How I Financed It

Keith Kohler
  • 5.0 (1)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP

How I Financed It brings you the real, in-depth, and vulnerable stories of founders who’ve built — and financed — their businesses. From the spark of an idea to the financing that fueled their journey, each episode reveals the strategies, successes, setbacks, and mindset shifts that drove their growth. Hosted by Keith Kohler, your financing and mindset strategist, this show explores what it takes — and how it feels — to secure the right financing at the right time.

  1. From DMs to Froco: The Smearcase Journey (to date)

    6D AGO

    From DMs to Froco: The Smearcase Journey (to date)

    Cottage cheese ice cream sounds like a dare until you hear how Smearcase made it taste great, look shelf-ready, and sell like a real brand. Keith sits down with founders Joe and Drew to unpack the full arc: a marathon-training craving for a healthier dessert becomes “Froco,” a high-protein frozen treat built around casein and a surprisingly powerful ingredient choice, collagen, to support creaminess without leaning on a long list of gums and stabilizers. We also get specific about what most founders actually need: a financing and execution plan that matches reality. Joe and Drew share how they bootstrapped product development, kept spend tight, and pushed for speed over perfection by getting an MVP into market before overbuilding the logo, website, or “perfect” brand world. They walk through early capital decisions, including paid-in capital, zero-interest credit cards, and the moment they felt ready to open a friends-and-family round using SAFE notes, an FAQ, and honest talk about risk and portfolio fit. From there, the conversation expands into practical CPG funding and growth levers: investor update emails as a duty and a network engine, the value of being visible and asking for help, and how non-dilutive funding can matter just as much as equity. Drew and Joe also talk next-step tools like SBA loans, AR factoring, PO financing, private credit, and strategic partnerships, plus what they’re most proud of as the business reaches more doors. If you’re building a CPG startup or thinking about retail distribution, startup funding, and working capital, you’ll walk away with a clearer playbook and a stronger founder mindset. Subscribe, share this with a founder friend, and leave a review with your biggest question about financing your next stage. Connect with Keith on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithkohler1/

    1h 6m
  2. Monsoon Kitchens: Consistent, Safe, and Financeable

    MAR 18

    Monsoon Kitchens: Consistent, Safe, and Financeable

    A lot of founders can tell you how they made something delicious. Swati Elavia can tell you how she made it consistent, safe, and financeable. Swati is the founder of Monsoon Kitchens, and her story runs from a PhD in nutrition to the unglamorous disciplines that actually scale a food business: standardization, HACCP, co-packer execution, and working capital planning. We talk about the moment a university chef said Indian food was “too complicated” and needed a turnkey solution, and how that single comment turned into a product strategy. Swati shares what it took to land an early customer at Harvard, why quality consistency and food safety became non-negotiables, and how family life and entrepreneurship collide when you are building a CPG brand while raising kids. Then we get practical on financing: founder capital, negotiating faster payments, managing the cash conversion cycle when co-packers want to be paid in days and receivables arrive weeks later, and why personal guarantees are often part of the journey. Swati also breaks down the shock of losing 90% of food service revenue during COVID, how PPP and EIDL kept the business alive, and what changed when Monsoon Kitchens leaned into smarter distribution and modern credit options. If you care about food entrepreneurship, CPG financing, co-packer growth, or scaling Indian food in food service and retail, this conversation delivers real lessons. Subscribe, share this with a founder who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest cash flow question. Connect with Keith on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithkohler1/

