Making Cents

Drew Fallon
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The go-to finance podcast for the consumer goods industry. Host Drew Fallon brings on experts to cover everything from capital markets transaction to tactical tips on how to scale a company from the CFOs seat

  1. Sep 17

    The 2 Numbers That Make or Break a Consumer Brand

    On this episode of Making Cents with Drew Fallon, we sit down with Kiva Dickinson, founder of Selva Ventures. Kiva shares his journey from investment banking and TPG to launching a highly concentrated, consumer-focused VC fund that has backed brands like Nut Pods, Liquid IV, and Grüns. Key Takeaways: Why repeat purchase and gross margin are the two most critical metrics for early-stage CPG brands looking to raise capital. The common false positives when transitioning a high-growth DTC brand into retail. The underwriting thesis behind the Grüns investment and how founder Chad utilized the Netflix "no rules, rules" hiring philosophy. How macro shifts like the longevity movement, GLP-1 medications, and children's nutrition are creating massive market dislocations. How massive CPG incumbents like Nestlé and Unilever navigate M&A to acquire the future of consumer goods.Whether you are a founder looking to raise your seed round or an operator trying to understand how venture capitalists evaluate retail velocities, this episode is packed with capital market insights. Chapters:00:00 - Introduction & Kiva's Private Equity Background03:22 - Launching Selva Ventures & Check Sizes07:34 - What VCs Look For: Repeat Purchase & Gross Margin11:32 - Evaluating Retail Velocity in Lower Margin Categories14:46 - The DTC to Retail Transition Trap18:38 - The Grüns Investment & Hiring High Performers28:09 - Professionalization and Preparing for an Exit34:48 - Market Trends: Longevity, GLP-1, and Children's Nutrition40:35 - The Future of CPG Mergers & Acquisitions Learn more about Iris Finance at: https://www.irisfinance.co/ Follow our host, Drew Fallon, on X for more insights: https://x.com/drewfallon12#VentureCapital #ConsumerGoods #StartupFunding #CPG #MakingCents

  2. Aug 19

    E:23 | How IM8 Secured $1 Billion to Dominate the Supplement Industry | Brian Rosin

    On this episode of Making Cents with Drew Fallon, we sit down with Brian Rosin, the CFO of IM8. Brian shares his incredible and unconventional journey from leaving his corporate job to work for $100 a month to becoming a public company CFO in the global consumer goods space. Key Takeaways: Hear how Brian helped scale Rant Sports from a small blog to a $30M a year business before selling to a public company. Learn the private equity playbook for acquiring, polishing, and flipping Amazon-native supplement and skincare brands. Discover the mechanics of the General Catalyst funding facility, which acts as a securitization of subscription gross profit to fund 70% of marketing upfront with zero dilution. Understand the macro tailwinds driving the premium supplement space, including longevity trends and GLP-1 usage. Get tactical advice for $10M to $50M founders: why you shouldn't "skip steps" and how bringing in a strong finance mind can add turns to your exit multiple.Whether you are a founder trying to professionalize your business or an operator looking to understand innovative capital structures, this episode is packed with CFO-level insights. Watch the full episode to learn how to scale your brand to the next level! Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction & The $100/Month Startup Gamble 06:02 - Transitioning to E-commerce & The Private Equity Playbook 13:27 - Discovering IM8 & Becoming a Public Company CFO 23:52 - Breaking Down the General Catalyst Funding Facility 32:04 - Cost of Capital Mechanics & Non-Dilutive Growth 37:36 - Competing with Thorne and AG1 in the Supplement Space 43:17 - Macro Trends: Longevity and GLP-1s 45:46 - Advice for Founders: Why You Can't Skip Steps Learn more about Iris Finance at: https://www.irisfinance.co/ Follow our host, Drew Fallon, on X for more insights: https://x.com/drewfallon12#CFO #ConsumerGoods #StartupFunding #PrivateEquity #MakingCents

  3. Aug 19

    E: 22 | How I Raised $24M With a Cold Website Form | Daniel Rainey

    On this episode of Making Cents with Drew Fallon, we sit down with Daniel Rainey, founder of Stars and Honey. Daniel shares his incredible journey transitioning from B2B private equity into the highly competitive consumer goods space. Key Takeaways: Learn how Daniel hit profitability in just four months by obsessing over LTV and CPA contribution math. Hear why he decided to build his own manufacturing facility early on to control product innovation and margins. Discover the massive market tailwinds that fueled their growth, including a rise in women's weight training and GLP-1s. Get the inside story on how he successfully pitched VMG Partners to fund a massive retail expansion into Target and Costco. Understand why blending strict financial discipline with a strong, artistic brand identity is the ultimate competitive advantage.Whether you are an operator or an investor, Daniel's transition from finance to CPG founder provides a masterclass on capital allocation and retail scaling. Watch the full episode to learn how to build a modern consumer brand! Chapters:00:00 - Introduction & Daniel's Private Equity Background06:21 - Why Protein Bars? Entering a Commoditized Market09:17 - Growth Tailwinds: Women's Fitness & GLP-1s14:26 - The Origin and Design of "Stars and Honey"18:45 - Bootstrapping, DTC Launch, & Building In-House Manufacturing25:41 - Scaling to $50M: Profitability, LTV, & CPA Metrics31:53 - Raising Capital from VMG Partners43:48 - The Power of Vertical Integration in CPG50:45 - The Future of Stars and Honey Connect: Follow our host, Drew Fallon, on X for more insights: https://x.com/drewfallon12#CPG #Founders #VentureCapital #BusinessStrategy #MakingCents

