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Jan 27, 2016 · 22m · 20vc

20VC: Lessons From Working with Chris Sacca, The Rise Of Mobile Commerce and Improving Push Notifications with Ellie Wheeler, Partner @ Greycroft Partners

Ellie Wheeler · 16m spoken Harry Stebbings · 4m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of The 20 Minute VC, host Harry Stebbings interviews Ellie Wheeler, Partner at Greycroft Partners, discussing her venture capital career trajectory, working with Chris Sacca, and strategies for investing in mobile commerce, push notifications, and consumer brands.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Harry holds 20.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Harry as informed peer 1.5 Guest teaching 3.8 Guest disagreement 1.8 Harry pushing back 1.0
05100:0010:0020:001:10–6:23 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Ellie Wheeler's Career Journey and Working with Chris Sacca Harry asks conversational biographical questions about Ellie's career path and her time at Lowercase Capital. Ellie shares her unconventional background from pre-med to PE and corporate venture, while Harry contributes context regarding Chris Sacca's fund performance.6:23–9:57 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 Evolution of Mobile Commerce and Consumer Behavior Shifts Ellie breaks down the evolution of mobile commerce and consumer behavior. When asked about standout mobile-first companies, she gently reframes the question, explaining that mobile execution depends heavily on the company's founding vintage rather than category alone.9:57–17:19 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Push Notification Strategies and Mobile Personalization Harry leads discussion on push notifications, wearables, and hardware investing. Ellie educates on smart personalization for push notifications and corrects Harry's premise that Baublebar represents a hardware investment, explaining it is a fashion brand collaborating with hardware makers.17:20–18:13 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 Millennial Brand Loyalty and Opportunities for Digital Native Brands Harry asks if declining millennial brand loyalty concerns her as a consumer investor. Ellie rejects the negative framing, reframing the trend as a major opportunity for digital-native brands to replace legacy brands.1:10–6:23 · Guest teaching 2/10 Ellie Wheeler's Career Journey and Working with Chris Sacca Harry asks conversational biographical questions about Ellie's career path and her time at Lowercase Capital. Ellie shares her unconventional background from pre-med to PE and corporate venture, while Harry contributes context regarding Chris Sacca's fund performance.6:23–9:57 · Guest teaching 4/10 Evolution of Mobile Commerce and Consumer Behavior Shifts Ellie breaks down the evolution of mobile commerce and consumer behavior. When asked about standout mobile-first companies, she gently reframes the question, explaining that mobile execution depends heavily on the company's founding vintage rather than category alone.9:57–17:19 · Guest teaching 4/10 Push Notification Strategies and Mobile Personalization Harry leads discussion on push notifications, wearables, and hardware investing. Ellie educates on smart personalization for push notifications and corrects Harry's premise that Baublebar represents a hardware investment, explaining it is a fashion brand collaborating with hardware makers.17:20–18:13 · Guest teaching 5/10 Millennial Brand Loyalty and Opportunities for Digital Native Brands Harry asks if declining millennial brand loyalty concerns her as a consumer investor. Ellie rejects the negative framing, reframing the trend as a major opportunity for digital-native brands to replace legacy brands.1:10–6:23 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Ellie Wheeler's Career Journey and Working with Chris Sacca Harry asks conversational biographical questions about Ellie's career path and her time at Lowercase Capital. Ellie shares her unconventional background from pre-med to PE and corporate venture, while Harry contributes context regarding Chris Sacca's fund performance.6:23–9:57 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Evolution of Mobile Commerce and Consumer Behavior Shifts Ellie breaks down the evolution of mobile commerce and consumer behavior. When asked about standout mobile-first companies, she gently reframes the question, explaining that mobile execution depends heavily on the company's founding vintage rather than category alone.9:57–17:19 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Push Notification Strategies and Mobile Personalization Harry leads discussion on push notifications, wearables, and hardware investing. Ellie educates on smart personalization for push notifications and corrects Harry's premise that Baublebar represents a hardware investment, explaining it is a fashion brand collaborating with hardware makers.17:20–18:13 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Millennial Brand Loyalty and Opportunities for Digital Native Brands Harry asks if declining millennial brand loyalty concerns her as a consumer investor. Ellie rejects the negative framing, reframing the trend as a major opportunity for digital-native brands to replace legacy brands.1:10–6:23 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Ellie Wheeler's Career Journey and Working with Chris Sacca Harry asks conversational biographical questions about Ellie's career path and her time at Lowercase Capital. Ellie shares her unconventional background from pre-med to PE and corporate venture, while Harry contributes context regarding Chris Sacca's fund performance.6:23–9:57 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Evolution of Mobile Commerce and Consumer Behavior Shifts Ellie breaks down the evolution of mobile commerce and consumer behavior. When asked about standout mobile-first companies, she gently reframes the question, explaining that mobile execution depends heavily on the company's founding vintage rather than category alone.9:57–17:19 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Push Notification Strategies and Mobile Personalization Harry leads discussion on push notifications, wearables, and hardware investing. Ellie educates on smart personalization for push notifications and corrects Harry's premise that Baublebar represents a hardware investment, explaining it is a fashion brand collaborating with hardware makers.17:20–18:13 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Millennial Brand Loyalty and Opportunities for Digital Native Brands Harry asks if declining millennial brand loyalty concerns her as a consumer investor. Ellie rejects the negative framing, reframing the trend as a major opportunity for digital-native brands to replace legacy brands.

