# Investor Spotlight: Family Fund with Josh Wand and Sean Kelly

- Show: [The Startup CPG Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast)
- Published: 2026-01-03
- Length: 46m
- Episode: 244
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-01-03-investor-spotlight-family-fund-with-josh-wand-and-sean-kelly
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/dc72ed3e

## Summary

Josh Wand and Sean Kelly, General Partners at the Family Fund, discuss the nuances of fundraising for CPG founders, emphasizing the importance of researching investors and understanding deal terms. They highlight critical pitfalls such as accepting high valuations that lead to down rounds, and dangerous terms like 3x liquidation preferences and founder vesting resets. The guests share traits of successful founders, contrasting early-stage needs for product-market fit with later-stage requirements for professional management and team scaling.

## Outline

1. Introduction and Family Fund Overview
2. Fund Dynamics and LP Community
3. Diligencing Investors and Asking Questions
4. Founder Traits and Stage-Specific Challenges
5. Valuation Traps and Down Rounds
6. Critical Deal Terms: Liquidation and Vesting
7. Contacting Family Fund and Founderland

## Topics

- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Family Fund (company)
- Force Brands (company)
- Superpower (product)
- Perfect Bar (product)
- Hug Chocolate (product)
- Kraft Heinz (company)
- Bloom (product)
- Ghost (product)
- LesserEvil (product)
- Supergoop (product)
- Poppy (product)
- Founderland (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [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 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)
- [S1 E7: Level Up Your Hardware Product Pitch with Haje Kamps](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2023-06-27-s1-e7-level-up-your-hardware-product-pitch-with-haje-kamps) (The Builder Circle)
- [Leaving a Startup and Lessons Learned from Plethora with Nick Pinkston (Part 3 of 3)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-10-25-leaving-a-startup-and-lessons-learned-from-plethora-with-nick-pinkston-part-3-of) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [178: Venture Capital Funding for Hardware Startups](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-06-01-178-venture-capital-funding-for-hardware-startups) (Product Startup)

## Citing this page

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