Three early-stage CPG founders seek advice from Chieh Huang, Boxed co-founder who navigated a decade-long journey ending in 2023 bankruptcy. Learn how to scale production without losing brand soul, navigate retail partnerships strategically, and solve formulation challenges as you grow. Huang reflects on building, failing, and launching Pelgo to help workers transition careers in an AI-enabled economy. Successful CPG founders must transition from kitchen production to professional co-manufacturers early to avoid operational collapse when demand spikes unexpectedly. Strategic retail partnerships like Chewy can serve as awareness plays and low-cost customer acquisition channels if margins don't turn negative and working capital cycles are carefully modeled.