Tardigrades, not unicorns

Elliot Begoun
  • 5.0 (22)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

From Start Up to Scale. Bringing together the Natural Product industry's founders, experts, buyers, and legends, we discuss how to build Tardigrades, not Unicorns, nimble, capital-efficient, resilient brands that scale.

  1. Sep 24

    Wayne Adams: Transforming a Fifth-Generation Family Business

    Wayne Adams: Transforming a Fifth-Generation Family Business Tardigrades, Not Unicorns — conversations with founders and CEOs navigating the messy middle Guest: Wayne Adams, fifth-generation CEO and co-owner of Adams Group, the company behind the Mariannes brand. Wayne took over leadership from his father Mike in 2023 and has been leading a major business transformation across personnel, systems, and retail expansion. Find Marianne's products at Costco, Sprouts, Target, and other retailers nationwide. Show Notes: [0:24] Succession & The Clean Break [6:00] Embracing Discomfort to Grow [7:16] Operating Discipline & Dashboards [11:48] Three Leadership Archetypes [14:53] Energy Management & Life Seasons [20:37] Purpose: Business as Change Agent [22:27] Team & Systems Transformation [26:39] Radical Focus & The Avocado Oil Test [34:27] Balancing a Diversified Portfolio [38:55] Stability Through Change Resources & References: "Essentialism" by Greg McKeown — book on disciplined pursuit of lessUC Davis avocado oil adulteration studies (2020, 2023) — found 93% of market avocado oil adulteratedPredictive Index (PI) profiles — behavioral assessment tool used by Adams Group's people teamMarianne's brand — Adams Group's consumer brand, available at Costco, Sprouts, Targettigbrands.com — learn more about Tardigrades, Not UnicornsKey frameworks discussed: Five dimensions of scale: operating discipline, inner evolution, energy management, team & systems, focus & fundamentalsThree leadership archetypes: doer, architect, capacity builderLeading by exception: set dashboards, monitor ranges, dig in on anomaliesStability through change: evolution as the key to longevity in a 100-year-old business

  2. Sep 17

    Trade-Offs, Resilience & the Inner Evolution of Founders with Bert Cohen

    Guest: Bert Cohen, Managing Director, Clover VitalityHost: Eliot Begoun Bert Cohen has spent 25+ years in the natural products industry — first as a two-time founder (Enjoy Life Foods and True Sweets) and now as a venture capitalist at Clover Vitality, where he's invested in 18 companies. In this conversation, Bert and Eliot dig into what it really takes to build enduring companies in today's challenging funding environment. Key Topics: How Bert's operator experience shapes his lens as an investor — and why there's no single "right path" to building a companyThe shifting venture landscape: longer timelines to exit, bridge rounds, and the rise of private equity in the messy middleWhy PE exits at ~2x net sales aren't "grand slams" — and what that means for fund economicsChecking your ego at the door: why comparing your valuation to LinkedIn announcements is a trapGrowth vs. profitability: why your north star should be your core consumerThe staircase vs. the hockey stick: a smarter framework for growth betsBert's pickleball analogy: patience, dink battles, and waiting for the right moment to strikeFounder energy as "the hidden currency" — and why depleted leaders become liabilitiesThe inner evolution of founders: doer → architect → builder of capacityChannel strategy shifts: e-commerce, Costco PO financing, and being in the right set at WalmartByron Sharp's How Brands Grow: physical availability vs. mental availabilityWhy humility and curiosity matter more than certaintyMentioned in this episode: Enjoy Life Foods, True Sweets, Wholesome SweetenersClover VitalityHow Brands Grow by Byron SharpAndy Whitman, Gary Hirschberg, Dennis MillerConnect with Bert: Reach out via LinkedIn or email — he's genuinely happy to help founders.

  3. Aug 21

    Encore Episode: Entrepreneurship Changes The World: Tips To Succeeding With Elliot Begoun

    Entrepreneurship changes the world because of the millions of consumers it caters to daily. In this episode, ⁠Elliot Begoun⁠ encourages entrepreneurs to be resilient and efficient like tardigrades. Why? Because each entrepreneur has the power to ignite small changes in the masses that will end up changing the world for the better. That is why Elliot shares essential tips on how you can succeed in your business. If you want to know why certain business founders outperform others, this episode is for you. Factors like being passionately dispassionate, having the ability to pitch, and knowing how to build your community are all vital for your success. Tune in to learn more!

  4. Aug 7

    Encore Episode: With Chuck Cotter "Brothers From Another Mother"

    What drives success for brands on the fundraising front? You need to have an attractive valuation, or investors won’t consider investing. Elliot Begoun welcomes a brother from another mother, ⁠Chuck Cotter⁠. Chuck discusses with Elliot how you need to receive feedback on why people may be less interested or provide a lesser valuation. You can’t get bogged down arguing with investors about your product. Instead, you need to step back and assess how to tweak your product or strategy to be more attractive to investors. Need more fundraising strategies? Tune in!

