The VCs Conversation. Retail & consumer tech. Building conscious brands &sustainable platforms. 🛍📈♻️
Guest speakers:
Brooke Kiley (NYC) — Partner, VMG Catalyst & previously Insight Partners
Alexandra Wilkis Wilson (Miami) — Managing Partner, Clerisy & previously co-Founder GLAMSQUAD and Gilt.com
Sasha Astafyeva (London) — Partner, Atomico & previously Felix Capital & TA Associates
Rima Reddy (SF) — Principal, Commerce Ventures & previously XRC Labs & Ralph Lauren
Moderator: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleigh-barker/ in NYC
Hosted and curated by Alex Tymann, the founder of Hedoine & Fab Chapter leader London, Frank Bitoun, the founder of Gleammee & Fab chapter leader Miami, and Odile Roujol the Fab founder, and the founding partner of Fab co-creation studio ventures (seed stage) in Los Angeles.
What does the future of retail tech mean to you and what is one key trend that you think will define the next 2–3 years?
“The retail landscape for brands has been reset over the last 2 years driven by key innovation, from how brands connect with consumers on- and offline, create a seamless shopping experience through new retail technologies or implement AI and BI innovation to enhance the customer shopping experience from end to end in digital commerce.” Says Ashleigh.
“The pandemic inspired innovations in technology intersecting with the consumer landscapes. Health and wellness applies to so many companies: longevity, how we want to work, with who we want to live and interact.” Alexandra.
“A seamless experience, AI driven tools, new experiences.Transparency: consumers want more information, they want to understand where do their clothes come from. If the ingredients they put on their face are safe.” Brooke
“Zoom fatigue means a new experience in commerce. Personally, I’m tired of scrolling page after page when shopping online. There are new ways to interact: a one-to-one online connection with a sales associate, or a one-to-many experience, of course, Livestream…” Rima
“Stores. I agree with what has been said. What is new to drive people in them. It needs to be an experience. The focus in Europe is sustainability, and circularity. The impact of our consumption. What do you do with the stuff that you have… The shopping experience: there is a huge discovery problem. The joy of discovery. The top of the funnel.” Sasha
Brooke, You’ve talked about the “consumerization of software”. What does this mean and how does it apply to the retail commerce platforms entering the market today?
“At work, people use mobiles and tablets, as they use them in their personal life. Innovation comes from the employees. There are a lot of tools, helping to listen to the trends.”
Sasha, What learnings can you offer founders from your operating experience leading strategy and BI at Lyst? In what ways has this influenced what you look for in potential investment opportunities in the beauty/retail categories.
“I believe in the power of data! People underestimate it in the early stage. Data that helps you to understand what you’re building with your business. Why do I exist, what is solution you’re creating.
I ask founders to show me what they are tracking. What is the driver of their business. NPS score, LTV of your customer, Funnel of acquisition, traffic … What helps them to execute on their strategy. It influences my decision-making as an investor.” (And organic growth. Adds Rima in the Q&A)
Alexandra, We talk about omnichannel (B&M and online) distribution for brands in beauty/retail but there’s a new channel, the metaverse, that has entered the space. How do you see this changing the retail landscape for brands and what is its impact on consumer behavior or purchase?
“What is metaverse? It has been there for many years in the gaming industry, those who have children have seen it with Minecraft or other platforms. The use of the word omnichannel needs to include it now. Touch, feel, wear a product, but also make sure an avatar can use it (Example: a Chanel lipstick). There is a lot to come in how brands and retailers engage. New audiences using tools such as NFTs collections, drop mechanisms, engage with different kinds of communities.
It’s true for luxury brands and mass-market ones. A lot to explore. And a lot of fun!”
Rima, Having spent time in venture across NYC, L.A., and now SF, what are the key differences/learnings you’ve observed among founder and investor ecosystems?
