Startup Confidential

They discuss why brands stall as they scale and why adding retail accounts is often an illusion. The conversation covers escaping tiny niches by finding larger, similar audiences and reframing products around more frequent behaviors. Practical tactics include positioning for daily-use occasions, diluting niche appeal without losing credibility, and using storytelling to unlock mainstream household penetration.

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 you courted a spouse.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

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 or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowthsolutions.com

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 seems least likely to happen.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

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@premiumgrowthsolutions.com

Explore how brands are transforming into content studios to stay relevant in a fast-paced digital landscape. Learn about Liquid Death's pre-launch content strategy and the evolution of owned media. Discover why in-house teams are crucial for rapid content creation, allowing brands to adapt quickly to platform changes. The discussion highlights the limitations of traditional agencies, revealing why marketers often rely on them despite the drawbacks. Understand the importance of high-volume, on-brand content for engaging audiences across various platforms.

Explore the critical decisions faced by early-stage food startups when it comes to premium pricing. Discover why many brands fall into two extremes: small, profitable artisan ventures versus fast-growing, cash-burning operations. Learn about the pitfalls of a markup-first pricing strategy and the importance of understanding realistic premiums. Delve into how slight changes in cost of goods sold can dramatically impact shelf prices, and consider alternative strategies like direct-to-consumer models or reformulating products to lower costs.

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 feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowthsolutions.com

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 Yoni and his childhood friend and fellow music industry veteran, Neal Cohen, Tip Top offers high-quality, classic cocktails in a can. In this episode, we explore the origins of the business and the bumps in the road on the way to national retail presence. 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

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: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com Please send feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowthsolutions.com