We recently connected with Denise Lambertson and have shared our conversation below.

Denise, appreciate you joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

Launching Constellation Capital was an idea that I didn’t know I had. I had spent about a year articulating a roadblock at my marketing agency, LMS. The problem at LMS was that the culture was shifting from celebrity marketing partnerships with startups for an equity stake to celebrities funding startups with capital. The reason that was a challenge for LMS was that I didn’t know how to structure remuneration for the services I was being asked to provide. After moaning about this for about a year, I had a friend and mentor suggest that launching a venture capital fund would be a good solution. We were having lunch at The Standard in the meatpacking district and he was almost flippant in how he suggested it. Kind of like, “of course you should start a venture fund and invest in businesses where you are bringing value”. It was a magic moment. It was so clear and so exciting. I was immediately empowered and ecstatic. I spent the rest of the day buzzing with excitement.

The next morning, it was like waking up with a hangover. The imposter syndrome and the fear kicked in. “How do you start a venture fund?”. How much does it cost? What kind of lawyer? What does the paperwork look like? All of the questions about “the how” started to set in.

I have a personal motto called “Say it first”. What that means is walk into a room and say all the reasons why I am not qualified or why something won’t work before anyone else has the chance to ask you about it. Basically, start conversations from a place of vulnerability with a helping of earnest curiosity.

So that is how I executed the launch of the fund. I reached out to my network and started taking people to lunch, taking phone calls, doing favors so I could ask for a favor in return, and really putting myself out there. I spent 8 months sitting down with people I respected and saying “I want to launch a venture fund but I have no traditional experience, I have no job training and I have no idea where to start. I am not sure who is going to give me money and I don’t even know how to ask for it. That said, I am sitting on a monstrous opportunity that feels crazy not to explore. What do you think?”

From these conversations I got incredible advice. It also activated the network effect as lunch meetings and catch up calls became introductions and referrals. I was able to pull together an execution checklist that became a launch plan.

Denise, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grow consumer goods companies by connecting them to high profile people, influential capital and to a strategic community. I own a marketing agency called LMS and a venture fund called Constellation Capital.

Before I had an agency or a fund, I have always found joy and purpose in connecting people to each other. Whether it is introducing a couple who end up getting married, or an employee to a boss, or a niche expert to an overwhelmed entrepreneur. I can’t help myself. I want to pull people together for a magical bond.

I started my career in the music business with the expectation that I would be in that industry for the duration. I found myself drawn to the brand partnerships side more than the music business. After 6 years of trying really hard to love the path I was on, I ultimately decided that it wasn’t for me. I left music and entertainment to begin a career in marketing. I freelanced for a few years and found that my passion to create connections between brands and high profile people (celebrities and athletes) was a capability that the business world wanted. The relationships I built when I was in the music industry ended up being very valuable skills. I basically outgrew freelancing when I had too much demand. I put up a website and got some business cards printed and just started to say that I was an agency.

Regrettably, there was no business plan, no strategy, no structure.

I found a niche in startup and growth stage consumer product brands. These companies were trying to disrupt legacy brands, but they didn’t have the budgets to compete. As consumer culture was shifting, my agency had found a loophole in traditional marketing. Consumers trust real people more than they trust companies.

Celebrities, athletes, Influencers and customers are exceptional brand amplifiers and advocates, when they are organized and activated the right way. However, the partnerships are complicated to successfully execute, that success is difficult to replicate because the social and digital landscape is constantly changing.

Another challenge facing startup consumer product companies is raising and activating strategic capital to fund growth. I launched Constellation Capital to supplement the services offered by LMS, so that we could incubate brands with strategic capital as well as services.

I am very proud of the ecosystem we have built between LMS and Constellation Capital. Without any traditional experience with a professional service firm or a venture capital fund, I have built two companies that drive true value for a very special community of businesses. Because I lacked experience or knowledge of “the right way”, we have done something truly unique.

I have worked very hard to be the kind of leader to my team that I would want to follow. There were many years where I didn’t do it well, where I struggled to understand my team, where I was succeeding at connecting with clients, celebrities and investors, but couldn’t connect with my employees. I am most proud of the work that I have done to overcome that disconnect.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would become a venture capitalist. At the same time, I could not imagine a more perfect intersection of my interests, skills and purpose.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I have never taken funding for my marketing agency. LMS has always run on revenue. I know how powerful and impactful funding can be for product businesses. As an investor through Constellation Capital, funding product businesses is a very important strategy to growth. And while many professional services businesses use funding for scaling to sell, I have never wanted to worry or focus on selling the agency. I really wanted to focus on helping out clients scale and exit.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I can summarize how I have built my reputation by quoting Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements, “Be Impeccable with Your Word”. I try to only commit to what I can accomplish, and then execute what I have committed to. I earnestly attempt to walk the line between being transparent about the risk and realities of our services, yet continually fostering an optimistic outlook on potential outcomes. If I don’t think that I can deliver value, I won’t engage. Reputation is about consistency, performance and ethics. If you include the word “honesty”, then it’s the definition of “integrity”. I am ever-mindful of the profound connection between these attributions.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wearelms.com/home
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lmstheagency/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/hold4denise/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deniselambertson?challengeId=AQEKgEjv4PHpggAAAYpGm3iXFTwumiTxKFf7G5YpCLCruHBvaJUV3J4Igar5F8KdGj2iLUpMaVKLEwBaGX7Bn1J92-7OtWTlQQ&submissionId=77b379b6-e12b-8017-d37a-788c76cbaf7a&challengeSource=AgH3xUvUaqCxtwAAAYpGm6MKP-Za7_-5VWpgOLOByA3bnxbSgYmCmoFa06Hy84I&challegeType=AgGuuDqr5yoLEwAAAYpGm6MNR9edd4eWGC-xhBLe-w2d3rSfEmjKOB4&memberId=AgHiiW4lieS0aQAAAYpGm6MQXqdNfGWF4yszRMthk3H8Szw&recognizeDevice=AgHxnrosnQxrcgAAAYpGm6MTokuEmWV9QY43WRP5xjwKoPrqvJ6t

Image Credits
LMS Agency