Investor Spotlight: Greer Tessler and Luke Goldstein of Simple Food Ventures

The Startup CPG Podcast · 2 Aug 2025 · 50m · Episode 177

What this episode covers

Greer Tessler and Luke Goldstein, Managing Partners at Simple Food Ventures, discuss their early-stage CPG investment strategy, which focuses on 'better-for-you' grocery staples and leverages a strategic partnership with Albertsons to help portfolio companies scale into retail distribution. They outline their investment criteria, noting a shift toward higher check sizes ($500k–$2M) in their second fund, and emphasize the importance of founders demonstrating strong operational and financial fundamentals, such as cash flow management and realistic valuation expectations. The conversation covers the diligence process, the value of transparency in founder-investor relationships, and specific advice on navigating fundraising stages from pre-revenue to Series A.

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • How I Built This · 40m

    Advice Line with Eric Ryan of Method returns

    Eric Ryan, co-founder of Method and now a venture investor at Graycroft, joins Guy Raz to advise early-stage founders on branding, product differentiation, and fundraising. He discusses his new $15 million consumer fund and the current challenges of investing in CPG, noting that while starting is easier, scaling to $100M+ is harder. Ryan advises callers on building trust for an allergen-free fragrance brand, creating experiential marketing for customizable kids' flip-flops, and determining when to raise capital for a light-up jewelry startup.

  • How I Built This · 43m

    Advice Line with Scott Tannen of Boll & Branch and Jamie Siminoff of Ring

    Scott Tannen of Boll & Branch and Jamie Siminoff of Ring join Guy Raz to advise three early-stage founders. They discuss the trade-offs of bootstrapping versus venture capital for Q for Quinn, the strategic positioning of L Cubed Lifestyle against sunscreen rather than apparel, and expanding the market for Knox Provisions binoculars beyond traditional outdoor channels.

  • How I Built This · 49m

    Advice Line with Tony Xu of Doordash

    Tony Xu, co-founder and CEO of DoorDash, joins Guy Raz to answer questions from three early-stage entrepreneurs: Ron Kormai of Steelport Knife Company, Catherine Shaw of Spring and Mulberry, and Yori Gabe of Route 22 Meats. Xu advises Kormai on managing the trade-offs of expanding Steelport's product line to cutting boards, Shaw on navigating fundraising and cash flow strains for her date-sweetened chocolate bars, and Gabe on educating consumers about grass-fed beef traceability. The episode highlights Xu's strategies for maintaining high agency, validating product-market fit through experiments, and selecting the right investors based on milestone alignment.

  • How I Built This · 50m

    Advice Line with Mark Ramadan of Sir Kensington's

    Sir Kensington's co-founder Mark Ramadan joins Guy Raz to advise three early-stage founders on business challenges. He helps Pat of Dripsy LLC navigate the complexities of getting a single-product sink strainer into major retail chains, Lucas of Taco Shop on how to differentiate from an impending Chipotle competitor, and Beth Benneke of Busy Baby on managing cash flow and operational costs while scaling from DTC to mass retail.

  • How I Built This · 46m

    Advice Line with Jeni Britton of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

    Jeni Britton, founder of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams and her new fiber company Floura, advises three early-stage founders on marketing, fundraising, and PR. Jesse Koenig of Jesse & Ben’s discusses how to market his healthy frozen fries to grocery buyers without relying solely on the 'seed oil' narrative. Casey White of Jaju Pierogi asks how to sustainably grow her dumpling brand to big-box retailers like Costco without losing control to outside venture capital. Callie Zeher of Ube.co seeks guidance on hiring a PR firm for her purple sweet potato pet treats while balancing her full-time science career.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by The Startup CPG Podcast. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.