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?

Rishi Sharma

Founder and Podcaster

Newlin Ventures

Newlin Ventures is a Chicago-based VC fund that invests in early-stage companies in the food, insurance, IoT, and consumer sectors.

West Coast Lead

Stealth

Founder

GoingVC Partners

As a Venture Partner for GoingVC, my efforts are focused on sourcing, pitching, and writing deals. I do extensive due diligence and market research to ensure the security of the organization's future. Since 2022 alone I have independently sourced 100+ opportunities, pitched 20+ deals to the Investment Committee, and fully led two deals from start through funding. 

Top skills utilized: relationship building, investments, due diligence, investment sourcing, pitching, ventures, risk analysis, market research

Venture Partner

Founder Institute

The Founder Institute carefully recruits 20-40 Mentors per semester, and we typically only accept Mentors that have built or led technology businesses. Our Mentors lead the weekly training sessions, and their mandate is to help our participants by sharing their experience, outlining the latest tactics, and providing critical feedback. In addition, through the Founder Institute's Shared Liquidity Pool, Mentors are strongly incentivized to help our companies after Graduation, and many have become formal advisors to our Graduate companies.

Mentor

Parentfile

Save everything that truly matters as a parent. All-in-One Place. Start adding to your Parentfile Today!

Strategic Advisor

yieldWerx Semiconductor

yieldWerx offers end-to-end semiconductor test data analytics solutions, enabling better decision making, root cause analysis, and process improvement. Our products support semiconductor engineers all the way from initial device characterization, to automated yield and quality management and finally RMA analysis.  yieldWerx enables product and test engineers with the tools and technologies necessary to characterize new ICs and test programs, speedily ramp up production at OSATs and identify and diagnose yield excursions.

Digital Peripheral Solutions (Acquired)

I began at this organization in 2012 as the Head of Direct Consumer and Customer Success. In 2017 I moved into the Head of OPs, Strategy and finance role. I specialized in leading a top team of 50 in investments, due diligence, financial analysis, and improvement initiatives. I interfaced with high-profile partners that included Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and Costco. 

Top skills utilized: leadership, talent development, relationship building, finances, due diligence, investments, client relations, negotiations, technology optimization, P&L management

Head of Operations, Strategy, And Finance

Mallama

We know how frustrating it is to waste money on skincare products that don’t actually work.

At Mallama, we have simple natural skincare that gets results, gives you just what you need (nothing more) and bonus, helps the planet too.

the Ambitious

We are Acquired and look forward to seeing our products in seen worldwide. 

We developed fashion technology that worked seamlessly with Mobile phone and Wearables to deliver peace of mind in your lives.

Founder & CEO (Acquired)

Obama for America

Built political relationships between community leaders, the general public, and staff. Registered 1000+ supporters to vote; Recruited 150+ active volunteers. Managed the “Ask Me About Barack Obama” pilot program.

Youth Outreach Director – Organized area youth in support of civic activities.

Organizing Fellow

As the West Coast Lead at Newlin Ventures, I manage the sourcing, evaluation, and execution of early-stage investments in the food, insurance, IoT, and consumer sectors. I also provide strategic and operational guidance to our portfolio companies, leveraging my 16.5 years of experience as a founder and operator of multiple successful ventures.

I am passionate about finding and supporting entrepreneurs in solving real-world problems with innovative solutions. I have a track record of creating value and impact through my dyslexic thinking, marketing communications, and social networking skills. I am also a lifelong learner, with a VC certification from GoingVC and an IoT product management certification from Stanford University. I aim to empower the next generation of leaders and changemakers with capital, mentorship, and access to a global network.

We never talked about selling the business.
Not because we didn't think about it. Because it felt like betrayal.

I watched our family scale a security company to multiple Inc. 5000 recognitions and dodge every conversation about "what's next."

Here's what I've learned since:

Owners who plan with intention choose their legacy.
The ones who don't? The market chooses for them.

December 9th at 12pm PST — I'm hosting a live webinar with NextGen Growth Partners  and BCR Business Consulting Resources, Inc. :

"Thinking About Selling Your Family Business"
→ Why the "right time" has nothing to do with revenue
→ Buyers who want your company vs. your legacy
→ A succession path most owners have never heard of

Link in comments 👇
#FamilyBusiness #Succession #ETA #MergersAndAcquisitions

From Video Surveillance Exit to NextGen Live Security | Helping Founders Transition with Care & Unlock Growth in Physical Security

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Today I’m thinking about leaders who learned their craft far from boardrooms.
On a flight line before dawn. In a desert where every decision mattered. At sea where the mission came before comfort.

