Will Nitze went from selling Linsanity T-shirts in his college dorm to
building IQ Bar into a $125 million brain food empire—with just a team
of ten people. No bloated headcount. No burning through VC cash. Just
ruthless focus on unit economics and a contrarian approach to funding
that let him scale aggressively while maintaining control.
In this interview, the founder and CEO of IQ Bar breaks down how he
turned a $73,000 Kickstarter into one of the fastest-growing CPG brands
in America, why he believes bootstrapping is the worst thing you can do
in food and beverage, and the exact moment—five years in—when he knew
this could be a massive company. From cracking Costco and Whole Foods to
reinventing the business over ten times, this episode is a masterclass
in hyper-lean growth, retail strategy, and building a company like a
knife fight.
What you'll learn in this interview:
• Why bootstrapping is the worst thing you can do in CPG
• Will's contrarian fundraising strategy: raising less money, more often
to maintain control
• How he raised just under $10 million while still controlling the
company
• The exact moment, five years in, when he knew IQ Bar could be a big
company
• Why IQ Bar has reinvented its fundamental identity over ten times
• How to navigate the cash conversion cycle while scaling physical
products
• Why retail is the "final boss" for CPG brands, even in the e-commerce
era
• The strategic shift from DTC to cracking Costco, Whole Foods, Walmart,
and Target
• Why consumers are less loyal every year and how more touchpoints solve
that
• How building a personal brand creates a network of category experts
By the end of this episode, you'll understand how to scale a physical
product business without burning cash, maintain control while raising
capital strategically, and build the operational discipline required to
survive in one of the toughest industries in the world.
If you're building a CPG brand, navigating fundraising decisions, or
trying to crack retail while staying lean, this conversation will
fundamentally change how you think about growth, control, and
category-defining execution.
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PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING?
→ Starting from scratch? Apply here →
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CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/
CONNECT WITH WILL NITZE
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com//willnitze/
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-nitze
Website → https://iqbar.com/
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