ButcherBox CEO says VC pressure can push founders to ignore needed pivots
"So what they don't talk about is the, you know, the phone calls where um if you guys don't do what we say, you you probably going to be black ballalled. You'll probably won't be able to raise money again. you know, is a you're dealing with these powerful venture capitalists and um they can get in your head."
About this episode
ButcherBox CEO Mike Salguero tells Masters of Scale he bootstrapped the meat subscription business to roughly $600m in revenue, with a target of about $650m this year, after a bruising experience raising venture capital for his prior startup, CustomMade. Salguero describes CustomMade’s shift from a paid listing service to a fee-taking marketplace model, saying the custom nature of transactions made it difficult to keep buyers and makers on-platform. He argues that once venture money backed the marketplace thesis, pivoting became politically hard, and he recalls pressure from investors — including implied threats about being “black balled” — which he says contributed to him “los[ing]” his integrity as a founder.
After CustomMade’s 2015 closure and an employee transition to Wayfair, Salguero says he launched ButcherBox with minimal capital and validated demand via Kickstarter, aided by coincidental timing with a Consumer Reports cover story on grass-fed beef. He credits early customer research by a college intern for broadening the offering beyond beef, and says a curated box model reduced inventory complexity. Salguero claims he declined VC interest, built a positive cash conversion cycle, and later viewed Blue Apron’s post-IPO collapse as evidence he might not have survived on a venture-funded marketing “runway”.
He details a “box one profitable” acquisition rule and an influencer/affiliate strategy with ongoing payouts, while also discussing culture hires and a “barbell” mix of early-career grit and late-career experience. Salguero says ButcherBox pursued B Corp certification in 2020 and entered Target stores nationwide as part of its retail expansion.
Key takeaways
- Salguero says ButcherBox is a ~$600m revenue business, aiming for about $650m this year.
- He recounts raising around $30m for CustomMade and later concluding the marketplace model was not workable for highly customised transactions.
- Salguero alleges founders can face investor pressure, including implied threats about future fundraising, that can discourage pivots.
- He says ButcherBox validated demand via Kickstarter, raising $210,000 in 30 days after targeting $25,000.
- Salguero says ButcherBox refused VC funding and adopted a ‘box one’ profitability rule for marketing spend.
- He attributes early growth to influencer/affiliate marketing with recurring commissions, citing $5m then $35m then $100m revenue milestones.
- He says ButcherBox became B Corp certified in 2020 and expanded into Target to reach customers who still buy meat in-store.