ChiefofCPG.

Cohort Course · Founding Group

So you have a product idea.
Now what?

Six weeks, live, limited to ten founders and me. The fundamentals of starting a product business — taught by someone who built one from her kitchen table to national retail, and then sold it.

StartsJanuary 26, 2027Six Tuesdays, ends March 2
Live sessions11:00 a.m. PT60 minutes, block 90 · 2:00 p.m. ET
Seats10Small on purpose
Founding price$1,500$500 holds your seat

Who It's For

You have the idea. You don't have the map.

Most of what you'll find online about starting a product business was written by people who have never had a pallet rejected, never eaten a chargeback, and never sat across from a buyer. I have. This is the course I wish someone had handed me in 2007.

This is for you if

  • You have a product idea and nothing set up yet
  • You're not sure what to do first, or in what order
  • You've been quoted by a manufacturer and have no idea if it's a good number
  • You want to price it right the first time, not discover the math later
  • You'd hire someone like me but you're not there yet

It's not for you if

  • You've been selling for a year or more and want to get into retail — that's a different course, coming in July
  • You already have a buyer meeting booked
  • You want someone to do the work rather than teach you to
  • You can't make most of the six live sessions

Apply anyway if you're in the first two. I'll tell you straight where you actually belong, and put you on the list for it.

The Six Weeks

In the order the money actually moves.

You can't price a product until you know what it costs to make. You can't plan a launch until the price works. So we go in that order.

Week 1 · Jan 26

Before you spend a dollar

Your founder's story and what kind of company you actually want to run. Who owns what. Your budget and your limits. And an honest look at who is already selling something like this.

You leave with: a founder foundations worksheet and a competitive sweep

Week 2 · Feb 2

Name it, form it, protect it

Name and domain. Trademark search and when you need the lawyer. The LLC and the operating agreement. What a patent will and won't do for you. EIN, bank account, bookkeeping, seller's permit, insurance.

You leave with: a starting-from-zero setup checklist

Week 3 · Feb 9

What it really costs to start

A first-year budget, section by section. Why marketing is almost always the biggest line and nobody warns you. And the numbers you genuinely won't know yet, plus how to plan around not knowing them.

You leave with: a first-year cost worksheet

Week 4 · Feb 16

Making the product

Prototypes, and making it by hand before you go near a factory. Finding a manufacturer. Samples and minimums. The rules that apply to whatever you're selling. Packaging and UPCs.

You leave with: a getting-to-first-production checklist

Week 5 · Feb 23

Pricing that still works later

Landed cost. Margin. Wholesale versus retail. What each channel takes out of your price before you see a dollar. And how to price now so a store can work later, instead of repricing when it's too late.

You leave with: a working price model in Excel

Week 6 · Mar 2

Where you sell and how you launch

Your own website first, or Amazon, or stores. When you're actually ready for retail and when you're not. Cost of acquisition. Organic versus paid. A simple first-year forecast, and what comes next.

You leave with: a launch plan and a sales forecast model

Each session is a short talk with a deck, then real time for your questions — about your product, not a hypothetical one. Sixty minutes is the plan, but block ninety: I don't end a session with questions still in the room. Between sessions there's a private forum, and I'm in it every day.

The Price

$1,500, because you're first.

$1,500

Founding cohort. The price goes to $2,500 after this one.

  • $500 holds your seat. The balance is due before the first session on January 26.
  • Six live sessions, 60 to 90 minutes each, plus the recordings to keep.
  • Every worksheet, checklist and working model from all six weeks.
  • The private forum during the course — and you keep access after it ends.
  • If the cohort doesn't run, your deposit comes straight back.

What I'm asking for in exchange for the founding price: show up, tell me honestly what's working and what isn't, and if it helped, say so publicly at the end. That's the trade.

Apply

Ten seats. Tell me about yours.

This takes two minutes. If it looks like a fit, I'll send you twenty minutes on my calendar and we'll both decide.

No payment now. Nothing is charged until we've spoken and you've said yes.
Questions first? Email hello@chiefofcpg.com.