Katya Libin

NYC bars and restaurants are struggling and one of the reasons is legal cannab*s, according to this new report. Bars and restaurants should be able to sell weed, especially at events. These small business owners are relying on the OCM to expedite the events license so they can stop being harmed by legal cannab*s and start being apart of the market. https://lnkd.in/eSbFmtA6

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Beyonce uses a laundromat🫧? And LVMH was feeling spendy last week 💸. These are my top stories from last week: ♡ Women’s Health & Beauty ♡ • Perelel acquires Loom • Paul Schiraldi appointed as CEO of ILIA Beauty • 4am Skin is officially in Bloomingdale’s • Love x Money Ventures invests in Marlow • Lili Reinhart’s new brand aims to start the conversation about acne • The fertility revolution: How Dandi is transforming patient care ♡ E-Commerce, Retail & Social ♡ • Beyoncé launches Levi’s Reimagine campaign • Luxury fashion’s power sourcer, Gab Waller, is reinventing the job with AI • Off-White sold by LVMH to Bluestar Alliance • Laundromat bars are trending ♡ Tech, Business, & Investing ♡ • Port workers’ strike delayed • Eva, the entertainment booking platform, raises $2M and expands to more cities • LVMH and Formula 1 sign a 10-year global partnership • LVMH invests in non-alcoholic brand French Bloom • Adam Neumann’s new startup is reworking WeWork’s old business model You can read more in this week's issue of ICYMI: https://lnkd.in/gpEiANhM #consumernews #litrendingtopics

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For your weekend reflection: The generosity of advice deepens relationships. In a fantastic podcast episode, Jennifer Prosek delves into key insights essential for private investors and leaders alike: 1. The necessity of consumer branding for private investors. 2. The significance of crafting a unique narrative. 3. The empowerment that comes from bringing people together. 4. The rising trend of branding within private markets. 5. The democratization of access to alternative investments. 6. How to maximize relationships at conferences. 7. Leadership strategies to inspire and motivate talent. 8. The importance of thought leadership on LinkedIn Narratives are powerful in driving connections, for innovators and investors, everywhere.

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Last month, we interviewed ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY customers, and here's what we learned!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Gathering customer feedback is fundamental for CPG brands to find PMF. This is what we do: ONE: We send typeform surveys to our email list. As an incentive, we raffle off a few Amazon gift cards. TWO: Reading product reviews THREE: Reading the cancelation reasons on our subscription app FOUR: And my favorite is hopping on calls with customers. These are some of the questions we ask: - What made you try our brand? This will give you insights into their actual problem and how they think about it. - What's the most frustrating thing you've experienced with our products? Will tell you what to fix. - What do you want more of? Will tell you how to increase retention. - How would you describe our products to a friend? This tells you the language you should use in your ads. What other questions do you ask your customers?

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When we asked CPG founders who they wanted at Founderland... Their answer was clear: People who can help them grow their business & achieve their goals. Specifically: - The top retailers - The most founder-friendly investors, and - Other founders they can learn from and share with This conversation that I'm hosting at Founderland is a perfect representation of this group, plus one BIG bonus. We're also including Joel Toledano and ChargeUp.ai which is one of my favorite tech companies that is supporting consumer brands today. They automate the retail deduction and chargeback process for brands, saving them an insane amount of time and money. Such a cool co. Excited to teach, share and connect...and get some deals done, while of course having lots of fun. Joel Toledano Jen Zeszut Kim Coffin Deb Conklin

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The influencer economy has evolved into a $250 billion powerhouse over the last decade, shifting from traditional ad revenue to diverse, value-driven income streams. Authenticity and engagement now reign supreme, with creators launching their own companies to better align with their values and resonate deeply with their audiences. Empowering influencers to create products that reflect their unique visions is transforming the industry, fostering genuine connections and driving meaningful change. By assembling like-minded teams, the focus shifts from promoting others’ brands to nurturing your own, enabling growth and lasting impact. This is the future of influence—leading, innovating, and inspiring in an ever-evolving landscape. Own your future. Own your path forward.

