From the Lowest of Lows to the Good Journey

What if a donut could change how you feel, think, and show up each day? Kristoffer from Good Journey Foods joins us to explore a path that threads through a rocket-ship startup, a painful collapse, and a return built on purpose, taste, and smarter financing. We dig into how a brand name became a compass, why “healthy and delicious” must coexist, and how the right capital is more than money—it’s operational leverage, access, and a sounding board.

Kristoffer opens up about scaling too fast, co-manufacturing quality slips, and the moment inventory swallowed cash. He shares the personal fallout of bankruptcy and the mindset shift that followed: build safety nets, measure what matters, and cut losing bets faster. We talk practical tools for founders—working capital planning, terms with co-mans, dashboards that link spend to signals—and the discipline to be cautiously optimistic rather than blindly aggressive.

The conversation turns deeply human when we connect food to mental health. Keto’s clinical roots in epilepsy offer a clue: for some, ketones can be a cleaner brain fuel. Kristoffer describes how cutting sugar and refined carbs lowered his anxiety and sharpened his focus, and why that insight guides Good Journey’s product choices. We unpack the social reality of change—holidays, family expectations, stigma—and the power of leading with love, patience, and example rather than pressure.

If you’re building in CPG, we break down the investor spectrum and make the case for strategic partners who bring channel access, operations expertise, and cost engineering. If you’re a consumer, you’ll hear a compelling case for joy-first healthy food that helps you feel better without giving up flavor. Subscribe, share this with a founder who needs a lift, and leave a review with the one lesson you’ll act on this week.

Connect with Keith on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithkohler1/

Transcript

Welcome And Purpose Of The Show

Keith Kohler 0:03

Hi everyone, welcome to How I Financed It, episode number 10. So I've used all the fingers on my both hands and proud to get to this moment of having episode 10, and I'm glad you've been joined, you're joining us either with video or with audio, or hopefully both. Really excited for today's conversation because we're bringing someone to the stage who has experience in his second journey in a company called Good Journey Foods. That's Christopher. I'm gonna bring him up in a second. As a way of reminding you about myself, I'm Keith Kohler, your financing man. And what I do is I help companies get the right financing at the right time. I call that transaction me. And I meet founders where they are and I guide them along their financing journey and I call that transformation. So transaction plus transformation equals what I do at Financing Man. And here, what we do at How I Financed It is we take a look at the entrepreneurship journey from beginning to where they are today, primarily through the lens of how they finance their business. And then we go off wherever the conversation takes us. So I can't wait to see what energetic tangents we come up with today with Christopher. So I'd love to welcome him to the How I Finance It Stage. Christopher, welcome.

Kristoffer Quiaoit 1:26

Thank you, thank you. Thanks for having me.

Keith Kohler 1:29

Yeah, really excited today because obviously the name of your company is perfect for what we're talking about. Good journey. Because and I always keep saying to myself, when once you when you told me that name of the company, I thought, wow, I'm surprised that no one else had come up with that before, right? Because it's really both an express a great brand and it's an expression of what the entrepreneurship world is all about, right? The track, the building, the financing, everything associated with it.

Kristoffer Quiaoit 2:01

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we created it to uh create this focal point to help people on their journey, but also we wanted to enjoy the journey ourselves because we've, you know, business can be rough and uh is how can we put additional intention behind the business to enjoy it along the way?

Keith Kohler 2:24

So when you think about Good Journey for your customers, that was was that a part of that original origin story? Is that what you were thinking? Is was it independent of the product donuts, or was it a little bit of a combination? How did that interplay come about?

Kristoffer Quiaoit 2:41

Um well it kind of happened, but once I say by accident, Good Journey actually was not the number one um choice initially. We had a list of we had a list of names, and uh what we're we're initially trying to create something that was magical that created an experience for people and for people to enjoy their journey. Um but good journey was like maybe number two, number three on that list, and we're going through literally going through, all right, what's already trademarked, which one's gonna not pass a trademark. Um and then luckily good journey was there, so it, you know, in some ways the universe kind of just said, all right, this is it, this is the one that you're gonna be using. Uh, and we just ran with it.

