Family Office Investment Advantages

Kara Goldin shares her experience choosing a family office over venture capital for Hint Water, highlighting how alignment with investors and patient capital were crucial for building a sustainable consumer product business.

• Family Office Investment Background:

  • Received investment from Brussels-based family office
  • Investors had previous success with Vitamin Water (sold to Coca-Cola)
  • Total raised: over $60 million, but in a different way than typical VC funding

• Why Family Office Over VC:

  • Family office aligned with health/lifestyle focus
  • Understood beverage industry from Vitamin Water experience
  • More patient capital compared to traditional VCs

• Challenges with VCs:

  • VCs invested in what they knew and understood
  • Many male VCs didn't understand female-focused products
  • VCs worried about competition from large companies like Coca-Cola
  • Despite using Hint in offices, VCs hesitated to invest

• Building a Sustainable Business:

  • Focus on building standalone profitable company
  • Grown consistently for 15 years
  • Strong offline and online direct-to-consumer presence
  • Not focused on selling to large beverage companies

• Competitive Advantage vs. Big Companies:

  • Coca-Cola tried to knock off Hint 6 times
  • Large companies struggle with innovative products
  • Different skill set needed for startup vs. big company growth
  • Core competency mismatch between startups and established players

• Current Success:

  • Now profitable
  • Present in most Silicon Valley offices
  • Strong brand recognition
  • Potential to expand into multiple categories