Jan 12, 2018 · 35m · 20vc
20VC: Why Risk Is Misunderstood In Entrepreneurship, Why Acquisitions Are Cheap For Incumbents Today & 3 Strategies To Improve Diversity In Your Team with Henry Davis, President & COO @ Glossier
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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 Henry Davis, President and COO of Glossier, discussing direct-to-consumer brand building, risk mitigation in entrepreneurship, strategies for team diversity, and Glossier's long-term vision to build an independent consumer enterprise.
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 25.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Harry as informed peer 2.7 Guest teaching 3.3 Guest disagreement 1.6 Harry pushing back 2.3
speaking balance: gold is Harry, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 27:47 Calling out VC diversity pipeline excuses
Henry strongly rejects the premise that diverse candidates cannot be found, arguing that VCs either imply minorities are less capable or admit their own hiring criteria are inherently exclusionary.
Hardest push from Harry ▶ 8:14 Challenging risk mitigation vs burn-the-boats mindsetHarry pushes back on Henry's emphasis on risk management by highlighting the paradox with the 'burn the boats' instinct commonly expected of successful founders.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 15:15 Distinguishing shelf hegemony from genuine brand loyaltyHenry educates the host on how department store counters and Amazon foster product repeat-buys through convenience rather than true brand engagement.
Harry holds his own ▶ 14:16 Leveraging Kirsten Green's thesis to test guest perspectiveHarry demonstrates industry knowledge by bringing up investor Kirsten Green's specific view that Amazon creates more market opportunity than it destroys to test Henry's e-commerce thesis.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Harry as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Harry pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career Transition from Venture Capital to Operations at Glossier | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Harry introduces Henry's career path from VC to Glossier operations. Henry playfully reframes VC from the 'dark side' to an enlightened vantage point and explains his thesis on branded e-commerce. | |
| Evaluating and Managing Risk in Entrepreneurship | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | Harry challenges Henry's risk mitigation stance by asking if it conflicts with the 'burn the boats' mentality required of entrepreneurs. Henry acknowledges the paradox and explains how downside awareness complements entrepreneurial ambition. | |
| Defining Branded E-Commerce and Amazon's Market Impact | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | Harry cites investor Kirsten Green's perspective on Amazon's positive ecosystem role. Henry agrees regarding distribution scale but provides a detailed breakdown differentiating product loyalty and shelf hegemony from true brand loyalty. | |
| Incumbent M&A Dynamics and Glossier's Long-Term Independence | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | Harry asks about M&A consolidation trends versus building long-term independent incumbents. Henry dismisses acquisition rumors for Glossier and analyzes M&A dynamics through the lens of cheap cost of capital. | |
| Community-Driven Brand Growth and Operational Expansion | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | Harry asks about expanding Glossier's cult following geographically versus demographically. Henry explains how global customer community demand drives international moves like their UK launch. | |
| Strategies for Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in Tech and VC | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | Harry directly brings up common industry excuses regarding finding female technical talent. Henry details actionable diversity strategies and sharply rejects VC cop-outs regarding candidate pipelines. | |
| Quick Fire Round and Five-Year Vision | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Harry conducts a quick fire round covering favorite literature, contrarian beliefs, and long-term vision. Henry outlines his belief that future brand loyalty will be entirely digital-first and details Glossier's 5-year goal. |
Statements from this episode (12)
Davis: Amazon won multi-brand e-commerce; new entrants must build single brands
“My thesis around e-commerce investing was that multi-brand e-commerce had already been won by Amazon, which was true then. It's even truer today. And if you wanted to play in e-commerce, you had to go the branded route.”
Davis: Early DTC giants won primarily through supply chain efficiencies
“Warby Parker and Harry's and Dollar Shave Club and so on and so forth were doing wonderful things. They'd typically been supply chain disruption businesses, and they'd been targeting efficiencies in the supply chain to give the customer a cost saving or an eff…”
Davis: Amazon is on track to claim over 40% of US e-commerce
“Amazon's market share of US e-commerce, for example, was a third two years ago. I think it was 36 or 37% last year, and it's on track to be over 40% this year.”
Davis: Traditional brands rely on shelf hegemony, not true brand loyalty
“I think what a lot of brands are about to find out with the advent of Amazon is that they don't have as much brand loyalty as they think they do. They have product loyalty and shelf hegemony.”
Davis: Amazon is destroying the traditional brand ecosystem
“I think Amazon is destroying the brand ecosystem. And that's the opportunity that we see at Glossier is to take digital and redefine it away from what Amazon is trying to make e-commerce.”
Davis: Glossier has no intention of being acquired
“Well, just to put to bed any rumors, no one has moved on Glossier just yet, and we have no intention of being moved on.”
Davis: Glossier aims to replace L'Oréal and Estée Lauder as conglomerates
“But we believe that that is very short-sighted of us to even think about that option, because actually what we want to do is replace L'Oreal or Estee Lauder as the massive conglomerate incumbent.”
Davis: Glossier delayed UK expansion for three years due to infrastructure
“We're three years and six days old now, and it took us three years to come to the UK despite demand from the beginning. And we would have loved to have been able to do that right away. But as a company, we didn't have the infrastructure to be able to offer the…”
Davis: Venture capital is as bad as any industry for diversity
“And I think venture capital is, is as bad as any industry for diversity and should be called out as such.”
Davis: Glossier questions every VC firm it meets on diversity practices
“So every venture capital firm we meet, and we're fortunate enough now to have access to some really great firms, we ask about their approach to diversity. And we call them out when we get an answer about, yeah, we're trying to hire, but you know, we just can't…”
Davis: VC diversity pipeline arguments disguise exclusionary hiring practices
“You're either saying in the entire world, there are not minority groups in this industry as clever as we are, which I don't think anyone's intending, or you're saying that you fundamentally have set up your recruiting processes in a way that excludes them. You…”
Davis: The future of consumer brands will be entirely digital
“I believe that the future of brand will be entirely digital. I think brick and mortar will serve a purpose to be a touch point for brand, but I think that the fundamental tenant of what it means to be a brand in the world will be access and community in a way …”