    1h 17m
  3. From Warehouse To Walmart: Financing Growth

    MAR 4

    From Warehouse To Walmart: Financing Growth

    Ever wonder how a distributor scales from a single pallet favor to pro seller status on a major marketplace? We sit down with Noslen Anaya of Great Deals 21 to unpack the real mechanics of financing growth in logistics and distribution—where Miami’s ports meet Latin American demand and e‑commerce velocity meets old‑school wholesale relationships. We start with origin and place: how Miami became the perfect launchpad for bonded shipments, consolidated air and ocean freight, and fast transfers to the Caribbean and South America. From there, we dive into the operational core—what it means to turn “can you hold this pallet?” into a reliable 3PL service, then layer on distribution of electronics and household appliances. The conversation drills into the cash conversion cycle on Walmart: buying inventory, prepping to spec, shipping to fulfillment centers, biweekly payouts, and the realities of returns, reviews, and reserves. Along the way, we contrast that relative speed with the complexity of bonded logistics, where duties can be deferred but fees, documentation, and misdeclared dimensions can derail timelines and margins. The throughline is financing. Noslen shares how disciplined personal credit habits—paying before statement close, managing utilization, and learning from a banker mentor—created a foundation for business credit with Dun & Bradstreet and Experian. That credibility paved the way for a conventional bank line of credit after profitable years, turning 500‑unit orders into multi‑thousand‑unit buys and effectively 5x‑ing annual inventory turns. We weigh interest cost against expanded buying power, better vendor pricing, and the chance to pursue semi‑exclusive distribution that deepens moats and accelerates growth. There’s also candor about lessons learned: the cost of personal splurges, selling a rental too soon, and how today’s maturity guides smarter reinvestment. If you’re building a product company, wholesaling into retail, or expanding on marketplaces like Walmart and Amazon, this deep dive will sharpen how you think about cash flow, credit, and scale. Subscribe, share with a founder who needs a financing reset, and leave a review to tell us your toughest cash flow hurdle—we may tackle it next. Connect with Keith on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithkohler1/

    1h 6m
  4. Merge To Grow: When Mission Outweighs Ego

    FEB 18

    Merge To Grow: When Mission Outweighs Ego

    A spiky cactus and a crowded snack aisle sparked a bigger mission: rewrite the story of Latin flavors on U.S. shelves. We sit down with Regina Trillo to unpack how Nemi Snacks emerged from representation, health, and heart—and why money wasn’t the only thing that fueled the journey. From the first pitch to sweaty palms, she turns fear into a trigger for preparation and practice, showing how showing up—again and again—becomes a founder’s superpower. We take you inside a funding path many overlook: grants. Regina shares how she treated applications like a pipeline, recycled strong answers, and paired checks with mentorship and networks from programs like Hello Alice and major CPG accelerators. Then we move into the financial toolkit: bringing in a fractional CFO, forecasting with clarity, rightsizing cases, reshaping supplier terms, and using PO financing to bridge production without giving up equity. It’s a practical playbook for founders navigating margins, trade spend, and the steep cost of distribution. The story pivots in a powerful way: instead of fundraising solo, Regina chose partnership. She merged Nemi Snacks with Todo Verde and TUYYO to form a new, unified brand—TUYYO—built on shared mission, complementary strengths, and zero ego. We break down the merger architecture: legal and operating agreements, SKU and supplier consolidation, retailer collaboration on brand design, and a clear division of roles. Most importantly, we talk pacing with intention: 1,100 existing doors provide a solid base while the team upgrades packaging, aligns ops, and gathers data before expanding further. Threaded through it all is a human operating system: self-awareness, boundaries at home that protect energy, and a mission-first rule where the brand outranks any one product. If you’re building a culture-forward, better-for-you company—or just need a blueprint for courage, cash flow, and community—you’ll leave with tactics to act on today and a mantra to carry you forward: llorando pero caminando. Subscribe, share with a founder friend, and leave a review to help more builders find this conversation. Connect with Keith on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithkohler1/

    1h 4m
  5. A Different Kind of Mojo: Building A Mission-Driven Medtech Without Venture Capital

    FEB 4

    A Different Kind of Mojo: Building A Mission-Driven Medtech Without Venture Capital

