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- July 2024 Box
Welcome to our 61 new subscribers since our last newsletter. I'll keep this fun, light, and informative. Did a friend forward you this? Subscribe here.
Tashi delek! (“Hi” in Tibetan )
Welcome back. Let’s jump in. But first…
Funding Announcement 🤑
Congrats to Plink! on raising $25,000 through FirstLook. Plink! went through in August 2023 and an intro we made then finally reached fruition. This is a great example of FirstLook’s longtail value. My hats off to Max and Luke on keeping investors updated and demonstrating momentum.
To those freshly joining us, this is part two of ‘What is FirstLook?” series. Things have been growing quick lately, and I’ve never shared a behind-the-scenes primer until now. The last newsletter I covered the startup side of FirstLook. Today I’ll cover the investor side and where we’re headed. I don’t do much of any PR (though I’d love to more going forward), and so this newsletter is my only outlet to share my thoughts and journey.
So What’s in it for Investors?
For only $99/month, Investors get a monthly box of samples of 6-7 emerging brands plus links, data rooms, and decks to learn about them. Investors also enjoy these perks:
It’s free for their portfolio companies to jump in our boxes
For many investors, their membership is a tax write-off
Access to private deal flow of startups outside our boxes in adjacent industries like retail tech, eComm, marketplaces, etc.
An invite to our private investor group chat, deep brand discounts, and other support, including event sampling
A ‘first look’ at all deals coming from FirstLook Ventures
Access to our Alumni Brands Portal to review alumni brands raising new rounds
Bonus samples from brands raising soon or alumni brands launching new products
Investors join because they see FirstLook as a cost-effective way to gain VC quality deal flow and invest in brands who could be the next Liquid Death, Smart Sweets ($360M exit), Dollar Shave Club ($1B), or Vital Proteins ($2.4B). More on this below.
Our members to date have had the opportunity to experience and invest directly into such brands including:
How We’re Different
Unlike some other investor platforms, we do not take any success fees, and all investing is direct. We don’t force members to invest via SPVs where they lose 20% of the upside via carry. In fairness, I do like SPVs as they are a great option to get into incredible deals. However, I don’t believe that should be the only way to invest when joining an investor group. You’re already paying to be in the group, so why also lose (big) on the backend via carry?
Additionally, FirstLook is the most interactive of investor groups. Instead of just emails with links to decks (boring!), we send boxes full of brands for investors to experience with their families, friends, and coworkers. Experiencing is at the heart of consumer investing.
Overall our boxes are best for angels who want VC quality deal flow they can experience, and family offices and VC firms who want to make sure they are turning over more rocks and not missing the next breakout brand.
My Strategy for Delivering Value to Investors
I feel my duty here is threefold. First, it’s to deliver an incredible experience of sampling and investing in breakout brands who could generate ROI’s north of 100x. It also includes creating a robust community where investors can connect, share deals and insights, and more.
Second, it’s to help investors save time by filtering strong deals to the top, so those new to investing see great opportunities. Consumer is tough, but can be extremely rewarding. It’s imperative that investors see many great deals and founders to build that muscle for identifying winners early.
Third, it’s to strike a balance between introducing brands they likely haven’t seen while also mixing in brands they may already know (but aren’t aware they’re raising). Could I go ping all the hot brands to jump in? Of course. But everyone already knows of them. I instead aim to help investors make sure they aren’t missing anything.
This is an important distinction because the next logical question is, “Do hot deals (substantially) outperform the mean?” I have yet to see data on this, but as we all know, ‘non-consensus, but right’ investments drive returns that let investors truly ride off into the Mediterranean sunset upon their new custom built yacht.
I mention this because I’m planning a future newsletter to unpack the ‘non-consensus, but right’ concept. Majority of the biggest winners didn’t look like winners initially, hence why I look to strike a balance between hot brands versus purely innovative and interesting.
Ready to join our community? Sign up here to learn more.
Bringing it All Together
Our mission since day one has been to get products into the right hands so magic can happen. We execute on this mission via a focus on three primary goals.
First, it’s to build a long term sustainable business that meaningfully changes the lives of our founders and investors. Without that, everything else goes to sh*t. We need to continue attracting strong founders building great companies, and strong value-add investors willing to support these founders. Investors, join here.
Second, it’s to continue building a bright, 24/7 lighthouse that brings in founders and investors who want to work together. Taking the friction out of connecting these two groups, and creating an enjoyable experience where everyone wins, is at the heart of why we get up each morning.
Third, I’d like to raise a fund of my own in the future with FirstLook as our value-add service. I’ll always consider myself a founder first, but it sure would be nice to write checks into the brands and founders I love. What I’m building today is a step in the right direction to create incredible proprietary deal flow that is underpinned by championing founders.
If you’re an LP, I’d love to connect and share my edge over other emerging managers, plus a system to deliver superior returns.
