Why the Hardest Part Starts After Launch: Operators Build (E5)

<p>“The amount of effort that we put in to start does not have any meaningful correlation with the success at the end.” </p><p>When you get delayed and deprioritized by your co-manufacturer, your timeline slips by almost a year, and you still have zero sales, what do you have to show for 18 months of work? </p><p>Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela &amp; Lomi), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern), Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Curtis Christopherson (Chief Growth Officer, Ammortal), and Cody Plofker (Advisor &amp; fmr. CEO, Jones Road) reunite one month from launch to close the loop on everything that went wrong. </p><p>Physical product is in hand. Five thousand units for their very first purchase order. Now, the hard part. </p><p>Sean raises the question nobody wants to answer: is powder still the right format in 2026? Mike does the math on what 14,000 families means for a nine-figure exit. Cody challenges the team to hit $200 CAC in month one. Then drop it to $100. </p><p>Powered by </p><p>TBAR Partners </p><p><a href="https://9ops.co/tbarpartners" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠https://9ops.co/tbarpartners⁠</a> </p><p>Aftersell </p><p><a href="https://9ops.co/aftersell-build" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://9ops.co/aftersell-build</a> </p><p>Skio </p><p><a href="https://9ops.co/skio-9operators" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠https://9ops.co/skio-9operators⁠</a> </p><p>Runneth </p><p><a href="https://9ops.co/motion-runneth" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠https://9ops.co/motion-runneth⁠</a> </p><p>Omnisend </p><p><a href="https://9ops.co/omnisend" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠https://9ops.co/omnisend⁠</a> </p><p>Richpanel </p><p><a href="https://9ops.co/richpanel" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠https://9ops.co/richpanel⁠</a> </p><p>Operators Portal </p><p><a href="https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard⁠</a> </p><p>Operators Newsletter </p><p><a href="https://9operators.com/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠https://9operators.com/⁠</a> </p>