The Retail X Series Podcast
Are you an early stage founder revolutionizing the future of retail? Then you’re in the right place. My name is Sapna Shah and I’m an angel investor investing at the preseed stage in retail tech, ecommerce, marketplaces and consumer. I’m also the founder of Retail X Series, an ecosystem to help early-stage founders in the retail sector. Retail X Series includes events, a YouTube channel, a Slack community, resources for founders, and this podcast. In this podcast, I interview founders, investors and experts in the retail space, and we dig deep into the tactics around key topics that early-stage founders want to hear about. Welcome to the Retail X podcast.
The Retail X Series Podcast
Fundraising for Early-Stage DTC Startups in the Current Environment, Featuring Sarah Foley
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Sapna Shah
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Episode 24
Can DTC companies raise early-stage capital right now? Well, it’s a little more complicated right now. This episode features VC Sarah Foley, Partner at SWAT Equity. Sarah talks through how digitally native brands can raise equity rounds right now, what valuations and round sizes are important to note, and where the market is going. Don't miss this informative episode (note: this episode was recorded in mid-October 2022).
- What kinds of rounds are getting done right now at the early stages
- Where valuations are trending in the fall of 2022
- What size of rounds can get done right now (spoiler: smaller ones)
- Do investors required DTC companies to be omnichannel in order to fundraise
- Does the specific DTC category affect omnichannel expectations
- How to think more creatively around omnichannel to gain traction
- Which metrics are most important at seed stage and how they’ve changed in the current environment
- How the next year or so may look for growth expectations and fundraising
- How investors feel about alternative financing (working capital lines, inventory financing, etc.)
Music by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com
Edited by Deven Shah
Learn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.
To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.