The archive
What founders say
Every answer from the show, sorted by the problem it solves — so you can read them side by side instead of watching every episode end to end.
On getting into retail
“I would go into my local grocery stores or liquor stores and pretty much just pitch my product… we had so many places say yes, we had some places say no.”
Isabella Hoag
How founders actually got their first doors — what the conversation looked like, what it cost, and what they would skip if they did it again.
Read the answers →1 founder · 2 answersOn pricing and margin
“in the beginning we were selling our a single can wholesale for six dollars, and now we're selling retail for four ninety nine. So you can just imagine the trial and error it took.”
Isabella Hoag
What founders wish they had known before they set a wholesale price, and the numbers they defend when a buyer pushes.
Read the answers →1 founder · 3 answersOn co-packers and MOQs
“I didn't add one very specific section, distributed by OSIA… that really held us up in a lot of different ways. We couldn't get it into distributors. And so we had to self-distribute for a long time.”
Isabella Hoag
Finding someone to make your product, what a first run should actually cost you, and the label details that quietly cost founders their distribution.
Read the answers →1 founder · 1 answerOn convenience and on-premise
“In the beginning we were selling to a lot of liquor stores, and obviously liquor stores are trying to sell liquor. And so then it's kind of showcasing why they need to improve their NA set.”
Isabella Hoag
Cafés, restaurants, hotels, liquor stores and c-store. The channels most brands are told to avoid, and what it takes to hold that shelf.
Read the answers →Filling up
Topics with answers recorded but not yet published. They open as the episodes go live.