E30: How Kirsten Green Built Forerunner Ventures

This is a special episode featuring an interview between Forerunner Ventures founder Kirsten Green and Turner Novak of The Peel podcast and Banana Capital. The conversation covers Kirsten's journey from her early days in retail investment banking to the creation of Forerunner Ventures, how she thinks of the state of consumer investing, the story behind Dollar Shave Club, how she makes investment decisions, and maintaining strong relationships with LPs.---RECOMMENDED PODCAST: The Peel Podcast with Turner NovakHead to The Peel for more of Turner's in depth interviews with great founders and the investors who fund them.Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3QqtxGHqsPnKTG4CS7NgX5Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/poddrcast/the-peel-with-turner-novak/id1694440669---SPONSORS:HARMONIC:🧲 Learn why Craft, Bedrock, NEA and 100s more trust Harmonic’s data to source deals. Harmonic is the most complete startup database, finding new companies as soon as they incorporate and tracking them through IPO. Head to https://bit.ly/harmonicturpentine and make sure to mention Turpentine VC during your demo.ATTIO:Attio is the next generation of CRM. It’s powerful, flexible and easily configures to the unique way your startup runs, whatever your go-to-market motion. The next era deserves a better CRM. Join OpenAI, Replicate, ElevenLabs and more at ⁠https://bit.ly/AttioThePeel⁠BRAVEGet first-party targeting with Brave's private ad platform: cookieless and future proof ad formats for all your business needs. Performance meets privacy. Head to https://brave.com/ads and mention “MoZ” when signing up for a 25% discount on your first campaign.SQUAD💥 Access global engineering without the headache and at a fraction of the cost: head to choosesquad.com and mention “Turpentine” to skip the waitlist.---Join our free newsletter: https://turpentinevc.substack.com/---RELATED SHOWS: 10X Capital PodcastIf you like Turpentine VC, check out our show The 10x Capital Podcast with David Weisburd, where David talks to the investors behind the investors: https://10xcapitalpodcast.com/Sourcery by Molly O'SheaSourcery by Molly O’Shea brings the conversations founders and investors have behind closed doors into the light. Subscribe for upcoming episodes with: Delian Asparouhov of Founders Fund and Varda Space, and Chris Power of Hadrian.Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Ni3Tese9CtZa3oxpCjgTgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SourceryVC/---X / TWITTER:@kirstenagreen (Kirsten)@eriktorenberg (Erik)@turpentinemedia@turpentineVC---TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Intro(00:47) Kirsten's Early Career and Retail Insights(02:40) Consumer Behavior(03:09) Impact of Discounts(05:55) Transition from Public to Private Market Investing(07:07) Journey to Venture Capital(10:31) Birth of Forerunner Ventures(11:11) Navigating the Financial Crisis of 2008(11:15) SPONSOR: ATTIO | BRAVE(13:04) Overcoming Failure(27:18) Raising the First Institutional Fund(40:34) Challenge of Securing LP Money(41:26) Convincing Investors(43:11) Story of Dollar Shave Club Investment(50:50) Fundraising for Forerunner(59:45) Approach to LP Side of Fundraising(01:02:06) The Future of Consumer Investing(01:13:33) Building Relationships with Founders(01:17:20) Wrap--This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at [email protected].