Chris Hollod
Chris Hollod is a venture capitalist, angel investor, and advisor in Los Angeles, where he invests in innovative, early-stage consumer start-ups at the convergence of culture and wellness.[1][2][3] He is an expert negotiator and has done more than 150 deals and currently oversees a $300 million portfolio of approximately 100 companies, including Uber, Airbnb, Houzz, Spotify, Pinterest, Casper, and Warby Parker. [4][5]
Chris Hollod | |
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![]() Hollod in 2016 | |
Born | Chris Hollod December 9, 1982 Georgia, U.S. |
Occupation | Venture Capitalist, Angel Investor, Advisor |
Years active | 2010–present |
Early life
Hollod graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Vanderbilt University with a degree in Economics.[6] Hollod grew up in Atlanta and ultimately moved to Los Angeles in 2009 to start working for multi-billionaire investor Ronald Burkle.[7] Prior to joining A-Grade Investments, Hollod worked in Investment Banking and Private Equity.
Career
Chris is one of the top venture capitalists in the health and wellness sector.[8] He is currently the Founder and Managing Partner of Hollod Holdings, a venture capital entity that invests in consumer packaged goods in food, beverage, pet, cannabis, nutrition, alcohol, and self-care. The firm invested in companies such as Recess, Dirty Lemon, JuneShine, Magic Spoon[9], Pressed Juicery, Mud/Wtr, Elysium Health, Matchabar, Sweetgreen, and Blue Bottle Coffee.[10]
Hollod is one of the most active angel investors in the alcohol space and is an expert in the alternative alcohol sector. In a 2020 interview, Hollod said that he plans to “invest a couple million dollars annually” of his own money in the beyond beer space.[3]
Hollod worked with Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary, and Ronald Burkle as the Managing Partner of their venture capital fund, A-Grade Investments.[11] In 2012, A-Grade Investments raised money from several billionaires including David Geffen and Mark Cuban. In March 2016, Forbes released a comprehensive article on A-Grade Investments entitled "How Ashton Kutcher And Guy Oseary Built A $250 Million Portfolio With Startups Like Uber And Airbnb."[12] The Forbes article states that the team turned $30m into $250m, representing almost an 8.5x investment multiple.
Hollod also worked for The Yucaipa Companies for eight years and oversaw Ron Burkle's venture capital investments[13] and was referred to in the press as "Burkle's right-hand man."[14] Hollod became Burkle’s Traveling Chief of Staff, and the two traveled the world together for six years.[15] Hollod was first introduced to the world of venture capital by working on a deal with Puff Daddy, Mark Wahlberg, and their bottled water start-up, AQUAhydrate.[16]
Hollod is a Founding Partner of Inevitable Ventures with D.A. Wallach.[17] The firm wanted to look at startups in industries like healthcare, biosciences, and virtual reality, and its portfolio includes 8i, Memphis Meats, and Thrive Market.[18]
Hollod was very active in trading cryptocurrencies. During a 2019 interview with Entrepreneur, he said that he originally purchased bitcoin in January 2013 for $15 a coin and eventually sold the majority of his position at the end of 2017 for $15,000 a coin, generating a 1,000x return. He said he then used the returns to day-trade other digital currencies.[19]
Hollod was named one of the 32 most influential investors of 2013 (outside Silicon Valley)[20] and also received a Visionary Award in 2018.[21]
Fortune included Hollod in its "Meet the Uber Rich" article as an early investor in Uber[22] and the LA Times published a feature on him entitled "How I Made It: A Billionaire's Right-Hand Man."[23] He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal[24], Forbes[25], Entrepreneur[26], and LA Times as a venture capital expert[27] and he has also judged several start-up competitions including Global Startup Battle and Start-Up Weekend Los Angeles.[28] Hollod is an expert in digital strategy and actively promotes brands and entrepreneurs on his Instagram page.[29] In 2020, Hollod wrote an op-ed that was published entitled “Why This Venture Capitalist Uses Instagram To Source New Business” where he discussed using Instagram to source and diligence new investment opportunities.[30]
When asked about his passion for the wellness sector in a 2019 interview, Hollod said, "I became fascinated with health and wellness trends and wanted to experience everything first-hand. I realized that there was a massive innovation gap between boutique ‘health and wellness’ stores and more mainstream ones, which were still peddling outdated, unhealthy products. I quickly realized LA was the epicenter of health and wellness, and by continuing to be an early adopter, I’ve been banking on the fact that I can predict nascent trends and behaviors that ultimately permeate the rest of the country."[31]
In a 2020 interview, Hollod said, “I make it an unbreakable requirement to only invest in companies where I can add value. My biggest strengths are high-level strategy, connectivity, and validation.[3]
Personal
Hollod lives in Hollywood's Sunset Square neighborhood in an updated 1920s bungalow that he purchased from Glee star Lea Michele in 2015.[32] Hollod is writing a book entitled "Big Fish Big Pond," which will encourage millennials to break free of restrictive conventional wisdom.[33] In a 2019 interview, Hollod advocated for a minimalistic lifestyle, stating, "I truly believe that simplicity breeds tranquility, and that’s where you ultimately find sustainable happiness & fulfillment."[31]
References
- "Christopher Hollod - Managing partner @ Hollod Holdings". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
- Yeung, Ken (November 7, 2012). "Startup Weekend begins its 2012 Global Startup Battle, aims to build 1,200 companies in over 130 cities". The Next Web.
