023) continues their East Coast domination.

• Good Feels (Feb 2023) won "Best Cannabis Innovation" community award at NECANN!

• SOUND (Jan 2021) grows their partnership with Wellfare (who we are big fans of).

Founder Pro Tip of the Month 💡

First and foremost, if you're a brand, you need to have an email address with your company's URL. Receiving an email from an @gmail.com address immediately signals "you're too early" to investors. 

And while we are in this vein, make sure you periodically check your spam folder. All too often Gmail (or whichever provider you use) mislabels emails and sends them to your spam folder when it shouldn't. It's simply good inbox hygiene to check that from time to time to make sure you're not missing anything important. 

Did a friend forward you this email, and now you want to join? 

December Box Brands 🚀

Investors: 38 → Apply Here |‏‏‎‎    Brands: 8 → Apply Here |‏‏‎   Intros: 56 

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4AM Skincare

Founded by Sabrina Sade & Jade Beguelin |‏‏‎‎‏‏‎  Site + IG + TikTok |‏‏‎   📍 NYC

What made them stand out: Besides having a very luxe feel with the use of black as their main brand color, I really like Jade and Sabrina's ability to hustle. Their deck was full of partnerships and activations that brands, who are years ahead of them, would kill to have. Given how new they are, this was really impressive, and a testament to how hard the founders work. The beauty space is tough, so it's usually the founders who work their asses off who end up getting ahead. Keep an eye on 4AM, they're going places.  

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Daily Crunch

Founded by Laurel Orley, Diane Orley & Dan Stephenson‎‏‎ |‏‏‎‎‏‏‎  Site +  ‎IG + TikTok |‏‏‏‏‎  📍Nashville

What made them stand out: Daily Crunch uses a unique patent-pending process with their almonds where they soak them, which lets them partially sprout, then they dehydrate them shortly after. This gives them an extra level of crunchiness, and a totally new experience for enjoying almonds. They also have a ton of fun flavors which really pack a punch. This is a must try product, especially if you're an almond fan. Given their unique innovation, and hella tasty product, I'm excited to watch them grow. 

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Freestyle

Founded by‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‏‏‎ Mike Constantiner & Russ Wallace |‏‏‎  Site +  ‎IG + TikTok |  📍 LA

What made them stand out: Freestyle stood out in two ways. First, founders Mike and Russ are extremely talented operators. The types you bet on regardless of what they're building. Second, these diapers are ultra ‏‏sustainable. They're the only diapers on the market with a tree-free pulp core and corn based liner. They're free from toxic chemical, allergen, fragrance, and chlorine. And they're 55% more absorbent than Pampers Pure.  Freestyle is gearing up for a huge 2023 as they roll out nationwide into 700 stores. Mommies and daddies across the nation, who are more environmentally conscious than ever, put Freestyle in the sweet spot for becoming the next $1B baby brand. 

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Nomadica

Founded by‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‏‏‎ Kristin Olszewski |‏‏   Site + IG + TikTok |‏‏ 📍LA

What made them stand out: Nomadica is one of those companies that scores high across the board. Great product, operationally discipline, consistent growth, and strong demand from retailers. Their strategy of using cans is a nice sustainable touch too. What made Nomadica standout overall was Kristin. She's a certified sommelier who spent a decade working in some of the best restaurants in the country. She's been featured in Forbes, Vogue, Fortune, and is one of 2021 Wine Enthusiast’s 40 under 40. Because of her background and expertise, consumers can trust they are drinking the best of the best. 

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Peaceful Fruits

Founded by‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‏‏‎ Evan Delahanty ‎‏‎|‏‏‎  Site +‎‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‎IG   ‎‏‎|‏‏‏‏‎  📍 Paris on the Lake (Cleveland, OH)

What made them stand out: They're a Cleveland based company so that puts them within the Top 1% of all companies. That aside, Peaceful Fruits, a Certified B Corp, is innovating the fruit snacking category in a big and nostalgic way. Remember Fruit-by-the-Foot, or Fruit Rollups? Idk wtf was in those things, but it certainly wasn't fruit. Peaceful Fruits instead uses real fruit, and a unique production process (I saw it in action, it was so cool!), to create fun and unique dried fruit shapes that are nutritious and fun to eat. Peaceful Fruits is already on track to 5x their revenue this year compared to last. I'm a big fan of Evan (we've become good friends since I moved back). If you ever meet him, ask him about his run on Shark Tank or his time in Suriname during his Peace Corps days!

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Pricklee

Founded by‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‏‏‎ Kun Yang & Mohammed Hassoun ‎‏‎|‏‏‎  Site +‎‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‎IG + TikTok‏‏‎  ‎‏‎|‏‏‏‏‎  📍 NYC

What made them stand out: Besides Pricklee's run on Shark Tank which generates free exposure for life, I really love their drink. It's extra refreshing, and is lower in sugar and calories + has more electrolytes, antioxidants, and Vitamin C than coconut water. Even better, it's more sustainable than coconut water too. Prickly pear cactus grows quicker and requires far less water than coconut trees. While Pricklee is great on its own, it can also be added to smoothies or used as a mixer. “There have actually been a lot of clinical studies that look at the benefit of prickly pear on liver health, especially after consumption of alcohol,” Yang says. “They saw a reduction of liver enzymes when people were consuming prickly pear beforehand, which is why you'll see it in a lot of *quote-unquote* hangover products.” 

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Pym

Founded by‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‏‏‎ Zak Williams & Olivia June |‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Site + ‎IG  ‎‏‎|‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎📍 LA

What made them stand out: America has a mental health crisis. Fortunately for us, PYM is helping us manage better. A few things made them stick out. First, their Mental Advocacy-focused mission and founding team provides significant advantage for recruiting team members and strategic partners. They have a world-class science and advisory team from Harvard, UCSF, and MIT, delivering innovative, evidence-based formulations. Second, they have a strong cap table to support including L Catterton, Gaingels, Hunter Walk, Dan Rosensweig, Bá Minuzzi, and Andy Dunn, among so many others. Lastly, Zak Williams, son of the late Robin Williams, is extremely passionate about this space. All that combined makes PYM an incredible company that I hope continues to do well given how needed their products are for Americans. 

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Salsa God

Founded by ‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‏‏‎Danny Mayans |‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Site + ‎IG  ‎‏‎|‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎📍 NYC

What made them stand out: Salsa God has an incredible lineup of salsas with flavors that match whatever you're looking for. Danny is a heads down operator which I like. He doesn't get caught up chasing clout. What made them stick out was their commitment to capital efficiency, and their recently debuted Combo Pack. You would be oddly surprised to learn that there is little competition in the combo pack space (I was very surprised too). Other than Arizona Iced Tea's nacho combo pack, there aren't many others creating such a product. This is Salsa God's opportunity, which they are capitalizing on via their airline partnerships with Spirit and Frontier. 

That's a wrap. January box is next. Keep on building my friends. 

If you're a brand, sign up here to jump in our boxes. If you're an investor, sign up here to get a box! 

Thanks from the FirstLook Team- Brian, James, and Mahdi

This email was proofread by my lovely fiancé, Michele. Please buy her stuff :)

P.S. - For a moment, Michele thought I didn't know how to spell 'catch up' when I used the word 'ketchup' earlier. Unreal.