E184: How Casper Hit $100M in Year One: The Untold Startup Playbook

Philip Krim is best known as the co-founder and former CEO of Casper, one of the fastest-growing direct-to-consumer (DTC) startups in history. Under his leadership, Casper hit $100M in revenue in its first year, went public in early 2020, and was later taken private. Today, Philip is building again—this time through Montauk Climate, a platform innovating in what he calls the “electron economy.” We talked about lessons from hypergrowth, managing through crisis, organizational design, and the future of climate investing. Highlights: How Casper hit $100M revenue in its first year Building a brand consumers want to talk about What it takes to lead through hypergrowth Lessons from taking a company public right before COVID Why he believes DTC was just the beginning of a bigger thesis What the “electron economy” means and why it matters Why Montauk Climate is vertically integrated across venture, credit, and incubation How Philip evaluates early-stage founders—and what makes a good bet Why portfolio construction is the most underrated concept in venture -- Guest Bio: Philip Krim is the founder of Montauk Climate and the former co-founder and CEO of Casper. Under his leadership, Casper became one of the most iconic DTC brands in the world, reaching $100M in revenue in its first year and going public in 2020. After exiting Casper, Philip launched Montauk Climate, a platform focused on building and investing in the “electron economy,” with a mix of venture incubation, growth investing, and credit strategies. He is also an active early-stage investor, with early bets in Ramp, MasterClass, and Relativity Space. Our Podcast now receives more than 300,000 downloads a month. Are you interested in sponsoring an episode? Please email David Weisburd at david@weisburdcapital.com . #VentureCapital #VC #Startups #OpenLP #AssetManagement -- Stay Connected: X / Twitter: David Weisburd: @dweisburd LinkedIn: David Weisburd: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dweisburd/ Philip Krim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-krim/ Links: Montauk Climate: https://www.montaukclimate.com/ -- Questions or topics you want us to discuss on How I Invest? Email us at david@weisburdcapital.com . (0:00) Episode preview (11:12) Hiring for new skills and functions (16:50) Organizational design for startups (19:42) Task structuring for scalability (20:56) Adapting core beliefs while maintaining credibility (22:21) Data-driven decisions versus gut instincts (23:02) Skills needed for founding a company (26:19) Venture vs. public investors' perspectives (31:09) Introduction to Montauk Climate and its strategy (34:47) Role of credit in energy transition (37:21) Electron economy and incubated companies (50:42) Investment approach for private allocators (53:08) Exploring the electron economy (54:35) Traits of successful early-stage founders (57:16) Predicting investment success challenges (59:35) Portfolio construction in venture capital (1:00:13) Closing remarks