Startup Confidential

Send us Fan Mail Don’t confuse anything I’m about to talk about with Marketing Mix Analytics, an old BigCo statistical machine designed to distinguish which of 15 marketing buckets had the most influence on sales growth in the past year. Just mentioning the topic makes me want to rage at the naivete with which people purchase its promises. Separate video required.  Your Host: Dr. James F. Richards...

Send us Fan Mail A humorous exploration of my favorite analogy for the experience of growing a consumer brand, whether or not you make it onto the Skate Ramp. It's harsh out there.  Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com Please send feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowthsolutions.com

Send us Fan Mail Consider the unconventional org move as a scrappy founder. This episode briefly explains the mistake many high-growth founders make once they can hire a recruiting firm. Private equity has twisted much of the hiring ecosystem to suit itself, not you. Have a listen and LMK if you agree in the comments! Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumg...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is part 2 of my interview with Michelle Razavi of Elavi protein brownies, where we delve deeper into the psychology of consumers who love her products AND the psychology of highly successful founders. The most important point she makes is the power of effective storytelling about your business to all manner of stakeholders, including the end consumer.  Check out Miche...

Send us Fan Mail Elavi is the second brand in my Rising Stars Series. Michelle Razavi, Founder and CEO of Elavi Protein Brownies, joins for this two-part series. She tells the story of how she repeatedly adjusted their product mix to make their mission of clean, allergen-free protein take off. She had to kill off the original product line to keep focused on what was growing, which is never easy fo...

Send us Fan Mail In the final chapter of Ramping Your Brand, I walk readers through the crucial transformation every new founder must go through - Operator to Strategist to Leader. In some cases, this has happened in a matter of years, or the culture will probably break, bogging everyone down in slow or chaotic decisions. This episode explains the personal traits founders need to cultivate in orde...

Send us Fan Mail The most efficient Skate Ramp brands earn large amounts of money in small geographies. In this episode I explain how to measure this and why it’s so important to set such a high standard for an undercapitalized business early on. You have to listen to learn the benchmark. This is contained in my book, deliberately. Sort of.  Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Sol...

Send us Fan Mail If your brand does not Ride the Ramp, it most likely attained nine-figure scale by stair-stepping its way upwards. Distribution gains with sustained, not growing velocity. In this episode, I explore what causes this and why you should get off the staircase as soon as possible if you want to sustain growth. Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.pre...

Send us Fan Mail Marketers obsess with platform metrics, because these are the numbers they can tactically control the most. However, buried in every CPG product’s design are hidden sensory variables that work with or work against the efficiency of marketing. Let me explain in this episode. Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com Please se...

Send us Fan Mail Megatrends are ones that grow for decades in a steady linear fashion regardless of hype cycles that occur within that time span. They often start decades before the industry leaders pile on. In this episode, I call the not-surprising next trend, the one that has been building for decades quietly as Americans become more educated about the hidden problem in the traditional foodways...

Send us Fan Mail The survival rate of brands at $1 is brutal enough. And at $10M, even more hit a wall or die. But the real problem that survivors face as they scale into eigth figures is stagnation. The grand delusion is that adding more and more retail accounts will keep the brand growing. But this is an illusion whose fragility exposes itself once deceleration begins and doesn’t reverse with ne...

Send us Fan Mail The majority of early-stage brands chase investors way too late and with a mindset of moderate-to-extreme desperation. Investors can smell it, and you attract the worst actors, who, themselves, do not have the track record to develop a deal flow pipeline properly. As investors get pickier than ever, you need to court them for longer than ever in advance. And just as carefully as y...

Send us Fan Mail These four tips derive straight from my best-selling business book, referred to by many as “The CPG Bible” for founders new to the industry - Ramping Your Brand. It’s about discipline. The discipline to work on the business and on yourself. Check it Out! Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com Please send feedback on this...

Send us Fan Mail Brands crossing the $100M line, roughly speaking, face a privileged danger : deceleration. It happens very quickly once you hit max ACV or even ¾ of your category’s max ACV. If you didn’t prepare for this, you will have to act fast. It’s very hard to an emerging brand to get past $500M and stay growing like KIND. The solution is to aim for the opposite - acceleration, even when it...

Send us Fan Mail In the last episode I described the content studio revolution inside high growth brands and how it is upending traditional assumptions about how to use promotional agencies, especially social media agencies. Have a listen! Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com Please send feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@prem...

Send us Fan Mail The agency-brand partnership axis is evolving really fast as the cost of creating video content plummets with AI. Brands got in earlier on distributing social content from their own desks in the 2010s, but now they can create and distribute at scale with decent quality and much faster than any contract agency. Listen to my take. Read more in my recent piece at the Food Institute. ...

Send us Fan Mail It’s possible to have strategic premium pricing and a profitable business model. But this is NOT easy. Few founders spend enough time getting their business model right before they hit the gas. This episode explains why there is such a sharp fork in the pricing road and why it matters. Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.c...

Send us Fan Mail This is part two of my interview with Yoni Reisman, founder of Tip Top Cocktails.  In this episode, we explore how he came to realize others were better suited to manage the day-to-day operations of the business, a very tough call for any founder Riding the Ramp.  Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com Please send feedbac...

Send us Fan Mail This episode launches a new series I’m calling Rising Stars - Founders new to CPG who have defied the odds, built growing eight-figure businesses without the interference of premature institutional money.   This is part one of my interview with Yoni Reisman, Co-Founder, Chairman, and former Chief Executive Officer of Atlanta-based Tip Top Proper Cocktails. Established in 2018 by Y...

Send us Fan Mail Every creative mind on LinkedIn has railed against the upcoming launch of Pepsi prebiotic. That’s because it’s NOT very creative. Growth strategy for a legacy brand is very different from what works in the early-stage. Making trends and following trends each have their place in the ecosystem. Watch my take on what’s going on here. It’s not AI-psychosis, I assure you.  Your Host: D...

Send us Fan Mail Hopping from buyer meeting to meeting may get you into the seven figures, but it won’t garner your business fast growth through $100M and beyond. Not without really lucky amounts of word-of-mouth. Really lucky. Waiting until you’re $10M in ARR to get strategic is a surefire path to misfires and stagnation. Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.pre...

Send us Fan Mail How could creativity be a founder liability? When it distracts you. This is the third installment in my series on founder archetypes. I think many of you will recognize yourselves in this episode. The good news? You can be cured! Check it out and let me know if you agree. Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com Please send...

Send us Fan Mail This is the second installment in my series on founder archetypes. While I’m glad to see MBAs and finance-trained folks launching CPG brands, they do have a huge problem taking some of the most critical risks necessary to achieving fast growth. Have a listen! Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com Please send feedback on...

Send us Fan Mail Business doesn’t teach you how to say “no” to bad deals. Yet, it’s the most important skill you have to learn, not just to deflect unsolicited pitches from creepy agencies and suppliers. You need to learn how to say “no” to a bad deal you originally sought out…but which now looks horrible. This is very hard for new founders. Have a listen! Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Pre...

Send us Fan Mail If you want to Ride the Ramp, you must hire superb functional executives. Hold on, though. What makes you think you’re ready to do this? In this episode, I explore two hidden attitudes that make it hard for founders to find above-average talent. Hint: it’s not your salary frugality that is the biggest barrier. Have a listen! Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Sol...