Growth is exciting, until your operations start pushing back.

Many founders try to solve this by working harder, producing more, or expanding faster. But the brands that actually scale learn a different lesson: at some point, you have to stop forcing it and start building systems that work with your business, not against it.

In this Nombase podcast, Dirty Gut founder Daniel Berlin sits down with Jesse Barruch, co-founder of Whims, to get some advice on how to navigate that shift without breaking your business.

Find out:

• How to know when you're forcing growth instead of building real scale

• How to schedule smaller production runs early to save you from costly mistakes later

• How to approach co-manufacturer selection and avoid the wrong partners

• What to track when you have little to no data and how to build useful systems over time

• How to think about inventory, forecasting, and demand planning in the early stages

• The operational problems that only reveal themselves as you grow

• How to decide what to handle yourself and what to outsource as a founder

• The tradeoffs between control, cost, and efficiency in your operations

• How to structure your time around high impact work that actually drives growth

• Why your vision for the business should guide every operational decision you make

After raising capital, most founders feel like they have finally unlocked the ability to grow. But what you do next can determine whether that capital creates momentum or quietly sets your business back.

In this episode, Day Out Snacks founder Becky Pleat sits down with Phil Trowler, former finance lead at Olipop, to discuss the specifics on how early stage CPG brands should actually think about deploying capital, building financial discipline, and preparing for what comes next.

You will learn:

• The most expensive mistake founders make right after raising capital

• Why expanding into more retail doors too early can hurt your business

• How to prioritize velocity over distribution when deploying capital

• What burn rate and contribution margin actually mean in practice

• The key financial metrics every founder should know weekly

• How to think about fundraising timing, milestones, and dilution

• What strong unit economics look like and how to improve them over time

• The difference between scaling your business and just getting bigger

• When to invest in people versus systems as your company grows

• How profitability changes your leverage in fundraising conversations

Make smarter decisions with your capital and avoid costly mistakes early!

Building a great product is not enough, especially in a category that actively works against you.

In this episode, Ayeshah Abuelhiga of Mason Dixie joins Hey!Hunger's Shireen Khera to talk about what it actually takes to win in one of the toughest environments in grocery. From getting customers to physically find your product to navigating low awareness, inconsistent merchandising, and long repurchase cycles, you'll see behind the scenes into the real work behind building a brand that sells:

• What it actually takes to get customers to find, try, and buy your product in a challenging category
• Why getting on shelf is only the beginning and how to actively drive demand through demos, local marketing, and constant presence
• Why early brands should prioritize velocity and depth over expanding into more doors and how to know when you are truly ready to grow
• How to think about distribution, brokers, and expansion so you don't outgrow your ability to support the business
• How to understand your customer in a way that drives decisions on ingredients, pricing, and margins
• How to win the long game of building a brand in a category with high costs and slow repurchase cycles

Whether you are in frozen or any competitive category, you'll learn what it really takes to turn early traction into real, lasting growth.