BrandProject

Their thesis, in full

Toronto-based investor in next-generation consumer product, service and technology companies. Founded in 2013 by Andrew Black (co-founder and former CEO of Virgin Mobile), BrandProject began as a venture studio and evolved into a fund, closing its first institutional fund (BrandProject Capital, C$54M) in 2021. It invests at pre-seed and seed in founders building category-defining consumer brands grounded in real consumer insight, across food and beverage, health and wellness, beauty and personal care, consumer tech, multi-unit retail, performance supplements, pet and home and lifestyle. Notable exit: Freshly, sold to Nestle in 2020 for US$1.5B.

Questions they usually ask

Have an answer ready for each one before the first call.

1. Which retail and DTC channels are driving repeat rates above category benchmarks?
2. What is your gross margin path at scale, and where does it break versus the category leader?
3. Who is the strategic acquirer in 5 years and what makes them want this brand specifically?

Follow-on

BrandProject leads pre-seed and seed rounds with the ability to follow on, and maintains seed-stage reserves for pro-rata. Founders are expected to deliver category-leading unit economics before the next institutional round.

Who to talk to

• Andrew BlackFounder, Managing PartnerLinkedIn ↗
• Chad LegerCFO & Operating PartnerLinkedIn ↗
• Hayden WilliamsPartnerLinkedIn ↗
• Chris MartonePrincipalLinkedIn ↗
• Colin HardingPrincipalLinkedIn ↗
• Jay BhattiTechnology AdvisorLinkedIn ↗