This episode is brought to you by The Hidden Gems.Hiring agencies is risky. Most overpromise and underdeliver. The Hidden Gems connects founders with highly vetted, brand-loved boutique agencies across media, creative, dev/design, events, and more — at preferred rates.Free for Consumer VC listeners → https://thehiddengems.com/Most venture capitalists have never actually built companies.Tony Conrad did both.In this episode, Mike sits down with Tony Conrad, Partner at True Ventures and one of the earliest investors behind companies like Blue Bottle Coffee, Sweetgreen, Madison Reed, Modern Animal, WordPress and more. Before venture capital, Tony spent a decade at Danone before leaving corporate life to build startups during the earliest days of Silicon Valley’s internet boom.Tony shares what it was really like living through the dot-com crash, why he believes AI is creating another major market correction and the lessons founders keep ignoring when it comes to fundraising, valuations, and building sustainable companies.The conversation goes deep into founder psychology, venture incentives, why most investors get founders wrong and how Tony evaluates companies before there’s even product-market fit.He also breaks down:- Why he instantly invested in Blue Bottle- The danger of overheated seed valuations- Why most founders choose the wrong investors- The real role of storytelling in fundraising- What separates iconic founders from everyone else- Why “fast money” creates long-term pressure- How AI is reshaping both enterprise and consumer investing- Why he still believes consumer is massively underratedYou’ll learn:✅ Why Tony left Danone for Silicon Valley startups✅ What the dot-com crash taught him about AI today✅ The founder traits most investors overlook✅ Why inflated valuations hurt founders later✅ How True Ventures thinks about ownership and returns✅ Why Blue Bottle was an obvious bet for him✅ The difference between scalable venture bets vs angel investing✅ Why founder-investor alignment matters more than valuation✅ How to know if you have the right investors around the table✅ Why consumer investing always comes back👉 If you’re a founder, operator, or investor trying to understand how great companies are actually built across multiple cycles, this episode is packed with hard-earned lessons.Timestamps00:00 Intro01:00 Leaving Danone for Silicon Valley04:00 Why tech felt more exciting than CPG05:30 The early days of startup investing08:00 Moving to San Francisco during the internet boom10:00 Lessons from the dot-com crash13:00 Is AI in a bubble right now?15:00 How Tony joined True Ventures17:00 Building startups while investing simultaneously20:00 The burnout of being both founder and VC22:00 Why Tony loves four-wall retail businesses23:00 The Blue Bottle investment story27:00 How True Ventures makes investment decisions29:00 Why being a generalist investor matters32:00 Angel investing vs venture investing34:00 What “venture-scale” really means35:00 The one mistake Tony hates making36:00 How to identify the right founders39:00 Why founders shouldn’t rush fundraising41:00 The danger of inflated valuations45:00 What founders should look for in investors47:00 When founders should step aside as CEO50:00 Balancing founder support with LP responsibility51:00 Lessons from building About.me55:00 Why digital identity still matters56:00 Why consumer investing is underrated58:00 AI infrastructure vs AI applications01:00:00 Consumer AI opportunities Tony is excited about01:02:00 Investing in competing companies01:05:00 The problem with mega funds01:07:00 Lessons from Slack & Stewart Butterfield01:08:00 Favorite books & leadership lessons01:11:00 AI, job displacement & optimism for the future01:14:00 Final thoughts📬 Subscribe for more founder stories & scaling insights:👉 https://www.theconsumervc.com/Follow Mike Gelb:Twitter / IG / TikTok → @mikegelb / @consumervc

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