Investor Spotlight: Andrew Montgomery, Partner at Collaborative Fund
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 23 August 2025
⏱️ 50 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, Hannah Dittman speaks with Andrew Montgomery, Partner at Collaborative Fund, about building successful brands at the intersection of for-profit and for-good. Andrew shares his career journey across operations, brand building, and investing on his path to Collaborative Fund.
He outlines the firm’s investment philosophy, including their “villain test,” and offers detailed guidance on pitching to investors, identifying enduring consumer trends, and structuring effective fundraising strategies. Andrew also provides practical advice on evaluating investor–founder alignment, building momentum during a raise, and navigating long-term partnerships.
Listen to gain actionable insights on positioning your brand for growth, attracting the right capital, and fostering relationships that support your vision.
Listen in as they share about:
- Andrew’s Career Background
- Collaborative Fund’s Investment Philosophy
- Investment Criteria & Evaluation Process
- Traits of Strong Founders
- Trends, Categories & Theses
- Fundraising Timing & Strategy
- Advice for Founders Seeking Investment
Episode Links:
Website: https://collabfund.com/
LinkedIn:Â https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewwmontgomery/Â
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Show Links:
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- Episode music by Super Fantastics
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We got to see that retention grow and sort of stick, which was really meaningful for us in terms of how we thought about the business. |
| 0:15.8 | And then the other thing is we were all using it. |
| 0:18.0 | We were all customers of it. |
| 0:18.9 | And we actually gave him feedback in the pitch or in a follow-up and said, |
| 0:22.2 | hey, the dashboard is awesome, but if you could do this, it would be really cool. And within one day, two days, he was turning around product feedback. Not all of it because sometimes he would say, you know, we've thought about that, but we don't want to do it for this reason. Or he says, that's actually a good idea. I'm going to implement that. |
| 0:37.0 | Hey, everybody. |
| 0:38.2 | I'm Hannah Dittman, |
| 0:39.2 | Operations and Finance Correspondent at. Hey, everybody. I'm Hannah Dittman, Operations and Finance correspondent at startup CPG and the founder of Ready Basics. |
| 0:43.8 | As a former CPG investor, I'm especially excited to host this investor spotlight with Andrew Montgomery from Collaborative Fund. |
| 0:50.1 | If you've ever wondered how to stand out to investors, what really makes a founder unforgettable, |
| 0:58.1 | or how and when to get started fundraising, this episode is for you. |
| 1:02.2 | We're sitting down with Andrew Montgomery of Collaborative Fund, a venture firm investing at the intersection of for-profit and for good, backing companies whose products and services |
| 1:06.8 | make the world a better place. |
| 1:08.7 | Andrew shares how he applies the villain test when evaluating |
| 1:11.3 | companies, offers tangible examples of what separates good founders from great ones, and breaks |
| 1:16.3 | down exactly how to nail your first meeting so investors immediately see your differentiation. |
| 1:20.9 | You'll get an inside look at how collaborative fund approaches diligence, why they lean into |
| 1:24.4 | purpose as much as profit, and the kind of storytelling that inspires them to invest. |
| 1:28.5 | Enjoy. |
| 1:33.3 | Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the startup CPG podcast. This is Hannah and today I'm here with Andrew Montgomery and investor from Collaborative Fund. Andrew, welcome to the show. |
| 1:42.5 | Thank you so much for having me, Hannah. Yes, we're excited to have you here. I'd love to kick off with you introducing yourself. Can you share your title, a brief background of your experience prior to Collab Fund, and what led you into investing the first place? Sure, happy to. And thank you again for having me. It's a great pleasure to be on the podcast with you today. So I'm a partner at Collaborative Fund. I joined three years ago, but I've |
| 2:02.8 | known the team there since today. So I'm a partner at Collaborative Fund. |
... |
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