Keith Kohler 3:27

I love it. So it really energetically stood out above all the different options that you wanted to look at.

Kristoffer Quiaoit 3:33

Yeah, I mean, honestly, it wasn't my first choice, but it grew. Was it it it actually grew on me? It grew on me because uh um, you know, when you're looking at at um you know brand names, a lot of it's like how does it sound, right? And Good Journey, it's a great name. It just doesn't have that phonetical kind of like, you know, like strong uh tone to it. But what we started thinking is like, okay, well, we could put a lot of meaning behind the name and it aligns with our purpose. So it it grew on me, and we, you know, at some point it's like, all right, cool, we're doing it. We're gonna help people have a good journey. And um, but yeah, honestly, that's that was like how we went through our process. And uh, I guess it's that's also how it goes with coming up with names. There's like names you're like, oh, that'd be amazing, and then you found out you can't use it, and um, you know, this one, it just worked out. Like we got all our trademarks and are like, all right, we're running with it.

Keith Kohler 4:45

Yeah, Christopher, thanks for that discussion about the origin of good journey. I just always find it interesting. Uh and I wanted to really lead off with you on that branding decision. And of course, getting the trademarks, I think, was probably pretty powerful, right? To know that you could really own that. And probably it's it's a you could go anywhere you want with that type of brand name beyond even your core product set that you have right now.

Purpose, Impact, And Early Ventures

Kristoffer Quiaoit 5:11

Yeah, absolutely. Is uh because you know, we could fit a lot of different uh products into helping people enjoy their journey, and um, you know, that's our focus, our actually our purpose. Every week in our in our weekly huddle with our team, we we state what our purpose is and our vision is, and it's to empower a billion people to be happy and healthy. And um, you know, that's kind of been our focus is how do we help people enjoy their journey, but they're they're reaching out to us and customer service because they didn't get their order, you know, uh in time, um, or you know, we're working with different buyers or people is how can we lead them uh on a better path on along their journey?

Keith Kohler 6:01

I love that. And just building on that one last element before we get to the financing, you talked about purpose, right? And you in your weekly meetings. And so you talk about how purpose being the good journey. What else, what other dimensions does it have to for you, purpose or your reason why?

Kristoffer Quiaoit 6:23

Um, for my personal purpose, I think I've always been led on how can I have a positive impact in the world. And that's kind of what has directed me towards how I created or started businesses. My first business was actually a tutoring company because I love learning, but I hated school. And so I wanted to change this dynamic of uh these perspectives. I love shifting people's perspectives of how they look at the world, and that was an opportunity for us to uh shift the perspective of these students who thought they weren't great at math and science to actually get really confident in it. And then with uh after that, I had started my first food company, which was uh Keto Cookier Nui, which we rebranded to. And that one was we saw this enormous opportunity to help one is transform people's perspective of food because at that time uh healthy meant protein bars, you know, it was just like protein bars or like powders, but no one had really thought of how do we, you know, turn junk food into something that worked for you and make it delicious. So we created uh the first uh keto cookie, and um, you know, I remember at that moment, people we went to low carb conference and people were giving us dirty looks, and they're like, what the hell is a cookie doing here at a low carb conference? And then they tried it and they're testing their blood sugars and all that, and they're like, wow, okay, this is uh, you know, there's a possibility here, and we didn't understand what we were doing, we we didn't know what we were doing. We are like, all right, I think this is a great idea, and we just did it. And um, you know, thankfully, a lot of people saw our success, and then they started following and creating their own products and creating delicious, delicious products because at the end of the day, people want something that tastes great. Um, but we got to make it taste great and good for them.

Keith Kohler 8:32

And I think sometimes people lose sight of that, don't you think, Christopher? A lot of people think of the good for them, yet might not focus on those very core fundamentals. If it doesn't taste great, and it's for some people it doesn't look great, they still won't buy it even if it is good for them.

