Tardigrades, not unicorns

It is essential for business owners and leaders to have proper guidance regarding their management and processes, especially since it feels so lonely at the top. That's why the assistance of professional advisors is imperative in this regard. However, one must not forget that getting advisory services is a two-way street, and your business will always be your baby at the end of the day. Elliot Beg...

It is often said that being at the top is lonely, and that is what many start-up founders deal with, especially when it comes to the uncertainties of their business strategies. While this feeling of loss can result in many backing out from their endeavors, it can be addressed by effective collaboration. Elliot Begoun interviews  Jenny Cawthon , the Founder of Greenjoy, to discuss how to reinv...

Shirt stains are a sure way to ruin any busy individual's day! A perfectly crisp and clean shirt ruined by your sandwich sauce in the morning can be a nightmare. Finding a solution to this problem,  Emily Williams  and  Cole Williams  started their company,  Slice of Sauce , where they transform traditionally bottled condiments into slices—perfect for that mess-free sandwi...

With the pandemic offering no end at sight, e-commerce growth is still a hot topic among many entrepreneurs. With many businesses totally shifted or at least leveraged the online stage to avoid being left behind, the competition becomes a bit more challenging than ever. Sitting down with Elliot Begoun once again is Betsy McGinn  of McGinn eComm , discussing which areas and metrics every entre...

The majority of businesses fail not so much because their idea sucks but because they run out of cash. This is why every other sensible angel believes that “Cash is King.” Every decision an entrepreneur makes is a cash implication. You can have your lovely P&Ls all you want, but at the end of the day, cash in the bank is what matters. Good investors know this to be a fact and would rather have...

Debt can be a CPG company’s best friend, provided that they check all the boxes in terms of finding the right lender and debt option for them based on what they need that debt for. It’s a lot easier said than done, however, and you need to work with an expert to help you get through this. This is where people like Marshall Lebovits  shine. With over 30 years of experience in the secured finan...

None of us start our business walking and running on our feet. We all have to go through that awkward crawling stage and finding that perfect balance that could later propel us to growth. Guiding many founders in the early stages of their businesses, Allison Ball  joins host Elliot Begoun to share some of her wisdom with us. Alli is an expert consultant for food industry entrepreneurs and the...

The food and beverage industry is booming, and for all the right reasons. For Jordan Buckner , it can still exceed its current success if founders only know where to start. Jordan sits down with Elliot Begoun to discuss how he and his team serve as a springboard for founders in the food and beverage industry in launching their products through Foodbevy . He talks about the importance of peer to pe...

The world of entrepreneurship is truly ripe with competition, and it is always the minorities that are considered underdogs in such a community. Black founders are a living testament to this, as they mostly struggle to bring their pitches into the limelight. Steve Gaither  and William Madden  aim to change this stigma one step at a time. They join Elliot Begoun to talk about The Empower...

If you have been tuning in to this show, then you’ll know Elliot Begoun as the man behind the microphone, bringing to you founders who have been riding the waves of the COVID world. But do you really know Elliot? In this episode, we will get to know and understand who this man is who has been introducing us to so many great people and ideas. It is time to switch things up as Elliot sits in the hot...

As the economy becomes more uncertain by the day, investors are increasingly pulling their money back from early-stage companies to more stable investments. What creative fundraising strategies can founders employ to get money from these increasingly reluctant angels? Elliot Begoun tackles this topic with Chuck Cotter , a partner at Holland & Hart LLP . For many years, Chuck has been advising...

Building your brand cannot be accomplished overnight. No one decides to start a business today, goes out in the market tomorrow, and expect miracles to happen. Instead, this calls for comprehensive planning focused on your passions and values. Elliot Begoun is joined by Anna Bell  of  E&J Gallo Winery  in discussing the ingredients that make up an effective brand, how to maximiz...

