About Us: Early Stage Consumer Business Development

Located in Westchester County, New York, Brand Building Ventures, LLC is an early stage angel investing and consulting company.  We look for consumer goods or services companies that fulfill an unmet need in the market.  Given our expertise in consumer marketing, we look for opportunities where a unique product point of difference can be levereaged.  We can help via investment, fund raising, Board participation, or active management/consulting.

Professionals

Parker Gilbert started Brand Building Ventures, LLC in 2004 with the hope of aiding early stage consumer goods companies realize their growth potential.  Mr. Gilbert has  thirteen years of classic consumer goods marketing experience across a range of product categories.  Prior to starting Brand Building Ventures, he was Vice President of Marketing on Banana Boat Suncare at Playtex Products, Inc. He has extensive experience in brand positioning, strategic planning, sales, operations, promotion, market research, and advertising. Mr. Gilbert has a long history of top and bottom line growth, margin enhancement and managerial success.  He has received two sales awards and an Effie award for outstanding advertising.  His experience spans OTC health care products, medical devices, frozen food, household  cleaners, skin care, and more.

Prior to Playtex, Mr. Gilbert held marketing positions at Pepperidge Farm and Wyeth.  He received his MBA in marketing from the Stern School of Business at NYU and an undergraduate degree in history from Middlebury College in Vermont.

Mr. Gilbert was formerly on the Board of Directors of Liquidsky, the New York Angels and Recognia. He is currently an advisor to Transcend Robotics.

Investment Criteria:

Stage of Investment:  Early stage with proof of concept – must have current sales of at least $500,000.

Market Environment: Identified market with adequate size and growth potential – category must have $500 million potential.  Market must have well defined distribution network.

Product: Clear Target Audience.  Meets unmet consumer need.  Changes paradigm of market. Ownable and defensible point of difference.  Does not require significant consumer behavior change.

Business model: Scalable. Clearly defined distribution plan.  Feasible operational plan.  Identification of key success criteria and key personnel needs.

Management Criteria:  Past experience in sector.  Well thought out plan and strategy. Serial entrepreneur a plus. Passion for business and prospects. Alignment with exit strategy

Expected Return:  40% ROI in 5 years

Contact Us:

Send Business Plans/Executive summaries to: businessplan@brandbuildingventures.com

We will respond to submissions with initial thoughts within one week.

Please note that we are doing very limited investing at this time.
Parker Gilbert
Managing Partner
Brand Building Ventures, LLC
914-234-4664
pgilbert@brandbuildingventures.com