Kristoffer Quiaoit 8:49

Yeah, yeah. I mean, uh we try to use the word and, right? So how do we one is have great macros and make it delicious, right? Because a lot of people are like, well, I'm gonna put in, you know, like it's a trade-off. This amount of protein, like it's a trade-off. And we've always asked this question, it's a harder question to answer, it's a harder product development for that. But at the end of the day, it's like, you know, will customers go out and seek our donuts as opposed to going to Dunkin' Donuts, right? And how do we leverage how the food industry has gotten people addicted to food and uh use it for good, right? How do we get a great eating experience so that way they uh continue to eat less sugar and uh eat less carbs?

Keith Kohler 9:46

And that mission, I'm sure, drives you, right?

Taste First: Healthy Food That Wins

Shark Tank Highs And Costly Lows

Kristoffer Quiaoit 9:49

Yeah, I mean the the food game is really hard. So like the last company when Dewey, uh you know, we we grew very fast. We also made a lot of uh mistakes. You know, we we we got on Shark Tank, we uh but in that process we had scaled up to a manufacturer that was making it for us. Before that, we were hand scooping a bunch of cookies, and uh unfortunately the quality went down. We sent out you know 300 grand worth of product that got moldy and had to shut it down. Uh I felt personal bankruptcy, and it was probably one of the hardest experiences I had to go through. I had to tell you know, friends, family, hey, you know, um, thanks for believing me. Um I won't be able to return you know, return your money. That was a really hard experience. And uh why I I chose to do it again is uh I mean I really believe in what we're doing. You know, uh when I filed bankruptcy, I was you know going through a lot of personal development experiences and um you know I and I actually went on a ayahuasca retreat, and in that retreat, it was very interesting because I had a vision of uh my friend's son, he's he's uh he was four years old at the time, but in my dream he was 30 years old, 300 pounds, and shooting insulin. And uh I don't know if that was divine intervention, but it was like this kind of nod to to tell me that hey, the mission continues, the work continues. And so then when my uh my friend, she owns a donut shop, and she's my co-founder now, um, said, Hey, let's work on a low-carb donut, you know, it's exciting, but also I was very hesitant. I was like, this is was a very painful journey, you know, to go through. And uh once, you know, but then I I thought about that vision, and I remembered, you know, what there's like you know, we have a hundred million Americans are either pre-diabetic or diabetic. A lot of mental health issues are because of uh metabolic disease. We you know, autoimmune disease, a lot of these are tied to um people not being healthy on a cellular level. And yeah, so when I cut out sugar and carbs, you know, a lot of my anxiety went away. You know, what used to be a level 10, you know, dropped down to like a one or two. Really? That's it was that dramatic. It was that dramatic. And it was kind of like seeing the world in new eyes, almost like being pulled out of the matrix. Like, whoa, this is weird. I never thought life could be like this because uh for most of my life it's been like anxiety-driven and then feeling groggy throughout the day, and the mental clarity too. Like it's before that, it's hard to put like thoughts together in a perfect stream, and now it's like I could think more clearly, and so um that's something that I think you know, keto was great around you know, a few years ago because people were trying to lose weight, but I think it's gonna come back because of the mental health impact they can have. Um, and so it's gonna be very interesting. Um, and you know, I I went off keto for uh a good amount of time, I was doing low carb, and then then I went back to keto. I was like, man, I forget how good this is. And it just feels amazing. Um, and so it's yeah, it's gonna be very interesting, and I think a lot more and more people are going to be utilizing the keto genk diet to help with their mental health.

Keith Kohler 14:13

I really want to explore that just a tiny bit deeper because I think you're really on to something quite unique, right? Because I think our our American society is certainly always looking for the magic pill for weight loss, right? That's top of the pyramid, everybody understands it. Millions of people have made lots of money on that promise, right? And now here you are through your own personal journey, making a connection that has that ever been made before? The connection between a keto diet and better mental health?

