Bootstrapped To Millions. How Michelle Razavi Turned Elavi Into a Retail Powerhouse

Founders, what steps can you take to understand your retail category better than anyone else in your space?

In this episode, you’ll learn how Michelle Razavi built a capital-efficient consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand that broke into major retailers through resilience, community building, and strategic iteration. You’ll hear the real story behind pivots, failed first products, fundraising hurdles, and the discipline required to scale a product into big-box stores.

Michelle Razavi is the founder and CEO of Elavi, the protein-rich snack taking over Costco and major retailers. Michelle is on a mission to reinvent nostalgic treats with clean, functional ingredients, and to empower women to fuel their bodies with strength, confidence, and protein.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

(01:26) How Michelle scaled Elavi from a homemade concept into nationwide retail distribution.

(05:56) Why protein matters deeply for women and how to rethink your relationship with nutritional products.

(08:05) How Michelle navigated early failures and high-pressure pivots in year one.

(12:55) Why building a digital community is now table stakes for every founder.

(15:11) What it takes to commercialize a kitchen prototype into large-scale manufacturing.

(19:38) Why founders must embrace social media.

(26:46) The biggest mistakes founders make when pitching retail buyers.

(31:30) Why getting onto retail shelves is only the beginning and what sell-through really requires operationally.

Thank you to Michelle Razavi for being on the show!

Michelle’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellerazavi/

Michelle’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellerazavi/

Elavi: http://www.elavi.co

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