Lifecycle
Our Story
As consumers, we felt that the brands and concepts that we could truly connect with were few and far in between and all too often, customer experience was undercut in the pursuit of short-term gains. And so, we launched Idea Farm Ventures to create the businesses that we actually want to see in our lives. While the general focus of our fund is the consumer lifestyle space, we have a particular soft spot for F&B, Wellness, Fashion and Entertainment concepts as we see them as opportunities to enrich and enliven our lives. Our holistic approach to incubating ventures and the long-term capital we use to seed them allows us to sustainably craft businesses defined by customer experience, product quality and relevance.
Lifecycle
Our Story
As consumers, we felt that the brands and concepts that we could truly connect with were few and far in between and all too often, customer experience was undercut in the pursuit of short-term gains. And so, we launched Idea Farm Ventures to create the businesses that we actually want to see in our lives. While the general focus of our fund is the consumer lifestyle space, we have a particular soft spot for F&B, Wellness, Fashion and Entertainment concepts as we see them as opportunities to enrich and enliven our lives. Our holistic approach to incubating ventures and the long-term capital we use to seed them allows us to sustainably craft businesses defined by customer experience, product quality and relevance.
The Not So Typical Lifecycle of An Idea Farm Venture
In order to create relevant brands that we are excited to interact with, we first put on our consumer hats to understand prevailing trends and sentiments in the consumer lifestyle space.
Once we have the big picture, we delve into identifying specific pockets of opportunity.
Then it’s time to put our creative hats on. The whole team pitches in as we dream up ideas that cater to unmet demand within these pockets with the best one chosen for incubation.
Upon selection, we put our heads together and fashion the brand personality and design theme and then go on to perfect the product.
After that, we throw ourselves or at least one of the Idea Farm Ventures Partners in the deep end (without a lifevest) and it’s off to the races.
The Chief Idea Partner recruits a core team,develops a go-to market strategy, seeks out strategic investors or operating partners where necessary and so forth.
It’s non-stop execution until the launch of a pilot. From there, we scale it and nurture it until it’s ready to leave the nest.
Criteria
Criteria
The Idea Farm Investment Criteria
Switching to our investor hats, here’s what we look for in the ventures we incubate:
Low Upfront Capex Requirement
Highly Cash Generative (we love cash cows and cows in general)
High Operating Margins
Scalability
Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Clear Exit Strategy
Focus
Focus
Geographic Focus
We primarily focus on brands born and bred in NYC and LA but we also opportunistically look at the other lifestyle capitals of the world. At the end of the day, we don’t let borders dictate our strategy – that is a privilege we afford only to great ideas.
Spaces We Currently Like
F&B:
Convenient Healthy Eateries, Quick Serve Ethnic Restaurants
Wellness:
Boutique Fitness, Specialty Grooming Bars
Fashion:
Activewear, Menswear
Entertainment:
Immersive Experiences, Family Fun Oriented Concepts