Kristoffer Quiaoit 14:52

Or is that uh your ex that plus that idea was um, I mean, it's been around. It used to be used for uh epileptic seizures, right? That was the origination of the ketogenic diet. And what they found is the brain wasn't getting enough energy because it wasn't able to uh turn the sugar glucose into energy properly. And once you go into gig state, now your your your brain can use this other fuel called ketones, right? That your body converts uh fat um into. And uh and then the so it's been around, but now it's I think it's gaining traction. There's more and more medical researchers that are going behind it, you know, they're they're really promoting it, and you're hearing it about it in podcasts, like really big podcasts now. And uh, you know, here in the US, we have a huge mental health crisis, and you know, um, and we try to treat it with medication, which you know, if it's working, great, you know. Uh, and also we you can also look at nutrition and see how that's having an impact on your mental health. And so I think it's gonna become a bigger and bigger conversation uh moving forward. And I think it should because uh, you know, besides medication, we should start looking at nutrition.

Keith Kohler 16:20

I really applaud you for that because yeah, we often look for the magic pill, right? And that pharmaceutical solution, not to say it's not bad, as you're saying, if it works for you, that's fantastic. And yet I wonder if for many people, like you said, they've considered or even explored how uh nutrition uh and dare I say exercise and or those wellness lifestyles choices could have an impact overall.

Bankruptcy, Resilience, And A New Start

Kristoffer Quiaoit 16:53

Yeah, yeah. And it's you know, people want that the you know, the easy fix, and which I totally understand. People where you know everybody's busy, and um I think uh the key is can we create a more of a societal um kind of shift towards like, hey, you know, like when the when you know when it's hype, people start to follow it. Uh and sometimes when the hype goes the other direction, but I think you know, the more and more people talk about the more and more people are going to start at least try it. I think once they try it, they'll notice what's what's happening in their body, and then people fall off, right? Like the holidays are tough. You have Thanksgiving, you have Christmas, and people are gonna eat you know, pies, mashed potatoes. Um, and that's totally fine. I think it's understanding, like, hey, you can always go back, you can always go back and get you know back on the wagon, and um and understanding like there's an impact. There's an impact when you when you do eat like that, and just understanding that I think is gonna be key. So yeah, it's not an easy fix, but I think you know, I think more and more people just need to know that this is another tool in their tool set.

Keith Kohler 18:22

And driving that awareness, and perhaps for some people, even removing a label or a stigma, or if I'm doing this, it's because there's something wrong with me, versus the approach of, well, wait a minute, things are okay, and maybe this is better for me, right? I think that can be a part of that, what goes on in the mind and then the heart when people make these types of choices, particularly as you said, Christopher, and I think we see this is see, I'm celiac, as you know. So gluten intolerant, it's pretty easy to explain that to people. Hey, I need to do this because if I mess up, I'll pay a price. Yet when it's in an optional category, right? Sometimes people might say, Well, I'm doing this and might get odd looks, or well, wait a minute. No, you can't do that. We as a family eat this way, or these are our traditional foods, and you can't get rid of those and and move over to this. What are you doing? Uh, and especially around the holidays, right?