speaking balance: gold is Harry, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Harry 50.4% · guest 49.6%0:00 · Harry 50.4% · guest 49.6%3:00 · Harry 10.3% · guest 89.7%3:00 · Harry 10.3% · guest 89.7%6:00 · Harry 12.6% · guest 87.4%6:00 · Harry 12.6% · guest 87.4%9:00 · Harry 12.7% · guest 87.3%9:00 · Harry 12.7% · guest 87.3%12:00 · Harry 17.3% · guest 82.7%12:00 · Harry 17.3% · guest 82.7%15:00 · Harry 12.6% · guest 87.4%15:00 · Harry 12.6% · guest 87.4%18:00 · Harry 9.8% · guest 90.2%18:00 · Harry 9.8% · guest 90.2%21:00 · Harry 69.7% · guest 30.3%21:00 · Harry 69.7% · guest 30.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 17:33 Reframing Millennial Brand Loyalty

Ellie counters the premise that dropping brand loyalty is a threat, re-anchoring it as a prime opportunity for modern digital brands.

 Hardest push from Harry ▶ 5:43 Probing Formative Experiences

Harry presses beyond the popular Chris Sacca story, asking if Ellie's earlier private equity and London experiences were actually more formative.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 14:40 Clarifying Fashion vs Hardware

Ellie corrects Harry's assertion that Baublebar reflects a thesis on hardware investing, clarifying its status as a fashion jewelry brand doing partner collaborations.

 Harry holds his own ▶ 4:35 Citing Lowercase Fund Performance

Harry showcases industry knowledge by referencing Lowercase Capital's historic first fund performance when setting up his question.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicHarry as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementHarry pushing backWhy
Ellie Wheeler's Career Journey and Working with Chris Sacca 2211 Harry asks conversational biographical questions about Ellie's career path and her time at Lowercase Capital. Ellie shares her unconventional background from pre-med to PE and corporate venture, while Harry contributes context regarding Chris Sacca's fund performance.
Evolution of Mobile Commerce and Consumer Behavior Shifts 1411 Ellie breaks down the evolution of mobile commerce and consumer behavior. When asked about standout mobile-first companies, she gently reframes the question, explaining that mobile execution depends heavily on the company's founding vintage rather than category alone.
Push Notification Strategies and Mobile Personalization 2421 Harry leads discussion on push notifications, wearables, and hardware investing. Ellie educates on smart personalization for push notifications and corrects Harry's premise that Baublebar represents a hardware investment, explaining it is a fashion brand collaborating with hardware makers.
Millennial Brand Loyalty and Opportunities for Digital Native Brands 1531 Harry asks if declining millennial brand loyalty concerns her as a consumer investor. Ellie rejects the negative framing, reframing the trend as a major opportunity for digital-native brands to replace legacy brands.

Statements from this episode (9)

Assertion Supported
Cisco held $30 billion on its balance sheet during the 2008 crisis
“So I was at Cisco during the financial crisis, which was a good place to be, thirty billion dollars on the balance sheet, meant you saw everything once the, once people stopped Having easy access to capital”
Ellie Wheeler Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 3:24
Assertion Supported
Lowercase Capital's first fund is the most successful venture fund ever
“I think he's got the most successful fund ever with Lowercase's first fund.”
Harry Stebbings Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 4:38
Assertion Contradicted
Analyst forecasts for mobile commerce growth were off by orders of magnitude
“McKinsey or whomever will put out reports on, ah, you know, what mobile commerce will be or what mobile usage will be. And all of them have been beaten and been off by orders of magnitude over the last few years”
Ellie Wheeler Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 6:55
Assertion Supported
Email remains the biggest conversion driver for direct-to-consumer businesses
“Email is always, and still is, you know, kind of the biggest conversion driver in a lot of these direct to consumer businesses.”
Ellie Wheeler Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 7:36
Assertion Not checkable as stated
High-quality mobile experiences were not necessary for retail businesses until 2014
“It wasn't necessary really until probably the middle of 2014. Maybe that's a little bit late. Maybe it was more early 20 14. But so the companies that were founded then or right around then tend to have a better mobile experience right off the bat.”
Ellie Wheeler Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 9:43
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Off-the-shelf mobile marketing platforms fail to provide simple data personalization
“Everyone talks about that. Everyone knows that that's what they need to do. It's not necessarily simple with the off the shelf platforms that a lot of people are using. So you're seeing people kind of innovate around how to get some of that siloed information …”
Ellie Wheeler Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 11:33
Opinion
First-generation wearables like the Apple Watch lack a killer use case
“I think V-one of all of these products aren't particularly ready for mass, right? I think that's true of the Apple Watch. I, you know, I still, even anecdotally talking to people who have it, a lot of them aren't using it anymore. Some of them love it. It's ju…”
Ellie Wheeler Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 12:17
Disclosure
Greycroft avoids Series A hardware startups due to unmitigated manufacturing risks
“The issue that I've seen with a lot of hardware companies is that When they come to me or come to us for a series A, they haven't really shipped product yet, which just makes it difficult for us to determine what the risks are in the manufacturing process. I m…”
Ellie Wheeler Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 15:48
Insight
Millennial brand disloyalty creates a major opportunity for new digital-native brands
“So I think that a lot of that research that, that, you know, and a lot of those thought pieces around that are about brands or heritage brands, brands that are, you know, have been around a while that millennials don't necessarily identify with. I think what t…”
Ellie Wheeler Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 17:34
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