Keona Moy’s Post

VCs don’t like backing consumer startups. Per anecdotes from founders I work with, many investors dismiss consumer models out of hand as ‘not venture scalable’ (apparently they haven’t heard of Nike, Lululemon, or Liquid Death, recently valued at $1.4B which doubles its 2022 valuation). Yet potential for scale is demonstrably not limited to businesses serving enterprises. Consumer business models represent an enormous opportunity for investment as recent analysis from Forerunner shows (https://lnkd.in/gCMMS35U). Compared with enterprise firms, consumer companies: -Are more likely to IPO after raising a B round -Achieve larger IPOs when they do go public -Show better growth rates and profit margins at IPO Despite these facts, well under 10% of VC capital goes to consumer startups (per Carta). We decided to create Twig Ventures after working with many of the brilliant innovators building consumer businesses, particularly in the fashion space. The rise of fast fashion is a frankly terrifying environmental catastrophe unfolding in real time. Consumers purchase 4 times as much product every year from fast fashion brands and use it less than half as long, meaning about 8x as much waste. Less than 1% of post-consumer textile waste in the US is recycled, and clothing manufacturing is responsible for more carbon emissions than the airline industry. Over a third of the microplastics floating around in your home (and the world) are from your own clothes and laundry.  Meanwhile, companies like Natural Fiber Welding and MycoWorks are creating the next generation of materials from microbes, fungi, and agricultural waste like apple peels and olive pits. From manufacturing to last mile delivery there is a rapidly growing opportunity to drastically reduce both carbon emissions and petrochemicals in the supply chain, while improving the ability to recycle and reuse materials at scale. This capacity isn’t guaranteed, nor is it inevitable. The visionaries who are building the technologies to make the future of sustainable consumer goods and fashion a reality, brilliant founders like Dr. Kitty Y. M. Yeung with Wear It, Jimena Suárez Ibarrola with SENTIENT, and Roya Aghighi with Lite-1, need supporters and investors. Building the future is never easy. If you’re interested in learning more about investing in this space, we’d love to welcome you to our community at Twig Ventures and invite you to check out some events we have planned to start connecting investors with sustainable fashion founders and industry leaders.

Want to make your Neurodivergent colleagues swoon? Add this TL;DR to the top of your work emails: “The action/response I am looking for from this email is…” [for example] 👉 A simple yes/no 👉 An ETA 👉 A bullet point summary of x 👉 To complete x task by y deadline for z reason 👉 You to schedule a call for x, y, and z to discuss ABC Concise. Clear. Compassionate. We love. #dei #neurodiversity #ActuallyAutistic #adhd #NeurodiversityAtWork 

🚀 Thrilled to announce the launch of a project close to my heart! Teaming up with my close friends Kiley Williams and Pepper Schwartz,PhD from the hit TV show "Married at First Sight," we've created AskMary – a revolutionary dating and relationship support product. 🌟 Now in beta, AskMary is your go-to for navigating committed relationships with ease. If you're seeking guidance and support, give AskMary a try today! #RelationshipSupport #AskMary #CommittedRelationships 🌹 https://lnkd.in/ey5Nwf_Y

🌏 April 2nd was World Autism Awareness Day. 🤔 What are some overlooked aspects of autism in women? At VKTORI, we believe designing for sensory sensitivities not only benefits the 1 in 36 folks with autism, but creates a ridiculously comfortable (braless 😉) experience for ALL. Shout out to Natalie Novak for putting this together!