James provides insightful guidance to those who are working hard to atart and scale their businesses

I am one of the engineer - investor - CEOs who Dr. Richardson has cheated out of pre-paid consulting services at the rate of $250 / hr. I am the paying customer who is the subject of Richardson's made-up factoid about an engineer who would not give context on the business and defensively blustered when challenged. Richardson said to me, he does not read briefing papers and does not prepare for paid consultation meetings. In my career I have never seen an engineer bluster. The sneering tone of Episode 74 "Why Engineers Struggle as Founders" is an example of Richardson's contempt for paying customers, for whom he claims to be "doing you a favor". My advice is to not let Dr. Richardson interact with your employees or you will lose valuable human resources and your judgement will be questioned. Richardson knows nothing about engineering, which requires judgement to get approximately the right answer to real problems, and do it fast. But Richardson can't know because he is permanently stuck as a contingent worker, an external temporary resource. People who have shown the bad judgment to waste years on a social science PhD and now do undergraduate level work are not trusted with business decisions among the executive team in companies that manufacture and sell CPG. Business decisions in CPG industry are made by the executive team responsible for operations. Managers with the education and experience for quantititative analysis politely extract insights from external resource consultants with social science degrees, then send them away so engineers and business executives can get back to making money. Richardson ignores his own advise to focus on customer experience while consuming the product as he repeats in podcast episode #74, "F__k, F__k, f__king up, F__kups, and F__king ruin. We are sympathetic to his excuses, claiming to be a neurodiverse, solopreneur, but our sympathy ended when he stole our money. From 1st hand experierience, in my opinion, Richardson is a self-indulgent, unemployable creep. He might learn about new strategy for sales of CPG from participating in the success of our business, But after being cheated in a paid discovery call, In my opinion his ability to learn in real-time are limited and his insights are becoming outdated.

Cuts to the chase - realistic, concise, fun.

I never miss an episode. When Dr. Richardson puts out a blog post, you must read it, when he posts on LinkedIn, pay attention. And when he releases a new podcast episode, you must listen! Not to be missed!!

Love this podcast! Short episodes with bit-sized advice and analysis that can have an outsized impact on how you operate a CPG business. He will say the things everyone else in the industry is afraid to tell you, and tell you the KPIs you should be focused on (hint: it’s not the vanity metrics so many folks get hung up on).

Insights and analysis for this podcast does not just apply to new brands and startups. Established brands should take heed to the fact-based, proven conclusions in this podcast.

So nice to hear someone tell it like it is in the ugly underbelly of CPG! A must listen for anyone trying to build a brand and scale with retail.

It’s difficult running a small business, Dr. J Richardson knowledges this and gives great advice of how to improve your business and he has a wicked (in a good way) sense of humor.

Dr R might be a little, um, in your face for some people, but it is worth it. This podcast ans his book have been invaluable to our team, and taught us a ton. I bought his book for my business partners for Christmas, and I listen to every episode. Who knew data and science could help your business?!

As a new CPG founder, I listen to and apply everything Dr. Richardson shares because he’s SPOT ON! Get his book too!!

Amazing insights for CPG start-ups.

Dr. James Richardson is one of those people you are glad landed in the CPG industry because he’s not here to tell you what you want to hear but what you SHOULD or must. His neutral insight combined with his experience makes him a unique contributor of pure value to anyone trying to scale a CPG business. I can listen to his podcasts and audio book over and over knowing I will get something valuable out of it every single time.

My time is always well spent when I listen to or read anything by Dr. Richardson. His blog is gold and the book is amazing! Wish I’d found him earlier in my CPG journey.

Dr. James Richardson is a wealth of knowledge. I made several major changes to my business before launch thanks to his guidance. He gives it to you straight—and you’ll no doubt feel ahead of the fast-paced, ever-changing CPG world thanks to his thorough analysis and relentless discovery. Thank you!!

James has such an insightful and honest approach. It is so refreshing to listen to him and i learn more and more after every episode

James book and podcast are a MUST for any budding entrepreneurs in this space. I listen religiously and always learn so much.

Dr. Richardson has a unique way of saying the things that no one else will say but needs to recognize. Humbling and empowering.

This is the only business podcast that is both deadly serious and laugh out loud funny.

This is a refreshing podcast that I look forward to listening to. The host seems qualified and references relevant brands for perspective. Our brand took the fast path to $1million ARR using distribution and the outcome was exactly as he explains. I love that it’s long enough to cover a topic, but not more. He nails it by averaging around 12min and doesn’t go off on tangents or fluff.

I'm a founder of a small specialty food startup and have been listening to this podcast daily, and holy crap it’s one of the most refreshing things I’ve listened to in a long time. I used to be a big fan of NPR’s How I Built This, which tells amazing stories of successful startups but over time I realized it never actually gave an entrepreneur any real tactics or guidance on how to be successful. In fact, I’d wager a lot of the brands featured on there may have just gotten lucky and probably shouldn’t be mimicked. This podcast is short, sweet, and provides actual honest tips and actionable advice for someone in my shoes. If you're a founder / entrepreneur in the food CPG space, do yourself a favor, listen to every single episode and buy Dr. Richardson's book while you're at it (Ramping Your Brand)

Dr Richardson's advice is real world stuff backed by a strong conceptual framework and years of experience. He focuses on a range of useful and practical topics and his sense of humor makes it fun to listen. I recommend this to all my friends in the startup CPG world

Dr James really knows his stuff, each episode always sends me back to my business to make changes and improvements. I always look forward to each episode

This is the best podcast on emerging food and beverage brands for founder consumption.

James speaks the truth backed by years of experience and data driven research.

Founders and investors can get a ton out of this podcast and James book, Ramping Your Brand.

Great insights into the R&D process with Culinex

James always gives great insight and Amazing advice for CPG Entrepreneurs. I always love his perspective on what’s going on in the market! Corey Esse Water

If Taste Radio is where you go for inspiration, this is where you come for a dose of pure reality. Well done James! -Chris Kirby Ithaca Hummus

Dr. James surely knows how to get you fired up during your morning commute. This podcast should be a prerequisite to entering the Food & Bev space.

You’re right. Founders don’t need any more inspiration ~ what we need is practical, tactical advice ~ like yours. Thank you for sharing your insights! Can’t wait for more.

James provides a straight to the point, no nonsense view that founders of startups need to hear. Very useful stuff!

James tells it like it is and if you’re a food and beverage start up looking to grow your business strategically you ought to listen! Wish this podcast had launched two years ago!