Keto, Mental Health, And Clarity

Kristoffer Quiaoit 19:26

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's hard uh when you know your mom makes this amazing dish and you're like, I can't eat it. Uh, what I would say is you could have a little bit, you know, just have a little bit to keep make her happy, even though she really wants you to have seconds. Um, but yeah, there is that that understanding. But I think uh as we continue to have those conversations with our family, they'll start to understand. Yeah, right? They'll start to understand. It's like, you know, my my mom, my my dad. They're getting older, right? And you know, when my grandma was in her you know late 70s or 80s, she um started having dementia, and so and what we're learning is it's it's also tied to the fuel, how how the brain is getting fuel, and you know, if we can't start now with them like educating our parents, like hey, you know, uh you don't have you know, maybe we can cut out some sugar and carbs to make sure that we're you know that you you are the you know most aware person throughout you know your life and you're you're mentally there, you know, to be fully present with us, I think is an interesting conversation. And uh, you know, my parents, they you know, I I was probably the weird one with all these different like uh biohacking and different things I was doing, keto. Um, but they've uh gradually over time they've asked me for advice, like, hey, what should I take for this or this? Right? It's a big breakthrough, isn't it? It's it is a big breakthrough. And it's so I mean this is you know, our parents they are doing the best that they can with what they know, right? And this goes for this goes for everybody. It's like it's really universal, isn't it? It's very universal. So if we look at someone that way, it's like, hey, they're doing the best that they can with what they know, and I'm doing the best that I can with what I know, then it kind of removes this need to be right, right? And all that's left is my commitment to helping them with their health, right? And um they'll see my commitment to myself, and you know, the hope is that they that they make different changes, and so they've it's been great because they've been asking me advice on what they should do, like what supplements they should take, you know, what are some of the things that they can do uh to improve their health. Uh, and so um, and but that didn't happen overnight. It was just it was a consistent, they saw how I was living and how I was very, very um, you know, I was really deep into looking up research and and and really looking into how I could prove myself, and they saw it for themselves. So um, yeah, so that you know, this has been a great experience where you know I get to support them along their journey of uh being healthy.

Keith Kohler 22:36

I just really want to witness that, and what drops in for me as you say that is for our CPG founders, I think probably everybody would agree that they have a good sense of what their product or service or the way they show up can benefit their consumer or their customer. And yet, my wager is that very few have gone to a bigger level, which I would say is beyond your customer. Wow, what can I do for myself and my family? Knowing that I'm offering these new ways of thinking for others, or perhaps lifestyle changes or wellness ideas. And it really just I just you really have me thinking because I wonder how many people again have done that for their own family.

Kristoffer Quiaoit 23:29

Yeah. I mean, the family is always it's probably the is always the toughest one, right?

Keith Kohler 23:36

It is because of all that we grew up with, the story, the the great times, the bad times, the successes, the traumas, the success or the failures, and all the lessons, right? That because we've had the family forever.

Kristoffer Quiaoit 23:51

Yeah.

Keith Kohler 23:52

Um and our customers, we can in many ways choose how we show up, right? And I won't say control the narrative completely, but have a bit more ability to influence it, right? Yeah. Yes. Here's this arc of our parents in particular, and other family members who these are the stories and experiences and uh choices that they're making over some lifetime. And it's very powerful to me as I listen to you to say, hey, here's something I can do to contribute to them. Yeah. And it's a total logical and easy, not easy, straightforward thing for you to do based on all that you've done yourself through the lens of running these companies.

Culture, Family, And Food Choices

Kristoffer Quiaoit 24:46

Yeah. Yeah. I think it's um you know, showing up um with love to our family and you know, understanding that we can't be the police around them, like, hey, you shouldn't eat this or this, you know. It's like not that, but it's like um, hey, you know, here's some research, you know, that I found, right? It's very subtle. And then they get to decide, they get to choose of how you know how they want to take that information or not. Um and so yeah, I think it's it's a delicate balance of of figuring out how do you show up 100% for them and while also giving them the space to make their own choices. I kind of feel like a parent.

Keith Kohler 25:41

Well, isn't that what we all become at some point? Uh as we grow, um, there are elements of what we do that are parenting style functions for our parents.

Kristoffer Quiaoit 25:52

Yeah.

Keith Kohler 25:53

Uh because they look to us for those types of things. So um I really appreciate you going with me down what I call these energetic tangents and talking about your personal experience very vulnerably. Thank you for doing that because of course it is in service and in contribution to our viewers and our listeners. And coming back to Good Journey when you and your business partner came together and you started establishing the business. What was the original financing?

