Why Founders Keep Showing Up: What CPG Founders Can Learn From Slate Milk's Journey

If you're a founder, you already know this story. You're up late, Googling how to start a company. You’re obsessing over product-market fit. You're running on caffeine and conviction.

At Founders Only Club, this isn’t theory, it’s the lived experience. And on our most recent monthly video call, we went deep with Manny Lubin, co-founder of Slate Milk, on what it really takes to scale a consumer brand from idea to 10,000+ retail locations.

Solving a Real Problem Is Step One

Manny didn’t launch Slate to chase trends. He built what he needed, a high-protein, low-sugar chocolate milk for grownups. Something better than Muscle Milk, more functional than fairlife, and designed for fitness-forward lifestyles.

This is where great direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands start: solve your own problem first. Then, validate that others have it too.

Shark Tank Wasn’t a Win—It Was a Wake-Up Call

Slate appeared on Shark Tank in early 2019. The pitch got destroyed. The valuation was too high. The sharks hated the numbers. But the exposure? It was priceless.

Manny said it best: bad for the ego, good for the business.

They launched within months. The brand moved forward. And founders everywhere learned something big: you don’t need Shark Tank to win, but you do need grit.

The Founder’s Network Is Everything

You want early-stage investors? You want distribution deals? You want to build an influencer-led brand?

Start by being real.

Slate didn’t scale through agencies or ads. It scaled through people. One connection led to another, Pickles introduced Manny to Eric Hinman. Eric opened the door to UFC, Blenders, and a national footprint. It’s a domino effect.

DTC or Retail? Start Small. Grow Smart.

Slate built its early momentum through Kickstarter and eCommerce, but always had retail in mind. Still, Manny warns founders not to go too big too fast:

“Retail is a second business. It’s expensive. It’s brutal. And if you blow your first big-box chance, it could set you back years.”

Want to know when to make the leap from DTC to retail shelves? Start with a winning product, strong repeat rate, and operational systems that scale.

Pro tip: Don’t skip regional wins. Start with 50 stores. Learn. Optimize. Then scale to 500.

Brand Building Isn’t Optional, It’s the Moat

Slate grew fast, but the brand has always stayed personal. DMs get answered. Feedback loops stay tight. Influencers aren’t just paid promoters, they’re community members.

If you're building a lifestyle CPG brand today, your founder story is your brand moat. The more real you are, the more your audience converts.

“People don’t want to be sold. They want to believe in what you’re building.”

To wrap that, order your Slate Milk HERE and use CODE: FOC2025M 

What Makes Founders Only Club Different?

We’re not a mastermind. We’re not a Slack group with memes and pitch decks. We’re a founders-only ecosystem, investors, operators, influencers, and creators who are actually building something.

Every month we meet. We share stories. We ask real questions. And we learn from other founders who are in the thick of it—not retired, not removed.

---

Want to grow faster, smarter, and alongside other high-performance founders?
Join HERE