Not all brands are destined to be unicorns: those that achieve hockey stick growth and exit on a bombastic note. More likely than not, you’re going to have more success being a tardigrade brand which, like its slow, bottom-feeding namesake, is a master of resilience and efficiency. Tardigrades are wildly successful organisms while unicorns basically exist only in the imagination, and there is a go...

Equity crowdfunding is now less complicated and more accessible, thanks to recent changes introduced by the SEC. This, combined with the added challenge of COVID-19 for CPG startups seeking to capitalize their launch, has driven a lot of business to Wefunder , a crowdfunding platform that specializes on this relatively new capitalization strategy. The company’s Director of Fundraising, Jonny Price...

The COVID-19 pandemic posed some challenges many have never heard of before or even foresee coming. No matter how prepared we have been for a crisis in the past few years, this situation has us all taken aback in one way or another. However, the thing with entrepreneurs is how they are made to deal with uncertainty, innovate, and persevere. In this special episode, Elliot Begoun gathered a bunch o...

In this age of Zoom calls and social media, using the phone for sales may sound old school, but behind this quaint device is a power that cannot be underestimated even today. There is power in the phone that can potentially speed up and make a difference in your sales. Take it from phone professional herself, Shanti Rae. Shanti started out hating sales, but she eventually gave it a second look whe...

The food and beverage space is full of innovators and disruptors at every turn, but no matter how novel or useful your product may be, it takes many factors for it to do well in the retail store.  Saj Khan  is an absolute expert on these things, having been in the grocery industry for more than sixteen years. Saj is the Vice President of Grocery Operations at  Nugget Markets , a fam...

As an industry, we have a massive influence on the economic, political, and even the cultural arena if we can only get together and influence the people that support our brands. When we use that influence regularly, whether consciously or unconsciously, we can promote health, wellness, environmental causes, climate causes, and other things we deem important. In this episode, Elliot Begoun brings t...

A collection of minds together is so powerful that there is no denying the value of communities in each of our lives. It helps make businesses better. It makes activism better. It makes the world a better place. In this episode, Elliot Begoun is joined by  Jono Bacon , the founder of  Jono Bacon Consulting  and the author of  People Powered: How Communities Can Supercharge Your...

The last 70 years of leadership research reveals one question that is the primary question in the leadership space, and it is what leaders should do to be effective. For  Ryan Gottfredson , this question seems shortsighted because he believes that leadership is less about doing the right things and more about being somebody others want to follow. Ryan sits down with Elliot Begoun to talk abou...

Access to early stage funding is vital for really good brands to validate their growth hypothesis, prove product-market fit and position themselves to build a business. However, there is typically a gap between these early-stage brands and the investors who are willing to place bets on them. This funding gap is what Michael Movitz seeks to bridge with Brandjectory , a new relationship building pla...

Founders have the platform to really speak out and be change agents. Beyond just your product and what you’re trying to do in the market, you have the power to shift conversations about so many pressing issues we have today. Taking us into this conversation, Elliot Begoun interviews John Foraker , the co-founder and CEO at Once Upon a Farm , about the story of when he decided to be a part of the c...

Accounting for the financials of your emerging brand can be a daunting task, but the sooner you get to it, the better it will be for you in the long term. In this episode, you will be treated to some best practices that might help you go through this arduous but ultimately rewarding task. Elliot Begoun gets into the heart of this matter with Heidi Huntington , Principal of AVL Growth Partners , a...

Investing in a startup company involves a lot of risks but understanding those risks and having strategies on how you can derisk issues make it a lot more appealing. Andrew Bluestein and Ashley Hartman, Managing Partner and Senior Principal, respectively, at Bluestein Ventures , talk about being involved in guiding and teaching seed stage companies as investors. They explain the importance of bein...

Brands these days can’t afford to make huge missteps. In this episode, Perteet Spencer, VP of Strategic Solutions at Spins , joins Elliot Begoun as they talk about helping large and small brands leverage the right data to grow their business. Perteet and Elliot discuss the multiple uses of data to understand what is happening in the marketplace, the dynamics, and what is changing. Perteet also sha...