1. 10 things you should know before starting a CPG business

  2. How to make sure your business is a good idea (before you invest your life savings)

    • The definitive guide to CPG market research (is there room for you?)

    • 10 questions to ask potential customers (will people spend their money with you?)

    • Find your value prop (what makes you special, actually?)

    • Examples: 10 value props from my current favorite CPG companies

  3. Tackle the business plan (it should be quick)

    • How to think about manufacturing

    • How to think about distribution

    • How to think about about financials

    • How to think about marketing

    • How to think about hiring

  4. Corporate paperwork (checklist here)

  5. Pitching investors

    • The pros and cons of taking VC money in CPG

    • The state of consumer VC (2024)

    • 5 best recent pitch decks I’ve seen

    • How to build your own pitch deck

    • How to hold your own in investor meetings (tactical stuff)

  6. Building your team (decide who to hire)

    • The responsibilities matrix + org chart template

    • The definitive guide to interviewing and making smart hiring decisions

    • Hire slow, fire fast

    • Pros and cons of remote work

    • How to onboard your best (and most expensive) asset - people

    • My 2 cents on how to work with lawyers

  7. Branding & Market Positioning

    • Naming your company

    • Building a brand identity

    • Claiming your market position

  8. Designing the best possible D2C website

    • Words to the wise (align expectations to budget, timeline, avoid tech debt)

    • Key components (home page, product detail pages, subscription)

    • The D2C ecommerce tech stack

    • A/B testing and the continual learning mindset

  9. Product Manufacturing

    • Typical margins

    • Early formulation and testing

    • Finding copackers to produce your product

    • 25 questions you MUST ask potential copackers

  10. Packaging design

    • Considerations for packaging (ecommerce)

    • Considerations for packaging (brick-and-mortar)

  11. Pros/Cons of different distribution channels

    • D2C ecommerce (your brand’s own website)

    • Amazon

    • TikTok Shop

    • Other online retailers

    • Brick-and-mortar (aka in-store)

  12. Shipping products

    • How to calculate minimums for free shipping

    • Mail carrier

    • The customer experience of unboxing

  13. Marketing (the early stages of getting your foot in the door and making noise)

    • Scrappy field marketing (farmer’s markets, grocery booths, partnerships)

    • Gifting to influencers + getting an ROI

    • User Generated Content (UGC)

    • Organic social trends

  14. Marketing & Growth (the post-launch stages of spreading the word)

    • The marketing funnel x customer journey

    • Pros and Cons of every marketing channel

    • New trends I’ve seen for growth

    • Building real community