Startup Confidential

Listen in on a re-issue of a  popular podcast: Retail Buyers. Either right now or eventually, you will need to convince buyers you are a key new addition to their sets. In this episode, I share some pros and cons of developing relationships with these important stakeholders. I also discuss why the Skate Ramp is just not on their radar, even though one of your key KPIs - velocity - absolutely is. 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

The real diversity issue in American marketing is diversity of thought. Emmanuel and I continue the discussion in which you will learn why Dr. Squatch nailed it and MTV literally researched its way into oblivion. Dr. Emmanuel Probst is Global Lead, Brand Thought-Leadership at Ipsos, adjunct professor at the University of California at Los Angeles and a Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author of Brand Hacks and Assemblage – The Art and Science of Brand Transformation.He holds an MBA in Marketing from the University of Hull, United Kingdom and a Doctorate in Consumer Psychology from the University of Nottingham Trent, United Kingdom.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 is the first of two episodes in which I interview Emmanuel Probst about the continued problems in American marketing. We kick things off by discussing the illusion of control, the need to communicate transformative outcomes or risk being tuned out and other gems. Dr. Emmanuel Probst is Global Lead, Brand Thought-Leadership at Ipsos, adjunct professor at the University of California at Los Angeles and a Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author of Brand Hacks and Assemblage – The Art and Science of Brand Transformation.He holds an MBA in Marketing from the University of Hull, United Kingdom, and a Doctorate in Consumer Psychology from the University of Nottingham Trent, United Kingdom.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

How can a word like “occasionally” be so detrimental to the plant-based meat industry? Scaling too fast and not fully understanding the underlying behavior driving its business resulted in Beyond Meat's premature decline. Haste followed by a series of growth Hail Mary's won’t keep your brand growing once it reaches scale. Tune in to see why not.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

Learn why strategic planning is crucial for startup founders and how it helps with decision-making, saying no, and maintaining focus. Hear about the risks of relying solely on intuition and the benefits of a strategic plan in terms of accountability, evaluating opportunities, and validating potential.

Are you too busy to read your third-party distributor’s contract? Too busy or too overwhelmed with pages and pages of the legal doc?  Listen in to Part 2 of Getting Real About Distribution, Dr. James Richardson’s guest interview with Greg Esslinger, Distribution Expert of Natural Food Ally. Greg shares common mistakes new founders make when working before and during with third-party distributors.  (Part 1 was published May 1, 2023 on Startup Confidential podcast.)Greg's experience includes 10 years at the largest natural foods distributor in the country (UNFI) in various positions including, purchasing, sales, and category/supplier management.  Five years ago he founded Natural Food Ally, a consulting firm, with a focus on advising brands on the natural channel and how to increase profitability within the constructs of the distributor model.  He has taken a keen interest in helping brands to avoid the many distributor deductions that plague the natural food industry.Most recently Greg has joined Floret, a deduction management platform designed to enable brands to manage their deduction work flow more efficiently, clear distributor deductions more quickly, as well as gain key data and insights into their tradespend in real-time.  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

Founders new to the food industry often make costly mistakes when they jump in with third-party distributors too soon. Listen to Dr. James Richardson's interview with Greg Esslinger of Natural Food Ally as they discuss the 3 top wrong actions founders take when working with distributors. Part 1 of 2 Parts. (Part 2 will be published on May 15.)Greg's experience includes 10 years at the largest natural foods distributor in the country (UNFI) in various positions including, purchasing, sales, and category/supplier management.  Five years ago he founded Natural Food Ally, a consulting firm, with a focus on advising brands on the natural channel and how to increase profitability within the constructs of the distributor model.  He has taken a keen interest in helping brands to avoid the many distributor deductions that plague the natural food industry.Most recently Greg has joined Floret, a deduction management platform designed to enable brands to manage their deduction work flow more efficiently, clear distributor deductions more quickly, as well as gain key data and insights into their tradespend in real-time.  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

Is there more than one way to execute a Root Cause Analysis on your consumer brand? Absolutely...but that shouldn't stop you from performing a complete analysis. In Episode 92, Root Cause Analysis for Founders, I break down the steps on why you need to do one and some blind areas that you and your team may not be seeing. Valuable questions are offered to ask yourself before you hire another marketing consultant to improve your topline.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

It’s time to revisit my original episode! It’s on the dark and painful Phase 1 of the Skate Ramp. And it’s your antidote to the trade media clickbait in which white men raise more money than they deserve and just skip to Phase 3. Not helpful. Learn how to make it through the Death Funnel alive. My most popular and downloaded episode ever.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

The awkward removal of Miyoko's founder Miyoko Schinner is another reminder of how institutional investment can go very badly if founders aren't fully educated and aware of what they are getting into. And they are a reminder to me about how founder ego can cause folks to believe they need more money than they do. Investors in a rush to monetize a fad, will often goad founders into taking a large sum a commercial bank would never loan them and which they don't really need (even to grow exponentially). 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