Some people are born entrepreneurs who think only about entrepreneurship from the start of their career and never look beyond it. They have a single-track mind and passionately pursue their entrepreneurial goals to realize their vision by nurturing various business ideas and trying to shape some of these. But all entrepreneurs do not start their journey in the same way. Another group of entrepreneurs start their professional careers in some field and later take up entrepreneurship at some later stage in their lives. Nick Brown, the Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Imaginary Ventures, a venture capital firm concentrating on product, consumer, and retail sectors, belongs to the second category.
The Initial years of Nick Brown
After spending some years as a financial analyst, Nick soon after graduating from Harvard and gained some exposure and experience about the nuances of financing for various types of businesses. He quickly picked up the finer points of the trade that helped in professional advancement. As he started maturing in his career, he tried to identify the financing aspects that excited him and soon discovered that he felt an intense desire to exploit the creative elements of finance. Doing the routine work, day in and day out was not his cup of tea. He could feel inside him a deep urge to start doing something on his own that could help him realize his creative dreams in the financing business. He could do more creative things as a finance professional and shape his innovative ideas in consumer product deals. He wanted to play an active role in the broader shifts in eCommerce and retail space.
Triggering the Entrepreneurial Spirit
Although Nick had never thought about being an entrepreneur during his college days, he had the seeds of entrepreneurship sown in him from an early age. His father was into a regular job for many years and later moved over to become an entrepreneur in later life. Nick watched the transformation from close quarters and understood the risks and rewards of starting a business that excited him. Unknowingly, the spirit of entrepreneurship prevailed upon him and later became a theme of his life. The experience that Nick gathered by watching his father made him believe in the power of entrepreneurship and instilled in him the understanding that building a business from the ground is an instinct.
The Shift Begins – Making the First Move
Brown realized that he needed to move in the right direction to pave the way for realizing his entrepreneurial dreams. He switched over his job in search of an opportunity that allowed a more hands-on role in most of the changes across consumer industries. He wanted to operate within an innovative environment and be part of the changing financial landscape in the consumer and retail sector.
It was the preparatory stage in Brown’s career before starting his entrepreneurial journey. He joined a firm 14W and played an integral role in identifying and supporting the brands and founders who are the change provocateurs in introducing direct-to-consumer models. Brown led from the front in financing projects for various brands like Moda Operandi, Outdoor Voices, The RealReal, and Goop. In the process, Brown gained a profound understanding of the trade tricks that helped brands taste success in a fast-evolving consume world with a vision for tomorrow.
The Dream Becomes a Reality
Brown’s tenure with 14W made him confident of making the next move to start a business of his own. His meeting with Natalie Massenet in 2017 was a defining moment in his career. Natalie Massenet was a pioneer in eCommerce who launched Net A Porter in 2000 in the luxury retail industry segment. Recognizing her unique ability to think about future retail trends and her expertise in team building, Brown seized the opportunity of partnering with her in the shell of a capital venture firm that Natalie had started. Nick was eager to blend his expertise as an early-stage investor in consumer companies with her experience as an operator who built a billion-dollar enterprise from scratch.
The fruitful two-year partnership of Nick Brown and Natalie Massenet culminated in the birth of Imaginary Ventures that support the brands and visionaries redefining the consumer world.
