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Charles Hudson

200 statements across 99 episodes · 64 bullish · 61 bearish · 14 people on the record · first statement Aug 23, 2023 by Charles Hudson · said 20 times in 6 episodes since 2025 · across every show →

On the record as a speaker too: Charles Hudson's record, appearances and statements → this page counts the times other people say the name.

Mentions by year

brought up most by Josh Muccio (16), Whitman Kwok (2), Kate Ambrose (2)

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2025 20 mentions in 6 episodes 3 per episode

every mention, scene by scene, with the transcript →

Everything said about Charles Hudson, oldest first

Aug 23, 2023
Insight
Hudson: Target founder equity entering Series A is now 35% to 40%
“I'd like people to be in the very, very high thirties to low forties going to the A. It's just hard with seed, with everyone doing two seed rounds. I used to, before I would have said 50% going to the A. It just doesn't It doesn't happen that often in our, if …”
Charles Hudson Aug 23, 2023 ▶ 21:06 "Jewelry Industry Digital Transformation Needed: Can Shopify Jewelry Save the Day?"
Aug 23, 2023 bullish
Insight
Hudson: The winning playbook in vertical SaaS is full-stack
“The money in vertical sass is full stack. Like, that's the playbook. Like, you do it all.”
Charles Hudson Aug 23, 2023 ▶ 22:53 "Jewelry Industry Digital Transformation Needed: Can Shopify Jewelry Save the Day?"
Aug 23, 2023 neutral
What-if
Hudson: Gemist is worth $100K at a $10M post-money valuation
“Clean 10 posts with, like, good founder ownership, I would have put in a hundred K.”
Charles Hudson Aug 23, 2023 ▶ 20:45 "Jewelry Industry Digital Transformation Needed: Can Shopify Jewelry Save the Day?"
Sep 6, 2023 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Hardware startups require at least two seed rounds for traction
“So I always assume that there's going to be at a minimum two seed rounds for a hardware company to actually get to a place where there's meaningful traction.”
Charles Hudson Sep 6, 2023 ▶ 17:39 "Will This Smart Home Automation Pitch Impress Venture Capitalists?"
Sep 6, 2023 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Hardware startups usually require $7M to reach commercial product stages
“We do a lot of hardware, and I don't know why, it always seems to take seven million dollars to get to a commercial product.”
Charles Hudson Sep 6, 2023 ▶ 17:14 "Will This Smart Home Automation Pitch Impress Venture Capitalists?"
Sep 13, 2023 negative
Disclosure
Charles Hudson Passes on Uncovered, Citing Difficult Monetization Model
“So I'm out on this one more just because relative to the other things that are happening in the true crime sort of community, this one just feels like a hard way to build a big business.”
Charles Hudson Sep 13, 2023 ▶ 15:57 “VCs React to a Bold True Crime Startup—Is Crowdsourced Crime Solving the Future?”
Sep 27, 2023 bullish
Disclosure
Charles Hudson would likely invest if Vigo reaches 20% equity
“I would be happier at 22, but I'd probably do it at 20.”
Charles Hudson Sep 27, 2023 ▶ 18:19 "A Bold Startup Pitch! AI-Powered Retail Management Disrupts the Market – Will VCs Invest?"
Oct 25, 2023
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hudson: Most Precursor exits were to unanticipated buyers
“Most of the companies we've sold, with a few exceptions, the buyer was not anticipated or known at the time of the investment.”
Charles Hudson Oct 25, 2023 ▶ 18:46 "Will This Game-Changing Startup Pitch for VR Tech Secure VR Business Funding?"
Apr 3, 2024 positive
Disclosure
Hudson: Precursor offers $50K-$100K to Nectar pending a portfolio conflict check
“But provided that there's no conflict, I would love to be a part of the round at the sort of 50 to a hundred K range.”
Charles Hudson Apr 3, 2024 ▶ 25:04 Disrupting the Classroom Model! Will This EdTech Startup Funding Round Hit $1.4M?
Apr 17, 2024 positive
Insight
Hudson: Scaled consumer brands must operate across DTC and retail
“Every company we have that's scaled, we have an incontinence brand focused on sort of the other Stage of life. You end up being multi-channel in the mix of D to C, B to B slash wholesale and retail. Every company ends up with a different formula, but that seem…”
Charles Hudson Apr 17, 2024 ▶ 11:01 Women-Led Startup Funding: Will Investors Bet on This $5M Bootstrapped Feminine Hygiene Brand?
Apr 17, 2024 positive
Disclosure
Hudson: Precursor passed due to conflict with feminine hygiene startup Aunt Flow
“I'm an investor in a company called Antflow that's focused just on really the B to B in school”
Charles Hudson Apr 17, 2024 ▶ 9:39 Women-Led Startup Funding: Will Investors Bet on This $5M Bootstrapped Feminine Hygiene Brand?
Apr 17, 2024 bullish
Disclosure
Hudson: Three of Precursor's best portfolio companies are direct-to-consumer
“Three of our best companies, Bobby, Pepper, and Pierre Ivo are all DTC, and they're all like real companies.”
Charles Hudson Apr 17, 2024 ▶ 27:34 Women-Led Startup Funding: Will Investors Bet on This $5M Bootstrapped Feminine Hygiene Brand?
May 1, 2024 bearish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson: Generative imagery will be deflationary as clients capture the savings
“My current thesis is it's going to be very deflationary, and the customers are going to want to recoup and claw back a big chunk of that savings.”
Charles Hudson May 1, 2024 ▶ 15:56 Startup Funding Competition: Will VCs Invest in AI-Powered Fashion Models Disrupting E-Commerce?
May 15, 2024
Insight
Hudson: End-to-end time savings matter more than best-of-breed individual tools
“I don't think it's actually that important if the cumulative time savings is meaningful and that you're good enough at all of the individual components.”
Charles Hudson May 15, 2024 ▶ 20:06 $1.5M on the Line! Raising Venture Capital for the Future of Podcast Automation Software!
May 15, 2024 bullish
Disclosure
Hudson offers a $50,000 to $75,000 investment in Podcast AI
“I'm in for 58.”
Charles Hudson May 15, 2024 ▶ 19:20 $1.5M on the Line! Raising Venture Capital for the Future of Podcast Automation Software!
May 15, 2024 negative
Insight
Hudson: Startups raising $2M to $3M inevitably burn it within 24 months
“Look, I think one of the big mistakes I've seen companies in our portfolio make is they take two to three million dollars, and it's very hard to have two to three million dollars and not magically have it all disappear in 24. Everyone's like, oh, don't worry. …”
Charles Hudson May 15, 2024 ▶ 33:29 $1.5M on the Line! Raising Venture Capital for the Future of Podcast Automation Software!
May 15, 2024 bearish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson: Demand for High-End Production Services Will Fall as Tools Improve
“And my guess is that the number of people who will need high-end production services will go down as the tooling gets better.”
Charles Hudson May 15, 2024 ▶ 28:30 $1.5M on the Line! Raising Venture Capital for the Future of Podcast Automation Software!
May 15, 2024
Insight
Hudson: Podcast production is a workflow problem, not a point-tool problem
“I think the other thing is I've spent a bunch of time looking at this, and I think, to Elizabeth's point, I think most of the discrete problems have been solved, but the podcast producer's problem isn't a discrete problem, it's a workflow problem”
Charles Hudson May 15, 2024 ▶ 19:33 $1.5M on the Line! Raising Venture Capital for the Future of Podcast Automation Software!
May 15, 2024 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Most B2B SaaS is just a commoditized database with a UI
“I think most B to B SaaS things are basically commodity. They're a database with a UI on top if you really push hard enough. Like that's what they are.”
Charles Hudson May 15, 2024 ▶ 27:40 $1.5M on the Line! Raising Venture Capital for the Future of Podcast Automation Software!
