Managing Partner, Brand Acumen Labs

Job Description

Managing Partner, Brand Acumen Labs at Brand Acumen Brand Acumen has spent 35 years building the names and brand identities behind some of the most recognized consumer and corporate products in the world: Xbox, Galaxy, Activia, Lyriq, ACUVUE, RTX, WebEx, Synchrony, and more than 2,000 others. We are now launching Brand Acumen Labs, a selective early-stage accelerator built for a category no existing program truly serves: premium, brand-led consumer companies in the register of Aesop, Molton Brown, and Orvis. We are looking for a Managing Partner to build and run this platform from the ground up. This is a founder-level role. You will not be joining a fund. You will be building one, with the full weight of a 35-year brand practice behind you and a founder who has already done the naming and positioning work for many of the biggest launches of the last three decades. What You Will Own Investment strategy and deal sourcing. Define the investment thesis within our category focus (personal care, home and fragrance, considered apparel and outdoor, premium food and beverage, pet premium), build a sourcing engine across retail buyer networks, trade press, crowdfunding platforms, and Brand Acumen's own client pipeline, and personally source, diligence, and close every deal in the portfolio. Fund leadership. Lead the Fund I raise (target 5 to 10 million) alongside Brand Acumen's founder, working directly with family offices, exited consumer founders, and strategic LPs. Own LP relationships and reporting once the fund is live. Cohort and program design. Build and run a twelve-week accelerator program from the ground up: curriculum, mentor network, operator relationships, and a Brand Day that functions as part demo day, part curated retail and press showcase. Portfolio company support. Sit on or advise portfolio company boards, help founders navigate follow-on raises, retail placement, and strategic positioning, and serve as the connective tissue between founders and Brand Acumen's naming and brand strategy resources. Exit strategy. Build and maintain relationships with the strategic acquirers who define this category, L'Oreal, Estee Lauder, LVMH, Puig, Unilever Prestige, VF Corp, Helen of Troy, and others, so that portfolio selection and development are always oriented toward a real acquisition path. What You Bring

• A demonstrated track record sourcing, evaluating, or operating in early-stage premium consumer brands, whether as an investor, corporate venture or incubation lead, or accelerator operator
• Genuine taste. You should be able to tell us, unprompted, what makes a brand belong in the Aesop and Orvis register versus the mass DTC register, and you should have opinions about at least a few emerging brands doing it right
• An existing founder and operator network in premium personal care, home, food and beverage, apparel, or outdoor categories
• Comfort with the mechanics of venture: SAFEs, term sheets, cap tables, fund formation, LP relations, and reserve strategy
• The temperament to build something from zero alongside a strong, opinionated founder, without needing to own every decision, and without needing anyone to tell you what to do next
• Prior experience in one or more of: a consumer-focused VC fund, corporate venture or incubation (LVMH Luxury Ventures, L'Oreal BOLD, Estee Lauder New Incubation Ventures, Unilever Ventures), or accelerator leadership (SKU, Sephora Accelerate, Techstars consumer programs) What Makes This Role Different Most accelerators sell capital and mentorship. We sell the one thing every consumer brand actually needs and almost never gets right at the start: a name and a brand identity built by the people who built Xbox, Galaxy, and Lyriq. You will be building the investment vehicle around that asset, not competing with a hundred identical funds for the same deal flow. This is a genuinely differentiated seat in a crowded market, at a firm with three and a half decades of credibility already earned. Compensation and Structure
• Managing Partner title, with a path to General Partner as the fund formalizes
• Modest cash salary funded from management fees, calibrated to a lean, high-conviction fund rather than a large management company
• Meaningful carry, 15 to 20 percent of the Labs carry pool
• Full autonomy over portfolio selection within the agreed thesis, with Brand Acumen's founder as a close partner and resource, not a layer of approval How to Apply Send a note directly to wiliam.smith@brandacumenstudios.com including three real, early-stage consumer companies you would admit into our first cohort and why, and one widely admired consumer brand you would pass on. We read every submission personally. No recruiters at this stage.
  
  

Location

New York City (Onsite or remote)

Salary

$125k – $175k

Experience

5 years