# #214 - Founders & Funders: The Early Stage Investor Event of the Year

- Show: [The Startup CPG Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast)
- Published: 2025-09-16
- Length: 44m
- Episode: 194
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-09-16-214-founders-funders-the-early-stage-investor-event-of-the-year
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/97ccfa0d

## Summary

Hannah Dittman, Startup CPG’s finance and operations lead, and Simon Solis-Cohen, founder of Huxley, discuss the upcoming 'Founders & Funders' event in New York City, designed to connect early-stage CPG brands with active institutional investors. Dittman details the curated lineup of VCs, including Collaborative Fund and Simple Food Ventures, and explains the event’s matchmaking structure, which includes pre-vetted one-on-one meetings and educational panels on deal terms and margins. Solis-Cohen shares his perspective on building authentic relationships with investors before asking for capital, emphasizing that early-stage fundraising relies heavily on trust and founder-vendor fit rather than just product metrics.

## Outline

1. Introduction: Founders & Funders Event Overview
2. Investor Lineup: Collaborative Fund, Simple Food Ventures, and Super Angel Fund
3. Huxley’s Product Strategy and Founder Perspective on Fundraising
4. Event Design: Matchmaking, One-Pagers, and 10-Minute Meetings
5. Panel Discussions: Top Deals, Trends, and Investment Criteria
6. Real Talk on Margins and Vetting VCs
7. Deal Term 101: Legal Expertise and Founder Protection
8. Founder Keynote: Paul from Ourobora on Scaling and Exiting
9. Application Advice and Final Thoughts

## Topics

- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Huxley (product)
- Collaborative Fund (company)
- Simple Food Ventures (company)
- Super Angel Fund (company)
- Midnight Venture Partners (company)
- Coefficient Capital (company)
- First Look Ventures (company)
- Habitat Partners (company)
- Springdale Ventures (company)
- Daily Harvest (product)
- Blue Bottle (product)
- Magic Spoon (product)
- Olipop (product)
- Bellywell (product)
- Orobora (product)
- Brightland (product)
- Caraway (product)
- Man Serial (product)
- Humble Growth (company)
- Genus Luden (company)
- Ourobora (product)
- Siete (product)

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- [Advice Line with Eric Ryan of Method returns](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-04-23-advice-line-with-eric-ryan-of-method-returns) (How I Built This)
- [Advice Line with Andrew Abraham of Orgain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-05-16-advice-line-with-andrew-abraham-of-orgain) (How I Built This)
- [Founder vs. Investor with Liz Zalman and Jerry Neumann](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-11-22-founder-vs-investor-with-liz-zalman-and-jerry-neumann) (Oxide and Friends)
- [Advice Line with Scott Tannen of Boll & Branch and Jamie Siminoff of Ring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-12-11-advice-line-with-scott-tannen-of-boll-branch-and-jamie-siminoff-of-ring) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

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