Leah Solivan (Fuel Capital) - The Importance of Passion, When a Company Should Have Product-Market Fit, and What Founders Should Pay Attention To In Their Pitch Decks
*Leah Solivan* ( https://www.fuelcapital.com/our-team ) *is General Partner at* *Fuel Capital* ( https://www.fuelcapital.com/ ) *, an early-stage venture fund focused on consumer, SaaS, and cloud infrastructure companies dedicated to giving outsiders the inside edge through unrelenting commitment, authenticity, and hustle. Some of their investments include* *Bark* ( https://www.bark.us/ ) *,* *Flexport* ( https://www.flexport.com/ ) *,* *Crowd Cow* ( https://www.crowdcow.com/ ) *. Previously, Leah was the founder and CEO of* *Taskrabbit* ( https://www.taskrabbit.com/ ) *, which was acquired by* *IKEA* ( https://www.ikea.com/us/en/ ) *.* *You can follow Leah on Twitter @labunleashed. You are also welcome to follow your host* *@mikegelb* ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ) *and* *@consumervc* ( https://twitter.com/consumervc ) *for updates.* *A book that impacted you personally and professionally is* *Founders at Work* ( https://amzn.to/2QNQnVJ ) *by Jessica Livingston* *On this episode, we discuss:* * *Why Leah left her job at IBM to start Task Rabbit? Her learnings from founding Task Rabbit and why she became a venture capitalist? Some of Fuel Capital’s strategic advantages and what makes Fuel unique?* * ** * *The differences when analyzing consumer vs. enterprise businesses. Qualities in founders that she is focused on. How do you know when a company know they have found product-market fit? When should a company have product-market fit in relation to the fundraising round? How she thinks about traction and milestones.* * ** * *In a pitch deck, an element that’s very important but often overlooked. When a fund says they need a lead investor, does it automatically mean bad news for the founder? How she thinks about online customer acquisition costs in today’s landscape? Consumer trends she’s focused on?* * ** * *One thing she would change about venture capital and advice for consumer startups.* * **
