“We’re four years in and we have consistently been acting as if we are way further ahead than we are. We’ve just been caught up in internal growth which is really unhealthy when you’re not seeing commercial success and when you don’t even know if you have product market fit, who’s your customers.”
Today’s guest, Sorosh Tavakoli, has big dreams of reducing the world’s carbon footprint and putting an end to climate change. When he decided he wanted to start another company, he knew that he wanted the business model to be fully aligned with that goal. This led him to start Stockeld Dreamery, a brand of vegan cheese that currently features a plant-based cream cheese. Interestingly, even though they only have distribution in 2 bagel shops in NYC, Sorosh managed to raise quite a bit of capital before the economy caused the capital-raising belt to tighten.
Being in the very early stages of the business, Sorosh tells us about the challenges of starting a company and speaks incredibly frankly about their biggest mistake so far – raising too much early capital growing the company prematurely. At the moment, Stockeld Dreamery is a relatively big team with a very small distribution footprint. Sorosh talks about his plans to navigate this imbalance.
Tune in for Sorosh’s advice for entrepreneurs wanting to start plant-based brands and learn all about one of the newest (and most delicious) entries in sustainable plant-based cheese!
Listen to The Irresistible Factor’s Interview with Sorosh Tavakoli, Founder of Stockeld Dreamery.
Here’s what you won’t want to miss from our conversation:
- The dangers of an early capital raise
- The journey to perfecting vegan cream cheese a
- The meaning of the name Stockeld Dreamery
- The grassroots sales approach Sorosh’s company takes
- What the trajectory of their distribution is looking like right now
Links mentioned in this episode:
The Irresistible Factor Podcast