5 Sept 2024
Empowering Creators: Megan Lightcap on the Future of VC Investments in Creators [Ep 42]
Thank you to Carta for sponsoring today’s episode! If you’re looking for a simple and highly-professionalized solution to form and administrate an SPV- check them out below!
In this episode, Harry and Colin chat with Megan Lightcap (https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-lightcap-513ab96b/), an investor at Slow Ventures, a seed-stage venture fund supporting founders and companies across various sectors. At Slow, Megan focuses on investing in creators, making direct equity investments into their holding companies to drive growth in content, businesses, and communities.
Before joining Slow Ventures, Megan held leadership positions at early-stage e-commerce companies and was a growth investor at Elkaterten, a consumer-focused investment fund. She began her career in investment banking at J.P. Morgan, building a solid foundation in finance and deal-making.
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Join us for a Tech Breakfast Club x Wannabe Angels meetup (https://lu.ma/AustinSeptTBC) in Austin on September 24th, where you can connect with other innovators and investors while enjoying some hearty breakfast tacos!
Megan's approach to investing is deeply rooted in understanding the unique potential of creators as business builders. She believes in the power of leveraging a creator’s existing audience and community to launch new ventures and scale businesses effectively. Megan is passionate about identifying creators who are not only influential in their niches but are also poised to develop diverse revenue streams and sustainable business models. Her focus is on backing those who demonstrate a strong vision and the ability to build meaningful, long-term relationships with their followers.
Where to Listen and Watch:
Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wannabe-angels/id1676260010)
Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1GZmjjp4seufxdgwStkGVu) -
YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTd0VpLRUqEfQ5mk431z2Lg) -
Segments:
0:45 Austin Tech Breakfast Club
3:05 Megan’s intro
4:12 Rapid fire questions
5:20 Creator Investment model
6:56 Conventional wisdom
7:50 Creator definition
9:54 Focus on YouTubers and podcasters
12:00 Creator space
14:46 Venture model
16:23 CPG versus other areas
21:20 Marketplaces for creators
23:27 Investing in creators
25:30 Difference between seed and creator investing
29:50 Continuity and exits with creators
33:05 Closing remarks
33:30 Where to find Megan
Megan’s LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-lightcap-513ab96b/)
Megan's Twitter (https://twitter.com/mmlightcap?lang=en)
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About Harry: Harry Campbell runs The Rideshare Guy (https://therideshareguy.com/), a popular community for drivers and gig workers. He’s an active angel investor having invested over $500k of personal funds in 30+ companies and funds over the past few years, still trying to figure it all out though! Harry also has a $500k mini-fund that invests in early stage mobility, logistics, marketplaces and his network.
Interested in learning about some of the companies Harry is angel investing in and read his deal memos, for FREE - just fill out this form - https://forms.gle/eYwtDE7p9K2bepnF8\ (https://forms.gle/eYwtDE7p9K2bepnF8%5C)
Harry LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrygcampbell/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrygcampbell/)
Harry Twitter - https://twitter.com/TheRideshareGuy (https://twitter.com/TheRideshareGuy)
About Colin: Colin Gardiner has spent over a decade building startups focusing on online marketplaces. Most recently, he worked for Outdoorsy as Chief Revenue Officer. He advises (http://kartalabs.com/) marketplace/platform startups on growth, analytics, monetization, fundraising, and strategy. He also runs the rapidly growing syndicate Yonder Ventures (http://yonder.vc/), which invests in marketplaces and platforms and the SaaS, Fintech, Insurtech, and the technology enabling them.
Colin LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/colingardiner/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/colingardiner/)
Colin Twitter - https://twitter.com/ColinGardiner (https://twitter.com/ColinGardiner)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wannabeangels.com (https://wannabeangels.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