Jun 12, 2024 positive
Assertion Supported
Nilo Rahmani: Yin, Hudson, and Banister all invested in Thoras AI
“Everybody, everybody invested.”
Nilo Rahmani Jun 12, 2024 ▶ 26:45 "Burnt Out Engineers Rejoice! AI-Driven Cloud Scaling & Anomaly Detection Saves the Day!"
Jun 12, 2024 neutral
Insight
Charles Hudson: A $6M seed valuation gets strong founders with little data
“The fact that it was six, I was like, well, this is what you get for six. Like really good people and like not a lot of data.”
Charles Hudson Jun 12, 2024 ▶ 23:49 "Burnt Out Engineers Rejoice! AI-Driven Cloud Scaling & Anomaly Detection Saves the Day!"
Jun 12, 2024 positive
Insight
Charles Hudson: Unpaid founders make suboptimal decisions due to financial stress
“I find that, like, when people don't pay themselves, the external money issues sometimes creep into, like, company decision making in a way that's suboptimal, so I generally, I also think it's, the goal, the startup should be able to support you financially, a…”
Charles Hudson Jun 12, 2024 ▶ 17:18 "Burnt Out Engineers Rejoice! AI-Driven Cloud Scaling & Anomaly Detection Saves the Day!"
Jun 12, 2024 bullish
Disclosure
Charles Hudson commits $50,000 to Thoras AI seed round
“I know what the status quo is for products in this category, and there are multiple, multi-billion dollar public companies in this space, and I think it'd be really interesting to go on this journey with you at the same level that Elizabeth mentioned.”
Charles Hudson Jun 12, 2024 ▶ 18:24 "Burnt Out Engineers Rejoice! AI-Driven Cloud Scaling & Anomaly Detection Saves the Day!"
Jun 26, 2024 negative
Insight
Hudson: Lending businesses lack moats beyond lower cost of capital
“You can compete on two things, like loan quality, And price. Both of which put pressure on your ability to scale the business. Either you have to compete over lower quality loans, which will push your loss ratios up, or to win the good ones, you have to make l…”
Charles Hudson Jun 26, 2024 ▶ 22:42 "70% of Mexican SMBs Fail Due to Cash Flow: Can FinTech in Latin America Save Them?"
Jul 10, 2024 bullish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson: Four or five top Precursor outcomes will be product companies
“We have four or five of our biggest outcomes at the firm level will be product companies, actually not software companies.”
Charles Hudson Jul 10, 2024 ▶ 21:21 "From Dorm Room to Patented Zipper Technology: A Licensing Revenue Model in the Making"
Jul 10, 2024 bullish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson: DTC will take NARA farther than expected and provide licensing leverage
“And I also have a sneaking suspicion that D to C is going to take her farther than she thinks it will. And I think investing in D to C is going to be critical to keeping leverage with her licensing partners. And she might find out that she doesn't need them as…”
Charles Hudson Jul 10, 2024 ▶ 21:55 "From Dorm Room to Patented Zipper Technology: A Licensing Revenue Model in the Making"
Jul 31, 2024
Disclosure
Hudson: First angel investment failed, backed same founder three times
“It went out of business, but I've invested in that person three times. I'm O for two and one.”
Charles Hudson Jul 31, 2024 ▶ 3:08 The Pitch Season 12 Official Trailer: Let's Tear Down the System
Jul 31, 2024 neutral
Disclosure
Hudson: Precursor Ventures allocates 5% to 10% to hardware startups
“We still do five to 10% hardware.”
Charles Hudson Jul 31, 2024 ▶ 4:21 The Pitch Season 12 Official Trailer: Let's Tear Down the System
Aug 14, 2024 neutral
Disclosure
Hudson: Precursor is conflicted out of FutureMoney due to UNest investment
“We are small investors in UNES through an acquisition, and we have a multiplayer family money product that aims to end up in the same place as you, but from a very different starting point. And the more I hear, the more I think we're probably conflicted out.”
Charles Hudson Aug 14, 2024 ▶ 15:18 The Secret to Building Wealth for Your Children
Sep 11, 2024 positive
Disclosure
Hudson offers to invest $25,000 into Vital Audio
“Yeah, I'd like to do 25 K.”
Charles Hudson Sep 11, 2024 ▶ 16:51 Will VCs Invest in Vital Audio's Voice-Based Health Monitoring Tech?
Sep 18, 2024 negative
Disclosure
Charles Hudson passes on investing in BridgeFi's funding round
“I don't think I'm going to get there on this round, but I do have someone who I want to introduce you to who I am quite sure will have a strong interest in what you're building.”
Charles Hudson Sep 18, 2024 ▶ 16:21 Bridgei's $1.5M Deal: Transforming Emergency Communication?
Sep 25, 2024 negative
Insight
Hudson: $1,500 ACV is too low for direct EdTech sales reps
“And at 1500 dollars today, I don't think you can actually deploy your own salespeople to go after individual schools because the ACV per school is too low.”
Charles Hudson Sep 25, 2024 ▶ 17:38 Can Generative AI Transform Education? Immersion Ed's Bold Pitch
Oct 23, 2024 positive
Insight
Charles Hudson: Admissions tools can charge international students significantly higher prices
“Willingness to pay is highly variable domestically, but internationally you could charge significantly more for this product because those people generally aren't eligible for financial aid.”
Charles Hudson Oct 23, 2024 ▶ 14:56 AI in Education Startups: Will This Platform Secure $1 Million Funding?
Oct 23, 2024 negative
Disclosure
Charles Hudson passed on profitable fantasy sports gambling startups over ethical concerns
“I met a bunch of, like, fantasy sports companies that wanted to go into gambling, and I was like, you're gonna make a lot of money, but this isn't, like, something I want to support. And so, like, you will go make the money, I won't be an investor, and it's ju…”
Charles Hudson Oct 23, 2024 ▶ 20:55 AI in Education Startups: Will This Platform Secure $1 Million Funding?
Oct 23, 2024 positive
Assertion Supported
Julia Dixon secures $75K in funding from Jesse Middleton and Charles Hudson
“Julia walked out of the pitch room with a 50,000 dollar commitment from Jesse, a 25,000 dollar commitment from Charles”
Josh Muccio Oct 23, 2024 ▶ 25:05 AI in Education Startups: Will This Platform Secure $1 Million Funding?
Oct 30, 2024 bullish
Disclosure
Hudson commits minimum $25,000 investment into Dopl pending diligence
“No, I mean, look, depending on the price and depending on what I learned in diligence, we would do more, we won't do less than 25.”
Charles Hudson Oct 30, 2024 ▶ 19:03 Will VCs Bet $4M on This Robot Healthcare Startup?
Oct 30, 2024 negative
Opinion
Hudson: Doppel requires $5 million to reach viability, not $1 million
“A small million dollar round doesn't really do much for the company. The number required to get to the other side will be somewhere in the five to six range.”
Charles Hudson Oct 30, 2024 ▶ 21:57 Will VCs Bet $4M on This Robot Healthcare Startup?
Nov 13, 2024 neutral
Disclosure
Hudson: Precursor rarely backs infrastructure unless the non-technical value is clear
“We don't do that many things on the infrastructure side. And when we do, it's usually like something that I can, where I can understand the value prop as someone who's not deeply technical.”
Charles Hudson Nov 13, 2024 ▶ 13:31 AI Needs Feedback Intelligence. Will Chinar’s Pitch Seal the Deal?
Nov 13, 2024 negative
Insight
Hudson: Burning initial capital with low results raises the burden of proof
“It certainly raises the burden of proof. Like, you were given a million, and this is what you did. Now I have to believe that two million will be invested differently than the original million.”
Charles Hudson Nov 13, 2024 ▶ 19:17 AI Needs Feedback Intelligence. Will Chinar’s Pitch Seal the Deal?
