Be a nimble, capital-efficient, resilient brand

“TIG offers concrete solutions. They take action and make things happen. This holds true especially when it comes to investment readiness and go-to-market strategy.” 

Shari Leidich – Founder, Know Brainer Foods

‘We originally brought TIG on to advise on Sales and Trade Spend related things but very quickly realized that they had value far beyond those topics. They have proven to be an invaluable resource and sounding board in nearly all areas of our business. From headcount and budget, to financial model and investment opportunities. We are very happy to have them on our team!”

Sadie Olsen
Founder, Otto’s Naturals

Tardigrade Community

Our 1:1 customized Tardigrade community is designed for the brand on the cusp of dramatic growth, helping it remain nimble, capital-efficient, and resilient. We provide the customized support, education, and access needed to ensure sound strategy and intelligent decision-making. We aim to create Tardigrades, not Unicorns. 

The customized support, education, and access received are based on the fundamental traits of Tardigrade brands. It starts by assessing the scalability of the business, constructing a testable, measurable growth hypothesis, developing a 5-year capital strategy,  designing controlled experiments, and formulating a go-to-market and brand activation strategy. It also incorporates and leverages all the benefits of our eTardigrade community.

Where we will focus:

1. Capital-efficiency
   Tardigrades relentlessly pursue capital efficiency. They are laser-focused on unit and channel economics. They spend only on things that drive revenue or improve contribution margin. Every dollar deployed works hard.

2. Growth hypothesis
   Tardigrades have a compelling growth hypothesis that is both testable and measurable. It outlines the arch of growth, the resources that are needed, and the corresponding cash implications. 

3. Growth hacking
   Tardigrade entrepreneurs and their teams adopt a growth hack mindset. They are constantly finding ways to challenge their assumptions. They build small controlled experiments isolating critical variables to prove or disprove essential elements of their growth hypothesis.

4. Investment readiness
   Tardigrades are investable and scalable. They have a clear capital strategy and a strong investor narrative. They have done the work of ensuring they can absorb growth and win investment. They have a defined order-to-cash process, a strong supply chain, good financial reporting, and all the needed regulatory, compliance, and legal documentation. 

5. Optimizing the shopper continuum
   Tardigrades recognize that shoppers don’t shop in channels. Instead, they shop along a continuum. On one end, there is discovery and the other replenishment.  Innovatively and effectively, Tardigrades intersect this continuum in both the digital and physical plane.

6. Discipline
   Tardigrades know their no’s. They take a metered and disciplined approach to retail, not falling prey to the allure of distribution. They don’t confuse activity with results and can discern the important from the interesting. 

7. Nimbleness
   Tardigrades have small agile teams. They carry minimal fixed costs and adjust and adapt as the market offers its feedback. As a result, they move faster than most and embrace imperfect action.

8. Accountability
   Tardigrades have accountability and rigor infused throughout the business. They are committed to financial and performance reviews. All key stakeholders are held responsible. They have clear objectives measured by well-defined key results. They plan, they forecast, and they execute. 

9. Community
   Tardigrades build three types of community; shoppers, collaborators, and champions. While most brands focus only on shoppers, Tardigrades spend similar effort building collaborative relationships and finding true advocates. The combination of evangelical shoppers, collaborative peers, and champions who open doors and knock down walls serves as a force multiplier. 

10. Resilience
    Like their namesake, Tardigrade brands can withstand harsh conditions. When they don’t have access to food or water, they can slow down their metabolic rate. As a result, they reduce spending, inventory, and receivables. They see the benefit of slowing the pace of growth and its associated cost. Tardigrade entrepreneurs also prioritize self-care, recognizing that founder well-being fosters resilience.