The CQ | Fay's $50M Series B
Plus the Forerunner Team's Must-Reads of the Week
The CQ is Forerunner’s weekly newsletter rounding up the most pressing consumer news and analysis, plus some bonus musings from our investment team. Subscribe now to get the latest edition in your inbox every weekend.
This week we’re celebrating Fay, the business-in-a-box platform enabling dietitians to run their practices more efficiently and effectively, including through insurance, to scale nutrition care for the countless Americans who need it. In just a few short years since launching, Fay has raised $75M, including their recently announced $50M series B. The company’s breakout growth is demonstrating the enormous, uncapped demand that we have long known exists for consumers to take hold of their nutrition — and the team’s remarkable execution has enabled them to quickly break out as the category leader.
Share Fay with those in your life who you think would find it interesting, and for more on our initial investment in Fay, see here.
What We’re Talking About This Week:
Americans kiss job hopping goodbye. Fewer workers are quitting their jobs due to fewer opportunities for better roles. In 2024, Americans quit 39.6 million jobs, an 11% decrease from the previous year and 22% down from 2022. There are now just 1.1 job openings per unemployed worker, compared to 2 in 2022—making it harder for workers to find new positions. The hiring rate has also slowed, falling from 4.4% in 2021 to 3.5% in 2024. “What happens next depends on how well companies can keep a lid on costs without turning to layoffs—which have stayed at a low level after spiking early in the pandemic.”
The U.S. economy is racing ahead. Almost everything else is falling behind, says the New York Times. A new report on American well-being compared U.S. performance since the 1990s on 37 metrics—economics, physical health, mental health, social trust, and more—to dozens of other countries. While the U.S. economy is the world’s second-largest economy (behind China) and has grown faster than every other high-income economy over the past few decades, it hasn't led to improved living standards for most Americans: We have the lowest life expectancy of any developed country, the lowest rates of trust in the federal government, and among the highest rates of youth depression and single-parent families. As for why, several of the report’s authors point to the country prioritizing economic growth above health and happiness, its weak bonds of community, faith, and family, and the wide financial inequality gaps as a few factors. “We are the richest country in the world, but we chronically fail to offer broad-based economic prosperity and security.”
Related: The Mood of the American Consumer is Souring, according to WSJ. Consumer sentiment fell about 5% in a recent survey of consumers — its lowest reading since July 2024. Expectations of inflation in the year ahead made a rare full-point jump, from 3.3% in January to 4.3% — the highest reading since November 2023. “You don’t know if you will be financially stable, or whether the rug is about to be pulled out from under you.”
No one knows how to price AI. In the last two years, vendors have typically charged monthly fees per user, similar to how software is priced. However, due to the significant power required for AI, they have had to set prices that may seem steep in order to cover the service's delivery costs. Now companies are experimenting with new pricing models. For example, Google reduced its Workspace plan to $14 per user per month, while Microsoft introduced consumption-based pricing for its Copilot Chat tool, charging a few cents per use. Says Nationwide Chief Technology Officer: “If they aren’t fair and equitable in how they price those tools and transactions, they’re actually going to incent me to build my own capability over buying theirs. And so my biggest concern is in this rush to AI, that they price themselves out of the enterprise. It’s still the wild west.”
Ozempic may protect against Alzheimer’s disease. Although the evidence is not yet conclusive and researchers are still unclear as to how weight-loss drugs help, the research is promising. One study found those on semaglutide were 40–70% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s over three years compared to those on other diabetes drugs. Another study showed a roughly 10% reduction in dementia risk for those using these drugs. Clinical trials are also exploring whether these medications can slow cognitive decline in those already diagnosed.
What’s behind the decline in dating and relationships? The Atlantic chalks it up to America’s ‘marriage material’ shortage, mostly due to the increase of young men falling behind economically. The average inflation-adjusted earnings at age 45 for single non-college-educated men have dropped by nearly 25% in the past 50 years, even though earnings for the country as a whole have doubled. And in the last 40 years, relationships have declined more than twice as fast among Americans without a college degree, compared with college graduates. “Women have historically relied on men to act as insurance policies—against the threat of violence, the risk of poverty. To some, this might sound like an old-fashioned, even reactionary, description of marriage, but its logic still applies. Men’s odds of being in a relationship today are still highly correlated with their income. Women do not typically invest in long-term relationships with men who have nothing to contribute economically.”
Now in college, Luddite teens still don’t want your likes. Three years ago, a group of Brooklyn high schoolers started the Luddite Club, trading their smartphones and social media for human connection. As they transitioned into college, many have faced challenges in maintaining their ideals due to the increasing necessity of technology for daily life—everything from two-factor identification logins and dating apps to late-night Uber pick-ups for safety’s sake. Most have remained steadfast in their mission, though some have compromised by using smartphones only when needed, and only one has fully returned to technology. The club has become more organized these days, with a website, a print newsletter, and expanding membership, including branches in several cities, plus it’s becoming a registered nonprofit organization. As one founding member put it, “Many of us have decided we don’t want to be in bed, doom-scrolling and rotting our lives away. Youth is being wasted on those of us who are constantly on our phones. We’re only young once.”
Portfolio Highlights:
Axios announces Oura’s partnership with webAI, which will enable OURA to run AI models on the edge to improve privacy and personalization.
Business Insider reports on Fay’s recently raised $50 million Series B.
ModernRetail covers the launch of Faire’s Promoted Listings, a wholesale advertising tool, with quotes from Max Rhodes, co-founder and CEO of Faire.
Away’s new “White Lotus” luggage collection is covered by Variety, House Beautiful, and WWD.
Faire offers its 2025 trend forecast to WWD.
Forerunner Highlights:
Kirsten Green was interviewed in The Generalist, for the column Letters to a Young Investor, where she reflects on her non-traditional start in venture.
Job of the Week:
Director of Brand and Creative at Sunday, the modern approach to lawn care.
There are other ~625 jobs currently available at portfolio companies, check ‘em out.