Dave Kline

Become the Leader You’d Follow | Founder @ MGMT | Coach | Advisor | Speaker | Trusted by 250K+ leaders.

Hey, I’m Dave Kline.

I teach leaders how to build All-Star teams and level up their careers.

After decades of leading in pretty intense environments, from Bridgewater Associates to Moody’s Analytics, I know what it takes to be the manager your team remembers (for the right reasons).

Why I can help you is simple:

I’ve been through it.

And to prove it, here’s my background (by the numbers) ⤵️

2: Decades leading high-impact teams in asset management (Bridgewater), consulting (PwC), & financial services (Moody’s Analytics).

4: Years as an entrepreneur. My portfolio includes Skillscouter (an online course & career site), and MGMT Accelerator (a cohort-based management training course).

14: Cohorts of early-career leaders that I’ve taught at multiple companies.

100: Managers I recruited, onboarded & mentored at Bridgewater Associates.

1,000: Performance evaluations with grace and respect for stars and terminations alike.

205,000+: My community across LinkedIn & Twitter interested in management tactics & leadership lessons

385,000,000: My team’s top revenue year at Moody’s.

Now that we’ve covered the why, here’s the how:

- The MGMT Accelerator – an intensive management training course for both new and senior leaders
- MGMT Fundamentals – a course that covers all the need-to-know management basics for rookie leaders
- The MGMT Playbook – a weekly newsletter that gives practical management insights

Through our MGMT courses, my wife Marsden and I have played the assist with over 1,100 leaders so far, who’ve now learned how to:

- Practically tackle the most common leadership challenges
- Build their Management OS’s CODE (Coach, Operate, Delegate, Engage)
- Refine their individual leadership Decision-Making System

With our 30+ years of combined experience, you won’t just get our knowledge.

You’ll get to ask us questions directly and get access to coaching that’s more tailored to your own experience.

We always say – if we could do it like a dinner party, we would.

If you’re interested in leadership advice (that doesn’t just sound nice but actually works), drop me a follow – I post daily.

And if you like what you see, our MGMT courses could be just what you need to level up.

DM me if you’re interested.

Co-Founder

We created the MGMT Accelerator to help managers rapidly develop into trusted leaders by combining the art & science of management. 

This 4-week program consistents of eight 90-minute modules where I share the tactics I learned leading high-performing teams for 25 years. During each session, we tailor those insights together to build your personalized management system together. 

You'll learn alongside ~50 peers and become part of an expert community of more than 300 alums.

The soft skills are sometimes the hardest.

Which is why they're so valuable.

Think about the best person you worked with.
- The one who quietly set the standard.
- The one who made everyone else better. 
- The one you'd want to bring with you.

What made them stand out?

Yes, they were good at their job. 
But there was something more.

It was how they showed up. 

4 Underrated Career Skills:

1. Raise the Energy of the Room
→ Make others feel more capable, not less
→ Add enthusiasm when it's absent
→ Choose optimism

2. Be Enjoyable to Work With
→ Create calm in chaos
→ Blend excellence with enjoyment
→ Become everyone's "go-to" resource

3. Keep Your Commitments
→ Replace "I'll try" with "I will"
→ Build trust through reliable delivery 
→ Promise carefully, deliver consistently

4. Lead Regardless of Title
→ Tackle the problems others avoid
→ Take initiative before it's obvious
→ Make decisions that prioritize progress

The truth about these skills:

They're 100% your choice.
Only 1% do all 4.

And that's your opportunity.

Simple ≠ Easy
That's why it works.

And yes, AI is changing everything. 
Including making these skills more valuable.

⬇️ Which skill has helped your career most?

🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more
♻️ Share to help others grow

Your team doesn't need you to have all the answers,

As long as you ask the right questions. 

Here are 20 questions that:

- Uncover meaningful problems
- Unlock the team's potential
- Unleash breakthrough results

And what you should listen for...

THE WORK (And How Work Gets Done)

1. What does excellence look like?
2. How do we measure success?
3. Name our three critical priorities.
4. Where do you get blocked?
5. Which processes feel unnecessary?

What to listen for:
Can they define exceptional work with specificity? 
Do they know what truly matters versus what's just noise? 
Will they challenge inefficient processes? 

Great teams have clarity and the courage to stay focused.

