Consumer VC Kiva Dickinson (Selva Ventures) - Best Time To Start A Brand, Why First Mover is So Important in CPG, and Why VCs are Scared of Getting it Wrong
*This episode features two conversations I’ve had with Kiva*
Kiva Dickinson is the managing partner at Selva Ventures. Selva Ventures invests in emerging brands that make their consumers’ lives better. Some of their portfolio includes Haus, Mud Water, and Three Wishes.
Prior to founding Selva Ventures Kiva was a Partner at CircleUp, where he joined during the launch of the Company’s first discretionary equity fund CircleUp Growth Partners. While at CircleUp Kiva led Series B investments in Nutpods and Liquid I.V., working closely with both companies following investment.
You can follow Kiva on Twitter @kivadickinson. If you are a founder and working on something innovative, have a question you’d like to hear VCs or founders answer on the show you can DM and follow the host @mikegelb. You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc.
One book that inspired Kiva personally is How Will You Measure Your Life by Clay Christensen. One book that inspired him professionally is Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke.
On this episode, you will learn -
- What attracted Kiva to VC? How Selva came together? His due diligence process. How he thinks about competitive vs. non-competitive categories? How does he think about the future of retail and O2O strategy for companies? How has DTC changed retail?
- How does he think about portfolio management and construction when it comes to return on investment? How does he think about geography when it comes to starting a brand and investing and why did he choose the bay area to set up shop? What is one thing that he would change when it came to venture capital?
- What’s one company that is in his anti-portfolio - you had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t and in retrospect wish you did? What’s your most recent investment and what makes him excited about it? What is one piece of advice he has for founders of consumer companies?
- His reaction to coronavirus
- Is he shifting strategy away/towards companies/verticals?
- Is he pausing investments in a particular space?
- Is he concerned about some current portfolio companies' ability to raise?
- Is he having to adjust to new work protocols (remote working, etc) and if so, is that having an impact?