For emerging consumer brands, understanding how to navigate growth, funding, and partnerships can be the difference between success and stagnation. We recently sat down with Maggie Abeles, Vice President at NewBound Venture Capital, to discuss what makes brands stand out in today's competitive landscape. NewBound, a key player in the consumer investment ecosystem and close partner of Lunr Capital, focuses on seed and series A investments in innovative consumer brands and enabling technologies.
Maggie’s insights offer a valuable roadmap for founders building the next generation of consumer companies.
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My path to venture capital started with what I call my "skill collecting" journey through investment banking and private equity. I kept inching more and more towards the people and companies that I found most interesting, and I'm really driven by that on a day-to-day basis. Getting to work with entrepreneurs is absolutely the unlock to being able to deploy that energy and passion.
At NewBound, we're thesis-driven consumer investors that lead with integrity, honesty, and teamwork. This ethos comes from our founding team's experience of leading with vulnerability and authenticity in building relationships. We look for strong founders who are extremely resilient and have tremendous grit because consumer is a really challenging category.
We focus on three main areas: personal care, pet care, and commerce enablement. When you really break down consumer behavior, it comes down to what people feel when they engage with brands. Beauty and personal care is an industry where consumers connect themselves to brands based on what they want to highlight about their best self. The pet category represents how people care for those around them, and commerce enablement reflects our belief that next-generation technologies will fundamentally change how brands connect with consumers.
We're looking for intentional and protected innovation in businesses. Since there are low barriers to entry in many consumer categories, we put a huge responsibility on ourselves to validate the unique nature of any given product or business. We've invested in companies with patent protection, those that have gone through stringent FDA or EPA processes, and businesses with complicated licensing agreements that entrench them from competition.
When we evaluate companies, we don't just ask about differentiation - we come to conversations having researched what we think makes a brand unique, and then dig deeper into how they protect and build upon that advantage. For emerging brands, this means thinking beyond initial product innovation to how you'll build sustainable competitive advantages over time.
Our favorite referral source is fellow founders. While we accept submissions through our website and meet people at events, there's nothing more valuable than a recommendation from an entrepreneur we know and trust.
Most importantly, one of the most valuable things founders can do is build relationships with potential investors well before they need capital. We're always open to connecting with founders who are building fast and building to win. Starting these relationships early gives us the opportunity to watch businesses evolve and really understand their trajectory.
Nothing in the consumer landscape is static right now - everything is shifting. One of the most significant trends we're watching is the blurring lines between beauty, personal care, and health. A recent survey showed that more consumers prefer better health than more wealth, which is driving fascinating innovations in both spaces.
Interestingly, we've seen the "clean beauty" movement fall short of delivering on its promises - clean doesn't necessarily mean better performance or better health outcomes. This creates an opportunity for brands bringing real scientific innovation to consumers. We're seeing this convergence lead to more technically sophisticated products, especially ones bringing hard science to consumers in accessible ways.
The rise of GLP-1 medications is fundamentally changing people's relationships with their bodies and consumption habits, which will have far-reaching implications for food, beverage, and wellness brands. Our job is to identify which of these shifts will have lasting impact and how they relate to the innovations happening right now.
Lunr is much more than a traditional debt provider - they're an ecosystem-first team. We work extremely closely with them, sharing deal flow, industry insights, and co-hosting events. Their deep expertise in retail relationships has been invaluable for our portfolio companies, helping them navigate retail partnerships and expansion strategies.
For emerging brands, working capital financing can be a powerful tool for capital efficiency, but it's nuanced - it needs to be the right decision at the right time with the right partner. In our opinion, there's no better team to partner with than Lunr, particularly for brands scaling their retail presence.
Working Capital Wisdom for Emerging Brands from Maggie Abeles
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The people matter more than you think. Choosing any partner should be a people-driven decision, and making sure that people are just as invested in getting to know you as you are them is important. Be selfish with what you ask for from potential partners, and lead with who you are as a person. Vulnerability wins when you're signing up for long-term partnerships.
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As consumer brands continue to evolve in an increasingly complex landscape, having the right partners can make all the difference. Whether you're seeking equity investment or exploring innovative financing solutions for your retail expansion, success often comes down to finding partners who truly understand your vision and can help you achieve it.
Ready to take your brand to the next level?