- FirstLook Newsletter
- Posts
- June 2022 Box
G’day! (Hello in Australia / New Zealand)
Shame on me for falling behind on our newsletter. Feels like so much has happened since the June box. For starters, I can confirm FirstLook did feel the struggle in late June/early July in terms of investors pulling back. We saw about a 20% dip in our normal intros. So many investors were spooked, and then they all went on vacation. Ugh.
Luckily we have now bounced back as investors are settling into the new normal and seeing even stronger founders and brands emerg. It would be self-serving for me to claim "now is the best time to invest!" Instead, I'll give you my general thoughts, even if it's not so great news for FirstLook.
Yes, valuations are down, so it is arguably a better moment for investors to write checks at a discount. However, no matter the discount, if the U.S. goes deeper into a recession it does make it more difficult for a brand to thrive. There is upside though. There is better talent now available to hire, which is a challenge when times are booming. There is less noise for brands to cut through given that some of their peers will go under soon if they haven't already.
In sum, startups will be benefiting in some areas, while hurting in others. This market correction is an overall good thing. We were due for a reset. It will produce better brands, more capital efficient operations, and overall stronger founders. Gone are the days where founders can simply "throw money at their problems." Instead, we will see an explosion of creativity across the board.
WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING!
Founder Pro Tip of the Month 💡
Building an inspiring pitch deck is probably more important now than ever. Unfortunately, a lot of decks fail to reach that mark. This article with Sydney Fulkerson of Sunflower is a great summary on how to build a deck and sing your song.
The most important takeaway, that founders often overlook, is properly painting a picture in the investor(s) head(s) of what the world will/could look like with their brand in it (which is hopefully thriving).
This is especially important when talking to West Coast investors, who are much more interested about what the 'castle in the sky' could look like. East Coast investors are usually more numbers driven (arguably to their detriment), which partially explains why some of the biggest winners over the last decade have come from the West Coast.
Did a friend forward you this email, and now you want to join?
June Box Brands 🚀
Investors Shipped to: 34 | Number of Brands: 7 | Intros Made: 40
Interested in joining? → Brand Signup / Investor Signup
123 Baby Box
Founded by Zarina Bahadur | Site + IG & TikTok | 📍 Irvine, CA
What made them stand out: On top of the great traction and big wins on a few super low CAC strategies, it's Zarina's ability to collect (lots) of data that makes 123 Baby Box unique. The intro survey users complete so Zarina can better serve them gives her a ton of insights on their challenges so she can better tailor her boxes. This will give her an edge long term for building a sticky subscription box!
Appert
What made them stand out: The Appert team is young and hungry, and their patented technology- cooked foods that are ready-to-eat and shelf-stable for up to 2 years without any preservatives- is incredible. It eliminates cold chains completely and can save up to 80% on logistics cost for companies, also making it more sustainable and convenient for consumers. This is a B2B company so they'll be behind the scenes helping other brands win.
BelliWelli
Founded by Katie Wilson | Site + IG & TikTok | 📍 Los Angeles
What made them stand out: Katie Wilson is a super strong founder who built a community BEFORE she sold a single product. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder felt by an estimated 10-15% of the U.S. population that affects one's stomach and intestines. This extremely large and often overlooked group must manage their diet carefully to avoid complications. Katie, who has IBS, spent years building a community before she created her delicious brownies with an ingredient profile specifically design for people dealing with IBS. Her brownies sell out faster than she can make them!
Elenita
Founded by Jordan Dil & Mikel Noriega | Site + IG | 📍 Austin
What made them stand out: Seltzers are a massive category that's seen so much competition over the last few years. It's becoming hard to distinguish one brand from another. For Elenita's case, this is easy as they are THE FIRST mezcal-based seltzer EVER. Mikel and Jordan spent years developing their product and securing the necessary supply chain in Mexico to bring this to life. The company is young, but their growth has been explosive. The tailwinds behind mezcal are STRONG.
Incredible Eats
Founded by Dinesh Tadepalli and Sudheshna Vuppala | Site + IG | 📍 North Carolina
What made them stand out: This might be one of the most innovative and cool companies to ever go through FirstLook. Incredible Eats makes edible spoons, sporks, and straws. Cool, right?! People in the United States alone use 40 BILLION pieces of single-use plastic cutlery each year. Lucky for us, Incredible Eats is on a mission to eliminate this waste and save our planet. Ice cream shops and amusement parks can't wait to start using them. As they grow and their costs continue to drop, I can see Incredible Eats becoming ubiquitous everywhere single-use-utensils are used.
Occo
Founded by Connie Wang | Site + IG | 📍 Bridgeport, CT
What made them stand out: Occo is the future of how we buy and consume spices. Unlike traditional jars you find at the grocery store, Occo single-serving spice pods give you fresh and premium flavor every time. They are pre-measured, 100% recyclable*, and light and convenient for any occasion. Connie is a super talented founder which explains why Occo made it into Techstars (which rarely accepts CPG brands). The spice industry is quite top heavy as well so the future is bright for Occo from an acquisition perspective.
Yolélé
Founded by Pierre Thiam & Philip Teverow | Site + IG & TikTok | 📍 NYC
What made them stand out: Yolélé is helping bring African cuisine to the U.S. market. Their first product is fonio, a tiny, nutritious West African grain that's drought resistant and cooks in 5 minutes. Think couscous, but WAY better for you and the planet. Since introducing fonio, they have now expanded into fonio chips which taste amazing. Amazing food aside, what makes Yolélé extremely compelling is their robust supply chain which gives them the ability to move upstream and become a supplier in the future. No wonder they made it into Mondelez's CoLab - SnackFutures earlier this year!
That's a wrap. Hope your fall is off to a great start. July box is next. 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