- "Venture Capitalist Chris Hollod on Why He is Investing in the 'Alternative Alcohol' Space". Brewbound. 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
- Hudson, Subrina. "Visionary Venture Capitalist Chris Hollod Steps Out On His Own". CSQ. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- Small, Jonathan (2019-12-27). "What The Cryptocurrency Craze Of The Past Can Teach Us About The CBD Craze Of The Present". GreenEntrepreneur. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
- "Chris Hollod". Crunchbase. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- "Chris Hollod On Investing With Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary, and Ron Burkle - socaltech.com". www.socaltech.com. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
- "Chris Hollod, Founder at Hollod Holdings". The Proof. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
- "Five Months In, Magic Spoon Closes a $5.5M Round". NOSH. 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
- "Christopher Hollod - Managing partner @ Hollod Holdings". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
- "Chris Hollod". Crunchbase. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- "How Ashton Kutcher And Guy Oseary Built A $250 Million Portfolio With Startups Like Uber And Airbnb". Forbes.
- "Global Startup Battle". Global StartUp Battle. Archived from the original on 2015-03-24. Retrieved 2015-02-25.
- "Ashton Kutcher And Guy Oseary Launch Sound Ventures, The Successor To A-Grade Investments". Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- Small, Jonathan (2019-12-27). "What The Cryptocurrency Craze Of The Past Can Teach Us About The CBD Craze Of The Present". GreenEntrepreneur. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
- Hudson, Subrina. "Visionary Venture Capitalist Chris Hollod Steps Out On His Own". CSQ. Retrieved 1/19/18. Check date values in:
|accessdate=
(help) - "Inevitable Ventures". Crunchbase.
- Hudson, Subrina. "Visionary Venture Capitalist Chris Hollod Steps Out On His Own". CSQ. Retrieved 1/19/18. Check date values in:
|accessdate=
(help) - Small, Jonathan (2019-12-27). "What The Cryptocurrency Craze Of The Past Can Teach Us About The CBD Craze Of The Present". GreenEntrepreneur. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
- Selby, Monica. "32 Most Influential Investors of 2013 (Outside Silicon Valley)".
- Hudson, Subrina. "Visionary Venture Capitalist Chris Hollod Steps Out On His Own". CSQ. Retrieved 1/19/18. Check date values in:
|accessdate=
(help) - Griffith, Erin. "Meet the Uber Rich". fortune.com.
- "How I Made It: Billionaire's right-hand man Chris Hollod on becoming a big fish in a big pond". LA Times.
- Kahn, Howie (23 February 2016). "Investor D.A. Wallach Aims to Make an Impact".
- Ward, Tom. "The Influencer Marketing Trends That Are Coming In 2020". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
- Small, Jonathan (2019-12-27). "What The Cryptocurrency Craze Of The Past Can Teach Us About The CBD Craze Of The Present". GreenEntrepreneur. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
- Dave, Paresh (1 February 2016). "Venture capitalists increase scrutiny on start-up deals amid stock market anxiety". Los Angeles Times.
- "Startup Weekend Los Angeles". Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- Latif, Ray (2019-04-12). "Taste Radio Insider Ep. 29: Why This Two-Second Business Pitch Is So Powerful". Taste Radio. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
- Hollod, Chris (2020-03-03). "Why This Venture Capitalist Uses Instagram To Source New Business". CSQ | Magazine, Events, Community. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
- "Chris Hollod, Founder at Hollod Holdings". The Proof. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
- David, Mark (2019-10-09). "Lea Michele Lists Custom-Renovated Brentwood Home". DIRT. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
- "Prolific VC Chris Hollod talks angel investing, rejection and the deal that got away". Built In Los Angeles. Retrieved 2017-06-28.