Caroline WoodsJoining me now Rogers Healy, Founder and CEO, Morrison Seger Venture Capital Partners. Rogers, great to have you on. Thanks so much for joining us.

Rogers HealyThanks for having me. Happy Monday.

Caroline WoodsHappy Monday. So Rogers, I guess if you take a look at the market, though not necessarily happy, we had that strong week last week. Stocks seem to be kicking off the month of December. On a downbeat note, I’m curious, what’s your take on the market’s latest action? How are you approaching it as an investor?

Rogers HealyYeah, I should have said Happy Monday, right? I was too jovial when I said it. But you know this happens, right? We come off a high, we come off the Thanksgiving week. We come off, you know, Black Friday. And all of a sudden Cyber Monday hits and we see, you know, reality kind of start to kick in. And this is pretty normal right.

We look at the markets all day just like you do. And a lot of what I do is raise money. You know for consumer brands. And that’s usually a pretty tough vertical to raise money for. And when the markets are not performing well, people aren’t, you know, investing in the alternative market. So you know it’s kind of expected we’re seeing bitcoin take a dive.

We’re seeing, you know the Magnificent Seven. Those things are actually starting to come down a little bit too. But you know this is the fun of the roller coaster of the public equity market that we’ve seen really since day one.

Caroline WoodsYou know you mentioned crypto. I’m curious how you’re looking at the selloff that we’re seeing in Bitcoin, specifically trading around what, 85,000, more than 30% off the October highs. What does the the risk off mentality there tell you about the broader market.

Rogers HealyYou know I think that I still don’t frankly understand crypto. I’m not personally invested in crypto. I’ve never purchased anything with crypto. You know I understand that it’s you know, it’s here to stay. But I look at I’m looking right now. You know, it’s down almost 7% for the day. And those are some really, really big numbers. But we also got to remember that only two and a half three years ago crypto or bitcoin was that, you know, I think less than 15 or $20,000.

So there’s enough people driving these markets that we’re going to continue to see, you know, the relative volatility. But it’s December and this is usually a slower time of year across the board. And I think that we’re seeing that, you know, people are starting to speak a little bit. But reality is starting to catch up. And the cost of living across the board has gone up.

The cost of food has gone up, the cost of gas has gone up again. And so, you know, I think people are probably starting to sell off a little bit because most likely they have pretty significant wins in their account.

Caroline WoodsAnd really yet the S&P 500 is still only 1% away from all time highs. So yeah. What do you make of that discrepancy. Because that the picture that you’re kind of painting doesn’t seem all that great. And yet we have a market that continues to really power ahead, even despite, you know, maybe a rough November.

Rogers HealyNow, look, I’m a very positive guy and I’m a positive investor. And I think that, you know, when you raise money for a living, you have to make sure to find, you know, the bright spot and everything. But, you know, it’s been 8 or 9 months. I’ve just been like, oh my gosh, another record day, another record day.

Should I go and sell out my portfolio now and put it into something that’s a little bit more stable? But you know, it just continues. And I think that even if the, you know, the volatility in the shakiness lasts for another 1 or 2 weeks, we’re still riding an incredible year. Right. And I’m hoping that next year is the year that we see significant M&A activity.

Right. I’d love to make some money myself. You know, and a lot of these deals are privately held and you’re starting to see these IPOs that we’re going to that are backlogged. There’s so many companies that are ready to IPO. And we thought this was the year. So hopefully next year you know especially early Q1 we start to see some, you know some some real positivity in the market which again will probably go and spur another really great bull run, which you know, who knows what’s going to happen.

Caroline WoodsAll right. So bring us up to speed on what’s actually happening. And your neck of the woods when it comes to raising capital and really just kind of the timing of it all. What’s investor sentiment like right there right now?

Rogers HealyYou know, I think it depends on the deal. Most of what we raise money for, I’m based in Dallas and we do deals all over, like we run a deal called pass water and one called sand. So we’re in a pearl stamp company. And I think that, you know, it’s very a la carte, which takes a certain personality to do that.

But, you know, we’re seeing people that historically would go and write a check and kind of take a flier and ride it out, ask some questions. Right. We live in a very educated society, and people have access to this stuff that they didn’t have access to. A few years ago. But, you know, it’s it’s different. There’s a certain type of investor that really prefers private equity deals versus public right.