ENGAGEMENT (What Drives People)

6. What energizes you most?
7. How do you prefer feedback?
8. What skills do you want to build?
9. When were you most proud?
10. Where do you want to be in one year?

What to listen for:
Where does their natural energy flow? 
Do they invite improvement or avoid it? 
Are they driving their own development with purpose? 

Great teams have energy and raise everyone else's.

ALIGNMENT (Staying Connected)

11. How does your work impact our mission?
12. What's our biggest opportunity?
13. Where do you see team friction?
14. What information would help you?
15. What should we stop doing?

What to listen for:
Do they see their strategic value beyond their task list? 
Can they spot future wins and surface hard truths? 
Will they challenge the status quo? 

Great teams have a shared mission and the systems to compound.

MOMENTUM (Progress & Patterns)

16. What's our best improvement this quarter?
17. Where are we falling behind?
18. What problems keep returning?
19. Which changes worked best?
20. "What one change would help most?

What to listen for:
Do they build on wins or just move to the next thing? 
Will they flag real risks honestly? 
Can they spot systemic issues versus one-off problems? 

Great teams have direction and an unstoppable desire to improve.

Remember:

The secret isn't in asking the questions.
It's listening deeply to what follows.

Great questions reveal the truth.
Great leaders do something about it.

Helpful?

🔔 Follow us (Dave Kline and Marsden Kline) for more.
♻️ Share to help others lead with better questions.

The 20 Question to Lead Your Team

Mike Gelb

The Consumer VC

A podcast serving founders and investors that want to learn how some of the top venture capitalists that invest in B2C businesses make investing decisions.

Past guests include:
Mark Gainey, Founder of Strava
Andy Dunn, Founder of Bonobos
Ariel Kaye, Founder of Parachute
Denise Woodard, Founder of Partake Foods
Nagraj Kashyap, Managing Partner at Softbank Investment Advisors' Vision Fund
Wayne Wu, General Partner at VMG
Mike Duda, Managing Partner at Bullish
Brendan Rogers, Co-founder of Wag! and 2am
Madeline Haydon, Founder of nut pods
Matteo Franceschetti, Founder of Eight Sleep
Bret Thomas, Founder of CAVU Venture Partners
Carter Reum, Founder of M13
Soraya Darabi, Founder of TMV
Elizabeth Yin, Founder of Hustle Fund
Ariana Thacker, Founding Partner of Conscience VC
Henri Pierre-Jacques, Founder of Harlem Capital
Greg Bettinelli, Partner at Upfront Ventures
Daniel Gluck, General Partner at Powerplant Ventures
Kiva Dickinson, Founder of Selva Ventures
Adelle Archer, Founder of Eterneva
Kanyi Maqubela, Founder of Kindred Ventures
Steve Hughes, Founder of Sunrise Strategic Partners
Seth Goldman, Founder of Honest Tea, Eat the Change and PLNT Burger
Spike Mendelsohn, Celebrity Chef & Founder of Eat the Change, PLNT Burger
Jesse Draper, Founder of Halogen Ventures
Nick Saltarelli, Founder of Mid-Day Squares
Charles Hudson, Founder of Precursor Ventures
Rick Desai, General Partner at Listen Ventures
Michele Romanow, Founder of Clearco
Mac the VC, Founder of Rarebreed
Michael Ronen, Founder of Branded
Jason Karp, Founder of Humanco, Hu Kitchen and Hu Chocolate
Jackie Fast, Founder of Sandbox Studios
Joe Kudla, Founder of Vouri
John Foraker, Founder of Once Upon a Farm
Kate Beardsley, Founder of Hannah Grey
Mike Ghaffary, General Partner at Canvas
Nisha Dua, Founder of BBG Ventures
Ben Sun, Founder of Primary Ventures
+ more

Ranked by Listen Notes as one of the top 1% most popular shows globally.

To learn more, head over to www.theconsumervc.com

Founder & Host

Manufactured

Community Manager

Grishin Robotics

Venture Scout

Clearco

Venture Partnerships

Team Shift 

Venture Development Analyst

University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business

•	Conducted due diligence and interviewed social media startup that has currently raised $500k; presented findings and recommendation to head of venture capital fund.
•	Developed processes for LP management, sourcing and portfolio company management.

