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Who is it For? Founders of CPG start-ups. What is It? Zero B.S. perspective on running your start-up well, understanding the biases of industry stakeholders and getting the industry to work for you, not the other way around. When? Every month. Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com If you want to take my founder's Quiz to see if you are ready for exponential growth, please visit : www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com/founder_resources and sign up for my e-mail list to download it. Transcripts and an entire episode library are on my podcast site. https://www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com/podcast
150 Episodes
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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 ...
Hopping from buyer meeting to meeting may get you into the seven figures, but it won’t garner your business fast growth through $100M and beyond. Not without really lucky amounts of word-of-mouth. Really lucky. Waiting until you’re $10M in ARR to get strategic is a surefire path to misfires and stagnation. 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 could creativity be a founder liability? When it distracts you. This is the third installment in my series on founder archetypes. I think many of you will recognize yourselves in this episode. The good news? You can be cured! Check it out and let me know if you agree. 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 second installment in my series on founder archetypes. While I’m glad to see MBAs and finance-trained folks launching CPG brands, they do have a huge problem taking some of the most critical risks necessary to achieving fast growth. 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
Business doesn’t teach you how to say “no” to bad deals. Yet, it’s the most important skill you have to learn, not just to deflect unsolicited pitches from creepy agencies and suppliers. You need to learn how to say “no” to a bad deal you originally sought out…but which now looks horrible. This is very hard for new founders. 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: admi...
If you want to Ride the Ramp, you must hire superb functional executives. Hold on, though. What makes you think you’re ready to do this? In this episode, I explore two hidden attitudes that make it hard for founders to find above-average talent. Hint: it’s not your salary frugality that is the biggest barrier. 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@premiumgrowth...
You do not need a 85-page defensive Powerpoint plan. But you do need a plan. And one-page is more than enough to keep your business disciplined in the early Phases. This episode makes the case and explains one key data source you need to have to make even a 1-page plan useful. 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
Many founders worry about diluting the quality of their product in order to scale. Understood. Yet, diluting the ‘quality’ of your audience is essential. Snobby brands do not scale. Listen in as I explain why. 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
I finally spent some time to prove to all you door-counting crazies that doors do not equal value to your business. In the process, I developed a tool to plan your ACV build in a restrained manner, a tool you can reproduce (legally) on your end with your SPINS or NIelsen IQ retainer. 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 do mission-driven founders get in their own way? It’s not that hard, depending on how ideological your company’s foundations. The most fundamental issue with missionary zeal, when you do not channel it professionally into scaling a disciplined brand is this - you become overly anchored in the end goal and don’t take the journey seriously. Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com Please send feedback on this or other episodes...
It’s time for a contrarian view. Most founders in CPG should not be focused on rapid growth. It is far easier to create a stable, satisfying seven-figure CPG business if you let go of a need to scale (and grow fast to get there). In this episode, Sarah and I explore the key financial math that forces your hand as a founder. Do you really want to pursue rapid growth? E-mail Sarah at : hello@thegoodfoodcfo.com Website: thegoodfoodcfo.com Instagram: @thegoodfoodcfo YouTube: @thegoodf...
It’s not uncommon for brands to scale mostly as B2B enterprises with minimal emphasis on sophisticated consumer marketing. When product design carries you that far, it can be easy to overlook the marketing department. Then, when you turn to ask them for acceleration, you realize you do not have the right team at all. Or, even worse, you don’t even believe. For the founders who delay and doubt the power of marketing, please have a listen. Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Gro...
I never urge anyone to become an entrepreneur. Ever. That’s because I am one. Sometimes, continuing the business could endanger more than your finances. In this episode, I give you five clear signals that, when combined, make it clear you should wind down. Remember, you can always try again later in your life. Always. Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com Please send feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowths...
Believe it or not, I used the same fieldwork techniques to build my own B2B brand that I urge you to deploy in my book. In this episode, I explain how I used a flywheel of goodwill connecting tradeshows to LinkedIn to build my business. Fans are critical oxygen for any entrepreneur. 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 ten days, the updated and expanded edition of Ramping Your Brand goes live in all formats. In this episode, I go over what has changed and why you should grab a copy even if you have the 1st edition. 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
American media loves to reinforce the ideal of the visionary entrepreneur who ‘bootstraps’ to glory with no initial resources. The reality is that those who do pull this off usually have one or more superpowers as they started. My growing case study research suggests that having one of the following superpowers is key to beating the odds of making it through the Phases. Make sure you have one BEFORE you start. Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premi...
One of the more common problems lurking at the Fancy Foods show, if you’ve ever been, is sitting at every booth in plain sight. It’s on the sell sheets of various specialty food brands that exhibit there. It is their SRPs. They’re not just premium. They’re artisanal. And these prices just don’t scale. Pricing 100% above the market share leader in a category is one thing. Pricing 400% above them is another thing and won’t scale without a truly Doctor Squatch-level media intervention.&nbs...
Despite one or two “diet” food brands like Atkins that are still kicking around, diet food innovation is generally a graveyard of CPG innovation. But GLP-1 drugs raise the profile of a different outcome, indirectly supporting weight management - satiety. But are GLP-1 users an innovation segment or a marketing audience? The difference matters, if you’re going to launch a brand with them in mind. And how you do this could steer you right toward, or away from, market leading brands’ GLP-1...
A lot of us are sick of hearing about Liquid Death, the entertainment brand that happens to sell water. In this episode, I explain why it’s so hard for the average CPG startup to build an entertainment-based brand. It’s not the category. That’s not the barrier. 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 2025, the Trump administration’s stated policy moves may easily trigger a recession in the U.S. by late in the year or in 2026. This is a great time of year to create a Plan B for your marketing playbook to adjust how recessions impact premium-priced early-stage CPG brands. Have a listen and spend a day getting ready in advance. Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com Please send feedback on this or other episode...
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