June 29, 2023

E077: Alison Ryu: Able Partners

Alison has been investing in consumer brands for nearly a decade. Prior to Able, Alison was a General Partner & Managing Director at CircleUp Growth Partners where she led investments in early stage consumer brands. Before CircleUp, Alison was a Vice President at TSG Consumer where she invested in consumer and retail brands and worked closely with the e-commerce investments in their portfolio. She spent a year as an operator on the executive team of Backcountry.com, one of the TSG portfolio companies. Prior to TSG, Alison worked in investment banking at J.P. Morgan in the Consumer & Retail Group. Alison has served on the Board of Directors of Kosas Cosmetics, Nutpods and Mented Cosmetics. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University and lives in San Francisco with her husband.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:22 What inspired you to become a VC?
01:51 What is your investment thesis? What is the motivation for your thesis?
04:41 What are you currently reading or learning or listening to these days?
07:56 In 2 years, how do you see venture capital evolved or changed?
14:58 How do people contact you?
15:32 Thank you

Featured Guest Bio:
Alison has been investing in consumer brands for nearly a decade. Prior to Able, Alison was a General Partner & Managing Director at CircleUp Growth Partners where she led investments in early stage consumer brands. Before CircleUp, Alison was a Vice President at TSG Consumer where she invested in consumer and retail brands and worked closely with the e-commerce investments in their portfolio. She spent a year as an operator on the executive team of Backcountry.com, one of the TSG portfolio companies. Prior to TSG, Alison worked in investment banking at J.P. Morgan in the Consumer & Retail Group. Alison has served on the Board of Directors of Kosas Cosmetics, Nutpods and Mented Cosmetics. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University and lives in San Francisco with her husband.

Guest Contact:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonryu/

Fund Information:
Able is an investment fund focused on health & wellbeing. We aim to support passionate entrepreneurs building visionary brands in positive living that will make the daily lives of consumers healthier, happier and more meaningful. We seek to partner with companies that are narrowing The Wellness Gap: the quantifiable delta that has grown dramatically over the past two decades as economic indicators such as GDP per capita have increased while measures of overall wellbeing, including physical and mental health, have stagnated or decreased. We are most focused on overlooked or stigmatized communities that have resulted in underserved markets. These are the areas where we see opportunity: disruptive healthcare, care economy, consumer wellbeing and connection & community.

Fund Site:
https://ablepartners.nyc/

Fund Contact:
https://www.instagram.com/laud_able/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ablepartners/

Transcript

Here's a summary of some key highlights from the episode:

1. Choice and Value: Founders now have more options when it comes to selecting who they work with and the value they can receive. Mega funds may not offer the same personalized support as smaller specialized funds.

2. Challenges of Large Funds: While having a $1 billion AUM is desirable, managing a large amount of money and many companies can be complex. Deploying capital strategically requires careful consideration.

3. Closing the Wellness Gap: Able Partners focuses on health and well-being, supporting early-stage companies in the positive living industry. They aim to partner with companies that are addressing the quantifiable difference between economic growth and the decline in overall well-being measures.

4. Integration of AI: Companies in Able Partners' portfolio are exploring the integration of AI into their product roadmaps. However, there are important questions to address regarding differentiation, unique IP, scalability, and ethical concerns.

5. Fragmentation of VC Landscape: The speaker believes that the VC landscape is becoming more fragmented, with a shift towards specialist funds and away from large mega funds. This shift provides founders with more specific expertise and clarity in choosing their partners.

6. Generative AI's Impact: The speaker predicts that generative AI will significantly impact the PC ecosystem and all aspects of life within the next two years. It's an area they find fascinating and have recently had discussions about.

7. Able's Investment Focus: Able Partners actively invests in underserved markets to address gaps in healthcare, with a focus on mental health, women's health, metabolic health, elder care, and the care-giving ecosystem.

8. Implications of GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer): The speaker discusses the implications of GPT technology on content companies and intellectual property, highlighting the challenges faced by content creators in determining originality and protecting their works.

9. Inspiration from Podcasts: The speaker expresses their appreciation for the power of listening and highlights valuable insights gained from podcasts such as Liz Moody's "Healthier Together," Peter Atia's podcast, and the Huberman Lab.

10. Career Journey: From investment banking at JPMorgan to private equity at TSG Consumer, the speaker found their passion for building and shifted their focus to earlier stage investing in venture capital. They now wear an investment hat while working closely with founders in their portfolio.

We hope this summary gives you a taste of the informative and thought-provoking discussion we had with Alison Ryu of Able Partners.