Nov 13, 2024 bearish
Disclosure
Hudson: Precursor avoids AI infrastructure due to technical complexity and intense competition
“So like, just as a front level, we're just not doing much in AI infra, just, I don't have the technical ability to analyze them, and I haven't found many interesting categories where I don't instantly meet two dozen very credible teams.”
Charles Hudson Nov 13, 2024 ▶ 20:36 AI Needs Feedback Intelligence. Will Chinar’s Pitch Seal the Deal?
Nov 20, 2024
Disclosure
Hudson: Precursor Ventures Backed Adjacent Practice-Launch Startup Ease
“We invested in a business that not only is competitive, it's somewhat similar, called Ease, which helps doctors essentially launch their own”
Charles Hudson Nov 20, 2024 ▶ 11:13 Oma Health Shocks Investors—$175K Raised in One Pitch!
Nov 20, 2024 bullish
Disclosure
Charles Hudson Commits an Initial $25,000 to Oma Health
“So I'm in for 25 K. Maybe I'll be able to stretch to do more after diligence, but count me in for 25 K.”
Charles Hudson Nov 20, 2024 ▶ 16:59 Oma Health Shocks Investors—$175K Raised in One Pitch!
Nov 20, 2024 negative
Insight
Hudson: Handholding and Coaching Erase Software Margins in Enablement Startups
“My conclusion has been the technology is actually the least important piece. The most important piece is finding people who have an entrepreneurial mindset, who will go out and hustle and find customers who understand how to do kind of all of the business buil…”
Charles Hudson Nov 20, 2024 ▶ 16:17 Oma Health Shocks Investors—$175K Raised in One Pitch!
Dec 12, 2024 positive
Assertion Supported
Epps: Charles Hudson and Cyan Banister signed SAFEs for OMA Health
“Charles' process was so seamless and we signed with Charles. Cyan was able to sign our safe agreement, so that's really exciting as well.”
Kayla Epps Dec 12, 2024 ▶ 1:43:10 Season 12 Finale: What Happened After The Pitch?
Dec 12, 2024
Insight
Charles Hudson: Outside investors rarely fund bridge rounds between key milestones
“When you're in between milestones, pretty much the only people that will fund you are existing investors. Otherwise, most people will just say, like, it's just too risky. I'm just going to wait until you clear that threshold.”
Charles Hudson Dec 12, 2024 ▶ 1:38:02 Season 12 Finale: What Happened After The Pitch?
Dec 12, 2024 neutral
Insight
Charles Hudson: The three core questions Precursor asks before leading a round
“When we lead, the three things I usually try to think about are like, what's a price that I think would pull in the other people who we need as investors? What amount should we commit to sort of like help catalyze the round? And then like, what else can we do …”
Charles Hudson Dec 12, 2024 ▶ 1:35:29 Season 12 Finale: What Happened After The Pitch?
Dec 12, 2024 neutral
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Charles Hudson passes on Vital Audio after pitch due to conflict concerns
“He wasn't able to get himself to a yes at the moment.”
Niamh Itza Calvin Dec 12, 2024 ▶ 53:19 Season 12 Finale: What Happened After The Pitch?
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Opinion
Charles Hudson: Lack of capital access blocks a massive wave of entrepreneurs
“My hunch is that there's at least an order of magnitude more people who should be getting a shot at entrepreneurship every year who don't for reasons really related to capital access.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 24:34 #99 The Friends & Family Gap
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Insight
Charles Hudson: Expecting unfunded founders to work full-time excludes diverse talent
“If you, as an investor, expect every founder you meet to be in a position to drop everything and just work on their startup for some arbitrary period of time, as a show of commitment, you're gonna end up excluding people who, for really valid financial reasons…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 10:39 #99 The Friends & Family Gap
Mar 3, 2025
Insight
Hudson: Early-stage funds should adjust stage boundaries rather than stay rigid
“Like your job is to be in on the first institutional role these companies raise. And like you, the answer doesn't have to be, you'll do it a hundred percent of the time, but you should move the slider.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 15:04 #100 When Investors Take the Hot Seat
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Founders must commit to a single point of view
“You just gotta take a point of view. And you can't just be like, there's like seven different things, like, you just gotta take a point of view.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 23:57 #18 ROWViGOR
Mar 3, 2025
Disclosure
Hudson: I invest almost exclusively in pre-revenue companies
“So I invest almost exclusively in pre-revenue companies.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 18:47 #18 ROWViGOR
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Assertion Supported
Muccio: Investors Charles Hudson and Phil Nadel previously invested in True&Co
“What Jillian is alluding to is that Charles and Phil both previously invested in a broad startup called True&Co.”
Josh Muccio Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 9:09 #20 Harper Wilde
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Opinion
Hudson: Lunar Wireless will either be a massive acquisition or total failure
“It's either going to be a massive acquisition or a total failure.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 20:48 #22 Investor FOMO: Lunar Wireless
Mar 3, 2025
Assertion Supported
Nadel, Hudson, and Manus finalize $125K investment in Lunar Wireless
“All of the investors have come through. They did their diligence and all of them have written checks. I'm so happy that they were able to do that. Really excited to be able to work with them. Yeah. Yeah. So, 25 from Phil, 50 from Charles, and 50 from Jillian.”
Hunter Rosenblum Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 28:38 #22 Investor FOMO: Lunar Wireless
Mar 3, 2025 bearish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson: Parental control app prices will fall to 99 cents then free
“And there's two or three others, and I just worry that The market-clearing price for this ends up being 99 cents until it's free.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 19:18 #24 unGlue
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Disclosure
Charles Hudson passes on unGlue over technology commoditization and competitive concerns
“It's a pass for me because I have, I had my biggest issue is the competitive environment. I feel like I don't have a clear enough picture in my head about the end game of what happens because it seems like everyone's seizing on the same set of core technologie…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 15:52 #24 unGlue
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Disclosure
Phil Nadel and Charles Hudson actively assist Rex's subsequent fundraising efforts
“Phil has been introducing us to other investors, like, ag investors that he knows, and Charles has taken a look at my deck and, you know, we're about to sit together and be like, here's everything wrong with your deck and how you should frame it for investors,…”
Amado Guloy Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 26:57 #25 Rex
Mar 3, 2025 bullish
Disclosure
Charles Hudson offers to invest under $100K in Rex Animal Health
“So I would like to invest a small amount in the company, which to me would be below a 100,000 dollars.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 20:37 #25 Rex
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Charles Hudson of Precursor Ventures invested $250,000 in ShearShare
“And then Charles Hudson with Precursor Ventures, another investor who's been on the show, decided to join the round, coming in for another 250 K. Altogether, Shearshare received over a half a million dollars in funding.”
Josh Muccio Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 34:56 #29 Could This Be the Next Airbnb?
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Startup valuation is purely a negotiated market-clearing price
“Valuation is purely driven by negotiation and standards in the industry. So I think I've had founders come into my office and pitch me and say, hey, we have a hundred K in revenue. And we think that means that we're worth ten million dollars. And I would ju…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 19:02 #33 What Is a Startup Actually Worth?
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Insight
Hudson: Anchoring high on valuation backfires when pitching VCs
“I think part of the challenge for founders is there is this whole, I'm going to anchor high and get negotiated down to something I can live with. It doesn't really work that well in venture because as a founder who's raising money, your real competition is no…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 19:49 #33 What Is a Startup Actually Worth?
Mar 3, 2025 bearish
Disclosure
Hudson passes on InRecovery over unproven clinic sales economics
“So for now, with where the business is, it isn't quite right for me, and I'd pass, but I would be happy to revisit the conversation and”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 14:50 #37 Can Tech Solve America’s Drug Crisis?
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Disclosure
Hudson: Precursor's digital health bets all possessed strong go-to-market clarity
“We've done a lot of digital health investing at Precursor, and a lot of those companies, because, as Jillian said, the sales cycle and deployment cycle is long, we've sort of made some bets that, hey, this is going to work. But in all those cases, the company …”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 18:20 #37 Can Tech Solve America’s Drug Crisis?
