Brian Folmer and FirstLook Change the Game on the Future of Consumer Brand Investing
I had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Folmer, founder of FirstLook, FirstLook Ventures, and Distrobox. Brian is based out of Cleveland where he spends most of his time building FirstLook, a box full of emerging brands for investors, and Distrobox, a box full of emerging brands for DSD Distributors. When he’s not working on his companies, you can find him investing in consumer brands and tech solutions that empower them. He believes founders are the lifeblood of the global economy whose efforts drive innovation, push the world forward, and shape human history.
What motivated you to launch your startup?
While leading Business Development at XRC Ventures in NYC, I noticed how consumer brands would constantly send samples to our office. In many cases, we hadn’t even met them yet. I thought, “If they’re blindly sending us samples, they’re probably doing the same to a lot of other investors, and that can be expensive.” While bike riding one day, the idea hit me that there should be a box that curates the best of the best brands who are raising VC, and turn their 1-to-1 grind of finding investors and individually shipping samples into a 1-to-Many type situation. This is a very potent pain point for founders, which motivated me to eventually launch FirstLook.
What is it that excites you about what you’re building?
I feel like I’m the luckiest person in consumer VC. I sit at the table right between founders and investors, and hear what both sides are thinking. Because of this, I love my job and learn a ton in the process. Sitting at this unique point in the ecosystem is what excites me most.
What has been your biggest challenge when growing your startup?
The biggest challenge has come from growing the brand while remaining bootstrapped. It’s forced me to be extra creative on how we share what we do with the world. It’s also made me dial in how much we can test things. In short, if one of our efforts isn’t profitable early, it’s hard to justify keeping it alive.
What are your future plans for your startup?
I’m currently in the midst of interviewing for a CMO Cofounder. Bringing someone else on board will be a big unlock for us to grow. Beyond that, we want to expand our offering in a way that makes things even more curated for founders and investors so each side has a better experience. One of our end goals is also to raise a sidecar fund so we can personally invest in brands beyond simply getting them in front of other investors.
If you had to share, “words of wisdom,” with a Founder who’s about to start their own startup, what would they be?
Build a financial model first. I can’t stress this enough. Doing so will really help you think through how your business will work (or not work), what levers you can pull to change the business, and whether it’s worth the effort. The greatest reward from this exercise is being able to speak intelligently about your idea to others which may inspire them to join you or invest.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
FirstLook is @firstlookvc, and I personally am @homerfolmer across almost all of social media.
This was very insightful. Thank you so much for joining us!
