In The Money: eCommerce, DTC, and CPG

In The Money: eCommerce, DTC, and CPG

A podcast about the real economics of ecommerce, DTC, and CPG. Hosted by Fan Bi, In The Money features honest convos with the people building, growing, and investing in modern consumer brands.

  1. 3d ago

    We Thought It Could Be a Modest $10M Business. We Were Very Wrong.

    What does it look like to send 25 to 30 cold emails to a founder you've never met because you believe in a product so much you're willing to bet your career on it? Kieran Mathew, CEO of Equip Foods, joins In The Money to break down one of the more unconventional origin stories in better-for-you supplements, an operator who joined an existing business, took over day-to-day functions from the founder, and helped scale it from low seven figures to well into eight on a growth model that barely touched Meta spend. Equip makes animal-based protein products built around one standard: real food ingredients, nothing the brand wouldn't stand behind completely. No fillers. No shortcuts. A product built for a customer who reads labels and doesn't forgive compromises. We cover: Why Kieran sent 25-30 emails to founder Anthony Gustin before getting a response and what he said to finally get oneWhat it actually looks like to join a business as an operator-partner rather than a founderHow to take over day-to-day operations from a founder without breaking what's already workingThe affiliate flywheel: how Equip built a roster of thousands of partners who became genuine evangelists for the brandHow affiliate seeding trained the algorithm before a dollar of Meta spend and what that did to ROAS when they finally turned it onWhy beef protein is having its moment and how whey margin compression is accelerating the category shiftThe animal-based consumer: who they are, what they believe, and why they're more loyal than almost any other supplement customerWhat Equip would do differently in paid if they were starting the channel from scratch todayOrg structure evolution: why the team design that worked at $3M doesn't work at $15M and what needs to changeHow Equip thinks about SKU expansion without losing the brand clarity that made themRetention, subscription, and what actually drives LTV in the supplement category If you're building in supplements, better-for-you CPG, or thinking about how to join an existing business as an operator rather than start from scratch, this episode is one of the most useful conversations I've had on the pod this year.

  2. Jul 6

    The LinkedIn Message They Almost Ignored For Target Nationwide

    What happens when a high-protein, clean-ingredient frozen pizza brand spends two years grinding through cold chain nightmares, supply chain restarts, and a fundraising carousel, and then lands at number one in the frozen pizza category at Target? Michael Rolland, Co-Founder of Yough!, joins In The Money to tell one of the more honest origin stories in better-for-you frozen food, a brand built around a simple thesis that you shouldn't have to choose between eating pizza and feeling good afterward, and the long road it took to get that product in front of the right retailers at the right moment. 700 calories. 46 grams of protein. No junk ingredients. An anytime meal that people are eating pre-workout, post-workout, and at 2am after a night out, without the guilt. We cover: Why DTC was the wrong model for frozen and what Yough! learned the expensive wayThe supply chain issues that forced a full relaunch and why it ultimately made the product betterHow Yough! built into boutique specialty retail first before going massThe LinkedIn message they almost ignored and how it turned into a meeting at Target HQWhat it actually looks like when a national retailer offers you a launch before you've pitched themGoing from specialty to Target and Sprouts on organic momentum alone, no broker, no traditional pitchWhat number one in frozen pizza at Target actually means for a brand at this stageThe fundraising reality for better-for-you frozen: what investors want to see and when the timing is rightProtein in frozen as the next major category wave and why the timing is right nowWhat Michael would do differently in the first 12-24 months if he started overWhat's next for Yough! heading into the back half of 2026If you're building in frozen, better-for-you, or any category where the product has to earn its place on a cold shelf, this episode is a candid look at what the grind before the breakthrough actually costs.

  3. Jun 30

    No Formula. No Co-Man. No Branding. Nationwide Whole Foods in Three Months.

