SKU Elevate + M/O: A conversation with Michelle Breyer
This week, I sat down with Michelle Breyer, CMO of SKU to talk about what SKU has planned for 2022. Naturally Austin was lucky enough to partner with them in 2021 on M/O - and the impact was incredible. 70+ founders participated in the program and 10 founders went on to M/O Track, powered by SKU.
Naturally Austin has just opened applications to the 2022 cohort of the M/O Fellowship and I wanted to catch up with Michelle to hear about what SKU has planned and why she is passionate about supporting diverse founders.
Katrina: Thanks for chatting with me today! Let’s start at the beginning, for the folks who haven’t met you, can you share a little background about yourself?
Michelle: Of course! I’m Michelle, I’m the CMO of SKU, the nation's first CPG accelerator. I work with startups of innovative consumer product companies, providing the tools and mentorship they need to succeed. I also helped establish the M/O Track, drawing on my experience of working with minority founders.
Katrina: Our partnership in 2021 was such a success and we had incredible feedback from founders who participated in the M/O Fellowship and the M/O Track. It was also our first year, so we learned a LOT. What were some of the standout lessons and insights that you and SKU gathered throughout the M/O Track?
Michelle: Our partnership around M/O was established because there was a clear need for a program that addressed the unique experiences of diverse-owned CPG startups. But once we launched we were blown away by a large number of founders who wanted to participate. We learned that our founders had a wide variety of needs - in some cases, they were in the product ideation phase, other companies were further along and needed help with co-packing or marketing - for the program to be successful, we could not offer a one-size-fits-all approach.
Katrina: This year SKU is launching the Elevate program. Can you tell us about that?
Michelle: Elevate is a customized track designed to provide diverse founders with the tools they need - mentorship, curriculum, peer-to-peer support, and networking - to scale their businesses. Through Elevate, we hope to provide those opportunities that too often are missing for diverse founders who have a great product but need additional support to take it to the next level.
SKU Elevate 2022 will build on the track we launched in summer 2021, expanding it into a nationwide virtual program. The 8-week program will have the same top-notch curriculum taught by top CPG experts as well as the hand-picked mentor teams of national experts to support the founders throughout the program.
Like last year, founders will receive seed capital at the conclusion of the program that they can use to help grow their companies.
Katrina: What type of companies are you looking for and how can people participate?
Michelle: We will focus on companies with a market-validated product with annual revenues from $1K to $100K. Brands can be in a wide range of categories, including food, beverage, pet food, apparel, personal care, and household products.
Brands can apply here.
Katrina: As diverse founders navigate the opportunities available to them, it might be helpful to clearly outline the main difference and benefits to the M/O Fellowship and Elevate. The M/O Fellowship supports early startup Founders in the process of validating their product in the market and giving them tools and resources to help them live their dream of CPG entrepreneurship. The program thoughtfully facilitates access to resources by activating the broader consumer goods ecosystem to participate in the work needed to create a more equitable playing field. Elevate is for Founders who have validated their product and are ready for the next step in their journey.
What do you hope Elevate will accomplish and why should founders apply?
Michelle: Through Elevate, we want these founders to have everything they need for their businesses to scale. We aim to foster an ecosystem in which diverse founders can thrive.
To close this out, a big thanks and congratulations to Emily Kealey, now Managing Director at SKU, and to Michelle Breyer, for their continued partnership. Emily and Michelle seeded the idea for M/O and we are excited to build on the success of last year. All 2022 M/O Fellows will be invited to apply for SKU’s Elevate program and two fellows will be selected to participate. Learn more about the M/O Fellowship here, learn more about SKU Elevate here.