Michael Duda (Bullish) - How to invest in brands that can appeal to the early majority, the two ways to win as a brand, and why all consumers are liars

Our guest today is our second second time guest, Mike Duda. Mike is the General Partner at Bullish. Bullish is a consumer only venture capital fund and creative agency. Some of their investments include Sunday, Spark Grills, Hu, Care/of. I mention these brands specifically because all the founders of those companies have been on the podcast but they’ve also invested in Peloton, Harry’s Warby Parker. If you want to learn the founding story of how Mike founded Bullish, highly recommend his first episode in 2020. In this episode we focus on his process to identifying a consumer insight, what needs to happen in order for an insight to become an investment opportunity and his analysis on consumer behavior. I was delighted Mike was willing to come back on the show for a chat, without further ado, here he is. Questions I ask Mike: What’s your process to identifying a nascent consumer insight? I’ve had investors come on the show talk about their jobs are to identify the difference between a consumer trend and a fad. How do you make that distinction? What has to happen in order for a trend to become big? One of the massive trends in 2010s was home fitness, and you were big winners with your investment in Peloton. I’d love it if you could walk through how you made that investment? What's the next big thing in consumer that you think is under-appreciated or contrarian? What’s often misunderstood investing in consumer oriented companies? If the bet is right when it comes to a trend, how important is having a competitive advantage in your product? When you think about the major themes and changes in consumer behavior, what comes to mind? Is investing in consumer products saturated since it's easier than ever to launch a company? What do you think is misunderstood by tech when it comes to CPG? What’s misunderstood when it comes to brand? What’s under-appreciated when it comes to building a brand? What’s one piece of advice you have for founders?