Key Financial Terms for CPG Owners in Investor and Partner Discussions
Clayton Christensen is a Harvard Business School Professor who coined the term
"disruptive innovation
[https://www.christenseninstitute.org/theory/disruptive-innovation/]." His
research shows that 30,000 new consumer products
[https://professionalprograms.mit.edu/blog/design/why-95-of-new-products-miss-the-mark-and-how-yours-can-avoid-the-same-fate/]
are introduced each year in the U.S., with a failure rate of up to 95%. And
unfortunately, more than 80% of new CPG companies
[https://www.newhope.com/business-management/lessons-from-a-humbled-natural-cpg-founder]
never reach the $1 million mark in revenue. If you run a CPG business, you know the odds are tough. However, the potential
payoff can be huge—economically and personally. Rarely do CPG founders go it
alone. Partners and investors are often crucial to your success, and the best of
them will ask tough questions to ensure you stay on track. Sometimes, these
conversations can get intense — especially if you don’t know your numbers.