While you may have heard this phrase several hundred too many times this year, it remains true: These are unprecedented times.
At least a dozen industries are in a state of flux, and only time (a relatively short amount of time) will tell if they can evolve quickly enough to stay in the game. A few of those industries include media, direct-to-consumer retail, travel and hospitality. With the pace of change up dramatically, it can be difficult to make heads or tails of these respective markets and the broader tech startup landscape.
Luckily, Eric Hippeau, cofounder and managing partner at Lerer Hippeau, is uniquely positioned to answer our most pressing questions, particularly around these industries. We’re very pleased to share with you that Hippeau will be joining us today for an episode of Extra Crunch Live. Extra Crunch members can catch the episode live, and ask their own questions directly to Hippeau, at 11am PT/2pm ET/6pm GMT.
Eric Hippeau served as CEO for the Huffington Post before co-founding Lerer Hippeau. He also served as chairman and CEO at Ziff-Davis, a former top publisher of computer magazines. He sits on the boards of BuzzFeed and Marriott International.
Lerer Hippeau portfolio companies include Axios, BuzzFeed, Genius, Chartbeat and Giphy. And while the firm has experience in media, that doesn’t mean the portfolio is squarely focused on it. Other portfolio companies include Casper, WayUp, Warby Parker, Mirror, HungryRoot, Glossier, Everlane, Brit + Co. and AllBirds, to name just a few.
We’ll chat with Hippeau about the rapidly changing media landscape, how direct-to-consumer companies can survive (and in some cases, capitalize) on the new world ushered in by the coronavirus, and get some pointers on how to pitch Lerer Hippeau for investment.
I’m also curious about Lerer Hippeau’s investment in startup studios (Betaworks and Expa) and to learn which sectors seem most attractive to the firm going into the back half of 2020.
As previously mentioned, Extra Crunch members can ask their own questions during the chat. If you’re not yet an Extra Crunch member, you can sign up right here.
We’re amped to have Hippeau join us and we hope you will, too!