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Insight
Charles Hudson: Cosmetics is not a winner-take-all market unlike software
“This is not like a software marketplace winner-take-all market, like these categories just end up with a bunch of winners, and which is why I think you keep seeing, whether it's nail polish or makeup, you keep seeing new companies Born on Instagram, born on so…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 17:16 #38 A Beauty Industry Veteran Goes Rogue
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Insight
Charles Hudson: Every Founder Has at Most Two Superpowers
“I always think every founder has one, maybe two superpowers.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 15:12 #39 This Pitch is Damn Near Perfect
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Insight
Charles Hudson: Cult Brands Grow Without Loud Marketing
“Because I think cult brands grow without really loud marketing.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 14:12 #39 This Pitch is Damn Near Perfect
Mar 3, 2025 bullish
Disclosure
Charles Hudson Commits $50,000 From Precursor Ventures to Bluffworks
“So we've only recently started investing in apparel, or what we call tangible goods at Precursor, but I have a good feeling about you. And so I'm gonna invest 50,000 dollars.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 20:44 #39 This Pitch is Damn Near Perfect
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Prediction Held up
Hudson: Shipsi will end up relaxing its one-hour delivery promise
“I don't think one, I think you're going to end up relaxing this one hour thing.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 14:28 #41 Can This Startup Help Retailers Take on Amazon?
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Insight
Hudson: A single shipping API becomes more valuable as logistics complexity grows
“Having one single API for this stuff, it becomes way more valuable over time because logistics just gets more complex.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 14:01 #41 Can This Startup Help Retailers Take on Amazon?
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Muccio: Charles Hudson still intends to invest $250K in Shipsi
“I found out shortly after this that Charles is actually very much still interested in investing. Like he wants to put in the 250 K that he wanted to invest originally, which is huge.”
Josh Muccio Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 21:41 #41 Can This Startup Help Retailers Take on Amazon?
Mar 3, 2025
Insight
Hudson: Delivery redundancy is essential as single-network capacity fluctuates
“I think redundancy is valuable for retailers because you remember these networks are, they stretch and they grow. You might hit a point where all the Postmates people are out delivering lunch.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 9:58 #41 Can This Startup Help Retailers Take on Amazon?
Mar 3, 2025
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson: Retailers will not build separate integrations for individual delivery apps
“And the retailer, the retailer's not gonna do seven integrations for one hour shipping. They're not gonna do a separate integration for Uber, Postmates.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 8:27 #41 Can This Startup Help Retailers Take on Amazon?
Mar 3, 2025 bearish
Opinion
Hudson: Luggage delivery is an unnecessary complication for Bounce
“I just think moving the stuff around is an unnecessary complication too.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 22:31 #42 How Much Do You Trust Your Barista?
Mar 3, 2025 bearish
Opinion
Hyatt: A Silicon Valley version of PartySlate would burn $20M to $40M
“Marketplaces take a lot of money, but I think it actually takes more money than she's raising. I think she was a valley company, and Charles, correct me if I'm wrong, you'd be 20, 30, forty million in, and you'd be pumping way more cash in, and trying to get t…”
Michael Hyatt Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 18:11 #43 Get This Party Startup in Here
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Non-coastal startups typically burn less cash, even adjusted for headcount
“And typically I see a slightly lower burn, even just adjusted for a head count in non Bay area, non coastal cities.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 15:57 #43 Get This Party Startup in Here
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Successful marketplaces scale by repeating one simple action a thousand times
“The path for most of the marketplace investments I make, The path to getting big is really simple. Like I can see it. I'm like, okay, we do this one thing. We're just gonna do it a thousand times more often than we do it today. And it tends to be doing the sam…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 16:09 #43 Get This Party Startup in Here
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Muccio: Charles Hudson invests $250k in SVRF, bringing the total to $375k
“We found out that Charles Hudson, another investor on our show, decided to invest 250,000, bringing Sophia's investment tally up to 375,000.”
Josh Muccio Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 33:18 #45 Whatever Happened to Virtual Reality?
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson predicts Somewear will succeed with annual subscription plans
“I actually think You'll get people to sign up for annual plans. I think you'll be fine there.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 14:34 #46 Never Get Lost Again
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Disclosure
Charles Hudson passes on investing in Somewear
“I think I'm gonna pass, but it's a tough one.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 14:29 #46 Never Get Lost Again
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Opinion
Hudson: B2B buyers will not care about Sorensen's personal founder story
“I don't think your greatest asset, which is you and your story, I don't think the B to B people care.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 12:09 #49 Nuts Can Kill. Are Seeds the Answer?
Mar 3, 2025 bullish
Disclosure
Hudson offers $25K to $50K investment in Blake's Seed Based
“So you know, I obviously have some follow up questions, but based on what I heard it for us, it'd be something in that 25 to 50 K range.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 19:00 #49 Nuts Can Kill. Are Seeds the Answer?
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sorensen: Hudson's investment fell through because the company was an LLC
“He didn't realize we were an LLC. And their fund only invests in, in C-Corps for tax purposes, so that investment fell through.”
Blake Sorensen Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 28:16 #49 Nuts Can Kill. Are Seeds the Answer?
Mar 3, 2025 bearish
Disclosure
Hudson: Post-launch hardware requires significantly more capital than founders expect
“About 10% of our investments have a hardware component in them, and so I'm gonna pass, but for a really specific reason, Which is, I think you're going to need more money than you're asking for right now, because post-launch hardware, it never goes the way tha…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 17:36 #52 Fitbit … for Dogs
Mar 3, 2025 bullish
Opinion
Hudson: High-end pet products are thriving from surging consumer spending
“Pretty much everything on the high end of pet is doing well, and I think for the trends that you mentioned, that people are spending incredible amounts of money on pet.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 17:20 #52 Fitbit … for Dogs
Mar 3, 2025
Disclosure
Hudson discloses prior investment in Fitbit and current investment in Fozy
“I was an investor in Fitbit and I'm an investor in Fozy.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 9:41 #52 Fitbit … for Dogs
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Upgrading wearables from step tracking to vitals requires real R&D
“Going from steps or activity to vitals, it's like, it's real R&D and engineering.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 18:45 #52 Fitbit … for Dogs
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Disclosure
Charles Hudson discloses investment in single-serve pour-over maker Dripkit
“I should disclose I'm an investor in drip kit.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 9:13 #54 Is Selling in Walmart a Good Thing?
Mar 3, 2025 bullish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson: Single-use pour-over is 100% where coffee is heading
“This is like, this is totally a thing. Like, if you're a coffee person, this is where coffee is going, 100%.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 9:51 #54 Is Selling in Walmart a Good Thing?
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Disclosure
Impalameni: Charles Hudson doubled his TribeXR investment to $100,000 post-pitch
“He then did some diligence on us, and post diligence, he doubled the investment to a hundred K, which is great. And so we've now closed that, and we're really excited to have him on board.”
