Why European Brands Scale Differently

What’s the difference between a great European consumer founder and a great American one? A lot more than you’d think.Sam Kaplan returns to In The Money to break down the biggest differences between U.S. and European consumer investing; from founder psychology and capital efficiency to TAM, exit paths, and what growth really looks like on each side of the Atlantic.This is a sharp conversation about how consumer brands scale, why Europe produces a different type of operator, and what investors are actually looking for in 2026.We cover:The real founder differences between the U.S., UK, and EuropeWhy American founders pitch bigger and European founders often build more durable businessesWhy UK founders look more like U.S. founders than continental EuropeansHow role models shape founder ambitionWhy many European founders don’t need outside capital at allThe rise of secondary deals in consumer because the best founders don’t need primariesHow Five Seasons thinks about stage, check size, and underwritingWhy “high AOV, high margin, high repeat” is the holy trinityWhy some categories look exciting but still aren’t right for the fundPortfolio examples:YFood and category creation in RTD nutritionTallow + Ash and premiumization in laundryHow Five Seasons does category work before it even meets a companyWhy timing matters as much as being right on a thesisRetail strategy in Europe: why earlier retail entry can workWhat’s driving growth right now:Massive content volumeFaster creative testingShort-form video supporting retail sell-throughWhy Sam is especially interested in fragrance-led disruption across adjacent categoriesThis isn’t a fluffy geography comparison.It’s a practical conversation about what actually wins in consumer and why the playbook looks different in Europe than it does in the U.S.If you’re a founder, investor, or operator trying to understand the next generation of consumer brands, this episode is packed with signal.