  4. Aug 19

    E:21 STOP RAISING VENTURE CAPITAL

    On this episode, we sit down with Andy Whitman, Managing Partner at Loft Growth Partners, to unpack the realities of early-stage consumer packaged goods (CPG) investing. Drawing from his background as an operator at General Foods and nearly 25 years of experience investing in emerging brands, Andy shares his candid views on raising capital, scaling operations, and navigating the current M&A landscape. Key Takeaways: The Danger of Raising Too Much: Founders often raise too much money too early in their journey, which inevitably leads to highly expensive mistakes. If you operate with less capital, your mistakes remain cheap, which is heavily preferable while you are still figuring out the business. Scale Does Not Guarantee Profit: Many founders incorrectly assume that gross margins will naturally improve as they scale, but Andy argues that diligent hard work is what actually drives margin expansion. He shares an example of a beverage founder who saved a million dollars a year simply by reducing the number of printed colors on their aluminum cans from seven to three. The Metrics That Actually Matter: For early-stage retail businesses, the only two metrics that truly matter are your gross or contribution margin and your velocity, which is your sell-through rate. In the early days, P&Ls do not matter nearly as much as managing actual cash and working capital. The M&A Market Bifurcation: The M&A market has drastically shifted over the last few years, creating a massive chasm between different types of brands. There is now a clear divide between "asterisk" businesses that have hidden problems and high-quality brands that are getting acquired at premium prices because they perfectly fill a gap for strategic acquirers.Chapters:00:00 - Intro & Welcome01:11 - Andy's Background & The Origin of Loft Growth Partners07:06 - Early Bets on "Better-For-You" & Finding White Space13:17 - Why the Floor for CPG Acquisitions Has Increased18:11 - The Danger of Raising Too Much Money Too Early27:10 - The Two Metrics That Actually Matter in Retail38:06 - Cash Flow vs. The P&L42:37 - The Bifurcated M&A Market54:16 - The Best Categories to Build in Today & Free Resources Connect: Follow our host, Drew Fallon, on X for more insights: https://x.com/drewfallon12#CPG #Founders #VentureCapital #BusinessStrategy #MakingCents

  5. Mar 12

    E:20: THE ULTIMATE FOOD CPG MASTERCLASS: RXBAR, SIMPLE MILLS, AND SIR KENSINGTON'S

    Join us on Byside for a special compilation episode where we extract the greatest lessons in food brand building and massive M&A exits. We dive into how RXBAR bootstrapped their way from a line of credit to a highly competitive 600 million dollar exit in just four years. Then, we explore how Simple Mills managed explosive demand at Costco, scaling from 70 million to 240 million dollars while using smart debt to avoid dilution. Finally, we unpack Sir Kensington's brilliant strategy of using New York City restaurants as the theater of food to build deep consumer habits before their strategic acquisition by Unilever. Chapters 00:00 - The $600M RXBAR Bidding War 03:06 - Bootstrapping and Securing Bank Debt 07:39 - Simple Mills' Explosive Costco Growth 10:18 - Using Debt to Minimize Equity Dilution 12:07 - Sir Kensington's Restaurant Strategy 14:26 - The Unilever Acquisition #FoodBrandBuilding, #CPGinvesting, #RXBARexit, #SimpleMills, #SirKensingtons, #BootstrappedBusiness, #CPGfounders, #ConsumerPackagedGoods, #RetailStrategy, #MergersAndAcquisitions

  6. Feb 26

    E:19 ROBBIE PATTERSON ON THE $350M Astō FUND, SECONDARY SHARES, AND CPG IPOS

    Join us on Byside as we welcome Robbie Patterson to unpack the playbook behind Astō Consumer Partners. Robbie breaks down how his team recently raised a 350 million dollar fund to back profitable consumer brands in food, VMS, and personal care. We explore why Astō prefers buying secondary shares at a 10 to 20 percent discount to align with founders, how they identify brands with massive gross margins up to 90 percent, and where true investment alpha lives in the transition from online channels to physical retail. Plus, hear Robbie's bold prediction on why the public markets are reopening with half a dozen CPG IPOs this year.

  7. Feb 19

    E:18 Bootstrapping a $100M Beauty Empire: Kevin Gould of Glamnetic

    How do you scale from $1 million to $100 million in revenue without taking a single dollar of outside capital?. In this episode, we are joined by Kevin Gould, the co-founder of Glamnetic. Kevin takes us through his career starting in the WME mailroom, his transition into influencer management, and the eventual creation of one of the fastest-growing brands in the beauty space. We discuss the high-stakes decision to pivot the company from magnetic lashes to press-on nails, the tactical realities of managing cash flow in a bootstrapped business, and the recent launch of their mass-market brand into 2,700 Walmart doors. This is an essential listen for anyone interested in finance, marketing, and the "real world" challenges of scaling a consumer brand.

  8. Feb 13

    E:17 $3.6M Profit on $12M Sales: Why BUDA Went Public

    Horatio, CEO of Buddha Juice (NYSE American: BUDA), shares how they pivoted from ~18–19 retail stores to a profitable wholesale model built on an “ultra-fresh” cold chain (~35°F, 8–12 day shelf life). We unpack Costco roadshows, the decision to IPO vs private equity, and how automation + operational discipline can drive strong margins in CPG. We also dig into the unit economics behind a ~45% gross margin beverage business, how automation drove labor costs down dramatically, and how BUDA thinks about scaling capacity (including expanding beyond Dallas to serve the East and West Coasts).​

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About

The go-to finance podcast for the consumer goods industry. Host Drew Fallon brings on experts to cover everything from capital markets transaction to tactical tips on how to scale a company from the CFOs seat

Information

  • Creator
    Drew Fallon
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Drew Fallon
  • Show Website
    Making Cents

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