Tom Impalameni Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 33:39 #55 A New Spin on VR
Mar 3, 2025 bullish
Disclosure
Hudson breaks his firm's VR ban to invest $50,000 in TribeXR
“So, I had a rule before that we weren't going to do any more VR investing until the Quest comes out, because I do, like you, Share the belief that it's going to be a game changer. But I'd like to invest 50,000 dollars in this round.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 18:03 #55 A New Spin on VR
Mar 3, 2025 bullish
Insight
Hudson: Most failed VR apps were not actually better in VR than 2D
“And the one thing I've learned about VR is I think there's a lot of apps that have been unsuccessful because they're actually not better in VR. They're actually better in any other medium in the real world, two D, whatever it might be. Having seen the demo, th…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 17:14 #55 A New Spin on VR
Mar 3, 2025 bullish
Disclosure
Hudson: Insider analytics data shows TribeXR's engagement is exceptionally high
“I'm an investor in a company that does analytics for VR apps. And like the level of engagement that he has is significantly higher.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 23:35 #55 A New Spin on VR
Mar 3, 2025 bullish
Disclosure
Hudson offers minimum $100,000 investment in Monti Kids
“So I'd like to invest a minimum of a 100,000.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 17:31 #56 Shark Tank vs. The Pitch
Mar 3, 2025 bearish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson: Competitors will undercut Monti Kids at $50
“I think at 50, at a hundred bucks if it stays there, somebody will do the same thing for 50 bucks. So she better get the 50 bucks so that it's not attractive.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 20:53 #56 Shark Tank vs. The Pitch
Mar 3, 2025
Insight
Hudson: Founders obsessed with CAC details usually run paid acquisition machines
“When I find people who know tons and tons and every detailed number about cost of acquisition, and I'm like, oh, you are a paid acquisition machine, and I actually don't like those businesses personally.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 22:59 #56 Shark Tank vs. The Pitch
Mar 3, 2025 bearish
Insight
Hudson: New fantasy gaming formats always hit expensive paid acquisition traps
“The thing I can't get over is everyone I've met who's tried to do a new format eventually runs into the paid acquisition monster, and it just ends up being really, really expensive.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 13:52 #57 Where Losers Go To Win
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Opinion
Hudson: Prop Betting Is a Low Priority for Major DFS Platforms
“But the one thing he said that I agree with is if I were running one of the big daily fantasy sports sites, this prop betting thing would probably be a double digit priority for me, like way down the list.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 17:14 #57 Where Losers Go To Win
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Insight
Charles Hudson: Niche Fantasy Formats Need Umbrella Brands to Survive
“So I think the natural order is that all of these formats need to be under big umbrella brands so that they can stick around.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 17:07 #57 Where Losers Go To Win
Mar 3, 2025 bullish
Disclosure
Hudson: Precursor Ventures offers to invest $100,000 into DogSpot
“So I'd like to invest a 100,000.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 19:24 #58 Park Your Pooch Here
Mar 3, 2025
Insight
Hudson: Delaying your core value prop for 20 minutes ruins pitch momentum
“You're, like, into, you're deep into lost cause territory. I mean, like, you're halfway through, like, if it were a normal meeting in my office, you would be... Like, it would have been so far, like, we don't have enough time now.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 22:23 #59 Disrupting Work Happy Hour
Mar 3, 2025
Insight
Hudson: Founders cannot win philosophical debates with VCs during pitches
“Like, that's not a winnable argument as an entrepreneur. What was a winnable argument was he could have told us a lot more, but let me tell you about the actual value that I'm delivering for both sides of the marketplace.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 22:54 #59 Disrupting Work Happy Hour
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Zebra startups return capital via profits rather than IPOs or M&A
“The model is more that, like, there ought to be a way for you to get a return on your money that doesn't require a gigantic IPO. There are ways through the profitable operations of the business for me to return capital. Might be capped at a three X, but there'…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 23:45 #61 Can a Zebra Survive in a Unicorn World?
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Disclosure
Charles Hudson passes on Samaritan due to institutional venture return thresholds
“And so if I were an angel investor, I would invest in your company because from my personal angel investments that I made before I had my fund, I was able to set my own return threshold. I could say, if I get my money back on this investment and I get a chance…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 17:08 #63 Can A Startup Solve Homelessness?
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Valuation gaps bigger than 50% between founders and VCs rarely close
“And personally, I've just found when you have a wide valuation gap between expectations on both sides, I personally have never Been successful at closing gaps that are bigger than about 50%. It just, it requires too much movement from one party, probably to a …”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 16:45 #64 Startup Sale! 80% Off
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Opinion
Hudson: Conviction on high valuation beats slashing price by 80%
“I mean, I would rather that they stand there and have conviction and reasons behind a thirty million dollar valuation than drop their drawers and go from thirty million to five million.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 25:12 #64 Startup Sale! 80% Off
Mar 3, 2025 bearish
Disclosure
Charles Hudson passes on WeDo over disconnect between problem and product
“So I totally identify with the problem, but I'm having a really difficult time connecting the problem statement to the product, so for me, this one's gonna be a pass, but I can tell you have real enthusiasm and energy about solving this, but for me, it just do…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 13:47 #65 Wait, Your App Does What Exactly?
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Insight
Charles Hudson: Founders losing a pitch must stop and reset
“I think part of your job as a founder is to recognize when you're losing the room. And instead of allowing things to spin out of control, stop and like, hey, maybe I haven't been clear. Let me start over.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 23:14 #65 Wait, Your App Does What Exactly?
Mar 3, 2025
Insight
Hudson: Founders must control the dialogue and flow during investor pitches
“I think part of a good pitch is the entrepreneur needs to control the dialogue. He needs to control the flow of the conversation.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 21:27 #66 Does Anyone Really Want Your Product?
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Opinion
Hudson: Dennis Meng gave one of the strongest pitches on the show
“I think this is one of the clearest, strongest presentations I've seen on the pitch.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 18:12 #66 Does Anyone Really Want Your Product?
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Schmorak: Charles Hudson invested $300k in Hostfully above his typical check
“His typical size is two 50 for the first check. I wanted to basically get him to invest something more than two 50, and he said 300,000.”
Margot Schmorak Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 22:17 Fighting the 24/7 Startup Grind
Mar 3, 2025 bullish
Disclosure
Hudson offers to invest under $100,000 in Rex Animal Health
“So I would like to invest a small amount in the company, which to me would be below a 100,000 dollars.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 17:42 I’ve Looked Death in the Eye
Mar 3, 2025 bullish
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hudson: Every pet startup Precursor backed outperformed initial size expectations
“Everything we've done in pet has ended up being bigger than I thought going in.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 20:31 #68 Dogs & Dating: A Match Made in Heaven?
Mar 3, 2025 bearish
Opinion
Hudson: Dig will not become a gigantic company
“I don't see this becoming a gigantic company.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 20:28 #68 Dogs & Dating: A Match Made in Heaven?
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Disclosure
Hudson: Precursor Ventures typically writes $250,000 initial checks
“I just didn't feel like our normal full-size, two 50 K check was the right one in this case.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 20:21 #68 Dogs & Dating: A Match Made in Heaven?
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Disclosure
Hudson commits $10,000 check to dating startup Dig
“So I'm in for 10,000.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 14:50 #68 Dogs & Dating: A Match Made in Heaven?
Mar 3, 2025
Insight
Hudson: Pricing a startup unrealistically low is as dangerous as overpricing
“Being anchored on a price that's unrealistically low can be just as dangerous to a business as being anchored on a price that's too high.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 18:51 #69 When Less Is Not More
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Opinion
Hudson: A $1M cap signals a founder has figured out nothing
“To me, a one million dollar cap is for someone who has nothing, who hasn't figured out anything. There's serious questions about the model.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 16:09 #69 When Less Is Not More
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Opinion
Hudson: The DC startup ecosystem is a 'show me' market
“DC is a very price insensitive show me market.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 19:05 #69 When Less Is Not More
Mar 3, 2025
Insight
Hudson: All good consumer pitches come down to human psychology
“I think all good consumer pitches, for me, come down to an insight on human psychology.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 16:38 #70 What Is Michael Phelps Jamming to Right Now?
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Assertion Supported
Muccio: Investors stalled and Phil Nadel passed on Earbuds
“Charles, Michael, and Jillian, they still haven't actually given Jason any money. And Phil, well, he already told Jason he's out.”
Josh Muccio Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 23:29 #70 What Is Michael Phelps Jamming to Right Now?
Mar 3, 2025 bearish
Insight
Hudson: Music startups are nearly impossible to fund due to licensing
“It's basically impossible, as you probably know, it's basically impossible to raise money For anything in music, because generally you get stuck in the morass of licensing and the labels”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 14:00 #70 What Is Michael Phelps Jamming to Right Now?
