# #261 - What Makes Brands Investable at Founders & Funders? with Hannah Dittman

- Show: [The Startup CPG Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast)
- Published: 2026-08-11
- Length: 52m
- Episode: 350
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-08-11-261-what-makes-brands-investable-at-founders-funders-with-hannah-dittman
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/aadd4f21

## Summary

Hannah Dittman, Operations & Finance Host at Startup CPG and former investor at Main Post Partners and Morphe, explains what makes a CPG brand investable to venture capitalists. She details the criteria used for Startup CPG's 'Founders and Funders' and 'Roadshow' events, emphasizing that investors look for clear exit potential, scalable TAM, and strong unit economics rather than just product novelty. Dittman advises founders to treat fundraising as a partnership evaluation, to contextualize traction data against competitors, and to avoid common application mistakes like skipping the pitch video or burying key metrics in verbose one-pagers.

## Outline

1. Introduction: Hannah Dittman's Background and Startup CPG's Role
2. Founders and Funders vs. Roadshow: Event Formats and Access
3. Defining 'Investable': TAM, Exit Potential, and Unit Economics
4. The Application Process: One-Pagers, Video Pitches, and Differentiation
5. Evaluating Fundraising History and Traction Context
6. Current Investing Landscape: Profitability, Omnichannel, and Niche Categories
7. Closing Advice: Mindset, Empowerment, and Relationship Building

## Topics

- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Startup CPG (company)
- Main Post Partners (company)
- Morphe (company)
- Parthenon Group (company)
- Benefit Cosmetics (company)
- Founders and Funders (product)
- Roadshow (product)

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- [S1 E7: Level Up Your Hardware Product Pitch with Haje Kamps](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2023-06-27-s1-e7-level-up-your-hardware-product-pitch-with-haje-kamps) (The Builder Circle)
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- [Axel Bichara | How to Work with VCs to Build An Engineering Business](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-03-31-axel-bichara-how-to-work-with-vcs-to-build-an-engineering-business) (Being an Engineer)

## Citing this page

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