“With XRC Labs incubator, I was in NYC, with M13 in LA, now with Commerce Ventures in San Francisco. In New York, a lot of the LPs dollars come from wealth management, and finance, NYC is more metrics-driven, investors want revenues. San Francisco is more about the” huge idea”, what you are fixing, the vision. LA has definitely an ecosystem with the entertainment industries and of course celebrities. There are many consumer brands, leveraging the power of experts and influencers. “
In conclusion, as investors, what advice do you have for founders in retail tech/digital commerce who will be fundraising, or more generally to consider as they scale their platforms.
“Be building your network: for next rounds, hiring new talent. I’m a huge fan of Linked in, use the platform.” Alexandra.
“Networking. Communities. Learn about the technologies. Be with the people.” Brooke.
“Build an amazing team. Culture is so important. As female founders, you need to meet other female founders, and help each other.” Rima
“Focusing on building symbiotic relationships. It’s not the quantity that matters!
Understand the person, and do your homework before pinging people. What group of people is the most important for you now. And… figure out your why.” Sasha
“Keep track of the metrics, especially in B2B. Build a case study with the value you add. You can take that to an investor. It’s easier to sell your story.” Rima
“Know what your brand stands for.” Ashleigh.
BIOS.
Ashleigh Barker. “I recently started a new role leading the Beauty and Personal Care practice for Lincoln International, with previous roles at Deutsche Bank, Estée Lauder, and Paris-based investment banking firm, Michel Dyens and Co. I have a passion for working with and nurturing early-stage brands and learning more about the trends that are shaping the way we discover, engage, shop, and use information and technology to achieve a seamless shopping experience and inform on unique customer data in retail tech.”
Rima is currently a Principal at Commerce Ventures, where she focuses on investing in early-stage retail tech startups. Prior to CV, Rima was a Principal at XRC Labs, an NYC-based pre-seed accelerator focused on investing in retail tech and consumer brands. Before XRC, Rima worked at Ralph Lauren in Digital Strategy and Business Development. Rima began her career in Equity Research at Goldman Sachs, where she covered the consumer staples sector.
Rima Reddy earned her MBA in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where she was a Dorm Room Fund Partner. She graduated from Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University where she studied Finance and Economics, and also holds a degree in Fashion Marketing from Parsons School of Design.
Brooke Kiley is a Partner at VMG Catalyst where she leads investments in Seed to Series B companies. VMG Catalyst was born out of the necessity to be a trusted source for consumer brands to identify the best-in-class enablement technologies. Brooke has led investments in Ampla, Daasity, Specright, parcelLab and more.
Alexandra Wilkis Wilson. Currently Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Clerisy. Entrepreneur, Investor, Board Director, Tech Advisor, Mentor, Author, Public Speaker, Co-Founder of Gilt & GLAMSQUAD. ✨
Sasha Atasfeyeva is a Partner at Atomico based in London where she focuses on new investment opportunities in the consumer space, including leading the firm’s Series A investments into Zapp and Gaia. Prior to joining Atomico, Sasha spent three years as a Principal at Felix Capital in London where she led investments and was on the boards of Mejuri, Adverity and Unmade, and a board observer for Highsnobiety and JobToday. She was also responsible for managing Felix Capital’s investments in Peanut and Shine. Before that she spent extensive time as an operator in startups in the UK and Brazil. Sasha has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Middlebury College.
Next webinars in the next few days and weeks?
April 6 growth equity NYC https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/fab-ny-live-how-to-prepare-for-growth-equity-for-beauty-brands-tickets-252046727547
April 21 London (in person) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fashion-beauty-tech-london-tickets-294465673757
April 12 in SF https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fab-sf-sustainable-fashion-and-inclusivity-seen-by-the-west-coast-tickets-251645487427
Join the Fab community, to have access to the replays and exclusive content, please subscribe to the free quarterly newsletter. We are now more than 15, 000 founders and VCs and 19 chapters in America, Europe, and Asia. https://www.beautytechcommunity.com
If you want to be a partner, please contact us! We are free for founders and believe in the pay it forward culture. Thank you!
Odile, Alex, and Frank.