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Disclosure
Hudson: Passing on The Black Travel Box due to three portfolio conflicts
“I have a waterless shampoo company in my portfolio, I have a black travel company in my portfolio, and I also have a natural hair care salon grade product company in my portfolio, so I am probably like triply conflicted out of this. Based on those conflicts, I…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 9:16 #72 How Niche Is Too Niche?
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Disclosure
Charles Hudson wants to back companies that take down G2 Crowd
“I'm basically interested in taking down G two crowd.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 10:42 #73 Enough Sales Calls Already!
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Disclosure
Charles Hudson passes on Vetd due to potential portfolio conflicts
“We're in team pay and stack share, but I think what you're doing is different. And so I'll just cut to the chase. Like I'm going to be out for right now, but we're going to roll this out. And I'm gonna learn a lot, and I'm gonna talk to Jonas and Andrew at Sta…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 11:27 #73 Enough Sales Calls Already!
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Opinion
Charles Hudson says buyers want transparent procurement despite vendor resistance
“Because I think none of the vendors, I think most businesses like this, the vendors don't want to, the vendors don't want to sell this way, but the buyer totally wants to buy this way.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 15:43 #73 Enough Sales Calls Already!
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Insight
Hudson: In Logistics, Your Customers' Problems Become Your Problems
“And ultimately, like, your customers' problems end up being your problem when you're in logistics business.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 16:01 #74 Stop Killing Your Plants
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson: Rooted will become far more software-dependent
“And so, I think this business is going to become Far more software dependent and driven.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 16:19 #74 Stop Killing Your Plants
Mar 3, 2025
Insight
Hudson: Startups cannot do much in hardware under $5 million
“You can't really do much in hardware for less than five million bucks”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 18:12 #75 “I Want Bro Money Too”
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Disclosure
Hudson offers a $10,000 Precursor Ventures check to Sun & Swell
“So I'd like to look at a small investment for our fund of like, 10,000 dollars.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 13:37 #77 Sell Online or Go Door to Door
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Disclosure
Hudson: Ghosting Sun and Swell is my first broken commitment ever
“Historically, you know, this is, I think, in 200 some odd investments, probably the first time I can think of where we Made a commitment to somebody, had every intention of fulfilling it, and haven't been able to, and it's one of the things we pride ourselves …”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 20:11 #77 Sell Online or Go Door to Door
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Flynn: Charles Hudson ghosted Sun and Swell after committing to invest
“Yeah, I tried to reach out to him a couple times and I just, I never heard back.”
Kate Flynn Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 19:21 #77 Sell Online or Go Door to Door
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Disclosure
Hudson: 300 portfolio founders actively backchannel about bad VC behavior
“We have 300 founders in our portfolio, and I know sometimes they'll come to me and say, hey, I've heard this person, like, isn't good. I've heard that this firm isn't responsive. I've heard this firm, like, wastes founders time. That's coming from somewhere. T…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 24:12 #77 Sell Online or Go Door to Door
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Building an Independent Business Matters More Than Forecasting Acquirers
“If it's a good business, you'll have lots of opportunity, like, it's more important to build a really good business that has the ability to remain independent until something else happens than it is to, every time I've tried to forecast, oh, so-and-so company …”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 18:31 #78 Got Goals? Grab a Cru
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Disclosure
Dufu: Hudson, Yin, and Fielding completed $85,000 in syndicate investments
“So Charles did come in at 10. Elizabeth came in at 25. Jenny came back to me and said, I want 50.”
Tiffany Dufu Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 21:19 #78 Got Goals? Grab a Cru
Mar 3, 2025
Disclosure
Hudson says Precursor Ventures strictly avoids tobacco and cannabis investments
“We've had a strict sort of no tobacco, no cannabis policy, a precursor, since I started the fund.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 13:51 #79 The Anti-JUUL
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Opinion
Hudson: On-demand staffing platforms empower hourly hospitality workers
“This is an industry where historically labor has had very little control over hours, shifts, things like that. Oftentimes they have to work multiple jobs because the employer doesn't want them working more than 30 hours for a bunch of insurance and benefits re…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 5:29 #81 Jillian to the Rescue
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Insight
Why Generic Blue-Collar Labor Marketplaces Always Fail
“Everyone who's tried to do generic blue collar has failed because a roofer, a plumber, and a restaurant worker are all blue collar workers, but they make radically different amounts of money.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 18:12 #81 Jillian to the Rescue
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Disclosure
Charles Hudson Discloses Investment in Competing Shift Platform Paired
“I should just disclose, I have an investment in a company that does exactly this.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 5:13 #81 Jillian to the Rescue
Mar 3, 2025 bearish
Opinion
Charles Hudson passes because the startup lacks software leverage for venture scale
“This is just a business where I struggle to see how technology can give you the kind of leverage I want.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 13:52 #82 A Deal Too Perfect to Pass Up
Mar 3, 2025 bearish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Charles Hudson predicts Virtual Gurus will command a 1x-2x revenue multiple
“I think it's going to be a one to two X multiple on, because I think it's going to look like a services business for its entirety. And it's going to look like a really Profitable one, but those are one to two X multiple businesses.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 18:18 #82 A Deal Too Perfect to Pass Up
Mar 3, 2025 bullish
Disclosure
Hudson: I'd like to invest $25,000 in Pepper
“So I'd like to make a small investment of 25 K. I obviously have some diligence to do, but I'd love to work with you.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 17:04 #83 Can Small Bras Be a Big Market?
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Competing with cash-rich incumbents requires organic, bottoms-up community
“The only way you can really compete with them is to just play a different game, which is organic, bottoms-up community.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 13:33 #83 Can Small Bras Be a Big Market?
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Insight
Hudson: Funding an amorphous early team makes problems worse
“You have a rather large team for a company of your stage, and I think my fear is, like, you have a team of five or six that's already a little amorphous, and, like, adding more money might actually make the problem worse, not better.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 15:43 #84 The Napkin Pitch
Mar 3, 2025 negative
Insight
Hudson: Dividing focus across customer types causes startup death
“You're going to know a little bit about a lot of customers instead of a lot. About a small number of customers, and to me, that's like the recipe for startup death.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 10:10 #84 The Napkin Pitch
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Disclosure
Hudson Passes on Spot On Pending Proof of Defensibility
“So I'm going to pass for now, but I would like to spend time with you and see if I could get convinced”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 13:30 #87 Uber for Pets
Mar 3, 2025 positive
Insight
Hudson: Physical Sample Fulfillment Beat Digital Ads for Customer Acquisition Costs
“I just brought that up because we have a few companies in our portfolio where what they realized is the cost of fulfilling a sample was cheaper than buying a customer through digital.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 19:00 #88 How Startups Can Succeed in a Pandemic
Mar 3, 2025 bullish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson: Virtual Party Offerings Will Become a Permanent Revenue Line
“Even when things return to normal, if you can crack this digital piece, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up becoming a chunk of your business even once things snap back to normal.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 6:34 #88 How Startups Can Succeed in a Pandemic
Mar 3, 2025 neutral
Assertion Supported
Hudson: Headset Supply Chain Bottlenecks Prevented a Pandemic VR Boom
“Well, it's interesting that I talked to a couple of VR companies that I know well. I said, this must be boom time for you. They said, if only the supply chain for headsets wasn't so backed up, the answer would be yes.”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 25:54 #88 How Startups Can Succeed in a Pandemic
Mar 3, 2025 positive
What-if
Charles Hudson passes on Fleeting due to navigation startup portfolio conflict
“So I have an investment in a trucking navigation company that I'm sitting here listening. I'm like, it's either very complimentary or like very competitive. And I can't sort that out. And I really liked your answer on autonomous. And if I did not have a confli…”
Charles Hudson Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 11:09 #89 A Big Bet on an Ex-Trucker
Mar 4, 2025 negative
Opinion
Hudson calls the RealKey pitch the most frustrating he's ever heard
“This is like the most frustrating pitch I've ever had.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 17:30 #97 Secret Sauce or Snake Oil?
