Look, would you climb a 14,000 foot mountain without vetting your optimal route given current weather conditions or making sure you have the right supplies and physical training? Would you go on a 200 mile bike ride without planning your route, bringing spare tubes, and knowing how much food and
Although I caution against chasing unicorns, this is not meant to validate any brand's growth rate being in the single digits, YoY. This slow growth rate may be in line with the premium CPG sector overall, and it may be much faster than commodity brands
Unlike B2B sales or high-ticket (i.e.research-heavy) consumer categories like cars, everyday consumer brands do not have a real ‘consideration’ phase in the marketing funnel. At least one you can intervene in separately from awareness building. It’s not that there is no thought process or filtering of
Not everyone does. To break it down, we need to look at how various combinations of two variables play out, which combinations benefit from the precision of strategic planning, and where the precision lies. Two primary growth trajectories require intense strategic planning in-house: 1. Low growth and
Here’s something that costs nothing more to create and disseminate for a founder than for PepsiCo. A slogan. It shocks me how few founders take advantage of one of American culture’s big symbolic vehicles to create memorability. Begin with understanding your fans and developing a competitive thesis based
PGS Fans, here’s the outline for my Friday presentation on the New Rules for Scaling Consumer Brands. Think of it as the back-end, post-pandemic rules to take you forward in a permanently lower funding environment (than the 2010s). Seed money, seed money, seed money High product margin
You are hearing this first because PGS fans like you come to the blog every week. Whether you are an investor, founder, or marketing lead, my brand management courses are uniquely tailored to the analytical needs of early-stage brands. If you are growing fast, you must
The last thing a Phase 1 founder wants to hear is: ‘ you need to ramp up your paid marketing to build awareness.’ Why? There’s no money! Are you kidding? 90% of Phase 1 P&Ls return negative pennies per unit on a net profit basis (after all
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 down at this early point in the journey. And most entrepreneurs hate shutting down opportunities. They generally thrill on seizing
Beyond seed money taken from close family members, fundraising for startups needs to be massively rational, and mutually well-informed for all parties. Rich strangers who come in hot are the absolutely most dangerous people out there. There is no rational reason for a wealthy investor and