There’s something extremely admirable about those that “fight for the little guy.” Having worked in large CPG conglomerates like Mars, Daniel Scharff knew the advantages these mega companies have over small brands scratching and crawling for any opportunity. So, in late-2019…he began hosting Bay Area events that gave founders of the smallest emerging CPG brands a chance to demo products and network. But we all know what happened next, though being forced to pivot towards building virtual community the following year might have been the silver lining for Startup CPG. Instead of pausing everything, Daniel didn’t lose sight of his original intent. These smallest CPG brands were most affected by delays in planogram resets, so Startup CPG quickly developed helpful content, tools, platforms, and creatively sourced other incredible sales opportunities that helped minimize negative impact. And it was that initial value provided, when founders arguably needed it the most, that reverberated quickly amongst the community, thus helping catapult Startup CPG into becoming the largest and fastest growing CPG community. In our conversation, Daniel explains how this business growth has allowed Startup CPG to host more community events around the country, launch even bigger programs to help brands with what matters most, and form influential strategic partnerships. Moreover, and relating to that last point with its “GNC Next Big Thing” contest…we talk about the power of authentically putting yourself out there and staying real and transparent. But these are just a few of the fascinating topics within our recent conversation…

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