Financing Then Vs Now: Safety Nets

Kristoffer Quiaoit 26:23

The original financing, I mean, honestly, I'm very fortunate in a fortunate position that my co-founder and her husband have other businesses that right, and they have the capital to uh fund the start of the business. And so uh, I mean, because I had no capital, I just came from bankruptcy. And um, but I've been in a very fortunate position to be in that, and not, you know, I understand that not every founder has that. Um, you know, I understood it when I had the last company, the newy, we we started with six thousand dollars uh in total. Me and my co-founder each put in three thousand and we kept uh building off of that and rolling back the profits. The issue with that is we didn't create a safety net for any you know um like crazy situations like what we did, what we had with $300,000 worth of cookies getting moldy, right? We didn't have that safety net. And you know, we raised a small family and friends around. Honestly, I wasn't I had you know, growing up, I wasn't around other, you know, my family didn't know anything about entrepreneurship, you know, they had taken on stable jobs, and I hadn't really been around other entrepreneurs who had fundraised, so that was an interesting experience. It's like I have no idea how to fundraise, right? Like, what does that look like? And so it was a learning process along the way. Um, and then the other the other thing with that was we're we because we didn't know the about equity and also debt, right? We were pretty young, so we didn't qualify for SBA loan, or I didn't know if what we could qualify for. I wish I knew you, Keith, uh, way earlier on. Um so for for all of you, I met Keith actually towards the latter part when we're about to shut down. I was looking for a Hail Mary. And uh a buddy of mine um who owns a uh ketone meter, he's the one that that uh mentioned you. And uh so we were looking at different Abbeys, you know, I reached out to you. We were taking on some you know credit cards, uh 0% interest credit cards. You know, back then it had an 800 uh credit score over 800. So I was seeing what we could get. Uh, and then we took out some expensive debt. We took out like um some really expensive debt, like 18% interest. And um what you don't realize is like you have to be careful because you might be building the spiral, and if if if it goes the wrong way, all of a sudden it becomes a death spiral. And um, and so we honestly didn't know what's the best way to you know to to take in capital, we're just finding capital wherever we could find it, and so that was the challenge as I honestly didn't know. Uh we were looking for capital wherever we could find it, and sometimes it was like the wrong decision. We took very expensive capital. Um, and uh also what we didn't know too as we were building the business, because it's growing so fast, we had so I I mentioned we started six grand, right? To put into the company in 18 months, our revenue was at a million dollars, right? And we just kept putting it back the the the issue that we found, because I remember I was going to my bookkeeper, I was like, hey, how come we're it looks like we're profitable, but like the bank account's shrinking? And you know, they didn't know, and then I I asked somebody else, and they're like, Well, your inventory is growing, so you know, the more we're growing, the more our inventory is growing, and then you you put on top of that is working with a co-man who's asking for 50% down, and then another 50% wants to to receive the product, and now you know we have hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in inventory, and then then you have one of those um production runs that go really badly, and you're just throwing out that money, right? And so it was definitely a very painful experience in learning, you know, uh what to do and what not to do. Um but yeah, now it's like now I'm a little more careful, but I am in a very fortunate position right now with uh you know my co-founder in terms of um helping to fund the business.

Keith Kohler 31:18

I really appreciate you providing that context from NUI, right? Because here was a whole journey uh to use the word, right, of lessons, um, many of them hard. And now you're in this setting where from the beginning you knew, or I imagine you knew and felt that okay, it's quite likely that I won't have to have those similar experiences in this setting because of the advantages of the co-founders personal wealth or or whatever it is, the businesses, the income from operations from there. And I'm wondering if you can tell me how has that made like again in the beginning and even now, how has that made you feel? Has it given you a boost of energy saying like, hey, I can go out and conquer the world because I don't have to worry about these things? How would you characterize that?

