High-growth CPG brands often hit a wall when their sales velocity outpaces their financial infrastructure. Elena Minton, Fractional CFO at SFT Consulting, operates precisely at this high-stakes intersection of finance and operations. With over 20 years of experience, including more than a decade dedicated to natural food and beverage brands, Elena helps founder-led, venture-backed startups scale securely from early-stage ideas to national distribution and successful exits.

After building a strong foundation with Fortune 500 companies, Elena made an intentional pivot toward her passion for the better-for-you CPG space, even earning an MA in Food Studies and Policy from NYU. She joins the show to share her tactical approach to protecting margins in high-volume, low-margin retail environments, managing complex trade spend, and building the back-end infrastructure required for sustainable profitability.

Inside the Episode:

Elena discusses her transition from Fortune 500 finance to the fast-moving world of natural food and beverage startups.
How Elena partners cross-functionally with supply chain and sales teams to build standard operating procedures (SOPs) that prevent costly inventory and cash flow mismatches.
Why financial literacy and clean data are the ultimate tools for helping founders make confident, long-term strategic choices.

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