Venture Analyst

•	Led sessions tutoring operations and supply chain material to International Business Education and Research (IBEAR) students

Teacher Assistant

Sunset Canyon Group

I co-founded an ecommerce private label company that sourced, marketed and sold consumer products on Amazon as well as our own brand sites. The company sold chair hammocks, laybags and mason jar soap dispensers.

•	Researched and analyzed niche-markets. Founded and launched e-commerce businesses selling retail consumer products, growing business to $25k in monthly sales
•	Negotiated product sourcing with American and Chinese manufacturers.
•	Sold direct to consumer products on Amazon.com and analyzed key search terms in order to improve return on ad spend.

Business Development Strategist

Smart eStrategy

Smart eStrategy is a digital marketing service that specializes in Social Media and Website Optimiation for ecommerce and service products. Their main clientele are startups that already have operations processes in place to which they're in a position to scale exponentially. 

•	Managed non-profit’s Facebook marketing business and grew business over 2,000%, by using data analytics to analyze consumer segments and building a sales funnel.
•	Lead sales calls with prospective clients and grew business revenue by $80k / year.
•	Audited prospective clients Facebook Business, Website, and Google Analytics accounts and recommended sales strategies.

Ads Strategist

William Morris Endeavor

William Morris Endeavor is one of the largest entertainment agencies in the world. Fortune lists them as top 25 private companies. From critically acclaimed television and film to bestselling novels and sold-out concerts, they influence an unparalleled amount of compelling experiences created around the world each day.

•	Managed contracts for $30M+ in gross earnings and 400 shows per in the north-east of the United States, including Foo Fighters, Florence and the Machine, Sam Smith, Peter Frampton, Morrissey.
•	Coordinated day to day operations for artists such as Tool, Puscifer, Godsmack, The Cult, Failure.
•	Negotiated deal points and contract language with major and independent promoters including Live Nation, AEG, C3 Presents, SLP Presents, Kirschner Concerts.

Music Assistant

•	Proposed and pitched the premier “Spartan Cruise” to Senior Management (The first fitness obstacle course cruise by Spartan Race and by WME and the first cruise with a major brand in the obstacle race industry.)
•	Managed bookings of artists for music cruises and celebrities for comic-con appearances, including Whoopi Goldberg, among others.

•	Managed offices in the music department when staff were absent.
•	Managed ticket counts from promoters for entire company roster.

Music Floater

Howard Benson

•	Studio Caretaker during Rascal Flatts recordings. Documented signal flow.
•	Interim manager of band “Broadway Bullies”. Handled all social media.

Assistant/Runner

Follow for insights on venture capital, consumer startups and tips on how to build your network // Looking To Learn? Head to 👉 theconsumervc.com

I produce content that teaches you how the top consumer VCs invest in the most exciting brands and B2C technology. 

Some of the content I produce:

🎧  Podcast - Learn from some of the top VCs on your time by tuning in twice a week. 
Check it out 👉 theconsumervc.com

🏔 Live events - Come and interact with investors and founders. Last one was with Ty Haney, Founder of Outdoor Voices in Austin on 10/13

✍️ The Consumer Fortnight Newsletter - I share a bit of deal flow to help founders fundraise.
If you're an investor, apply to be added here 👉 https://forms.gle/v2u7wEvwodrNxaQt9

Thank you for reading!

I'm thrilled to share that I started a new position at Bridge 

And I couldn't be more delighted.

Over the past six years, I've been passionate about helping brands on the investment side – whether through curating thoughtful events, sharing content that supports the broader consumer community or connecting them directly with investors (after double opt-ins, of course). I'll continue doing that with Consumer VC

Now, I get to also help brands in a new way: by connecting them with the right lenders for their working capital needs.

Our mission at Bridge is simple but powerful: to give emerging companies the same access to capital that Fortune 500s have always enjoyed.

With a 10-minute application, Bridge instantly connects businesses with top financing partners, turning months of paperwork into competing offers within 48 hours.

I’m deeply grateful to Rohit Mathur, Harte Thompson, Cletus McKeown, and Emily Reeves for the opportunity. Excited to get started!

If you're looking for a lender or looking to get competing offers, feel free to DM me!

#CPG #consumerbrands #workingcapital #growth

Founder and Host of Consumer VC | 300+ Unfiltered Conversations with Top VCs & Founders | Building the #1 Community for Consumer Investors and Founders

I'm flying out from LA for this.

Which I rarely do for NYC events.