    What if you could slash a medical device’s cost by 75 percent, scale to 39 countries, and still avoid venture capital? That’s the story we unpack with Keto-Mojo’s cofounder, Mr. Mojo himself, who turned a personal health crisis into a mission-driven company that put $1 ketone strips in millions of hands—and backed it with rigorous clinical science. We start at the spark: a ketogenic diet that lifted depression, shed 47 pounds, and sparked a hard question about why strips cost $5. That curiosity led to reverse engineering the supply chain, securing FDA-cleared manufacturing, and financing the first buys with a home equity line. Hypergrowth followed, but so did cash walls. You’ll hear the real mechanics of staying alive: weekly rolling cash forecasts, inventory math across 30–45 day builds and 45–60 day transit, and why “business is messy, never run out of cash” became a mantra. We break down the decision to use debt—Shopify/Amazon advances, mezz loans, SBA refinancing—over equity to preserve a long-term health mission rather than chase a quick exit. The playbook isn’t just financial. We dive into the brand’s information-first strategy that drives unusually high conversion, the shift from pure DTC to a 40% B2B mix, and the global expansion that required tight KPIs, clean closes, and disciplined ROAS. Then the plot twist: tariffs threaten the model. The team secures 120-day supplier terms to turn a manufacturer into a bank, pauses shipments, and wins a binding ruling under the Nairobi Protocol to protect a critical diabetes channel. Transfer pricing, DDP imports, and collaborative partners round out a masterclass in resilience. Most powerful of all is the impact. With devices used in 100+ clinical trials and a nonprofit funding research and education, Keto-Mojo has helped people put type 2 diabetes into remission and supported oncology and PCOS care with data. The proudest moment lands close to home: an 82-year-old mom announcing her own remission. If you’re a founder weighing growth capital, wrestling with inventory risk, or building a mission that must outlast fads, this conversation offers clear principles: price for access, plan cash like your life depends on it, and protect nimbleness. Subscribe, share with a founder who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest cash lesson. Connect with Keith on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithkohler1/

    1h 6m
  6. From the Lowest of Lows to the Good Journey

    JAN 21

    From the Lowest of Lows to the Good Journey

    What if a donut could change how you feel, think, and show up each day? Kristoffer from Good Journey Foods joins us to explore a path that threads through a rocket-ship startup, a painful collapse, and a return built on purpose, taste, and smarter financing. We dig into how a brand name became a compass, why “healthy and delicious” must coexist, and how the right capital is more than money—it’s operational leverage, access, and a sounding board. Kristoffer opens up about scaling too fast, co-manufacturing quality slips, and the moment inventory swallowed cash. He shares the personal fallout of bankruptcy and the mindset shift that followed: build safety nets, measure what matters, and cut losing bets faster. We talk practical tools for founders—working capital planning, terms with co-mans, dashboards that link spend to signals—and the discipline to be cautiously optimistic rather than blindly aggressive. The conversation turns deeply human when we connect food to mental health. Keto’s clinical roots in epilepsy offer a clue: for some, ketones can be a cleaner brain fuel. Kristoffer describes how cutting sugar and refined carbs lowered his anxiety and sharpened his focus, and why that insight guides Good Journey’s product choices. We unpack the social reality of change—holidays, family expectations, stigma—and the power of leading with love, patience, and example rather than pressure. If you’re building in CPG, we break down the investor spectrum and make the case for strategic partners who bring channel access, operations expertise, and cost engineering. If you’re a consumer, you’ll hear a compelling case for joy-first healthy food that helps you feel better without giving up flavor. Subscribe, share this with a founder who needs a lift, and leave a review with the one lesson you’ll act on this week. Connect with Keith on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithkohler1/