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Primary Venture Partners NY Seed Report is out In Q3 2024, the NYC seed funding landscape saw a strategic pivot. While total funding dropped 13%, the average round size rose by 11%, signaling a high-conviction, low-volume approach from investors. Healthtech, AI, and FinTech deals led the way, with notable growth in transactions within the $6M-$10M range. For the entire report: https://lnkd.in/eByGuxW9

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Last night, while in town for GAI Insights #GenerativeAIWorld, I co-hosted a dinner with long time friend Dave Balter and True Ventures, gathering top minds in AI, VC, and entrepreneurship in Boston. BrandRank.AI CTO Matt Cox (based in Boston w/our tech team) and investor Bill Hildebolt of gen.video joined us. We dove into how AI is revolutionizing productivity across industries. The consensus? AI literacy is becoming as crucial as digital literacy was a decade ago. Our discussion centered around four key themes: - AI'S IMPACT ON BUSINESS: From automating tasks to enhancing decision-making, AI is transforming how companies operate and compete. - HUMAN-AI COLLABORATION: We explored the potential of AI as a creative partner and decision-making tool, and the implications for various industries. (Perfect timing for CincyAI for Humans (CincyAI) one-year anniversary celebration today.) - THE FUTURE OF WORK: We debated which jobs might be displaced, which new roles will emerge, and how to prepare for an AI-driven workforce. - ETHICAL AI AND BRAND PERCEPTION: Our work at BrandRank.AI is showing how AI can reveal uncomfortable truths about brands, raising questions about transparency and authenticity. (Are LLMs are too smart for BS!) What jumped out in the conversation is that AI isn't just a tool – it's becoming a collaborator, creator, and potential competitor. Are we ready for AI in boardrooms, creative processes, and as the primary interface for brand interactions? The entrepreneurial energy was palpable as we explored opportunities in AI-driven health monitoring and human-AI creative collaboration -- this balanced with ethical considerations and the responsibility we bear as leaders in this space. The future of business is AI-collaborative. Are we prepared to be good partners? This discussion echoed the conference's sentiment, bolstered by outstanding presentation by MIT and HBS faculty: we're in an unprecedented moment of disruption. It's not just a technological shift, but a fundamental reimagining of work, creativity, and interaction. (Amazing conference so far Paul Baier, John Sviokla Liz Vanzura) Great time to be an entrepreneur! And the ultimate test for leadership! Thanks Dave, Gus Coldebella and True team for great and timely conversation. Kelly Cohen Hank Hudepohl Carl Fraik Aftab Pureval Kendra Ramirez Christopher Brock Jon Salisbury Helen Todd (Human) Jon Salisbury Jack Wyant MJ Price 🌱Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone Judy Zitnik Christopher Morse Christy Page Jocile Ehrlich Lee Beech Tracey Cooke Sherrie Kinderdine Adriana Altuve Chetan Parekh Diana Takach Jonathan Carson

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A stroll through San Diego led me to Geppetto's, where a life-sized puppet and friendly staff turned me into an unexpected customer. 🌟This IS the magic of independent retail. 🌟 With consumer spending down, small businesses need innovative strategies beyond discounting to thrive without sacrificing profitability. Curious about how #indieretailers are navigating these challenges? Check out my latest article in Total Retail. #Retail #SmallBusiness #CustomerExperience #Innovation #IndependentRetail #SMB #boutiqueowner #retailer #fashion

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Studies show the average online shopper spends just 2.6 seconds evaluating a product. In retail? Even less. After testing dozens of product description styles at Obvi, here's what we found that works both online and irl… So we used to be guilty of the classic DTC move: walls of text above the fold. Shoppers didn’t love that. Then we A/B tested everything in between: Long-form content 📚 Minimal text All lifestyle pics Pure product specs But here's the thing - testing alone isn't enough. You need to know what your customer ACTUALLY cares about. Not what you think they care about. We spent months understanding our customers' concerns about supplements: - Safety questions - Expected results - How it fits their lifestyle Key learning → when it comes to your above the fold content, your customer needs exactly 3 things: - What it is (quick description) - Why it matters (core benefits) - How to use it (simple steps) Everything else is probably a distraction. For your PDP → That means a 2-sentence description max, checkmark-style benefits (✓), and super simple "how to use." The real magic? Your image carousel. We mix lifestyle shots with clean infographics. Half vibe, half value prop. This is where your creativity has to shine. And it's not just about looking pretty. Every design choice needs to serve a purpose. 🎯 For retail: Your packaging should pop first, inform second. Same principles, different battlefield. This is where art meets science →  - Research tells you what matters - Testing shows you what works - Creativity makes it impossible to ignore Think hierarchy. Think impact. Think speed. Because whether they're scrolling or shopping IRL, you've got seconds to make your case. Don't waste them on fluff 💎