Two years ago, Sumeet Shah and I started Consumer Brews with one goal: bring together the people actually building consumer brands—founders, operators, investors—in the same room for real conversations.

No panels. No pitches.

Just the kind of conversations that actually move your business forward.

We're bringing it back December 10th.

If you're working on a consumer brand or thinking about starting one, this is where you need to be.

The full Bridge and VHS Ventures teams will be there.

I'll be wearing my ugly (actually awesome) Capitals Holiday sweater because Go Caps. Right, Sam Wiser

Spots are limited.

Sign up here – https://luma.com/ib64o1kd

cc: Cletus McKeown Emily Reeves

#consumerbrews #consumerbrands #consumer #CPG #coffee #GoCaps

A few weeks ago, my wife, Molly, and I launched a new series for premium Consumer VC substack subscribers called Talking Shop.

Talking Shop zooms in on a particular topic/theme within consumer and asks 1-3 people who we believe are experts (and "in the thick of it") their point of view to become more educated.

This week's edition focused on the cannabis-infused beverage market, which is on a heater.

We were delighted to feature Alexi Chialtas (FIND WUNDER) and Justin Buchanan (Reframe Beverage).

Link: https://lnkd.in/g7qAjWJZ

Our previous editions:

"Investing in Beauty and Personal Care Today"

Featuring:
- Diana Melencio (XRC Ventures)
- Odile Roujol (FAB Ventures Co-Creation Studio)
- Cristina Nuñez (True Beauty Ventures)

Link: https://lnkd.in/gDiphRXq

__________

"The State of the Chocolate Industry"

Featuring:
- Douglas Lamont (Tony's Chocolonely)
- Nick Saltarelli (Mid-Day Squares)

Link: https://lnkd.in/gB4r8Y_W

_________

"Is Protein Peaking or Just Getting Started?"

Featuring:
- Matt Landen (Chomps)
- Melissa Urban (Whole30)

Link: https://lnkd.in/gz5dmYnB

Next up: Current state of seed investing.

What topics should we also explore?

Beauty & Personal Care:

How do you invest in it?

What returns are realistic?

What sets brands apart?


Well, I wanted to find out.

So I chatted with Rich Gersten, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at True Beauty Ventures – one of the most respected early-stage funds in the beauty and wellness space – on Consumer VC

They were early investors in K18, Crown Affair, Vacation Inc., Youthforia among other incredible brands.

We get into:
• Why beauty & personal care consistently outperform other consumer categories
 • How Sephora & Ulta reshaped the entire retail landscape
 • The biggest mistakes founders make when scaling beauty brands
 • How True Beauty Ventures thinks about early-stage investing
 • Why most celebrity brands flop (and what makes Rhode the exception)
 • What’s really happening in beauty M&A and why exits have slowed
 • Valuation discipline, pro-rata, and why execution > product

Thank you to Glimpse for sponsoring this episode –

Glimpse is the most efficient and effective way to make sure that you’re not losing 2-3% of topline revenue to invalid deductions and fees across all the retailers, distributors, and Amazon… without putting any work on your team.

Links in comments below to listen to the full episode 👇👇👇

#beauty #personalcare #investing #venturecapital #retail #brands

Retail Deductions.

Let’s talk about it.

They’re confusing, time-consuming, and often misunderstood — yet they materially impact a brand’s profitability.

I spoke with Akash Raju (CEO & Co-Founder of Glimpse) about how deductions really work and what brands can do to protect their margins on the latest episode of Consumer VC.

Glimpse is the most efficient and effective way to ensure you’re not losing 2-3% of topline revenue to invalid deductions and fees across retailers, distributors, and Amazon… without putting any work on your team.

Glimpse has a 91% win rate on deduction disputes.

We dive into:
• The “deduction economy” retailers never explain
• How to identify invalid deductions
• Why distributors like UNFI + KeHE complicate the process
• When automation + AI can meaningfully help
• Tactical steps founders can take today

If retail is part of your growth strategy, this episode will save you money.

🔗 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gKeytuZR

#retail #CPG #Deductions #Finance #Podcast #ConsumerVC #Margins

Who are the top CPG lawyers who specialize in co-manufacturing contracts?

I have a brand that's in a tough spot and needs some help.

What's your favorite venue in LA for a business event (preferably the westside) for 200ish people?

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Mike Gelb

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