195. Kiva Dickinson, Founder & Managing Partner of Selva Ventures

Today, I'm joined by Kiva Dickinson, founder & managing partner of Selva Ventures, a VC firm dedicated to CPG brands in health, wellness, and self-care.

Backing brands like MUD\WTR, Mid-Day Squares, Kinship, Native Pet, and more, Selva Ventures invests in concepts that make their consumers' lives better. After closing $34M for its second fund, Kiva and team continue to seek out brands with better ingredients, better function, and greater connection to the consumer.

In this episode, we discuss megatrends across health & fitness. Plus, Kiva shares his framework for investing in CPG brands and hints at plans for Selva's second fund.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Kiva's investing philosophy that led him to starting Selva Ventures
• Investor insights from its first fund and promising trends to follow
• About the importance of building a team with varied professional and personal interests

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Selva Ventures Website: https://selvaventures.com
Kiva's LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/kiva-dickinson
Kiva's Twitter: https://twitter.com/kivadickinson
Kiva's Medium: https://kivadickinson.medium.com

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Chapters:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:22) Kiva's background 
(03:36) Founding Selva Ventures
(08:37) Frameworks and metrics Selva uses to analyze CPG brands
(10:02) 5M framework: Megatrend, Matter, Management, Momentum and Market 
(13:59) The best investments are never obvious
(15:12) Selva's decision making model
(16:54) Conviction in the investment process
(20:17) Learnings from the book Crossing the Chasm
(26:20) Investing in companies that make healthier living more accessible
(28:56) Creating products people self identity with
(32:29) Similarities between first and second fund
(34:45) Differences between first and second fund
(37:08) Future roadmap
(42:46) Challenges faced by entrepreneurs
(44:00) Important KPI's for CPG brands
(45:03) Health & wellness market sentiment
(49:23) Conclusion