Aimy Steadman

How do you turn a product selling at farmers' markets into a $100M category leader? Poppi has become a massive success story over the last 5 years. Founded by Allison Ellsworth and Stephen Ellsworth in 2015 originally as "Mother Beverage," the product quickly gained traction at Dallas farmers' markets, reaching $500K in sales with minimal marketing. In 2018, Poppi caught the attention of Rohan Oza, co-founder of CAVU Consumer Partners and a known figure in scaling consumer brands through celebrity equity partnerships. After securing a $400K investment on Shark Tank, Rohan saw potential beyond the current brand, setting the stage for a comprehensive repositioning.  By 2019, Poppi underwent a rebrand lead by Zero Studios designed to focus on DTC sales. Poppi’s marketing strategy aggressively targeted Millennials and Gen Z through social media, leveraging influencers and platforms like TikTok. This digital push resulted in 204 million social media impressions and 2.3 million engagements in 2023 alone. Poppi secured further growth capital, including a $13.5 million Series A in 2021, led by celebrity investors like Russell Westbrook and The Chainsmokers. This capital infusion, combined with the strategic expertise of CAVU, enabled Poppi to expand both online and in retail, landing partnerships with Whole Foods, Target, and Amazon. By 2022, Poppi achieved 148% year-over-year growth and 250% growth online. By the end of 2023, sales surged to $100 million, fueled by data-driven omnichannel expansion. In 2024, Poppi continues to expand aggressively, entering 5 million new households monthly and becoming the top-selling soft drink on Amazon.

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Before you launch a CPG brand with any sort of DTC strategy, make sure you do this… I promise it will take you 15 minutes or less. I see brands going straight into product development and selling without checking a crucial detail: Will the economics actually work if launched as a DTC brand? So many founders dive in because they’re excited about their product. But if they don’t understand the full payback period, they risk serious financial setbacks down the road. We created a simple 15-minute tool to help founders calculate if their DTC model is sustainable. Here’s why it’s worth it: - It considers real margins - It factors in customer acquisition costs - It gives you clarity before you commit Instead of risking time, money, and sanity, get a quick gut check. Spend those 15 minutes and see if your numbers add up. Starting strong is better than starting over. Download the free template below (link in the comments👇).

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Ready to play big? Unlock the billionaire playbook: Start with an Aged Shelf Corporation and master the art of influence WITHOUT ownership. 🏦✨ If you want to learn more. Click here to sign up for my next free webinar ⬇️

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Hello, I'm Anthony and I'm looking for a A+ killer Head of Growth for Equip Foods! Here are some wild stats on Equip: 🚀 Mid 8-figures in revenue, bootstrapped, and highly profitable (no VC BS) ✌️Only 2 FTE at the moment (no micromanaging or endless meetings) ❗️Only currently focusing on one marketing channel (affiliate/influencer) 🛍️ Industry best CR, LTV, and subscription #s (clear product market fit) 🥤Real food supplement products that are clean, transparent, and of the highest-quality that people absolutely love (actually doing something important in CPG) Perfect role for anyone who gives a damn about health, wants to get their hands dirty and build out a growth process, have huge amounts of agency and autonomy, and keen to make a dent every day when they show up to work. Here's a link to why we exist: https://lnkd.in/gGb-qCA4 Here's a link to the job description and app: https://lnkd.in/gxwE7xk7 (TIP: DO NOT APPLY IF YOU ARE PLANT-BASED) Please tag anyone you think could be a good fit! (P.S. I've been a tad quiet here. Are you interested in anything else about this business? Should I share more on LinkedIn?)

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DayOne cohort #6 is shaping up. 5 teams already committed to participate 🚀 From agriculture to biotech to platform build outs. The founders look 👍🏼&💪🏽 We have interviews scheduled for this week, so if you are thinking of applying, act quickly! Anyone out there that knows of founders that are starting their journey, please also reach out to #genesisventures 👊🏼 It's never too late and the application is simple. 💡Revamping the structure to have even more hands-on and face to face. Applications Close-October 6th,2024. 6th Cohort Begins-November 4th,2024 #dayone #startup #greektech #founders

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It’s painful to remember how many good opportunities I and other investors I respect have had to pass on because founders acted on bad advice that made their companies not venture-backable. Hopefully, the post below will help founders avoid some of the most common pitfalls in raising their early financing rounds.

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Despite the headwinds many software companies (even public ones) are facing today, there are still those that are delivering great results. Check out how the top decile companies in our Beyond Benchmarks survey are performing. And don't forget to review the full report for many more insights on the state of private software businesses.