    What does it look like to sell a brand to Kraft Heinz for a reported $200 million, and then build the second one with three kids under seven and no social media on your phone? Morgan Zanotti, Founder and CEO of Waay, joins In The Money to break down what changed and what stayed the same the second time around. Waay is a fizzy, clear sparkling protein water, 10 grams of protein, 45 calories, zero sugar, built for women who are tired of choking down chalky shakes to hit their protein goals. Before Waay, Morgan co-founded Primal Kitchen alongside Mark Sisson, bootstrapped it to $50M in revenue profitably, and led the company through its $200 million acquisition by Kraft Heinz in 2019. We cover: Why Morgan built Waay after watching the protein trend get sold entirely to menThe Primal Kitchen playbook: bootstrapping to $50M before the exitWhat she learned inside Kraft Heinz about scale, GLP-1s, and category timingWhy she pitched Whole Foods with a silver can, no final formula, no co-manufacturer, and no branding, and how they said yes nationwide anyway18 months of formulation: getting real protein, zero sucralose, and a taste that doesn't announce itselfBuilding the entire brand identity in three months and launching by OctoberWhy she went Whole Foods first instead of Target, and how that sequencing shaped everything that followedThe clear protein category: how it's exploding globally and why the US is just catching upBuilding lean the second time: a small remote team built through referrals, no agencyRaising capital on traction versus raising on hopes and dreamsWhat she'd do exactly the same the second time, and what she's doing completely differentlyBalancing three kids under seven with building a fast-scaling consumer brandIf you're building a consumer brand, thinking about a second act after an exit, or trying to figure out how to build with intention instead of urgency, this episode is one of the most grounded founder conversations I've put out this year.

  4. Jun 22

    The Repeat Founder Who Learned to Focus On One Product that Actually Matters

    What does it look like to build a premium hydration brand in one of the most crowded categories in consumer health, and win by doing almost everything differently? Joe Welstead, Co-Founder of Oshun, joins In The Money to break down how a repeat founder took every assumption about the electrolyte category and threw them out. No sachets. No citrus. No agency. No VC. Just a pump dispenser, an unflavored formula, and a brand positioning that owes more to skincare than sports nutrition. Joe built Motion Nutrition before this. He came out of that experience with one lesson above all others: launch one product, nail it completely, and resist every temptation to expand before you've earned the right to. At Oshun, he's done exactly that, and it's working. We cover: Why Joe looked at LMNT, Liquid IV, Nuun, Hydrant, and Prime and saw an opportunity hiding in plain sightThe pump dispenser decision: why form factor is a marketing strategy, not just a packaging choiceWhy Oshun has no flavor, and how that single decision sidesteps flavor fatigue and the endless SKU trapThe "clear skin, clear mind" moment: how a single conversation with a friend reframed the entire brand positioning overnightBeauty adjacent, not supplement adjacent: why escaping the supplement category unlocks everythingThree months of real-world conversations before running a single ad, and why that made the first Meta campaigns perform from day oneHow Joe learned to run Meta himself without an agency, and why he thinks the learning curve is overstatedThe seeding to Meta funnel: how Oshun uses creator seeding to train the algorithm before spending a dollar on paidTwo co-founders, one product, 75-90% of scope focused entirely on growthWhy Oshun launched a magnesium sleep product, and the surprisingly simple customer reason that accelerated the timelineBuilding in public without sharing revenue: why Joe talks about subscriber count and compound metrics but never top lineProfitable and growing while turning down institutional investors, what that optionality actually feels likeSkio's cancel flow as the single biggest retention unlock of 2026Why a skip or delay beats a discount every time for subscription churnWhat Joe would do differently in the first 12 months of the next brandIf you're building a consumer brand in health, wellness, or any crowded category where the default playbook isn't working — this episode is one of the clearest arguments I've heard for why doing less, better, wins.