Every veteran I’ve met carries the same throughline: duty beyond self.
That shows up in business as calm under pressure, ruthless preparation, and taking responsibility even when no one is watching.

My world revolves around protection:live monitoring, systems integration, keeping people and places safe. Veterans understand that instinctively. 

You feel it in how they train teams, how they plan, how they show up when it’s hard.

I’m grateful for your service, and for the example you keep setting long after the uniform comes off.

If you’re a veteran moving into the security industry, my inbox is open. I’m happy to help however I can. 🇺🇸

#VeteransDay #Leadership #Gratitude #Service #SecurityIndustry

Not long ago I sat in a budget review and the CFO asked, “We spend millions on guard hours. What do we get for it?” 

The room went quiet, not from disagreement but from a lack of proof. That silence is starting to disappear.

The 2025 Security Benchmark Report shows programs moving from activity to impact. Hours do not stop threats. 

Outcomes do. More than half of respondents maintain formal metrics programs that define productivity and value creation. The smarter teams are replacing countables with measurables:

• Guard hours → deterrence rate at the site level
• Headcount → cost per protected asset and cost avoidance per incident type
• Incident logs → quantified risk reduction and time to control

Who is out front

Corning quantifies global security impact across manufacturing.
Gap links asset protection metrics to margin protection.
State Street benchmarks security ROI against financial services peers.
Juniper Networks, Nationwide Insurance, W. L. Gore, and Nestlé USA report similar outcome frames that translate for boards and CFOs.

When you show a 12-month payback on cameras plus response redesign, or how a three point lift in deterrence yields six-figure cost avoidance, you stop pleading for budget and start managing capital. 

Teams that benchmark consistently report stronger funding and clearer sponsorship. If you cannot measure deterrence, you cannot defend the spend.

Drop one metric in the comments that changed how your leadership values security.

Listening to David Senra’s new podcast with Todd Graves this weekend, I kept thinking: Graves didn’t guess his way to product market fit. 

He earned it by serving the same customer millions of times. 

That repetition becomes pattern recognition, and pattern recognition becomes advantage.

Security integrators who dominate a single vertical work the same way. You stop reacting to RFPs and start preventing the conditions that create them.
K–12 example: a superintendent asks for exterior cameras. 

You’ve secured 30 schools, so you already know the real issue is the lockdown handoff. 

Guards jog building to building and response time stretches to 8–12 minutes while the board target is under 3. You don’t quote cameras. 

You scope networked access control with a one-button lockdown from the admin office. They didn’t spec it. Your pattern library did.

Customer intimacy compounds in stages

Stage 1 Vendor: you price what they asked for and fight on rate

Stage 2 Preferred partner: you know the terrain, suggest upgrades, win on trust

Stage 3 Irreplaceable operator: they call you at the first hint of risk because you’ve solved it before and price yields to certainty

Senra’s conversation with Graves is a reminder to pick one customer and stay until the patterns speak. 

Most firms never reach Stage 3 in five verticals. 
They barely reach Stage 2. 
Choose one. 

Go so deep you understand their day better than they do.

What problem will your core customer face next year that they haven’t noticed yet?

The Real Competitive Edge Isn’t Software. It’s Shared Wisdom.

A few years ago I visited a founder-led security systems company in a mid-sized market. He told me, “We don’t have a formal training department or fancy tech stack. Our real classroom is our peer circle.”

Every month his field techs meet other operators, trade stories, borrow what works, and quietly level up together.

The World Economic Forum notes that more than 90 percent of all businesses are SMEs, yet many fall behind in digital transformation because they lack networks, shared learning, and know-how.

In the security world, we spend heavily on new tech but rarely invest in shared insight.

Peer-to-peer learning changes that. It replaces theory with conversation and PowerPoints with practice. The lessons stick because they come from people solving the same problems in real time.

If you’re in integration or operations, stop asking what technology you should buy and start asking who you should talk to.

Because in live security, your next big ROI probably isn’t a new camera it’s a better conversation.

Who’s your peer-learning partner right now? Are you in the room where the lessons are happening, or are you still just reading about them?

#ETA #SecurityIndustry #SMBLearning #OperatorLed #PeerLearning

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The Battle

Mike Gelb

Rishi Sharma

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Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Mike Gelb's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreMike Gelb's LinkedIn Performance