They they like making sure their money is at work. But the difference between what I do and what a stockbroker does is that with our deals, I get to get involved. And I think that’s actually part of the fun. And it’s stuff that, you know, I like doing. I was an active investor before I went on my own.

But yeah, the public markets can really help what I do, or they can make it really challenging. And, you know, the last 7 or 8 days have been unique. But there’s always money out there and there’s always people that want to go and, you know, have a different experience with their with their capital as well.

Caroline WoodsYou talk about next year as hopefully being the year that we see more M&A, more IPOs. We haven’t seen quite a quite a thawing at least in that market. So would private equity do better at the expense of the stock market would you say or can they both do well in 2026? What’s your outlook.

Rogers HealyYou know honest to God I don’t. If I had a crystal ball, you know I would invest in crystal ball. So that’s the greatest investment you can have. Yeah, I think it’s all going to help each other, you know. And my background is real estate like we’ve talked about before. And the real estate market continues to perform incredibly well.

And that’s simply because of supply and demand. So look, if if the public markets continue to perform well it’s going to help everybody. Right? Except for maybe interest rates, which is a separate conversation. But interest rates went down a couple of weeks ago as well. So, you know, I don’t think it’s a matter of when is the sky going to fall or when is the music going to stop?

I just think that stuff is eventually going to level off, and maybe that’s what’s happening. But again, we’re still at historic highs. You said a minute ago we’re we’re we’re this far away from having the best performing stock market ever again. And these are conversations we’ve had for 18 months. So, you know, I think there’s definitely some people that are a little bit skittish.

You know, the AI stuff is is crazy. Is it a boom? Is it going to bust? Who knows. But, you know, something is starting to slow down. And I think it obviously starts with the public markets.

Caroline WoodsOkay. So let’s bring it back to the public markets being this close to those all time highs, I’m curious about what’s on Roger’s heels. Roger’s heels, shopping list. As you head into year end in 2026.

Rogers HealyWell, my oldest daughter wants a monster truck for Christmas, so that’s on my shopping list. And a train on a train set. But, you know, the stuff that I invest in, the stuff that my my wife and I invest in the public markets, it’s the stuff that’s kind of the no brainer stuff. It’s the household names. It’s the stuff that, you know, there might be a little bit of a change on a daily basis, but it’s probably not going to bust.

It’s probably not going to change your life, but it’s safe, right? You know that the stuff that I invest my personal money in with a little bit larger checks, it’s the more volatile stuff that, you know, it could be a unicorn or it could be a zero. So, you know, I think we’re going to see this. But what’s fun about what’s what’s got hopefully happening next year, we’re going to see some of these household brands that are maybe celebrity back that are going to IPO.

And I think that’s going to bring a whole different audience of investors to the market. I was an early investor in liquid death, and I think liquid death hopefully could be something that brings a different audience of investors out there. And I think that’s what’s really needed is instead of just the fancy people suit and tie stocks, let’s get the everyday household brands that people use and are loyal to already.

Caroline WoodsOkay, so just break it down a bit more for us about what you mean by household brands, because my head goes to staples and you mentioned water, although liquid death maybe not necessarily considered a staple, but household brands could also be Apple iPhones, you know, Roku, those type of stock. So what do you mean by household brands.

Rogers HealySo we invest in products. We’re an investor in Waterloo. We’re an investor in Sansa. We invest in stuff that you’re probably not going to question purchasing even if the public markets or the economy takes a massive, massive adjustment. And I think that when you see, you know, again, Kim Kardashian, like her lover, everyone knows her name and she’s the founder of Skims.

And Skims has been slated to go public for a while. It still hasn’t happened. Jennifer Garner, very well respected actress, is the founder of Once Upon a Farm, which we all saw last week that their IPO got delayed until 2026. So I think stuff like that, you know, the stuff that’s a true consumer good, a true consumer product.

I have two iPhones sitting right here that are charging while we’re on TV, which obviously everyone knows Apple. But I think the stuff that, you know, maybe is a little bit more on an everyday basis that you throw away, you know, or maybe you don’t, you know, if it’s clothes, I think that stuff is needed. And I think that’s going to bring a whole different audience.