Mar 4, 2025 neutral
Opinion
Hudson: Competitors raised massive capital due to customer adoption friction
“The reason that I personally think Blend and Rustify have had to raise so much money is not because, part of its product complexity, part of it is customer willingness and ability to implement technology.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 11:44 #97 Secret Sauce or Snake Oil?
Mar 4, 2025 negative
Insight
Hudson: Mortgage lenders' desire to digitize exceeds their ability to adopt tech
“And these customers, their desire to digitize, at least what I've seen, is much greater than their ability to digest New technology, particularly on the workflow side.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 12:33 #97 Secret Sauce or Snake Oil?
Mar 4, 2025 bullish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson: Virtual Events Could Remain a Key Business Line Post-Pandemic
“Like even when things return to normal, if you can crack this digital piece, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up becoming a chunk of your business, even once things snap back to normal.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 6:36 #95 You Asked. Investors Answered. Now What?
Mar 4, 2025
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Muccio: Charles Hudson invested $250K into Aunt Flow in 2018
“He invested 250 K in AntFlow in 2018.”
Josh Muccio Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 19:48 #96 A Test of Time
Mar 4, 2025 positive
Opinion
Hudson: People have launched VC funds with far weaker value propositions
“I can tell you people have started venture funds with way weaker value propositions than what you've outlined. It's a good idea.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 14:16 #101 Josh Pitches The Pitch
Mar 4, 2025 bullish
Disclosure
Hudson offers $25,000, conditional on Tether restructuring as a Delaware C-Corp
“I'd like to do 25 with one caveat, just around corporate structure, as Elizabeth knows, as a U.S. Investor, when you have non-Delaware C-Corp companies, the end of year, basically I spend 90% of my time on my audit on the three companies that are not based in …”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 14:49 #102 Tether: Bodyguard of the Grid
Mar 4, 2025 bullish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson predicts Tether will get strong state and local government support
“And so I also think you will end up getting a lot of support from governments. Yeah. At the state and local level to do this.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 14:39 #102 Tether: Bodyguard of the Grid
Mar 4, 2025 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Red Ocean markets exist because most founders screw up good ideas
“The thing, the reason you end up with Red Oceans is because there's a nugget of a good idea there and everybody else screws it up.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 16:26 #104 Dressd: Red Carpet or Red Ocean?
Mar 4, 2025
Insight
Hudson: Helping founders for a year without investing is a mistake
“My biggest dumb-dumb investments at Precursor have been where I've worked with someone for a year and not invested, and then when they raise, it's at some crazy place, and I'm like, I just worked for free and helped this person for a year. I should have put mo…”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 24:28 #104 Dressd: Red Carpet or Red Ocean?
Mar 4, 2025 positive
Assertion Partly supported
Hudson: Precursor backs female founders who don't fit the typical alpha mold
“Our portfolio is half female. We have a bunch of really smart female founders who just don't do the alpha thing.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 23:13 #104 Dressd: Red Carpet or Red Ocean?
Mar 4, 2025 bullish
Disclosure
Hudson commits $25,000 investment to Dressed
“So I'd like to do 25 K.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 16:26 #104 Dressd: Red Carpet or Red Ocean?
Mar 4, 2025 bullish
Insight
Hudson: Consumers increasingly respond to single-vector regenerative farming marketing
“I'm an investor in a company that makes crackers, where the inputs are all regenerative. And this is mostly just a marketing exercise. They have basically a single vector message, which is we make crackers grown with regenerative practices. And the thing that …”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 16:15 #105 Teffola: Granola Guy Approved
Mar 4, 2025
Disclosure
Hudson: Bowing out of Dotcal due to portfolio conflict with Let's Meet
“I think I actually have to be out due to a conflict. I have an investor in a company called Let's Meet that does the group scheduling thing.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 7:16 #106 Dotcal: The Calendar Wars
Mar 4, 2025 bearish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson: A commercial competitor with worse tech could beat Terrascope
“I think you've got a lead, but I worry without tilting the energy of the company in that direction. Somebody more commercial with a less good product might come to market and beat you to the punch.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 15:34 #107 Terrascope: A Computer Vision Tale
Mar 4, 2025 negative
Opinion
Hudson: Many bad accelerators prey on inexperienced founders
“No, I just have seen like a lot of accelerators that don't, they prey on founders who don't know better. They hear an accelerator and they think it's going to be of the quality of what Neil and others do, and like, it's Better to just call them bad than questi…”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 21:46 #110 HandsDown: The Accelerator Pitch
Mar 4, 2025 negative
Insight
Hudson: Investors lose money backing product directions founders aren't focused on
“A good way to lose money as an investor is to fall in love with something that the founder is not as focused on as you are. So for me personally, I'm out”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 12:30 #110 HandsDown: The Accelerator Pitch
Mar 4, 2025 positive
Insight
Charles Hudson: Licensing B2B content is an easier model than direct sales
“That to me just seems like a easier business model than trying to spin this up as something you sell directly.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 12:18 #111 Stigma: Whose Business Is It Anyway?
Mar 4, 2025 negative
Opinion
Charles Hudson: EAPs are underutilized because employees fear HR retribution
“My impression is that EAPs have historically been underutilized because most people don't want to share the underlying issue they're dealing with HR out of fear of retribution or consequences”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 5:39 #111 Stigma: Whose Business Is It Anyway?
Mar 4, 2025 negative
Disclosure
Charles Hudson: Precursor avoids Employee Assistance Program investments like the plague
“We've done a lot in mental health. We've also done a ton in the employer benefits channel. And the one thing I've tried to avoid like the plague is EAP.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 13:21 #111 Stigma: Whose Business Is It Anyway?
Mar 4, 2025 positive
Disclosure
Hudson: Proving fundraise impact was DocSend's key unlock
“So I was a seed stage investor in DocSend, which different, different positioning, but like one of the big unlocks for them was you could actually tell that using DocSend helped you raise money.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 13:43 #114 Brevity: Your AI Pitch Coach
Mar 4, 2025 bullish
Insight
Charles Hudson: The winning playbook in vertical SaaS is building full stack
“The money in vertical sass is full stack. Like, that's the playbook, like, you do it all.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 22:52 #115 Gemist: The Crown Jewel of Venture
Mar 4, 2025 neutral
What-if
Charles Hudson would have invested $100K at a $10M post-money valuation
“Clean 10 post with, like, good founder ownership, I would have put in a hundred K.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 20:45 #115 Gemist: The Crown Jewel of Venture
Mar 4, 2025 bearish
Disclosure
Charles Hudson passes on Gemist over founder cap table dilution concerns
“I got pretty close on this one, but I think I'm out. I was just doing some math on the cap table here, and I just I worry about what it's, to me, there's one simple fix, which is to give you and your founder more equity in the A, which will come out of the poc…”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 15:53 #115 Gemist: The Crown Jewel of Venture
Mar 4, 2025 negative
Opinion
Madeline Fraser: Passing on Gemist over cap table concerns is short-sighted
“You know, I think that that's a little bit short-sighted in my mind, right? Not really talking through that or having enough time to sit down with them and sort of say, hey, let's, let's think about what this could look like in the future.”
Madeline Fraser Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 23:54 #115 Gemist: The Crown Jewel of Venture
Mar 4, 2025
Insight
Founders doing multiple seed rounds rarely keep 50% equity for Series A
“I used to, before I would have said 50% going to the A. It just doesn't It doesn't happen that often in our, if you do a pre-seed, a seed, and a seed extension, you're not going to see it.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 21:15 #115 Gemist: The Crown Jewel of Venture
Mar 4, 2025 neutral
Disclosure
Hudson warns that heavy local capital in emerging markets is problematic
“We've had totally polar experiences. We've had some companies where we've had tons of local capital, and it's been highly problematic.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 17:45 #116 Kimoyo: Is This African Startup Venture Backable?
