Where The Dogs Of Society Howl

Most startups do not have a growth problem.

They have an overhead problem.

A systems problem.

A too-many-tools, too-many-costs, too-much-drag problem.

This week on Where the Dogs of Society Howl, we’re getting into that with Lorde Astor West, founder and CEO of RadHash.

Astor is building a modular operating system designed to help founders build and scale software without the usual tech stack bloat.

We’ll get into the founder wiring behind it all because anyone rebuilding a 70s Airstream, living off-grid on a ranch, and surviving a coyote chase on rollerblades probably has a few things to say about pressure, adaptability, and staying upright while chaos takes a swing at your face.

If you’re a founder, builder, operator, or anyone trying to grow without getting buried in complexity, pull up a chair.

Most startups do not have a growth problem.

They have an overhead problem.

A systems problem.

A too-many-tools, too-many-costs, too-much-drag problem.

This week on Where the Dogs of Society Howl, we’re getting into that with Lorde Astor West, founder and CEO of RadHash.

Astor is building a modular operating system designed to help founders build and scale software without the usual tech stack bloat.

We’ll get into the founder wiring behind it all because anyone rebuilding a 70s Airstream, living off-grid on a ranch, and surviving a coyote chase on rollerblades probably has a few things to say about pressure, adaptability, and staying upright while chaos takes a swing at your face.

If you’re a founder, builder, operator, or anyone trying to grow without getting buried in complexity, pull up a chair.

Most brands do not need more noise.

They need better access.

Better timing.

Better rooms.

Better alignment between what they are, who they need, and how they show up.

This week on Where the Dogs of Society Howl, we’re getting into that with Shannon Peffley, founder of CPG X, and returning guest Mike Levinson, RD, founder of FS Octopus.

We’re talking about:

Why CPG X was created

What’s broken in the current CPG ecosystem

How this platform aims to be different

Who stands to benefit most and what growth actually takes now

We're talking with Nicole Light, founder of Power in Packaging.

Nicole has spent more than 15 years building scalable CPG brands across food and beverage, pharma, OTC, beauty, personal care, and private label, taking products from idea to shelf.

This is not a surface-level branding conversation.

We’re getting into:

Why packaging is not the fix if the brand upstream is muddy

Why clarity has to come before design

How scaling introduces signal drift

and what real brand leadership looks like when the stakes get bigger!

We’ll also break down a few of Nicole’s projects, because Ithe real decisions that make a brand work, are where the action is.

And yes, we may also discuss her lifelong refusal to wear buttons, plus her dream of living in an abandoned office building.

So this one should be a lot of fun.

We're (Jeff and I) talking with Matt Hyams.

A comedian, writer, content creator, and a man brave enough to describe himself as the husband of an entrepreneurial perimenopausal wife… in public.

So yes, we’re going there.

We’re talking about:

• marriage and modern life

• comedy as truth serum

• domestic absurdity

• content creation and attention

• the strange little behaviors people think are normal

• and why the funniest stuff is usually sitting right next to the stuff that makes us quietly lose our minds

Matt has a sharp way of pulling the truth out of everyday life without dressing it up.

The result is funny because it’s real.

And real because most of us are living some version of it.

If you like smart comedy, uncomfortable honesty, and conversations that feel more like great bar talk than polished nonsense, come hang with us.

Most founders think growth starts when the product gets picked up.

It doesn’t.

That’s when the pressure starts.

This week on Where the Dogs of Society Howl, we’re talking about what actually takes a CPG brand from local traction to national shelf.

My guest is Phaedra Dyer, a senior CPG sales leader with 15+ years in the trenches, helping brands grow across Whole Foods, Sprouts, Erewhon, Gelson’s, Bristol Farms, and Albertsons/Safeway.

We’re getting into:

> What retailers actually care about

> Why velocity beats vanity

> Where founders get scaling wrong

> How messaging and story affect sell-through

> How Phaedra’s career has shifted, why, and where she’s heading now

her recent move back to Southern California from Montana

what fractional leadership can fix before the wheels come off

Then 30 minutes in, we bring in Robert Cogan, Founder of PFE USA-Canada, to talk about the side of growth nobody loves posting about:

food import/export

logistics & distribution

co-packing

regulatory

Because getting on shelf is one battle.

Staying there, growing there, and not collapsing under your own ambition is another.

Most founders think money is the missing piece.

It usually isn’t.

This week on Where the Dogs of Society Howl, we’re talking with Tom Malengo, co-founder of Brandjectory, about what actually makes a CPG brand ready for growth, investment, and the next level.

We’re getting into:

• what “investment-ready” really means

• the mistakes founders make before fundraising

• the difference between traction and activity

• what smart growth looks like in CPG right now

• why some brands get backed and others get politely ignored

Tom brings serious experience, sharp pattern recognition, and the kind of perspective founders need before they start romanticizing capital.

Also, he claims he and Susan eat more broccoli than any two people alive.

So naturally, we’re discussing that too.

Smart leaders don’t lose because they’re not talented.

They lose because they’re not findable.

This week on Where The Dogs Of Society Howl, we're joined by Melanie Borden

Transforming executive expertise into a synchronized, searchable presence | Brand & AI Visibility Strategy Leader | GTM Advisor | Speaker | Author, Theatre of the Mind | Founder @ The Borden Group

We’re talking:

> Visibility without the performance costume

> Messaging that cuts through

> What modern search rewards now

> Flea?

> More...

Bring your biggest visibility fear. We’ll put it on the table.

Most marketing advice is either: Inspirational wallpaper, or

a “growth hack” that dies the second you try it in the real world.

So this week on Where The Dogs of Society Howl, 😂 Jeff Litcofsky and I are bringing on someone who lives where results actually happen.

Toby Eborn: Rock Salt Marketing. Digital marketing vet. Sales + ops background. The guy who builds growth systems that don’t snap in half when the founder changes their mind on Tuesday.

We’re getting into:

Creative process (how to make it repeatable, not random)

Startup growth (what actually moves the needle when budgets are tight)

Creative leadership (how to lead teams without turning into a committee robot)

As always, steel yourself for a drop-in from Robert Cogan (the guy who makes sh*t happen, especially when CPG brands want to get into Canadian markets.)

We're sitting down with Jason Burke, Founder/CEO of The New Primal. And we’re not doing the polished “founder fairy tale.”

We’re digging into the real arc:

> Growing up in Section 8 housing

> The ugly early reps

> The first jerky attempts, and the moment New Primal went from “a nice idea” to “this thing can actually win.”

Founder-led marketing: when it works, when it backfires

Brand story vs brand signal: how people decide fast (and why most brands confuse “content” with “meaning”)

Marketing spend: what’s worth paying for, what’s just expensive noise

First sale vs second sale: which one is the real fight.

If you’re building in CPG, scaling a snack brand, or trying to stop your marketing from turning into a slot machine… show up.

As usual 😂 Jeff Litcofsky and Robert Cogan will be there too!