Look what Shark Tank did to private equity. Everyone knows about Shark Tank, right? Everyone knows about how to go and value a company. If you’ve seen more than two episodes. And I think that to see some of those brands, whether they’re on Shark Tank or not, actually be in the public markets, that helps our economy. That also makes our, our, our society more educated.

Caroline WoodsI’m curious, bringing it back to liquid death for a second, because it is a pretty expensive water with great branding. I as an early investor there, as you look at the current consumer, that is definitely much more choice fall in their spending. Is this a consumer that that will continue to buy water that’s more expensive than some of the others?

Rogers HealySure, I’ll talk about. So my favorite water is path water. We’re early investors and Path water. It’s a great founder and similar story of liquid death. Right. It’s it’s water. At the end of the day, there’s not going to be water that is proprietary. It’s a matter of where you source it, how you filter it, and how you tell the story and path.

Water, just like liquid death has told an incredible story. But to go and buy something like this, it’s a better for you product. It’s better for the world. It’s 100% recyclable. That’s something that people will pay a premium for. But it’s still under three and a half or $4. So whether you’re buying it at the American Airlines Center at a mavericks game, you’re customizing a Morris and Seager one, or you’re buying at the airport.

It’s water and people need that kind of stuff, and they’re very brand loyal. And we’ve seen this over the past few years, like to a degree that no one could have predicted. A celebrity that backs a product has an incredible following already. And if it’s the right celebrity and it’s paired with Sansa, we have Chrissy Teigen as one of our celebrity spokespeople and investors.

And because of that, they’ve acquired an incredible, incredible audience for next to nothing. So I think people are willing to pay a premium. But to be a hypocrite on that end, that means their spending is at an all time high, right? So debt is at an all time high. Credit card debt is at an all time high, right?

The average first time homebuyer is now 40 years old, which a few years ago it used to be 34 years old. And it’s in large part because they’re so brand loyal to companies like Liquid Death and Path one. So, you know, people are moving to neighborhoods they historically want to move to because they want to continue their their spending habits.

But, you know, the American dream continues to shift.

Caroline WoodsOkay. All right. And just finally, because we’ve talked about where you’re putting money to work, both from a business standpoint and from a personal standpoint, bringing it back to crypto, at what point do you say, okay, Bitcoin down 30% from the highs actually looks attractive. What’s the what’s the number where you get in.

Rogers HealyOh man. So yeah I’m a deal guy by trade right I think that in real estate I learned early on that you make your money on the purchase. And you know, I watched the TV all day like everyone else. And you’re like, oh man, Bitcoin is down like 6 or 7%, right? Does it get to 50,000 bucks. Does it get to 20,000.

Is a get to 80,000? I don’t know. But, you know, eventually I’ll probably do something. I’ve got friends that got in really early on, and they’re really proud to tell you that they got in when Bitcoin was 5000 bucks. Right. But it just goes back to, you know, the logical side of it. I’ve never seen anybody purchase something with Bitcoin.

And maybe I need to just get over that because you know it is a it’s a real currency. And we’ve got a president that supports you know you know, crypto and bitcoin and all that stuff. But I think at the end of the day, it’s probably because I’m bitter that I didn’t buy it 3 or 4 years ago.

Rogers HealyDo everything there.

Caroline WoodsIs, is is it a currency or is it really a store of value?

Rogers HealyI don’t even know. Right. Like, I don’t know. I can talk to you all day long about path water or about sands or about clothing. I don’t know, you know, and I think that that’s kind of the common thing with a lot of people that even have Bitcoin. It’s like, what is it? Wow. Look, it’s like you don’t know either, right?

Like, what are you going to fuck with it? So you know, the world is not slowing down. It’s only speeding up. And I’ve learned kind of the hard way not to. You know, you can’t avoid change. You got to embrace it. You’ve got to learn it. But it doesn’t have to change who you are. But Bitcoin is, you know, it’s it’s here.

But yeah, the answer your question. Maybe if it gets to 50 grand, I’ll buy some.

Caroline WoodsAll right. Come back and tell us if you do. Rogers Healy, Founder and CEO, Morrison Seger Venture Capital Partners. Thank you so much. Really appreciate your insights.