Investing in OLIPOP at Pre-seed | Nate Cooper, Barrel Ventures

On this episode, we’re joined by Nate Cooper, Founder & Managing Partner at Barrel Ventures, and OLIPOP pre-seed investor. He tells the story behind investing in OLIPOP at pre-seed, what changed between the early brand and the rocket ship it became, and the hemp beverage bet he believes is far bigger than most people expect. Nate unpacks why venture is not a fit for most brands, what founders with no operating background consistently miss, and how to raise around milestones instead of “months of runway.” We also get Nate’s high-level investment checklist and some advice for breaking into consumer VC.—---------------Episode Highlights:🧭 Venture as a tool: when to raise equity vs. when to use debt🧵 Upstream excitement: ingredients, packaging, and infra that remove friction🥤 OLIPOP at pre-seed: conviction, category, and the early brand arc🌿 Why hemp beverages may be a much bigger wave than expected🧾 Nate’s investment checklist: shelf benchmarking, unit economics, repeat, team💸 Fundraising that works: milestone-led plans, realistic pricing, exit math🎯 Careers: how to position yourself for a role in consumer VC—---------------Table of Contents:00:51:28 - Intro to Nate and his path into CPG02:06:05 - Investing in Olipop at pre-seed05:22:29 - What investors with no operating experience miss08:17:27 - A tale of two cities when it comes to fundraising (or not)10:22:27 - Upstream excitement12:40:27 - Easing friction is the key14:34:01 - Investing in a product you don’t personally enjoy15:26:11 - The biggest opportunity in CPG right now21:04:18 - The bet Nate made in the hemp beverage category23:54:09 - Nate’s investment checklist26:36:17 - The early Olipop brand (not great)27:23:16 - What founders have to get right to have a successful fundraise29:51:03 - How to land a role in consumer VC—---------------Links:Barrel Ventures – https://www.barrelvc.comFollow Nate on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-cooper-2ba9aa19/Follow Adam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out KitPrint.Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.Are you in the market for a new flexible packaging partner? Check out HD Packaging. Third-generation, family-owned and built for the needs of category leaders like Newman’s Own and A Dozen Cousins. Faster launches, lower costs, and no artwork fees.