Great Circle Ventures

About

Jacob Afriat is the Managing Partner at Great Circle Ventures, an early-stage investment firm focused on food, beverage, and consumer health.

In this episode, we break down how Great Circle decides which emerging brands are actually venture-backable.

Jacob explains what he looks for in founders, growth, margins, retail velocity, repeat purchasing, and capital efficiency, why a fast-growing company can still have unhealthy economics, and why Great Circle would rather pass on a lot of sevens and eights to be ready for the occasional nine or ten.

We also talk about how packaging and branding can become real investment signals, how Great Circle approaches valuations and follow-on capital, why the firm sometimes passes on a company only to invest later, the role design agencies play in sourcing new brands, and what Jacob has learned from both the investments Great Circle has made and the ones it missed.

I learned a lot during my conversation with Jacob, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.