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Unlocking Successful Exits As a venture capital investor leading HealthCap Africa , I've had the privilege of navigating multiple successful exits. Watch this video to discover the strategies and best practices that have enabled my exits. Key Takeaways 1. Effective exit planning and execution 2. Maximizing returns through IPOs, secondaries, and acquisitions 3. Navigating complex deal dynamics #VentureCapital #ExitStrategies #IPO #Secondaries #Acquisitions #InvestorInsights #GrowthStage #PrivateEquity

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***SCORED CONTRACT WITH WALMART TO SELL PRODUCT IN THEIR RETAIL STORES IN U.S. MARKET: 7/5/2024. Serial entrepreneur, Dr. D. Anthony Miles CEO and founder of Miles Development Industries Corporation ® and CMO/Equity Partner of “Safe Drop®” secured a deal with Walmart. The company just signed a lucrative deal with the global retail giant, Walmart. They will be distributing the company’s product. They just signed a lucrative deal with the global retail giant, Walmart. They will be distributing the Safe Drop® product worldwide. The projected sales for Safe Drop® in 2024 is in the billions. The company’s CEO, founder and inventor, Bob Safstrom, the mastermind behind Safe Drop®. and Dr. Miles have secured a vendor contract with Walmart Inc. Safe Drop® will be sold in Walmart’s retail stores around the country. Also they will be selling “Safe Drop®” on Walmart.com. They are both very exited to have secured the deal with Walmart. This gives them the opportunity partner a global and dominant firm like Walmart.

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Peter Rahal is already at it again. And he might know something you don’t. The paint isn’t even dry on the Uber-hyped #DavidBar. Now there’s buzz about another launch by the RXBAR founder. This time with Jared Smith, the other half of the RX duo. #HorblesChorbles is a high protein, low cal candy. And it’s coming in hot. Like 🔥 hot. So why now? Why 7 years after a $600M exit? My take: This is the biggest generational trend since keto. And this dynamic duo is not going to miss it. I’ve posted several times about the Protein Inflection point. We’re there, and here are the themes driving it: -> The science of protein and longevity. (Its real.) -> The rise of Ozempic (which causes muscle loss.) -> The functional food trend. (Because, why not?) -> The hacking of any and all comfort foods. (Legendary Foods and Quest Nutrition shattered the mold.) Said ‘Protein Everything’ to Vegan and Gluten Free: “We are not the same.” Everything Protein is a generational shift. It will not go away. ——— 🔹 We grow brands on Amazon. 🔹 We increase velocity in Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Sam's, COSTCO, and lots of other cool retailers. #cpg #cpggrowth #retailgrowth #retailvelocity #omnichannel #retail #amazonagency #retailmedia