Mar 4, 2025 positive
Disclosure
Charles Hudson would probably invest in Bevz at 20% founder equity
“I would be happier at 22, but I'd probably do it at 20.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 18:39 #120 Bevz: A Tech Bro Walks Into a Corner Store...
Mar 4, 2025 neutral
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hudson: Most portfolio company buyers are unknown at investment time
“Most of the companies we've sold, with a few exceptions, the buyer was not anticipated or known at the time of the investment.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 18:54 #122 Wist: The Killer Use Case for VR?
Mar 4, 2025 bearish
Disclosure
Hudson passes on ECGO due to doubts about university contract sizes
“I don't think I can get there on the current round, just cause I'm not, I think I have in my mind a sense of how big the university tickets would have to be, and I'm not sure they're there yet.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 12:46 #124 ECGO: Turning Trash Into Treasure With AI
Mar 4, 2025 bullish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson: Handle is going to be super successful with hyperlocal model
“Really impressive articulation of the business, and I think you're doing everything you can to maximize the hyperlocal nature of the business, and I think it's going to be super successful.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 36:08 #126 Handle: The Uncut Pitch
Mar 19, 2025 bearish
Insight
Hudson: Grooming Businesses Exit at 2x to 3x Top-Line Revenue
“My big takeaway is these businesses tend to trade at two to three times top line revenue at the end of the day, and so for me the big question Isn't how do you get to 50, it's how do you get to two to 300.”
Charles Hudson Mar 19, 2025 ▶ 26:40 Will VCs Bet $1.5M on This Luxury Grooming Company’s U.S. Expansion?
Mar 19, 2025 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Luxury Brands Need Minimum Floor for Retail Partners
“There's probably like a lower floor on the places this brand can show up and still command the price point and the mental position that you're meant to.”
Charles Hudson Mar 19, 2025 ▶ 32:23 Will VCs Bet $1.5M on This Luxury Grooming Company’s U.S. Expansion?
Mar 19, 2025 bullish
Opinion
Charles Hudson: Men's Cologne Is Making a Major Comeback
“I don't, but your cologne's coming back big time.”
Charles Hudson Mar 19, 2025 ▶ 6:08 Will VCs Bet $1.5M on This Luxury Grooming Company’s U.S. Expansion?
Mar 26, 2025 bullish
Disclosure
Muccio: The Pitch Fund invests $200K in KAV Sports
“The pitch fund invested 200,000 alongside Rohit and Charles.”
Josh Muccio Mar 26, 2025 ▶ 41:25 Will VCs Bet $3M on This Custom Helmet Startup?
Apr 2, 2025 neutral
Disclosure
Hudson: My Early Investment Fitbit Never Figured Out Subscriptions
“I was an early investor in Fitbit, and Fitbit really never figured that part of the business out, and I think that was because customers weren't ready to pay a couple hundred bucks for something like an Aura ring or a Whoop and continue to pay.”
Charles Hudson Apr 2, 2025 ▶ 24:49 This Founder Built the World’s First Smart Running Shoe
Apr 2, 2025 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Regular Runners Rarely Switch Shoe Brands Unlike Casual Runners
“I also do think like, wow, most casual runners are happy to change shoe brands. Most regular runners in my experience do not.”
Charles Hudson Apr 2, 2025 ▶ 30:51 This Founder Built the World’s First Smart Running Shoe
Apr 9, 2025 bearish
Insight
Hudson: B2B financial wellness tools struggle with long cycles and low employee yield
“The challenge that we found is you actually need people to give you Mint-like access to their data, because if I, if all I know is your paycheck, I don't know your credit score. I don't know how much debt. You actually need people to give you a fair amount of …”
Charles Hudson Apr 9, 2025 ▶ 28:38 Aura Finance: Chasing the Ghost of Mint
Apr 9, 2025 neutral
Disclosure
Hudson: Precursor Ventures backs a direct competitor to Aura Finance
“I have a company company that's directly competitive.”
Charles Hudson Apr 9, 2025 ▶ 28:03 Aura Finance: Chasing the Ghost of Mint
May 7, 2025 bearish
Insight
Hudson: AI in edtech compresses market opportunity rather than expanding it
“But when I think about, especially things in ed tech, where I think there's an AI element, I think like, what is AI good at doing today? Where do I think it will be in 12 and 24 months, and what does that do for the opportunity? And in most cases, I think it's…”
Charles Hudson May 7, 2025 ▶ 25:48 VCs Offered $2M — Will This Profitable Startup Survive the Pitch?
May 7, 2025 bearish
Disclosure
Charles Hudson passes on investing in Jungle's seed round
“So I'm out.”
Charles Hudson May 7, 2025 ▶ 24:36 VCs Offered $2M — Will This Profitable Startup Survive the Pitch?
May 7, 2025 bearish
Opinion
Hudson: Jungle is a $50M to $75M ARR business, not venture-scale
“So, what I'm really saying is, I think this is a 50 to seventy five million dollar ARR business”
Charles Hudson May 7, 2025 ▶ 25:30 VCs Offered $2M — Will This Profitable Startup Survive the Pitch?
May 14, 2025 neutral
Insight
Hudson: Hardware startups need $7M–$10M to complete FDA clearance
“I assume a hardware company takes seven to ten million dollars to get the thing done.”
Charles Hudson May 14, 2025 ▶ 19:52 This App Detects Strep from a Selfie…What?!
May 14, 2025 neutral
Insight
Hudson: FDA clearance always takes longer and costs more for startups
“We've done a bunch of FDA things. Always takes longer. Always costs more money.”
Charles Hudson May 14, 2025 ▶ 19:38 This App Detects Strep from a Selfie…What?!
May 14, 2025 negative
Disclosure
Charles Hudson passes on investing in Curie DX
“So I'm not in now, given the current state of the product and the tech.”
Charles Hudson May 14, 2025 ▶ 20:26 This App Detects Strep from a Selfie…What?!
May 14, 2025
Insight
Hudson: Investors can coach presentation, but not what founders build
“You can coach people on presentation, on answering questions, I think it's hard to coach people on, like, the thing they want to build.”
Charles Hudson May 14, 2025 ▶ 30:01 This App Detects Strep from a Selfie…What?!
Jun 18, 2025 positive
Disclosure
Hudson offers $25K contingent on diligence with Instacart executives
“So I'm in for 25, but one big deal is we sold the company to Instacart. A while ago, and I have a bunch of friends who are executives at the company, and I do want to better understand this model from their point of view. That would be the one big deal is insi…”
Charles Hudson Jun 18, 2025 ▶ 21:39 LTK for Food… Will VCs invest in this $10 TRILLION market!?
Sep 10, 2025 bearish
Insight
Hudson: Single-variable wearables are harder to build today than a decade ago
“I just think single variable wearables are really hard now. I was probably more bullish on them five or 10 years ago when we didn't have as many things.”
Charles Hudson Sep 10, 2025 ▶ 16:37 Track Mental Health with a Wearable?!
Sep 17, 2025 negative
Disclosure
Hudson: Passing on Levee due to potential portfolio conflict
“I have something that I'm trying to figure out if it's too competitive, and I think it might be. So I think I probably can't do this one.”
Charles Hudson Sep 17, 2025 ▶ 18:29 $1.4M Ask: Can AI Fix Dirty Hotel Rooms?
Sep 24, 2025 negative
Disclosure
Charles Hudson passes on Finecto over procurement software scaling challenges
“I think I'm going to be out just because this is a category where I've had a really hard time finding companies that can scale, but you seem incredibly qualified to go after this, and In getting customers in four countries at this early point, it's something t…”
Charles Hudson Sep 24, 2025 ▶ 17:22 How Latin American Founders Keep Their Deals Alive
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