Impellent Ventures

So this post has been ripping around the interwebs. You may have seen it already. A whole lot of folks are agreeing with it. Breathlessly sharing and nodding to look smart or simpatico. But it's kind of bullshit. Let me explain: I get the argument against DTC as a venture-investable asset class right now - but that argument should be based on 1) if you're a scaredy cat and don't like taking as much risk as you're telling everyone 2) timing is bad right now and that if you're looking for a power law liquidity event, you better nail the lifecycle of the investment as it pertains to your fund cycle, or 3) you just hate cardboard boxes. Going to make some bold statements now: 1) DTC is not proven to be a bad venture investment on limited data. It's just that at this specific time (and maybe over the past 2 years), multiples that you typically rely on to gauge a market are depressed and it's a tough category. Also, notorious category darlings have become pariahs. 2) Category-based venture investing success is, as you've guessed it, very reliant on timing. One - you need to invest in a company at the right time, give or take two years, and two - you need to sell your shares at the right time. 3) The post in question takes a momentary snapshot at a particular point time. If you sold shares of many of these companies at their peak prices, you'd be in the money. Also, the author leaves out a bunch of winners and his categorization is all over the place. So the post is kind of unfair. Again, if folks want to argue that DTC is a bad bet (and they are, in droves) - fine. But at least be fair about it. Argue unit economics, limited data, and lack of business model innovation or something, not just an "ARGGGGHHH CRAPPY STOCKS ARE CRAPPY" thesis. I've always been a B2B guy, personally. But I'm happy to invest in amazing founders targeting large markets in any industry, including DTC. So, DTC founders - Impellent Ventures is open for business. David Brown, Tariq Trotter, and I are open for business. Maybe we can have a fun 10-12 year adventure together. Shoot us a message. And as always, interested to hear folks' thoughts - and why I'm an idiot or better yet, if you agree.