    53 min
  7. Franchising Will Make the (Cookie) Dough

    JAN 7

    Franchising Will Make the (Cookie) Dough

    Two hours into their first Nashville event, the line still hadn’t died. That moment convinced Jimmy Feeman to go all-in with his co-founder and wife, Megan, on a wild idea: build a dessert brand from scratch and figure out the financing on the fly. What followed was a raw, unfiltered journey—from maxed 0% APR credit cards and DIY build-outs to packed scoop shops, an SBA Express loan, a pandemic pivot to DTC, and a hard-won return to franchising with a smarter capital stack. We walk through the decisions that moved the needle and the ones that cost time and money. Jimmy breaks down unit economics at the jar level, why franchising can be a financing strategy, and how to use debt for inventory and equipment while reserving equity for marketing and R&D. He shares the reality of CPG cash cycles—terms, invoice factoring, PO financing, slotting fees, and deductions—and why growing only as fast as your customers fund you can be the most sustainable path. We also get candid about the vendor traps, misaligned incentives, and the absence of mentorship that made early wins harder than they needed to be. Underneath the numbers is a playbook built on communication and resilience. Jimmy explains how a shared operating rhythm with his co-founder kept decisions clean, roles clear, and momentum steady—even when shutting stores, litigating leases, and rebuilding channels from zero. Now, with a proven scoop shop model, a refined franchise process, and SBA-ready candidates, the team is scaling slowly and intentionally, matching capital to its best use and protecting cash along the way. If you’re a founder weighing franchising vs. CPG, wrestling with CAC, or wondering how to assemble a real capital stack, this conversation will sharpen your plan. Subscribe, share this with a builder who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest financing lesson—we’ll feature our favorites next week. Connect with Keith on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithkohler1/

    58 min
  8. Rebel with a Cause

    12/17/2025

    Rebel with a Cause

    A cashew, a cave, and a credit line changed everything. We sit down with Rebel Cheese co‑founders Fred and Kirsten to map the real path from an elegant 1,200‑square‑foot deli in Austin to a D2C‑first brand backed by Mark Cuban—without losing sight of profit, people, or product quality. You’ll hear how they bootstrapped the first buildout, kept margins front and center, and then weathered COVID by turning front‑of‑house staff into delivery drivers, setting up online ordering in days, and using PPP and EIDL the way they were intended: to protect jobs and buy time. A New York Times feature resulted in new customers and orders from coast to coast, exposing gaps in operations that they quickly closed. With demand rising, they secured multiple rounds of SBA financing first to build out a 9,000‑square‑foot facility and later to acquire it.  They applied an operator’s lens to every dollar: if CapEx didn’t lift contribution margin, it waited. That mindset paid off when Shark Tank called. Mark Cuban made his fastest offer after tasting their cave‑aged vegan cheeses, and closing the deal meant meeting diligence as extensive as SBA underwriting. The upside wasn’t just capital—it was discipline. They rebuilt fulfillment for cold‑chain reliability, turned spikes into systems, and made D2C their primary engine. We also get into the strategic acquisition of a stall in NYC’s Essex Market, why owning more of the vertical reduces marketing costs, and how a team that started with dishwashers now includes leaders who grew from day one. Expect candid talk on ROI‑first growth, balancing speed with sanity, and the playbook for combining equity and debt without losing control. If you care about e‑commerce logistics, CPG financing, and building culture while scaling, this conversation delivers practical insight and genuine heart. Enjoyed the episode? Follow and rate the show, share it with a founder who needs a realistic financing roadmap, and message Keith on LinkedIn at Keith Kohler1 with your biggest takeaway. Connect with Keith on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithkohler1/

    1h 13m
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About

How I Financed It brings you the real, in-depth, and vulnerable stories of founders who’ve built — and financed — their businesses. From the spark of an idea to the financing that fueled their journey, each episode reveals the strategies, successes, setbacks, and mindset shifts that drove their growth. Hosted by Keith Kohler, your financing and mindset strategist, this show explores what it takes — and how it feels — to secure the right financing at the right time.

Information

  • Creator
    Keith Kohler
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 How I Financed It
  • Show Website
    How I Financed It