  5. Jul 31

    Encore Episode: Building Capital-Efficient CPG Brands

    Host Elliott Begound sits down with Nick McCoy (Whipstitch Capital) and Chris Fenster (Propeller Industries) to challenge the CPG industry's obsession with unicorn-style, hyper-funded growth. Drawing on hard data from hundreds of brands, they unpack a different path: capital-efficient, fundamentals-first "tardigrade" companies that build resilience instead of chasing the next round. Topics covered: How the M&A landscape has shifted — from strategics to private equity to SPACsWhy COVID accelerated e-commerce and forced a rethink of DTC valuationsThe data behind two founder cohorts: companies that burned $1 for every $1 of revenue vs. those that raised just $5M to hit $20M — and why the efficient group often ends up wealthierGross margin, trade spend, and SG&A benchmarks at the $20M revenue markEBITDA multiples across categories and what drives brand premiumsAligning with the right investor DNA, and why founders are "inventory" to LPsAlternative growth channels (food service, corporate campuses) for efficient customer acquisitionWhy companies fail: over-funding, under-hiring, and unrealistic margin assumptionsUsing debt strategically — asset-backed lending vs. equity for growthParting advice: "Stay lean" and preserve founder optionality

  6. Jul 16

    Laurel Orley on Nice vs. Kind, Radical Focus, and Scaling Daily Crunch Snacks

    In this episode of Tardigrades, Not Unicorns, Elliot sits down with Laurel Orley, Chief Crunch Officer and co-founder of Daily Crunch Snacks, to talk about what it really takes to build a durable business — not a unicorn. Laurel shares the origin story of launching a sprouted nut snack company with her aunt Diane during the pandemic, and how a chance question at Expo West ("Where do you see Daily Crunch 100 years from now?") reshaped her long-term thinking. From there, the conversation dives deep into: The difference between being nice and being kind as a founder, and why the hardest business decisions require the latterWhy vulnerability — not corporate polish — is the real engine of entrepreneurial growthScaling through the five dimensions of leadership: inner evolution, radical focus, team & systems, energy management, and operating disciplineHow Daily Crunch runs on EOS/Traction principles — quarterly rocks, 5-7 KPIs, weekly leadership check-insBuilding a team culture around transparency, mental health days, and "bad news early, good news often"Energy management as "the hidden currency" of a company, and Laurel's own morning routine for protecting itWhy cash conversion cycle and contribution margin are the two KPIs Laurel watches like a hawk on the road to breakevenEmbracing "seasons" instead of chasing constant work-life balanceWhether you're bootstrapping a CPG brand or leading a scaling team, this conversation is packed with hard-won lessons on staying grounded while growing fast.

  7. Jul 16

    Radical Focus: How Bobo's Built a $100M Business Without Chasing Trends

    Bobo's CEO TJ McIntyre joins the show to unpack how a self-manufactured, Colorado-based baked goods company grew from $7.5M to over $100M in revenue over the past decade — without formulating to macros or chasing fads. TJ shares why Bobo's bets everything on taste over trend-chasing nutrition claims, why radical focus on just two categories (nutrition bars and wholesome snacks) has been the company's biggest growth unlock, and why self-manufacturing is the key to both margin and quality control. He also explains how Bobo's uses EOS to keep 14 teams aligned around clear quarterly objectives, and how he balances being "in the weeds" on manufacturing KPIs with stepping back to build organizational capacity. The conversation turns personal as TJ opens up about the toll of leading through a tougher growth environment than Bobo's has seen in years, his daily spiritual practice (Stoicism, service work, life coaches) for managing energy, and why he believes money ranks low on what actually motivates people to stay at a company. He closes with hard-won lessons on building for optionality rather than chasing a single exit outcome — because the "wave" of scaling a company today is longer and harder to time than ever. Topics covered: Scaling from $7.5M to $100M+ without a trend tailwindWhy taste beats macros in a GLP-1-obsessed marketThe power of category focus and self-manufacturingRunning the business on EOS across 14 teamsBalancing "doer," "architect," and capacity-builder roles as CEOSpiritual practice and energy management for leadersWhat actually motivates employees (hint: not money)Building for optionality instead of a single exit outcome

  8. Jul 2

    Building Optionality, Not Just an Exit with Matt Weiss

    In this episode of Tardigrades, Not Unicorns, Elliot sits down with longtime friend Matt Weiss, founder and CEO of Rind, the better-for-you snacking brand built on whole-fruit nutrition. Matt shares his journey from 19 years as a Wall Street research analyst to building a CPG company from a nights-and-weekends side project into a vertically integrated manufacturing platform, Keep It Real Foods. Matt and Elliot dig into: Leaving a stable career on Wall Street for the "riskier" path of staying safe, and the mentor conversation that gave him the confidence to jumpWhy discomfort and groundlessness are signals of growth, not warning signsBuilding tailwinds into the business model from day one (convenience, sustainability, food waste reduction) to survive unpredictable headwinds like COVIDThe strategic case for vertical integration — acquiring a Vermont manufacturing facility and how one deal snowballed into a broader platforming strategyShifting from "grow at all costs" to building a durable, EBITDA-positive business focused on optionality rather than a predetermined exitBalancing focus and diversification: competing internally for manufacturing capacity and making trade-offs on where Rind shows upEvolving from "doer" to "architect" to "builder of capacity" as a leader, and what that shift requiredWhy human judgment, discernment, and relationship-building are the edge that AI can't replicateParenting, boundaries, and blending family with business-buildingAdvice for founders chasing "lightning in a bottle": build for relevance past year three, not just fast tractionConnect with Matt Weiss and learn more about Rind and Keep It Real Foods. Learn more about Tardigrades, Not Unicorns at tigbrands.com.

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5
out of 5
22 Ratings

About

From Start Up to Scale. Bringing together the Natural Product industry's founders, experts, buyers, and legends, we discuss how to build Tardigrades, not Unicorns, nimble, capital-efficient, resilient brands that scale.

Information

  • Creator
    Elliot Begoun
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    151
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Elliot Begoun
  • Show Website
    Tardigrades, not unicorns

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