HSR Ventures

If you're a high growth brand looking to scale or an investor in the consumer space, you don't want to miss this. On August 22 I'm going to be speaking at the League of Originals Summit in Toronto, alongside panelists from NUDESTIX Endy bala Inkbox, for a full day of incredible discussions, mentorship, brand activations, connection and more. You can use KATIE50 for tickets! https://lnkd.in/gg-gsJFZ

It’s time to BeReal about VC Hype and FOMO investing… People thought I was crazy to publicly post in July 2022 that BeReal was a HARD pass for me as both an investment AND a consumer (I never even downloaded the app) when Tier A VCs like a16z, Accel, and DFC were investing and it was creating serious buzz. But it’s time to BeReal about hyping up these overvalued tech startups JUST because of who’s investing (literally based on FOMO), because the “unfiltered” social app BeReal sold recently to French mobile-app publisher Voodoo for about €500M, or ~$533M, with the founder and CEO leaving the company. I posted my video in July 2022 (to be clear, without an actual invitation to invest) based solely on being consumer-obsessed and being an avid social media user myself. My analysis and decision were 99% made on my POV on consumer behavior and what has made other social networking tools successful. And while there are definitely some clear winners in the story (Seed Investors), there will also be a majority of VC funds and investors who are writing down their investment to at or below cost, with Series B investors taking home ~$0.89 on each dollar they invested. It’s not a failure, but it’s also not what it was hyped up to be, and I’m not surprised for the same reasons I posted in the video almost 2 years ago: - It was a “vitamin pill” app, not a “pain killer” - The long-term engagement and entertainment value wasn’t there with one photo a day - A clear lack of discoverability on the platform (the addictive nature of an algorithm) - No clear way to retain users and help them build their personal brands in a world where content is king Moral of the story: trust your instincts, and nothing can replace a strong sense of conviction in the consumer. We live in a consumer-driven economy. If you’re interested in the returns illustrative analysis HSR built using publicly available information to understand who the clear winners and losers are, you can find it below and learn more about our weekly consumer newsletter where you can become a better consumer, founder, or investor. https://lnkd.in/g28gvkxR

Are you an early-stage founder or on the marketing team of a consumer brand looking to make content that is impactful and converts heading into the second half of the year? Dash Hudson have released their latest Cross-Channel Benchmark Report where they analyzed the activity of over 4,700 brands across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube during the first half of 2024 to report on content strategy trends you need to know to set yourself up for success during Q4. Check out the report to discover: - How to leverage the strengths of each platform for maximum impact ✅ - What content types drive the highest engagement and growth 📈 - The most effective posting cadences for TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube 📅 - How to utilize niche communities to boost brand presence 🌐 - How to leverage creators and celebrities in amplifying engagement 📣 The 20-page benchmark report is a free resource and packed with valuable insights and actionable tips to help you optimize your content strategy, based on real-world data. Seriously, it’s worth downloading (and it's free) ✨  https://lnkd.in/gF-4upK2 ✨ #marketingtips #ecommerce #consumerbrand #socialstrategy