Will Nitze

@JamesonCamp It didn’t disappoint

@willnitze I’m trying to cop some of that chia seed pudding though bro

Larping as a bougie grocery shopper this a.m. I kinda get it.

@jordanmenard That’s my go-to vibe

@willnitze You look like when my mom made me take pictures when I didn’t want to

@MehtabKarta For sure, definitely less fun too. All comes down to what you optimize for. (For me, fun wasn’t high on list; in subsequent ventures it will be).

@willnitze Way less fun imo. I don’t it at all personally. All of the cofounders I’ve had before I’m still super close with. I just texted one today that I haven’t worked with since 2019!

one of the most common scenarios we run into is one co-founder or multiple co-founders outgrowing the other co-founders as the company scales. the people who don't scale are not being intellectually honest even when offered a really good outcome and at the same time since they know they're not pulling their weight, they will not offer to buy the other people out, meaning they're basically forcing their co-founders to stay with them they get greedy and end up blowing up the whole business or forcing a bad situation

@ZachCPG I still hear it today. I always just laugh.

@willnitze Sure you heard it once or twice in the early days.

@ZachCPG So true. It’s the laziest take on earth. The best markets are all ToO cRowDEd.

“Crowded category” is the laziest take in all of CPG. There are only two kinds of categories: hard and harder. (If it were easy, everyone would be running a 9 figure brand). I’ve seen more than one category defining brand get passed on in the early days because investors thought the space was “too crowded.” I was told the same for both protein and caffeine/energy back in 2010. tOo LaTe / tOo CrOwDed. These narratives recycle. Calling a category “crowded” overlooks: - sub segment opportunity - the power of branding w/ distribution and operational excellence - ambition You don’t even need to listen to the voice in your head trying to rationalize your probability of success. There’s nothing rational about turning a few ingredients into $100M+. That’s never stopped the ones who actually do it.

People celebrate *speed* because it yields first-mover-advantage and keeps you on-trend. But there's a more boring benefit: quicker revenue. If you launch something three months faster, you get an extra quarter of sales on that item THIS YEAR. Millions of dollars vs zero dollars. And if you're launching 3 / 4 / 5 new SKUs each year, the revenue value of speed compounds in a silly-big way. Caveat: speed is painful.

@nickywonka Congrats dood

just hit $40,000,000 million run rate. 40% of the goal to $100 million TTM = $35 million As promised I'm going to be documenting the journey to $100 million/year revenue for our Mid-Day Snacking Empire Run rate = Last 3 months of top line revenue Average multiplied by 12

@BallinFil It's definitely fun to look at!

@willnitze We need more cool art on packaging - I don’t want to see the numbers 😂

Proactiveness is over-rated. No one can predict the future. Over-preparing for an event, trend, etc. that comes later than you'd think - or never comes - drains time and money. *Especially* when you manufacture physical goods. Better to be a ridiculously fastest REACTOR - you get 90% of the benefits of proactiveness with none of the costs.

At first, invest in maniacal focus. But then, over time, incorporate a portfolio strategy across every facet of your business. - diverse set of selling channels - diverse set of skill sets on your team - dynamic products with numerous value props - optionality to exit the biz or hold it - optionality to grow fast or grow modestly - variety across SKUs and, if you can swing it, categories you play in It's impossible to know what will pop off across ANY of these vectors. With a strong portfolio in each, you can win no matter what. You become un-killable.

@colinvmcguire Yep, seems that's likely the case. Interesting cuz I live in a world where flavor appeal is absolute table stakes.

@willnitze Craft chocolate might be an anomaly like wine and perfume.

I’d love to see data on packaging like this that’s… a) aesthetically *gorgeous* but b) conveys zero taste appeal Eyeballs are drawn in, but the mouth doesn’t water. It could be category specific where it works in chocolate and craft beer but not in pizza. Genuinely curious.

@dave_stickland Awesome, glad to hear it. Definitely beautiful.

@willnitze She is in Seattle EO and gave a talk about this rollout. Its been a real hit. Its so awesome to see, their old packaging was very very bland.

@carsonbhoffman Great point

@willnitze I'll present some food for thought here too. Locational dependence. I am WAY more likely to buy these at a local mom and pop store because they look like a "local specialty" over brand name stuff.

@joshua_schall I’d have the same curiosity on that packaging

This was the packaging before the dramatic rebrand...

@justin_bomb For sure

@willnitze This just scream gifting

@itskevingraham Million percent. I think taste appeal is way less critical in alcohol than in, say, food. I mean hell, the existence of Jägermeister says a lot! Aesthetics are huge there.

@willnitze Feel like it works in wine too, the amount of people I meet who say they grab a bottle because the design “looked fun or cute” is wild

@adic_9 @R_Actoninus @AlexKrusz Mag l-threonate is the best. Check out IQMIX and/or IQJOE for great ways to get it on a daily basis - way better than having to slam pills every day.

@R_Actoninus @AlexKrusz I have taken all of the magnesiums yes incl magtein Glycinate has nice smooth effects, adding taurine increases sedation and makes it gabanergic, everything else is the wrong kind of sedation, feels like getting lobotomized in a bad way

Note that this can legit cook your brain a bit if you are: very young, have migraines, have seizures, or on drugs Good luck, have fun, don’t succumb to infohazards