When to Invest in Consumer Technology with Vanessa Larco at NEA

In this podcast, Vanessa Larco, a partner at NEA, shares her career path, which spans from developing touch technology at Microsoft to working on speech recognition for Xbox and now investing in consumer companies. She discusses the hurdles of the gaming industry, particularly the unpredictable nature of virality and the important balance between customer acquisition cost (CAC) and lifetime value (LTV). Larco outlines her investment strategy, which centers on companies that tackle relatable problems while offering outstanding user experiences and strong retention rates, even in tough sectors like inventory-based businesses. She believes that achieving billion-dollar outcomes is indeed feasible across different sectors, but it requires strong growth, healthy margins, and capable founders. Lastly, she expresses her enthusiasm for the potential of AI to forge entirely new business models in the consumer landscape.