A 4-week, operator-led bootcamp for founders who want to know their margin, readiness score, and first retailer target before they walk into a single buyer meeting.
Fall 2026 / 4 weeks / 10 founders per cohort
You're on the list. We'll reach out when applications open.
Founding cohort. Operator-led. By invitation after waitlist.
Brands & retailers we've worked with
of new products fail in their first year on shelf.
Not because the product was bad. Because the founder didn't know the math.
of premium brands never pass $1M in retail.
They get on shelf, celebrate the PO, then watch the margin evaporate. Survival and success are not the same thing.
of brands ever reach $10M in retail revenue.
The ones that do knew their numbers before they walked into the room. That's what this bootcamp builds.
The Problem
Every founder thinks the goal is placement. Get the meeting. Get the PO. Celebrate. Post about it.
Then six months later, the reorder doesn't come. The retailer asks for a deeper promo. The margin evaporates. The product is sitting in a warehouse because the economics were wrong from the start.
The average failed retail launch costs a founder $50,000 to $250,000. Not because they had a bad product. Because they walked into a buyer meeting without understanding their landed cost, their margin stack, or what happens when the retailer asks for co-op advertising they never budgeted for.
The founders who survived did the work before the meeting. They knew their numbers, they knew their channel, and they knew what "yes" would actually cost them.
This bootcamp is that work.
What the founder assumed
What actually happened
What You Leave With
01
Landed cost. Retail margin. Promo economics. Co-op reserves. The full margin stack that determines whether your product makes money at retail or just moves units at a loss. This is the number that kills most brands and nobody talks about it until after the PO.
02
A clear-eyed assessment of where you actually stand. Not where you hope. Packaging, supply chain, pricing, production capacity, compliance. Every gap identified, every risk flagged, every fix prioritized before you walk into the room.
03
Which retailer first. Which second. Which to avoid entirely. Not every shelf is the right shelf, and the wrong first retailer can set you back years. You'll know exactly which channel matches your product, your margin, and your capacity.
04
First meetings. First orders. First reorders. The sequence that actually matters, built around your product, your category, and your specific situation. Not a template. Not a PDF. A plan you can execute the week after the bootcamp ends.
How It Works
01
Phase diagnostic. Product readiness audit. Honest gap assessment against what buyers actually evaluate. You'll know exactly where you stand and what needs to change before you pitch.
02
Full margin stack build. Landed cost. Retailer margin. Promo reserves. Freight. The numbers that kill most brands before they even get a reorder. If the math doesn't work here, we'll tell you.
03
Pitch structure. Buyer psychology. What retailers actually evaluate, and what they never tell you they're looking for. How to present your product so the buyer sees a reorder, not a risk.
04
Channel sequencing. Entry strategy. Retailer-specific requirements. Your 90-day plan from first meeting to first reorder. You'll leave knowing exactly where to go and what to bring.
What Powers the Bootcamp
Every tool in this system was built because we made the mistake it prevents. 25 years of retail operations, compressed into the system we wish we'd had.
Week 1
Identifies exactly where you are in the retail journey and what needs to happen next. No guessing.
Week 2
Builds your full cost-to-shelf model. Landed cost, retailer margin, promo exposure, freight. Every dollar tracked.
Week 2
Scores your product's likelihood of getting reordered based on the 15 factors that actually drive reorder decisions.
Week 1
Comprehensive audit of every operational requirement. Packaging, compliance, production capacity, logistics.
Week 4
Projects your weekly sales per store based on category benchmarks and your specific product profile.
Week 4
Deep intelligence on Costco, Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Home Depot, Canadian Tire, and more. What each buyer looks for.
Who Built This
We've spent 25 years operating inside the retail channel. Not advising from the outside. Operating. Costco, Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon, Home Depot, Target, and a dozen more. Over a billion dollars in programs across 20+ retailers.
Then we launched our own products. Trusted assumptions instead of validated economics. Lost $250K over two years. Not because the products were bad. Because we made the same mistake every founder makes: we didn't run the math before we committed the capital.
That's why every tool in this bootcamp exists. The Margin Stack, the Readiness Score, the Retailer Sequencing. They were built from scars, not theory. We know what it costs to get it wrong because we paid that price ourselves.
We built the machine we wish we'd had.
$1B+
Revenue Driven
25+
Years Operating
1,000+
Programs Run
20+
Retailers
"We spent 25 years doing this with our hands. Then we built the machine."
Honest Filter
Founding Cohort
The average failed retail launch costs a founder
This is what it costs to know before you go.
10 seats. Founding cohort pricing.
The Week 2 Honesty Guarantee. If after the margin stack work in week 2, we tell you your product isn't ready for retail, you get a full refund. We only keep your money if you have a real shot.
You're on the list. We'll reach out when applications open.
What's included
MMK Retail / $1B+ in retail programs / 25+ years / Operators, not advisors
Founders with a real product and real revenue who are ready to enter retail or already in retail and not getting the results they expected. You should have something people buy. You don't need retail experience. That's what the bootcamp gives you.
If you have a product people buy and reviews that prove it works, you're not too early. This bootcamp takes you from "I think I'm ready for retail" to actually being ready, with the math to prove it. Most founders who enter retail too early lose $50,000 to $250,000 learning what this bootcamp teaches in 4 weeks.
Even better. If your product is on shelf but not reordering the way you expected, the Margin Stack and Reorder system will show you exactly where the economics are breaking and what to fix. Some of the most valuable work happens with founders who are already in retail and can't figure out why the numbers aren't working.
Consulting gives you a report. The bootcamp gives you the system. You leave with your own Margin Stack, Readiness Audit, and retail playbook. You own them. You can run them again for every new channel or product line. And you learn the thinking behind the numbers, not just the numbers themselves.
Because we review your actual numbers in the sessions. At 10 founders, everyone gets direct feedback on their margin stack and channel strategy. Bigger than that and it becomes a lecture, not a bootcamp. You're paying for operators to look at your specific product and tell you the truth.
Yes. We run partnership cohorts for accelerators, lenders, trade associations, and organizations that invest in their founders. The first cohort is a proof of value. If it works, we build an annual partnership. Email hello@mmkretail.com to discuss.
While you wait. Test your retail instincts with Shelf Life. 10 scenarios, 5 minutes, no signup required.
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