17. Kevin Gould | Kombo Ventures (beauty & venture)

The Founder

Kevin Gould is the Founder and CEO of Kombo Ventures and the Co-Founder of Glamnetic, Wakeheart and Insert Name Here.
Kevin always knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur, but when he graduated from college in 2007, he didn’t know exactly where to look. With his sights set on the entertainment industry, he beelined for LA and found himself working at William Morris Endeavor, one of the biggest talent agencies in the world. He started in the mailroom and ultimately worked as an assistant to several agents, building an unparalleled rolodex of Hollywood connections. In addition to the entertainment space, he had a strong interest in technology and spent his weekends flying to Silicon Valley to take meetings with founders, VCs and angel investors. Overtime, he realized there was a glaring gap between the talent and personalities in the entertainment industry and the tech companies that wanted to partner with that talent to promote their startups. He ultimately left WME to capitalize on that market opportunity and provided business development and strategy for early to late stage startups on how to interface with the entertainment industry. That was an early version of the company he runs today, Kombo Ventures.
Today at Kombo, Kevin and his team have broadened their focus beyond just entertainment strategy. First, they operate as a brand studio, launching and scaling 3 beauty brands with influencer co-founders. Those brands include Glamnetic, the world’s leading magnetic liner and lash company, Wakeheart a fragrance, scent and personal care brand and Insert Name Here, a hair extension and wig company. In addition to the brand studio, they also run a talent management arm, representing some of the biggest YouTubers in the world. Kevin also runs a venture arm that has invested in 13 companies including Draft Kings, Clutter, Whistle, Step, Ten Thousand and more.
Tune in to hear Kevin's story!
As a special offer, Kevin is giving our listeners 15% off all products from any of his three beauty brands. Just use code Kallaway at checkout - Glamnetic, Wakeheart, Insert Name Here.
EPISODE TOPICS:

• (3:05) Kombo snapshot today
• (4:27) Background
• (12:29) Working with influencers
• (15:58) Building brands
• (21:12) Team structure
• (22:22) How to focus
• (27:56) How saturated is the influencer space
• (29:30) Influencer brand deals
• (36:03) Marketing tactics
• (39:19) School vs experience
• (43:34) Manifesting the future
• (48:07) Hiring
• (52:01) Angel investing strategies
• (1:01:37) Frustrating/validating moment
• (1:07:11) Learning & resources
• (1:08:47) Kevin's startup manifesto
• (1:12:09) Kevin's founder nomination

Kombo Ventures - www.komboventures.com

• Follow Kevin (@keving) on Instagram // LinkedIn
• Follow Glamnetic (@glamnetic), Wakeheart (@wakeheart), Insert Name Here (@insertnamehere)
• Kevin's learning and resource recommendations

The Founder - www.thefounderpod.com

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