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Small venture capital pet peeve: on the pitch deck slide where you introduce the executive team, having just the pictures with names and titles is pretty useless*. Tell me what experiences the key people have had that make it the right team for your business. Don't make me have to type each person's name into LinkedIn to figure out the narrative. *unfortunately, this is pretty common-- maybe about 20% of decks :(

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When we asked CPG founders who they wanted at Founderland... Their answer was clear: People who can help them grow their business & achieve their goals. Specifically: - The top retailers - The most founder-friendly investors, and - Other founders they can learn from and share with This conversation that I'm hosting at Founderland is a perfect representation of this group, plus one BIG bonus. We're also including Joel Toledano and ChargeUp.ai which is one of my favorite tech companies that is supporting consumer brands today. They automate the retail deduction and chargeback process for brands, saving them an insane amount of time and money. Such a cool co. Excited to teach, share and connect...and get some deals done, while of course having lots of fun. Joel Toledano Jen Zeszut Kim Coffin Deb Conklin

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Over the years, we at GFR Fund have solidified our investment thesis, which is that we invest in "emerging digitally native communities." These communities can be built around games, social media, and any consumer applications. Now, founders have many easy-to-use tools to build user communities, such as Discord, X/twitter, Instagram, etc, and we believe the founders should start building communities even before they launch a product. The communities can help founders: - reach PMF faster - acquire users cheaper - retain and engage users longer - build better UX/UI, and - hire early employees Below, you can see how RTFKT and Omeda Studios built the community and then worked with them to create a product the users really wanted. We would love to talk to the founders who think the community is essential in building a product!

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But Analisa, how do I find the right investors? This is a question I've coached hundreds of Founders on. Closing investors that align with your vision and values is key for building the company of your dreams so that you create the impact you were born to lead. In the Aligned Fundraising keynote, I break down the 3-part formula I've taught hundreds of CEOs to raise millions from investors. This is bullseye content if you are... 🎯 hosting a conference geared at startups 🎯 planning an event for your portfolio companies 🎯 designing the program for your next accelerator cohort 🎯 looking for an expert speaker Send a DM or comment below for more information and to set up a call

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As a VC, there are times when you have to choose between prioritizing returns and supporting the founders you work with. It’s not easy because we have a fiduciary duty to our LPs, which, in our case, are primarily non-profits, to maximize returns. At Eniac, we play the long game: if we do what’s best for our founders, it will ultimately benefit our brand, reputation, and relationships, which will be best for our LPs in the long run.

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There are Billions of dollars in non-dilutive grants and other funding for startups, especially those in Medical Devices, Digital Health, and Healthcare overall! Are you tapping into these sources of free capital where you don’t have to give up any of your equity? There are also people who can help you better prepare to win your grant applications (see below)!

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How to kill an idea? This article is one I reread every 6 months from a venture studio in the states, it outlines the process they use to first evaluate ideas, then kill ideas. I like to think of the velocity of idea testing, or if you are into economics, the i2 of idea testing, from the m2 of money. Their approach is to create a landing page, run ads, identify the core metrics, like CTR, TAM, CAC, look alike audiences, leading to a guessed LTV. You can have a good idea in theory, that might make a good product, but if the marketing economics is unfavourable then its not possible to build a flywheel marketing system to bring that product to market. Demand testing, in this data driven way can really open up and shine some light on assumptions. - Is the market big enough to scale this past 100m? - What is the lowest Customer Acquisitions Cost (CAC) I can get? - What are people willing to pay? How does changing the price affect CAC? - Does the first sale cover adspend to get that customer? - Will I have a cash flow problem, what is the LTV, how many month until payback? - How often will the customer use this solution, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly? etc. This is also why you don't see successful SAAS products selling for $2 a month, it will cost atleast $10 to $100+ to get a new customer, so unless you have some upsell, and the $2 is just lead generation, then you will have a major cash flow problem. The article: https://lnkd.in/gJhUmSbX Quick note: Advertising something when you have no intention to provide the product/service is unlawful in NZ (?)

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Ag LLM benchmark update: 1. V2: added 300 new questions (thanks to Noah Freeman!). 2. Reran models on new benchmark. 3. Categorized results. Farmer's Business Network, Inc.'s Norm has come way up in the rankings! Looks like they quietly updated. Full V2 benchmark here: https://lnkd.in/er8KqXxf

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When should you stop seed fundraising? It's easy to stop raising when the round is successfully closed, but what about when things aren't going as well as you'd hoped? I recommend sticking with it for 90 days. Here's why: 1. Yeses often come at the end. For most founders, you'll have to go through dozens of meetings before you start hearing "yes," and then they all come at once. So endurance is a requirement in the fundraising process. 2. 90 days is a fair exchange. Getting the opportunity to work on your business for 2 years is a privilege. It's totally reasonable to invest 3 months of your time upfront to get that opportunity. 3. You probably need the money. Many startups need to raise additional capital before their Series A to give themselves enough time to hit the necessary milestones. It's usually a lot easier to raise a seed round, than to raise a bridge round. 4. Optimize your time. Fundraising for 90 days doesn't mean keep taking meetings with people that aren't interested. Focus your time on the investors who seem most engaged and where you've already had success. #venturecapital #fundraising