  5. Jun 12

    Product, Brand, Community: The Holy Trinity for Consumer Investing at Iris Ventures

    What does it actually mean to invest in brand before it's measurable? Florian Wojewodzki, Partner at Iris, joins In The Money to break down one of the most distinctive approaches to consumer investing in Europe and the US, a fund that tracks over 5,000 brands, backs founders they've known for years before writing a check, and won't hire anyone who isn't genuinely obsessed with brand. Iris sits at the intersection of health, wellness, and better-for-you consumer, with a portfolio that includes some of the most interesting brands in CPG right now. Their thesis is built around three things every winning consumer brand needs: product, brand, and community. Miss any one of them and the other two can't save you. We cover: Why Iris describes itself as brand junkies, and why that's a hiring requirement, not a marketing lineThe holy trinity: product, brand, and community as the non-negotiable framework for every investment decisionWhy Iris builds a category view before it ever meets a company, and what that looks like in practiceHow to approach a fund like Iris, and why the best time to reach out is years before you're ready to raisePortfolio deep dive: Biomel and the instant feedback loop that removes the biggest barrier to supplement adoptionSuperlativa: clinical credibility in cortisol management and why the stress and recovery category is vastly underservedHealth: the leading online health and wellness retailer in the UK and what international expansion looks like from thereMaurten: endurance nutrition out of Gothenburg and how to build a fanatical community around cyclists, triathletes, and runnersWhat European consumer investing looks like right now versus two to three years agoStage, check size, and what Iris is actively looking for heading into the back half of 2026The categories Iris is most excited about right now, and the ones they're actively avoidingIf you're a founder, a consumer investor, or anyone trying to understand where the next generation of health and wellness brands is being built, this episode is one of the clearest windows into how the best funds in the space actually think.

  6. Jun 3

    COVID Killed 90% of His Accounts. The Pivot That Followed Built an Eight-Figure Wine Brand

    What happens when a tech founder walks away from a successful exit, spends time drinking wine in Southern Europe, and comes back convinced the American wine industry is getting it completely wrong? Stephen Vlahos, Co-Founder and CEO of Gratsi, joins In The Money to tell the story of building an eight-figure, no-additive, zero-sugar wine brand from scratch, through a pivot that COVID forced on him, a format that nobody thought would work for a premium brand, and a subscriber base of over 30,000 people who keep coming back every month. Before Gratsi, Stephen co-founded Bellhops, a venture-backed two-sided marketplace that scaled to $15 million in revenue before he handed the keys to a team from Uber. What he learned about co-founder dynamics, internal conflict, and what kills companies from the inside shaped everything about how he built Gratsi. We cover: Why Stephen left tech to sell wine, and what time in Southern Europe taught him about how Americans drink wrongThe Bellhops lessons: what happens when a founding team fights more internal battles than external onesHow Gratsi launched in Austin bars and restaurants, and why COVID shutting down 90% of his accounts turned out to be the best thing that happened to the businessThe bag-in-box pivot: why a format associated with cheap wine became Gratsi's biggest competitive advantageHow Gratsi thinks about zero sugar and no additives as a product truth, not just a marketing claimThe DTC-to-retail sequencing playbook: how Gratsi uses ecommerce data to identify which markets to enter before a single case hits a distributor's truckWhy staying at three SKUs while the rest of the industry chases product proliferation has been one of his best decisionsBuilding a subscription wine business: what 30,000 subscribers actually means for capital efficiency and forecastingThe wholesale expansion strategy: how DTC revenue warms up a market before retail arrivesFundraising in beverage alcohol: what investors are looking for and how the category is different from traditional CPGWhat Stephen would do differently in the first 12 months if he started overWhere Gratsi is heading in 2026 and beyondIf you're building in beverage, alcohol, DTC, or any category where the product format itself is the story, this episode is packed with hard-won lessons from a founder who's done it in two very different industries.

