Consumer Council

The Consumer Council was established to provide a forum for CVCs in the consumer sector to connect and explore innovation and investment opportunities. The council showcases its thought leadership via virtual webinars and in-person meetings to dive deeper into the issues currently affecting the consumer sector.

In 2025 the Consumer Council has focused on three initiatives:

1. The formation of an FMCG working group in partnership with the Consumer Council with the following outcomes:

Convening industry thought leaders
Enhancing networking opportunities that could optimise deal flow and syndication
Capturing and sharing CVC standards and best practice
Framing opportunities to drive consumer discussion, research and collaboration

2. Further exploring Media for Equity at the flagship GCV events in California and London.

3. Supporting the launch of a cross sector UK CVC leaders community to drive network and best practice between UK based companies.

Programming in 2025 has been a combination of digital touchpoints, webinars and in person meet ups both at GCV flagship events and more broadly.

Both the FMCG working group and UK CVC leaders have established community groups for further connection and dialogue.

Council Members

Webinar: Media for equity – Why it can work for your startups

This webinar explored:

Which startups should be exploring media for equity and how wide does that scope go?
Is it better to do it yourself or partner with a dedicated fund?
At what point, should a startup take a media for equity and when is it most useful?
How should startups value these deals and how do they track advertising to make sure they get full value for their equity?
How much equity should startups give up in media-for-equity deals and is it through equity or warrants?
Does this work for international investors or should you stick to one territory?

Four tips for media-for-equity startup investments

Some 50% of a consumer startup’s capital is spent on advertising, so trading equity for ads can save money. Here’s how to get those deals to work. Click to read more.