Consumer startups have taken a hit when it comes to venture funding. But according to Eurie Kim, partner at Forerunner Ventures and founding member of All Raise, consumer is where it’s at.
The investor joined Mary Ann Azevedo on Equity to talk through the intricacies of the space. She pointed out that last year, just 7% of seed capital went to consumer startups. Yet, research shows that consumer company performance has outpaced enterprise, Kim contends. Forerunner itself has backed the likes of Oura, Chime and Prose, among others.
“We actually found that the consumer bucket was more likely to go public after raising that Series B, or after reaching a certain threshold,” she said.
Kim also talked about the advantages of being dedicated investors in a space that has seen a number of tourist VCs drift in and out.
“We as consumer investors have been through thick and thin, up and down,” Kim shared. “And so it’s actually kind of nice, because now with a little less attention, we could have the time that we always liked to have to get to know our potential investments and really think through what the strategy is.”
In addition to discussing the state of consumer investing and what consumer investors are looking for, the venture capitalist shared her thoughts on the investment landscape as a whole, what’s up with IPOs and why every startup should have AI in its pitch deck.
“What company out there isn’t thinking about how to leverage AI to create efficiencies in their business?” Kim asked. “You’d be living under a rock, if you aren’t thinking about is there marketing efficiency out there or is there customer service or sales efficiencies out there?”
It was a lively discussion, so press play and listen in!
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