Brian’s Venting Section
It’s been a weird journey building on the investor side, and I need to get this off my chest: Imo, too many investors are takers and not givers.
I’ve met so many over the years. I’ll share deals to build a relationship, but often they don’t return the favor (despite knowing I’m building FirstLook Ventures). It’s frustrating, but oddly enough it also gets me excited. It tells me there is so much room to be a better investor and partner in the ecosystem. Like my bff Jeffy Bezos once said…
“Your margin is my opportunity”
I feel my timing here is strong. The VC asset class is entering its 3rd chapter of growth right now. We’re going from a ‘cottage industry’ to a full blown economy driver that gets more competitive by the day. I’ll unpack this in depth in a future newsletter and share where I think the industry is headed.
If you made it this far, and found this interesting, please forward this to an investor you know. It’s small acts of kindness that help us founders push forward. Appreciate it!
To wrap up, here is Steve Tisch’s favorite VC scoreboard:
Founder Pro Tip of the Month 💡
There are a handful of frameworks founders can use to tee up their “Why now?” One that I like is from Oren Klaff in his book, Pitch Anything, which I recommend everyone read. The strategy here is to demonstrate there are three major forces unfolding that make investing in your brand relevant and wise:
Economic forces: What has changed in the economy that makes what you’re building relevant?
Societal forces: What has changed in society that makes makes sense for consumers right now?
Technological forces: What has changed in technology that makes the timing right?
Economic explained: This could come from a major change in the law, changes to our tax code, or even import duties. Simpy ask yourself, “What’s changing in the macro economy (in a big way) that positively impacts my business.”
Societal explained: This is a reflection of what the people want. Things like less plastic, better-for-you ingredients, more sustainable options, etc.
Technological explained: This one is usually a tough argument for consumer brands unlike an AI startup for example. In consumer, however, think about any proprietary unlocks you have. This could be your ingredients, your production process, or your packaging. They key here is to frame things in a way where, “This innovation has never existed before, but it does now, and that’s what makes this opportunity so unique.”
Did a friend forward you this and now you want to join?
July Box Brands 🚀
Bim Bam Boo
How We Met Them: Via their signup on the FirstLook.vc
One Liner ✍️ — Bim Bam Boo is an omni-channel tree-free paper company that is disrupting the $47B household paper industry.
What made them stand out: Bim Bam Boo is a brand the world NEEDS to succeed. 1 million trees everyday are cut down to meet global demand for toilet paper, but this can be solved by utilizing bamboo based paper. Bim Bam Boo is so far crushing that mission. They’ve experience +111% YoY velocity growth and are amongst the fastest growing companies in this category. Strong brand aside, I really liked Zoë’s background as she comes from a tree-free paper production family in Minnesota. Safe to say she knows this world well. I also think her branding and packaging is beautiful which extends across multiple skus toilet paper, wet wipes, paper towels, and facial tissue. These multiple touch points with consumers further builds brand equity.
Request An Intro (Investors only)
NUMO
Founded by John Occhipinti | 📍SF - Shop / IG
How We Met Them: I met John via the investor side of FirstLook years back.
One Liner ✍️ — NUMO is a wellness and gut health company with the first gummy in the world that can maintain and preserve active good bacteria from fermented foods and probiotics.
What made them stand out: Consumers wanting fermented, probiotic rich foods is on the rise due to an increased focus on gut health. We’re seeing this go from not just coastal types caring about but now also middle Americans. NUMO’s timing is great as their product is the world’s first gummy that can maintain and preserve active bacteria from fermented foods and probiotics all while being shelf stable and no refrigeration required. This is a huge breakthrough which took two years of R&D work. NUMO is still relatively early, but they have the hallmarks to blossom into something big. They’re lead by an experienced team that brings 25+ years experience building and investing in consumer brands. I would watch this brand carefully going forward.
Request An Intro (Investors only)
Playper
Founded by Webb Knudsen + Susy Christiansen + Michael Bruza | 📍Los Gatos, CA — Shop / IG / TikTok / Linkedin
How We Met Them: Webb is also an investor which is how we met.
One Liner ✍️ — Playper is an award-winning, planet-friendly toy brand that makes build-it-yourself playsets for kids 3-6 that combine hands-on play with digital learning fun - without the plastic.
Discount Code: use “FirstLook25” for 25% off site wide
What made them stand out: I liked Playper for a handful of reasons. First, the team. Webb is an investor which helps him 'play the VC game’ well. Their Head of Product has 20+ years making the biggest toys for the most well-known and loved brands like Paw Patrol, Thomas & Friends, Peppa Pig, and Star Wars. Their Lead Toy Designer is regarded as one of the best paper toy engineers, and even their advisors and investors are strong including the former Chief Brands Officer of Mattel and the former CEO of Fisher Price. This team is stacked!
