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November FirstLook Box
SVB's collapse, company updates, funding announcements, founder pro tips, and highlights of the November box brands.
Welcome to our 59 new readers. We try our best to keep this newsletter fun, light, and informative. It's a pleasure to have you join us.
Yā/Yō! (Informal "Hello" in Japanese)
Wow, what a wild past 10 days. The SVB collapse has sent shockwaves through Startup and VC land. I hope everyone affected is bouncing back, and has complete access to their funds at this point.
FirstLook banked with SVB, ugh. I was proud to bank with them. After hearing rumors the Wednesday before, I couldn't believe it. No way can SVB go under, they're a pillar of the community! And clearly I was wrong...SVB went down faster than your dog slurping a Puppuccino from Starbucks.
Luckily I didn't have much money in my account because, well, I don't make much doing this FirstLook stuff. But, for larger companies and funds, this could have turned really bad had the government not made all depositors whole. TBD on whether it was the right move long term.
I'm now a proud client of Mercury Bank. I was onboarded hella fast, and I am IN LOVE with their UX/UI. Sad to see SVB go down, but also kind of happy to be with Mercury now.
And lastly, fundraising continues to be extremely tough. The best way to boil the ocean here: to land a check, brands/founders need to be in the Top 1% of deals. And with that, I challenge all founders to take a serious pause and answer that question: "What makes you a top 1% investment?" Seriously, what are you doing, achieving, or building that is amongst the Top 1% of allllllll the brands fighting for funds? If you don't have a great answer, your fundraising journey will be tough. Among other things, crafting an answer and story around this question is exactly what I help founders with when they jump in our boxes.
Did a friend forward you this email, and now you want to join?
Company Updates
CPG Sampling Group- Mike MacCombie, Nate Rosen, and I started a CPG sampling group on WhatsApp. We're at 80 founders strong - and growing. If you come across sampling opportunities for brands, please email [email protected]
FirstLook Job Board- we've added some new open roles lately.
FirstLook continues to grow. We are now up to $7.5M raised for brands!
FirstLook got a new guard dog to protect samples, please follow :)
Alumni Brands Making Moves
Congrats to 123 Baby Box on closing their Seed round
Congrats to belliwelli on closing their $15.4M Series A
Founder Pro Tip of the Month 💡
I think it's wise right now for the second slide in a deck (after the cover) to introduce the founder passion story. This is a short paragraph up to 5 sentences sharing why they are so passionate about what they're building.
This is important to have as many investors get too caught up in a brand's deck and metrics, and forget there are humans behind this company that they are ultimately betting on. In early-stage investing...investors are betting on the founders. And it's their passion that will drive them through the darkest of times.
Ok, let's jump into these November box brands!
November Box Brands 🚀
Investors: 37 → Apply Here | Brands: 6 → Apply Here | Intros: 41
Kicks Industries
Founded by Tyler Stuart, John Krosky, & Matt Mockus | Site + IG | 📍 Denver
GOLFKICKS® V5 TRACTION KIT
What made them stand out: Gahhhdamn I love this brand. Super strong IP protecting their golf spikes makes this a great investment imo. Their growth has been strong, and it's only a matter of time until Nike says, "we want you." Besides their golf spikes turning any ordinary shoe into a pair ready for the course, they are now expanding into sports like football and lacrosse. Ty and team are super experienced with having built multiple successful CPG brands. This brand will reach an exit. You can quote me on that.
HVMN
Founded by Michael Brandt & Geoffrey Woo | Site + IG + TikTok | 📍Fully Remote
Ketone-IQ™
What made them stand out: Lots of innovation in those little bottles there. For those who aren't low-carb diet aficionados, here is how the Cleveland Clinic describes them, "As your body breaks down fat, it produces a compound called ketones. The ketones, or ketone bodies, become your body and brain's main source of energy." Cool right? What's even cooler is HVMN is the first ever company to put ketones in a drink. Put another way, this is basically the ultimate energy shot for people following low-carb diets. HVMN's 'The Science of Ketones' page is worth a read. Also, Michael Brandt is an absolutely stellar founder. I could have easily just talked about him this entire time. I'd bet on him anyday.
Jibby Coffee
Founded by James Reina & Alvaro Ortega | Site + IG + TikTok | 📍 NYC & Miami
Cold Brew Coffee with CBD
What made them stand out: I really like James, as he is an incredible founder and leader. Jibby is some pretty tasty stuff too. When I tried a can, I noticed a feeling of being relaxed and in control but still hyped up on caffeine to conquer my inbox. This perfect combo comes from Jibby uses super high quality CBD and ingredients in their formula. I love what they are doing and suggest everyone switch over to Jibby. It's simply a better experience than standalone coffee.
Obvi
Founded by Ronak Shah, Ashvin Melwani, & Ankit Patel | Site + IG + TikTok | 📍 NYC
What made them stand out: $30M in 30 months of launch, bootstrapped. THAT'S WHAT MADE THEM STAND OUT. Obvi is what we call an absolute outlier. It takes a veryyyy special team to pull something off like this. Ron and team are special. Their backgrounds are perfect for building Obvi. Supplement brands have BIG exits too. Like big big. As icing on the cake, Ron is so nice. He's always supporting others, sharing all his wisdom on Twitter, and he even recently started a podcast to go even more in depth. I'm excited to watch Obvi blossom into an exit. They're making all the right moves.
Owl's Brew
Founded by Jennie Ripps & Maria Littlefield | Site + IG + TikTok | 📍Stamford, CT
HAPPIEST HOUR
What made them stand out: Owl's brew is an incredible brand led by incredible women. Jennie is a UPenn alum, graduate of Goldman Sachs 10KSB, and a certified tea sommelier, while Maria is a Forbes 30 under 30 awardee. Their teas are tasty, and have won gold and bronze in the Sparkling Hard Tea category for the NY International Beer Competition. Owl's Brew can be found in Total Wine & More, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Target amongst many other retailers. Above all, Owl's Brew has a super clean label which is a rapidly growing category to the tune of $6B (which is wild considering it wasn't even a category several years ago). I'm excited to see where Jennie and Maria go from here!
Yishi Oatmeal
Founded by Lin Jiang | Site + IG + TikTok | 📍 Chicago
Taro Bubble Tea Oatmeal
What made them stand out: Yishi is scary tasty. I'm not even an oatmeal guy, and I was in love. It's also healthier compared to existing big-oatmeal brands, as Yishi is gluten free, dairy free, plant-based, and USDA organic. Lin previously worked at Boston Consulting Group and is a Forbes 30 under 30 winner. All that amazingness aside, why I love Yishi is because Asian-Americans throw money down. They are the fastest growing minority groups in the U.S., and also the most wealthy in terms of dollars spent. Yishi's focus on Asian flavored oatmeal could turn into something big.
That's a wrap! Hope you had a great start to the year. December box is next.
If you're a brand, apply here to jump in our boxes. If you're an investor, sign up here learn more about a FirstLook Membership.
Thanks from the FirstLook Team- Brian, James, and Mahdi
This email was proofread by my lovely fiancé, Michele. Please buy her stuff :)