Summary
On this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Jeff Amerine, Caleb Talley, and Grace Gill are joined by Fred Gustafson, operating partner of Wabi Capital and president of Louisville Vegan Jerky. Fred details how his entrepreneurial journey began with an online tuxedo rental startup that saw great success and an early exit. He shares about jumping into franchises without any prior experience, leading to—of all things—a brick-and-mortar shop for soap. Throughout his wild ride of entrepreneurship, Fred has learned the importance of being flexible and willing to learn something new.
Show Notes
(1:01) Introducing Fred
(1:20) A Successful Exit with Menguin
(10:57) Working with Voxie and Buff City Soap
(23:08) Wabi Capital
(26:29) Louisville Vegan Jerky
(30:08) Marketing to Meat Eaters
(38:28) The Wabi Capital Name
(40:35) Advice to the Younger Self
(43:24) Closing Thoughts
Links
Quotes
“We started Wabi with our whole background being entrepreneurs and really not finance and investment people. And we felt like that was actually a strength for us…We’ve always kind of looked at business as—there’s a lot of strength in being an outsider to the industry you are going into.” – Fred Gustafson, (23:58)
“The challenge isn’t as much [convincing] more plant-based, vegans, and vegetarians to eat more of this stuff. It’s more so, how do you show the traditional meat eater that there is this healthy, better for you, more natural, less-processed alternative that also happens to not use any animal products, that can deliver more on the nutritional value, the taste, everything like that, as a way to supplement your diet.” – Fred Gustafson, (29:40)
“People still want an indulgence in their snack. They want stuff to taste good. They want that craveable deliciousness. And so we want to be that. We are that. We’ll always deliver big on flavor, but then also be this cleaner, whole food, vegan-based product.” – Fred Gustafson, (36:45)
What Do Rental Tuxedos, Soap Franchises, and Vegan Jerky Have in Common? Fred Gustafson
On this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Jeff Amerine, Caleb Talley, and Grace Gill are joined by Fred Gustafson, operating partner of Wabi Capital and president of Louisville Vegan Jerky. Fred details how his entrepreneurial journey began with an online tuxedo rental startup that saw great success and an early exit. He shares about jumping into franchises without any prior experience, leading to—of all things—a brick-and-mortar shop for soap. Throughout his wild ride of entrepreneurship, Fred has learned the importance of being flexible and willing to learn something new.
Wabi Capital
After scaling with Buff City Soap and spending a year presiding over business development for Floyd Mayweather’s gym, Fred reunited with old colleagues to form Wabi Capital, an independent capital group. Typically, Wabi will do a targeted raises for a brand while managing the investment and operational sides of the business. While none of the partners’ backgrounds are in finance and investment, managing the operations of the brand allows Wabi to capitalize on its strengths.
“We started Wabi with our whole background being entrepreneurs and really not finance and investment people. And we felt like that was actually a strength for us…We’ve always kind of looked at business as—there’s a lot of strength in being an outsider to the industry you are going into.” – Fred Gustafson, (23:58)
Louisville Vegan Jerky
One of Wabi’s most successful portfolio investments is Louisville Vegan Jerky, where Fred currently serves as president. The plant-based jerky company makes Whole Food’s top-selling jerky nationwide and has been featured on Good Mythical Morning, a popular YouTube show with over 18 million subscribers.
As Fred detailed in the episode, Louisville Vegan Jerky’s goal is not to take over the pre-existing plant-based market. Instead, the brand hopes to broaden the horizons of meat-based consumers across the country.
“The challenge isn’t as much [convincing] more plant-based, vegans, and vegetarians to eat more of this stuff. It’s more so, how do you show the traditional meat eater that there is this healthy, better for you, more natural, less-processed alternative that also happens to not use any animal products, that can deliver more on the nutritional value, the taste, everything like that, as a way to supplement your diet.” – Fred Gustafson, (29:40)
As part of the plan to market to traditional meat eaters, Louisville Vegan Jerky intentionally avoided packaging that resembled other plant-based brands. Rather than sticking to the status quo, they opted for packaging that popped. They want to provide their consumers with the same satisfaction as eating a snack, but with the benefits of eating a cleaner, plant-based product.
“People still want an indulgence in their snack. They want stuff to taste good. They want that craveable deliciousness. And so we want to be that. We are that. We’ll always deliver big on flavor, but then also be this cleaner, whole food, vegan-based product.” – Fred Gustafson, (36:45)
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