Second, Playper is something new in a world dominated by plastic heavy LEGO. Millennial and Gen Z parents care deeply about sustainability which is at the core of Playper. This feature alone has opened up doors for them with key licensors and distributor while also helping them winning numerous awards and features on TV. Player isn’t just using boring cardboard either. They developed a unique, innovative, and trademarked(!) material that falls between cardboard and wood. It is thick, flexible, super durable, and has a water-based coating that protects against spills. It’s matte finish is soft to the touch giving their toys a premium and luxurious feel which creates a satisfying building experience.
Playper is early, but the potential is enormous. Kids toys is an overlooked yet massive space. Playper to the moon!
Founder Update: “We just got our first major order to roll out nationwide in 600 stores for a major retailer!”
Request An Intro (Investors only)
Quantum Energy Squares
Lead by Leah Marquez + Dan Medvene + Dave Cynkin |📍Santa Monica — Shop / IG / TikTok / Linkedin
How We Met Them: Cold email from Dave 🥶
One Liner ✍️ — Quantum Energy Squares are caffeinated energy bars offering a healthier alternative to energy drinks, with 100mg of natural caffeine, 10g of plant protein, and balanced macros - for a smooth, steady boost without jitters or crashes - perfect for exercise, snacking, work, school, and travel.
What made them stand out: Sometimes simple math is all you need. In this case, nutrition bars + caffeine. The funny part is, “energy bars” up until this point have all been about the energy from their nutrition. When consumers think energy however though they think caffeine. This is where QES comes in as the first-to-market caffeinated energy bar selling nationally in stores like Sprouts Markets, Thrive Market, H-E-B, Albertson/Safeway, Wegmans, REI, Royal Farms, Hudson News, Google & Facebook corporate campuses, and more. QES won “Best Caffeinated Bar” in Good Housekeeping Magazine 2024 Snack Competition, and growth is accelerating as consumers continue to crave caffeine. Lastly, QES has some big time athletes on their cap table, along with a ton of other athletes using and endorsing their product. I’m excited to watch this brand grow.
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Revitalize Energy
Founded by Kyle Guinness + Tammy Szijarto | 📍Pittsburgh - Shop / IG / TikTok / Linkedin
How We Met Them: Via their signup on the FirstLook.vc
One Liner ✍️ — Energizing eye drops for eye fatigue from digital devices, the open road, and everything in between.
Discount Code: use “FirstLook30” for 30% off storewide
What made them stand out: I liked Revitalize Energy because it’s so different, and so timely. Screen time for literally everyone is up up up. Our eyes are more strained than eve as they aren’t meant to focus on things right in front of our faces 24/7 (Fun Fact: looking at things far away helps prevent nearsightedness). Sadly I don’t see screen time going away, so a product like RE makes perfect sense. They have strong early traction and quickly became the #1 new release product in vision care on Amazon. I like the moat here too as existing intellectual property, combined with the high development and manufacturing costs, gives them a big leg up on competition. Lastly, this space has high acquisition multiples to the tune of 8x-12x EBIDTA (because of the moat). RE is early, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they quietly go on to crush it and get gobbled up in what is a very concentrated market.
Latest Update: “We’ve secured a lead investor for our funding round and contributions have hit around 40% (200k). We have commitments from Innovation Works, Erie ICE Angels, and Angel investors where we secured a pilot distribution agreement for around 250 stores.”
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TUYYO
Founded by Stefanie Garcia Turner | 📍Santa Barbara - Shop / IG / TikTok / Linkedin
How We Met Them: Via their signup on the FirstLook.vc
One Liner ✍️ — TUYYO Agua Fresca mixes combine the refreshing flavor of authentic agua fresca with the modern convenience of a powdered drink for a healthier, all-natural beverage that is ready to be enjoyed in seconds.
Discount Code: use "Firstlook" for 20% off storewide
What made them stand out: For those new to Agua Fresca, it’s a Mexican drink with fruit, water, and sugar, and sometimes other ingredients like grains, flowers, or seeds. TUYYO managed to turn this centuries old drink into a powdered mix with ingredients including organic agave, real fruit flavors, and no preservatives. It also comes in a more sustainable tub. Love it.
I feel the strong Latin-American population growth, coupled with an overall America population trying new cultural drinks, puts TUYYO in a great position. Furthermore, they aren’t shipping costly and margin crushing liquids like other Agua Fresca startups who’ve been on fire lately with investors. If Stefanie can execute, I think TUYYO has the right ‘why now’ to go far. Plus her containers add a touch of sustainability which I like.
Latest Update from Stefanie: “TUYYO is making its way into the Midwest with their recent launch at Meijer. The brand will also be featured in the Meijer pavilion at the Grand Rapids Food and Wine Festival in November. They were also 1 of 10 brands accepted to the Whole Foods Market LEAP Program which had over 1,600 applications. TUYYO will be working with Whole Foods through the 12 week program to create a launch strategy and bring the first all-natural powdered beverage product to the retailer's shelves.”
Request An Intro (Investors only)
That's all she wrote folks. August box is next. Keep on building my friends.