  7. May 27

    I Pitched Target for Ten Years. Here's What Happened When They Said Yes

    What does it actually look like to grind for a decade in CPG before the category finally catches up to you? Jason Burke, Founder and CEO of New Primal, joins In The Money to tell one of the most honest origin stories in better-for-you snacking; twelve years of building, a lot of expensive mistakes, and a front-row seat to one of the biggest category inflections in modern grocery. New Primal commercialized the first grass-fed beef jerky for retail. Jason bet on the family lunchbox a decade before mom entered the meat snack category. He's now approaching $100 million in revenue, heading into 1,900 Target stores with six products, and running one of the leanest operations relative to revenue in the space. He pitched Target for ten years before they said yes. We cover: Why the four-to-five year CPG startup-to-exit myth is just that, a mythWhat the decade of grinding actually looked like: too many SKUs, too many retail markets, too many rabbits chasedWhy Jason has never had self-doubt, and how that same quality hurt him in the early yearsThe crawl-walk-run retail playbook: why you should own your backyard before you go nationalWhy he'd start DTC-first if he were launching today, and spend two to three years there before calling a single retailerThe real cost of doing business with large retail partners and why going too wide too fast destroys cashHow long the retail J-curve actually is, and why you can't measure it the same way as DTCThe Whole Foods relationship that started with a workout and turned into 40 products on shelf nationallyWhy every person at New Primal is an equity owner, and what that does to the cultureThe lunchbox bet: how New Primal carved out a category position no other brand can authentically claimThe pantry stocking shift: how consumer behavior changed and why the timing was perfect for New PrimalWhy $20 bags of meat sticks are selling at Kroger, and what that says about the premium snack marketThe rotisserie chicken stick: from ideation to fastest-growing product in company history by 10xSix products going into 1,900 Target stores: what that milestone actually means after a decade of pitchingWhat Jason would do completely differently in the first 24 monthsWhy survival is a skill, and why staying lean is a requirement, not a choice, in CPGIf you're a founder in the grind wondering whether it's still worth it, or an investor trying to understand what category timing actually looks like from the inside, this episode is the most honest answer to both questions I've heard.

  8. May 11

    $10M Revenue. Two Employees. No VC.

    What does it look like to build a hardware brand to eight figures with two employees, no VC, and a rule that every product must be first order profitable from day one? Sam Coxe, Founder and CEO of Flaus, joins In The Money to tell one of the most disciplined founder stories in the DTC space; a Skadden M&A attorney who put her entire life savings into a consumer electronics company, got told no by every professional investor, and built her way to $10M+ in revenue on a foundation of margins, focus, and relentless customer research. Flaus is the world's first electric flosser. Sam didn't just build the product, she built the category. And she did it one deliberate step at a time. We cover: Why Sam left one of the world's most prestigious law firms to build a consumer hardware company The $120K life savings bet: how she funded the first million dollars of product developmentWhy she got told no by every professional investorThe 10x bill of materials rule: how she engineered hardware margins before she had a factoryFirst order profitable from day one, what that actually means and how she's maintained it for seven yearsThe SurveyMonkey moment: 600 strangers, 15 questions, and the data that flipped her entire customer hypothesis on its headAgency first, employees second: how she structured the team to stay lean as the business scaledThe dental conference circuit: 13 shows this year, all booked on credit card points, all ROI positive by end of showOne SKU. One color. One channel. The focus framework she's used since day oneThe tariff crisis: 145% tariffs, a bonded warehouse strategy she pioneered before it went mainstream, and why strong margins were the only real hedgeWhy she moved from air freight to ocean freight and how it offset the tariff impact entirely65% subscription attachment rate: how she thinks about refill cadence, churn, and personalizing the subscription modelIf you're building a hardware brand, a subscription business, or anything in a category that doesn't exist yet, this episode is the clearest blueprint I've seen for how to do it without burning through capital you don't have.

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About

A podcast about the real economics of ecommerce, DTC, and CPG. Hosted by Fan Bi, In The Money features honest convos with the people building, growing, and investing in modern consumer brands.

Information

  • Creator
    In The Money: eCommerce, DTC, and CPG
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    62
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © In The Money: eCommerce, DTC, and CPG
  • Show Website
    In The Money: eCommerce, DTC, and CPG

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