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WHY RETAILERS ARE THE WELTHIES PEOPLE IN THE WORLD? … 2.8 trillion USD turnover with contribution in high marginal part of ~24% or 662 billion of Private Label Manufacturing (write your insight for founders in comments) … Let’s brake it down below 👇 1. Walmart Turnover $572.8B CEO Doug McMillon High margins from private labels (~25% of sales). #GreatValue #Equate #Mainstays 2. Amazon Turnover $469.8B CEO Andy Jassy AWS contributes ~60% of operating income; private labels boost profits. #AmazonBasics #Solimo 3. Costco Wholesale Turnover $226.9B CEO W. Craig Jelinek. 70% of profit from membership fees; Kirkland drives sales. #KirklandSignature 4. Schwarz Group Turnover $140B CEO Gerd Chrzanowski. Lidl's private labels are 80% of products, increasing margins. #Lidl #Kaufland #Deluxe 5. Kroger Turnover $137.9B CEO Rodney McMullen Private brands account for 30% of sales. #SimpleTruth #PrivateSelection 6. Walgreens Boots Alliance Turnover $132.5B CEO Rosalind Brewer . Own brands enhance margins significantly. #Nice #Boots #No7 7. Alibaba Group Turnover $109.5B CEO Daniel Zhang. Cloud revenue up 50%; private labels growing. #TmallCollection 8. The Home Depot Turnover $151.2B CEO Ted Decker Private brands like Husky boost margins. #Husky #GlacierBay 9. ALDI USA Turnover $106.3B CEO Jason Hart (Aldi US). 90% of products are private label, enhancing profits. #AldiBrand 10. Tesco Turnover $74.7B CEO Ken Murphy. Own brands make up 50% of sales volume. #TescoFinest #FandF 11. Carrefour Turnover $80.7B CEO Alexandre Bompard Private labels represent 25% of sales. #CarrefourBio #RefletsdeFrance 12. JD.COM Turnover $114.3B CEO Lei Xu (徐雷) Logistics and private labels increase margins. #JingZao 13. Target Turnover $106B CEO Brian Cornell. 33% of sales from exclusive brands. #UpandUp #CatandJack 14. CVS Health Turnover $292.1B CEO Karen S. Lynch Own brands and health services boost profits. #CVSHealth #GoldEmblem 15. Aeon Turnover $83B CEO Akio Yoshida. Private brands contribute 15% to sales. #Topvalu #HomeCoordy

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Big mistake I see DTC founders make is expanding into retail too quickly. Sure, you might get on shelves, but if no one's buying, you get double crushed financially. Becca Millstein and team put on a masterclass in retail with Fishwife - here's how she did it in the Shark Tank 👇 When I met Becca Millstein, I wasn't sure about investing in "tinned fish"...BUT I was immediately struck by the branding and authenticity of Fishwife. Tinned fish was one of those sleepy categories you rarely think about and that's when I knew it was ripe for disruption. Fast forward and her vision has become a reality—and I'm proud to be a part of it through OpenSky Ventures. They've taken a product we all know (and maybe haven't thought about recently) and injected it with a funky, cool, and fresh vibe that's wildly authentic. Since launching, they've seen a consistent 200% - 300% year-over-year growth. Super impressive, but what really sets Fishwife apart is they did it profitably. That's almost unheard of in the startup world–especially for a CPG brand. Their secret? Focusing on margins from day one and running an incredibly lean operation: ➝ Very low payroll as % of net revenue (5-6%) ➝ Low marketing spend (6-11% of net revenue) ➝ Low G&A Opex (5-8%) For the first 2 years, they focused solely on organic growth and branding. Their branding was the marketing and it sold the story. Becca's distinctive vision and voice have created a brand that truly stands out, both on social and on shelves as the retail world has taken notice too. Fishwife has nearly doubled its retail presence from 1,800 to 3,400 doors in the last year alone. Their products are flying off the shelves at 2X the projected rate in partners like Whole Foods Market. As if that wasn't enough, Fishwife recently made an appearance on Shark Tank ABC which brought national exposure to this once-sleepy category. What's most impressive here is how they've balanced rapid growth with smart, sustainable marketing. They're not just selling tinned fish; they're selling a sustainable movement. Fishwife’s journey reminds me of a conversation I often have with founders about the dangers of expanding into retail too quickly. Sure, you might get your product on the shelf, but if no one's buying it, what's the point? Fishwife cracked this code brilliantly. It's companies like this that make me love what I do at OpenSky Ventures. Here's to Becca and the Fishwife team—I can't wait to see what you reel in next! 🎣

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