the Founders Circle
Get Retail-Ready.
Get Buyer Access.
Get on Shelves.
The Founders Circle is weekly small-group coaching for food & beverage brands with traction, designed to prepare you for retail and connect you directly with buyers when the timing is right.
We meet you where you are, sharpening strategy, pricing, & positioning, refining your pitch, & guiding next steps. When you’re ready, we facilitate real buyer introductions & help you navigate major retailers like Target, Costco, Sprouts, Walmart, Whole Foods & many more with clarity and confidence.
Here's What We've Discovered
After personally pitching thousands of retailers and helping multiple brands launch across 40,000+ doors, one thing became clear:
The problem isn’t your product.. it’s your approach.
Retail buyers want brands that:
Understand how retail actually works
Speak their language and know their metrics
Show up prepared, professional, and ready to perform
The Founders Circle teaches you how to operate like the brands buyers say YES to.
Why Most Brands
Get Stuck
Chasing buyer emails for months with no response
Sending outreach that goes unanswered
Being told to “just get a broker” without strategy and losing 5%
Missing margins, pricing, operations ready for scale
DIY marketing, operations, and retail strategies lacking expert insight
Paying partners who don’t execute alongside you
Not knowing the exact next steps to grow or expand
How
Founders
Circle Helps
Expert-led guidance tailored to your stage
Direct access to buyers and industry leaders
Hands-on execution support
Placement in a trusted peer group of founders at your level
Early retail-ready brands focus on pricing, margins, pitch, and positioning
Brands ready to pitch focus on outreach, meetings, and buyer conversations
In-market brands focus on range expansion, velocity, rollout execution, and getting in front of MORE buyers
Built for Founders with
Real Traction
Ready for Scale
Exclusive to Founders Who Are:
Already in market with consistent traction or buyer interest
Looking for expert insight, a trusted peer group and direct buyer access
In retail or preparing to expand beyond local or regional doors
Unsure if pricing, margins, or systems are scale-ready
Done with cold outreach and want warm introductions to the right buyers
Tired of guesswork and ready for real support
Seeking cross-functional strategy & execution
Genuinely ready to scale their brands
The Founders Circle Growth System
We don't just help you get on the shelf; we give you the systems to stay there and scale profitably.
1
Strategic Roadmap
Align your vision with a scalable market path.
- Audit current footprint or identify new targets
- Sequence growth to protect cash flow and capacity
- Simplify your distributor and logistics network
2
Retail Readiness
Fix the math and your "shelf-story"
- Stress-test COGS, margins, and trade spend
- Refine packaging for warehouse and shelf-flow
- Optimize economics to ensure every door is profitable
3
The Sales Engine
Win the shelf without relying on outside brokers.
- Turn your brand data into a category-winning story
- Create high-impact decks for pitches or line reviews
- Build promo calendars that actually move the needle
4
Strategic Outreach
Own the relationship and get in the right rooms.
- Access our database of 2,000+ retail buyers
- Execute warm and cold outreach that gets replies
- Master the direct-to-buyer relationship model
5
Velocity & Marketing
Drive the sell-through that keeps you on the shelf.
- Sync production schedules with retail demand
- Execute marketing and demos that move units
- Analyze store data to fix "at-risk" doors immediately
6
Systems & Scale
Remove yourself as the bottleneck of the business.
- Clean up 3PL, logistics, and back-office ops
- Automate forecasting to prevent stockouts
- Build repeatable playbooks to manage growth
How
Founders Circle
Works
No matter your stage, we guide every step of the way, like having a consultant and advisor in your pocket, so you’re never figuring it out alone.
For Founders Who Are Ready to Scale
Private, stage-matched Founder Pod (6-7 founders)
Weekly small group coaching sessions with Ashley & Industry experts
Monthly expert workshops & private calls
Warm introductions to buyers & top vendors once you’re retail-ready
Quarterly 1:1 strategy sessions with Ashley
$20K+ in proven resources, playbooks & tools
Access to 2,000+ retail contacts with buyer emails
Real buyer feedback, pitch refinement & execution support
Daily guidance through group chats & ongoing support
Full access to everything in the free community
Meet
the Experts
You’ll Build With
Alongside Ashley, you’ll learn directly from buyers, investors, and growth operators who’ve scaled real brands into thousands of retail doors.
See what our Founders Circle members have to say.
We don't just help you get on the shelf; we give you the systems to stay there and scale profitably.
Why Founder Circle is Different
Our founders face a hard choice:
Figure retail out alone.
Hire a broker and give up to 5% forever.
We build a better way:
Get retail-ready first: Pricing, margins, pitch and positioning before outreach
Access buyers & launch support: Warm and strategic introductions at the right time
Own your relationships: Full transparency, direct buyer contacts, no life time commsion
High-touch guidance: Weekly access, daily support, peer group, and real execution help
Looking for
1:1 support?
In our 1:1 program, we act as your fractional founders ready to help you grow nationally and unlock 7-8 figure retail revenue with hands-on execution, buyer outreach, and operational leadership.
