Part 1 When early-stage businesses struggle in the premium end of consumer-packaged-goods, a shocking number of founders and operators leap to the conclusion that they need a "brand refresh" or a "re-brand." Look, branding agencies are numerous, and they network heavily at Expo West. They sponsor
I write a lot about velocity. Yet, there are at least ten different metrics you can use to track it. Each metric addresses specific business questions. The simplest velocity metric for early-stage founders is $/%ACV. It is a simple measure of store velocity weighted to store
Occasionally, a nervous founder DMs me about whether or not they should take a mass retailer's offer to send them nationally (while they're in Phase 1). This is really early and lucky. Too many variables exist to generate a quick, pat answer to any Phase 1
In talking with B-school professors and founders, I realized that my courses hit a gap in DIY founder training. The gap is in professional brand management with an early-stage twist. Once you get into Phase 2, this is when these skills will give you an
The number one hidden reason why consumer brands seek out large early rounds of external funding is that they have brutally low product gross margin (i.e., before calculating trade expenses). A business with only a 30% initial gross margin off of its wholesale price simply
Go deeper than my book and learn how to build your own 1-page strategic plan for exponential growth. There are less than 10 spots available for the Oct Q4 cohort meeting this Friday. So, you may want to grab one now. My book does not coach you
Put simply; it's about the nature of averages. Even today, the problem is always in chain store systems with huge, store-level variations in demand for premium brands. A consumer brand’s sales in any chain will vary in U/S/W based simply on variations in-store traffic. But chain
I’ve written and spoken before about the false positive growth that Year-Over-Year (YOY) comparisons can yield busy founders who digest canned analytics from major syndicated providers. These often appear in default datasets, even SPINS PowerTabs. You’ll notice them set up in 52-week, 26-week, 13-week, and 4-week
I have met founders who seem terrified of planning. This is often in the beginning, in Phases 1 or 2. The business is all upside at this early point in the journey. And most entrepreneurs hate shutting down opportunities. They generally thrill on seizing them,
Folks who are new to planning, even 1-page strategic plans, often just don’t start. Why? Well, there’s a defeatist fog that overcomes them. If the plan tells me what to do, what if circumstances change? Then, it’s worthless, and I have to start all over? Hmmm