Mike Gelb

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

I didn’t grow up in venture.

My background was in the music industry - producing, promoting, and trying to make sense of creativity and business.

But something kept pulling me toward the world of startups. I was fascinated by how brands get built, funded, and scaled.

I didn’t know anyone in VC.

I just started asking questions.

The first few podcast episodes? Awkward.

I overdubbed my voice. 

I stuttered. 

But I kept showing up.

300+ episodes later, Consumer VC has become one of the most trusted platforms in the space - a home for real conversations between founders, investors, and operators who are shaping what we buy and why we buy it.

- 7.5K+ newsletter subscribers
- Listeners in 100+ countries
- Events in LA, NYC & Austin

I focus on what actually drives scale - from pre-seed to $500M+ in revenue and how people navigate the messy middle of brand-building.

If you’re building or backing something in CPG, wellness, retail, marketplaces, social or consumer tech - I’d love for you to be part of it.

Subscribe to the newsletter in the Featured section below. 👇

Venture Scout

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

Heading to Winter FancyFaire next week?

You'll spend 3 days walking the show floor.

But some of the best conversations happen before the badge scanning even starts.

That's why we're hosting "Rise, Roast, & Meet CPG" on Monday morning, January 12th.

Before the show floor opens.

A coffee meetup for brand founders, operators, investors, and industry experts.
It's a chance to connect with the CPG community before the chaos of the convention center begins.

Just a short walk from the venue.

Grab a coffee. Meet some great people. Then head to the show together.

Bridge is delighted to be partnering with Glimpse, ForceBrands, and Highline Brands to bring the ecosystem together.

If you're going to be there, come say hi.

RSVP Here – https://luma.com/ta52nqln

Dustin Cherry, Martin Forde, Merry Nebiyu, Matt Holden – I appreciate the partnership.

Stay classy San Diego.

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

Beyond Meat is now just "Beyond."

And they're launching a beverage.

Beyond Immerse drops January 2026.

Sparkling plant-based protein drinks. 20g pea protein. 7g fiber. 60-100 calories.

Three flavors: Peach Mango, Lemon Lime, Orange Tangerine.

Available DTC through their Beyond Test Kitchen platform.

This isn't random innovation.

The category that built Beyond is contracting.

So they rebranded mid-2025. Dropped "Meat" from the name.

The signal? We're not a meat alternative company anymore.

We're a plant-based protein company.

And the global functional beverage market is projected to hit $339.6 billion by 2030.

That's where the growth is.

Here's what I find interesting:

They're not abandoning their core. They're expanding the definition.

The rebrand came first. The product followed.

It gives them permission to play in new categories without confusing their 
identity.

The DTC launch through Test Kitchen is smart too.

Lower risk. Direct feedback. Build demand before retail.

Will it work?

That depends whether consumers see Beyond as credible outside meat 
alternatives.

And if the product is delicious.

It's hard because I still think of Beyond as Beyond Meat.

But I wanna try it.

The move is a big swing.

When your category shrinks, you either own a smaller pie or find a bigger table.

Beyond chose the bigger table.

But will it work?

Tyler Mayoras has been investing in food and beverage since the Boca Burger days.

And he's seen the category go through multiple cycles.

From early plant-based pioneers to today's better-for-you brands.

On last week's episode of Consumer VC, I chatted with Tyler, Managing Partner at Manna Tree, to talk about what's actually working in food and wellness investing right now.

Not the hype. The reality.

Manna Tree is a private equity investing in consumer health and wellness brands and was started in 2018. Some of their investments include Health-Ade, good culture, New Primal, Plant People, Vital Farms

Fund I (2020)
Size: $141.5 million

Fund II (2023)
Size: $390 million (including co-investment capital)


We covered:
• Which plant-based food brands lost consumer trust
• What "better-for-you" means to serious investors
• How ingredient labels matter more than marketing claims
• Why frozen is one of the hardest categories in grocery
• When brands should (and shouldn't) scale into mass retail
• Why profitability now trumps growth at all costs
• How strategic buyers think about M&A today
• Why they didn't invest in Olipop & their investment strategy

Tyler's been through enough boom-and-bust cycles to know what separates durable brands from flash-in-the-pan trends.

Tyler – Thank you again for your time & for coming to Austin to our summit last November. I appreciate all your support of Consumer VC

Link to the full episode in the comments 👇

#consumervc #consumer #CPG #wellness #venturecapital #privateequity #investing

Head of Partnerships @ Glimpse (AI Deductions for CPG)

I'm looking for some top weirdos to join the partnerships team at Glimpse this year. (5 days a week in-office in NYC) (no recruiters please)

In the short term I'm primarily looking for someone to cover the outsourced finance and accounting firms who are powering their trade/deductions services with Glimpse or otherwise reselling our services. This person needs to be a bit of a blend of sales, marketing, and account management. Revenue and license activation are the KPIs, not just relationship management. 

At some point in the next couple months I will also need someone to manage the more traditional ecosystem referral partnership stuff... connecting our clients and prospects with relevant partners as well as making sure our sales team have a steady flow of consumer brands to speak with. 

Glimpse is automating finance back office and recovering lost revenue for hundreds of cool (and even uncool) consumer brands you've seen on-shelf at the likes of Whole Foods, Target, or Walmart. 

Partnerships and ecosystem alliances have been major sources of growth for us over the past 1.5 years and I'm excited to add some folks to the squad. 

Please DM me if you know someone or are someone who would be a good fit. 

Pictured below: the aftermath of a killer partner kickoff event that Merry Nebiyu threw with The Accountrepreneur, LLC and Mimi Cheng's Dumplings a few months back.

Robert Gelb

Currently: Investor at Techstart Ventures, an inception-to-pre-seed VC fund based in Scotland that backs founders and founding teams who are obsessed with massive opportunities and have the unique insights, global ambition and adaptability required to build an internationally relevant company. We're usually first-money in, and our typical cheque-size ranges from £50k to £750k. More info at techstart.vc/investment or email me at gelb@techstart.vcAlso designing board games.Formerly CEO, HeySummit, the beautiful virtual summit platform. Founder and CEO of @kindabahq (http://www.kindaba.com), formerly @bus52 (http://bus52.com), Leadership, accountability, and distributed team &amp; culture consultant. I enjoy managing interesting projects, talking through ideas, helping others succeed, and getting stuff done.**Interested in having me speak at your event?** Check to make sure there isn't someone who is from a more diverse background or experience that might make a more valuable addition. I'm happy to provide names. The views and voices of women, minority, disabled, and those who identify as LGBTQ, among other underrepresented groups will give you more value than a set of speakers that look like me. I enjoy speaking, but preferably as part of a diverse, engaged panel, and the lack of diversity that I bring should be considered.

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