The PGS Blog

The Math Behind Pivoting Well

Pivoting has and will continue to be about selecting 3-6 hero UPCs amidst your current mix and pivoting the strategy for growth to those UPCs. The investments will all head toward supporting these hero UPCs. A managed removal of the others becomes something you can

Tap the Doctor Sessions Are Now Open

Several times a month, someone slides into my DM box on LinkedIn, hoping to grab some time with me. Most are polite about it. A minority is unbelievably entitled.  I do reject all these requests through my assistant who triages my inboxes.  Last Spring, I experimented with

The Low Trust Founder May Hit a Wall

One of the most terrifying realizations founders have at some point in the early years is how little they know about the more advanced aspects of scaling consumer brands. It could be a volley of SPINS jargon thrown at them. Or a broker’s counter-intuitive suggestion about which

Top Three Traits of Killer Founders

“James provides insightful guidance to those who are working hard to start and scale their businesses.” The following is a brief excerpt from Episode 100 of Startup Confidential! I didn’t think I’d make it to this milestone, honestly, at twice per month. Thanks for listening in. "1)

Pivot to the Right Products to Get in the Black Faster

Most early-stage food companies lose money. Anywhere from 10-50% every year. Much of this comes down to low product gross margins getting chewed up by fixed operating costs and various onboarding fees at retailers. Getting to a scale that lowers absolute COGS still remains the primary way

1-Page. It’s All You Need. Planners Win This Game.

I launched my current business in 2017 with a series of LinkedIn videos, including why you need a strategic plan. Keeping you and your team accountable is the most important reason to write a straightforward plan consisting of three things: your revenue targets for 2-3 years max your

What is this Riding the Ramp Training Thing?

I’ll explain. But before I do, there are less than 10 spots available for January's Q1 cohort. So, you may want to grab one now.  OK. For the rest of you reading this, this is my best explanation of why it matters for CPG founders new

Why Venture Capital Has Left Food And Will Not Return

There were three institutional rounds with food companies making less than $10M in 2023 (based on my sources): A Dozen Cousins, Belliwelli, and Hero Bread. All three have strong topline and brand health DNA. And, if true, this will be the primary reason moving forward

The Problem with American Marketers

There’s a fundamental obsession with control and aggression in American marketing. Nothing epitomizes this better than the obsession with celebrity influencers and influencers standing in for persuasive messaging from a place of humility.  Celebrity-driven growth does happen, but it rarely attracts American marketers because it promises

DTC Is Rarely A Good Scale Platform in CPG

The big financial problem for DTC is that this channel is very slow to reach lower cost-to-service rates per unit, due to your initial reliance on dropshippers, much slower than your freight costs decline with Kehe or McLane. As a small company, shipping five boxes