352 | Turning Feedback Into a Founder’s Superpower | with Kirsten Maitland

Kirsten Maitland is the co-founder of Rebel Cheese, an award-winning Austin-based vegan cheese brand backed by Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban. A former U.S. Navy veteran and Microsoft agile coach, Kirsten brings her background in tech innovation to reimagine plant-based dairy through traditional cheesemaking techniques and smart Ecommerce strategy.

After leaving a stable four-day tech career to pursue purpose over comfort, Kirsten built Rebel Cheese from a six-bottle wine fridge experiment into a nationally recognized brand featured by The New York Times. From launching DTC overnight during COVID to scaling through broken shipments and real-time customer feedback, her journey reveals what it takes to grow authentically while staying true to your values.

Whether you’re building a mission-driven CPG company or refining your feedback loop before scaling, Kirsten shares a masterclass in transforming curiosity and conviction into sustainable growth.

In This Conversation We Discuss:

• [00:03] Intro
• [00:55] Bringing tradition into modern food innovation
• [01:30] Turning passion for food into a scalable concept
• [02:34] Validating a product through emotional connection
• [03:33] Turning crisis into new growth channels
• [04:44] Fixing packaging with help from early partners
• [06:03] Shipping curated boxes to customers’ doors
• [07:00] Selling out with zero ads or paid marketing
• [08:00] Turning online orders into lasting connections
• [08:58] Delaying advertising to protect cash flow
• [10:21] Stay updated with new episodes
• [10:31] Learning to sustain momentum after viral moments
• [12:24] Studying investor dynamics before pitching
• [12:53] Episode Sponsors: Electric Eye & Heatmap
• [15:32] Launching fast to gather real customer feedback
• [18:01] Leveraging AI agents to save time and money

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Plant-based cheese you'll actually love rebelcheese.com/
• Follow Kirsten Maitland linkedin.com/in/kirstenmaitland
• Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect
• Clear, real-time data built for ecommerce optimization heatmap.com/honest

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