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TryNow.com Weekly Update ⚡ • Hosted a great dinner for 20+ brand operators in NYC last night with Eli Weiss. Thanks for coming out Jeff Hansen, Alice Kim, Vanessa Alvarez, Katrina Caraboolad, Ian Laya, Loris Spadaccini, Arjan Singh, Timothy W. Schifter, Laurie Mucciolo, Madeline Placik, Kyle Goldman, Nicole (Nico) ✨ S., John Wong, Michael De Santis, Adrian Aidid and many more. • If you've been following along, you know that we made a big shift towards product-led engineering towards the end of Q1. This means that as a company we spend more time describing problems rather than prescribing solutions (shout out to Steve Davis at TryNow for this sound articulation) and empower engineering to fully own the solution. By defining the problem in detail, solutions can more naturally flow out of that work. Shifts like this are by no means immediate, and this week capped off a month of very strong product-led engineering. Keep an eye out for improvements to self-service onboarding, enhancements to TryNow Insights Dashboard, and some impactful improvements to our automated capture process. A few companies that inspired this cultural shift towards product-led engineering are PostHog and Ramp, two very different companies that share a product development velocity that we admire. • Incredible week in NYC with Ian Schneider, Director of GTM at TryNow. At dinner last night, a prospective customer came up to us and shared praise for our sales process. He mentioned that we don't "sell", we don't apply any pressure, and we're the most customer-centric vendor he knows. Now, I know there's a lot of improvements we can and should make to our GTM motion to ensure we're always putting the customer at the center. But we're on our way. Keep it up, Ian 🤜 #TryBeforeYouBuy #TryNewThings #Shopify

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Why Buying Your First Business is the hardest & Financing The Fear is Being seen as too risky by lenders and investors. The Solution: Prepare a solid business plan with detailed financial projections. Work with a financial advisor to enhance your credibility. Consider alternative financing options like SBA loans or seller financing.

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👀 HOW DO WE GET DIGITAL HEALTH TO REFOCUS ON PREVENTATIVE CARE?👀 Enter Inbal Tirosh co-founder and CEO of the incredible Livez on this week's episode!! My favorite question to ask founders is what is your founding story? Tune in to hear Inbal explain her founding story, and how they are impacting patients lives and futures! Livez is built to make preventative care easy, convenient, and reduce claims. The Livez screening solution detect 85% of preventable diseases!! Reduces a whopping 75% of healthcare claims. How do they do this? Inbal jumps into it all with me, explaining, "All together if you take every person and they get a plan of what they need to get screened for, based on their individual profile, and their specific data, you can do that with fusion of big data, and you take them on a journey to prevent their predicted risks, based on family history and their own history and so on..." Then you automatically book them with follow up appointments. This is backed by health authorities, and by large insurers! Key Points 🗝 🌐 Livez screening solution covers more than 50 clinical domains and 120 screenings and vaccines, impacting 75% of healthcare claims. Livez is a preventive health platform that focuses on holistic screening and interventions to prevent chronic diseases. 🏥 The platform helps employers and health plans prioritize the health of their population by identifying health risks and guiding individuals towards appropriate interventions. This is an absolutely fascinating conversation about the new frontier of preventative care. Get on board, and tune in to this week's episode of the Digital Health Heavyweights Podcast Also- major teaser that their pricing is FULLY at risk. Why NOT? Learn more about preventative care, and how Digital Health is continuing to evolve!

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Front row seat at National Retail Federation, and wow—just witnessed an incredible conversation with Harley Finkelstein (President of Shopify), Kat Cole (CEO of AG1) and Sara Foster (Co-Founder of Favorite Daughter). These brands are truly reshaping the future of retail. Here’s the quick takeaway: • The power of scaling a brand and creating a fanbase (AG1 is doing it big) • How Favorite Daughter built a game-changing retail ecosystem • Redefining omnichannel for today’s market • Why leaders must “kill your darlings” to innovate and grow • Staying resilient without losing sight of who your customers really are Hyped up and really feels like the never had been a better time to scale in retail #RetailInnovation #CustomerAttention #RetailLeadership

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A killer blueprint for how to maximize value on premium domains. Friend.com founder @AviSchiffmann recouping his $1.8M investment in less than a week? I’d call that a win! 🏆 #domains #branding #growthhacking

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HealthCap Africa: Pioneering Sector-Focused Investment At HealthCap Africa, we are committed to our strategic focus on healthcare and fintech, recognizing that specialization is key to success in Africa's vibrant startup ecosystem. The data reflects this, affirming our approach in a market ripe for innovation. We extend our gratitude to Scott Kupor Managing Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, one of the world's leading venture capital firms, for his insightful commentary on the increasing preference among founders for sector-specific investors. This validation from such esteemed industry figures underscores the importance of our mission-driven investment strategy. #HealthTech #FinTech #VentureCapital #InnovationInAfrica #SectorSpecialists

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