Kristoffer Quiaoit 32:15

Um I think I'm a little more careful now, just uh um just maybe from the previous experiences, it's very uh, you know, I think it had a mark. And so whenever there's like something new that we would invest in, whether it's marketing or hiring another person, is like I'm I'm very careful with that. Um and um it isn't I haven't gone all out like all right, we got all this money to spend. It's been like very being very careful, and maybe to a degree I'm a little, you know, I'm a little too cautious at in some opportunities. Um because but it's also great because that you know I have to answer to you know my my co-founder. I was like, all right, this is what we're gonna be using it for. So there is accountability there. Um and then, but yeah, I mean it's nice to know that we could put the gas, if especially when we find an opportunity, like um, you know, we have an a pretty amazing opportunity. I can't share what it is right now, but it's it's gonna take capital for it. And so to be able to go and say, hey, there's this opportunity, can we take advantage of it? Right, whereas in the past, we probably would have been like, oh no, that would just destroy our company because we have no money to actually fund the inventory to meet that demand. And so definitely it allows us to make different decisions. Um and also um, you know, it's I'm still trying to maintain the scrappiness inside of this company and and not you know burn a lot of cash really fast.

Inventory, Cash Flow, And Co-Mans

Keith Kohler 34:14

Yeah, I really applaud you for that because I think we know that lots of other founders may have come with cash or access to cash in the beginning, whether from their own resources or co-founders or family members that were saying, here, here, go do that. And many of them went that excessive wrong way, right? And or had overspent thinking something was gonna happen or magically XYZ is gonna show up and it's gonna be a typical little hockey stick, just like you might see from the pre-pandemic days, where that was the typical model, right? Take all the cash available, you burn it, get into more doors, grow your internet or your D2C business without abandon, right? Without regard for the red numbers piling up, or what's the use of proceeds? How are we really doing this? And here you're taking a different approach, saying, Um I know you don't have a limited access to capital, but you feel like you you got to this point knowing you could self-fund it between the two of you. And now, but and yet you've maintained that prudent decision making. You're watching the dollars, you're not taking your eye off the ball in any way at all.

Kristoffer Quiaoit 35:28

Yeah, and it's being cautiously optimistic, right? It's like, hey, there's opportunities. And like in the past, I would have been like, all right, there's this amazing opportunity, we're gonna go and it's gonna work out all fine. And now it's like kind of understanding, hey, asking the questions, you know, what's the risk of taking this on, and also um, you know, being very clear on the intention of where we're gonna put the money, right? Because um I think one thing I could improve on is if something's not working, is just making sure you know we cut it off as quickly as possible, right? Like there's like agencies that we work with, um, but cutting off sooner when we see it's not working. Um, but that's something that I I can definitely work on for that.

Keith Kohler 36:21

I think that's a truly important lesson, and one I could have learned a few times too. That uh what's the phrase? You fire fast and hire slow, right?

Kristoffer Quiaoit 36:31

Yeah.

Keith Kohler 36:32

It's a it's an easy refrain that comes off the tongue quickly, right? And yet I don't think I know any founder in any industry that has ever said that they've been perfectly true to that statement, even if it's something they were aware of or they knew that was good for them.

Kristoffer Quiaoit 36:48

Yeah. I think, yeah, for me, that's been something that I can work on. It's maybe it's like this attachment that like I don't want to be wrong about this decision. No, right? Right, and maybe things can change, right? Right, maybe they change, you know. Um, but it's it's yeah, there's definitely I think the firing slow is because there's like some sort of attachment that I have to like, hey, you know, I made the decision, it didn't work out, and then by me shutting it off means you know, I was wrong, right? And so that's something that that uh I'm aware of and that I you know I ask myself, okay, you know, how can I make a decision?

Keith Kohler 37:40

I have this situation right now with a financing client who's um been in business 45 years, and they have two extremely high-cost uh employees paid well above what they would be making somewhere else. And it's uh holding them back from achieving their financing and growth objectives, and yet they they find they struggle to take that decision because they've been around for 30 years, even though they're suffering and they're potentially putting themselves, well, they are putting themselves at great risk by not making that decision. Um, what are you thinking in the mix of financing moving ahead? You mentioned a capital raise. Is there anything else associated with that, or is that your primary focus? And with you and your co-founder, how are you working together to think about what's next?

Kristoffer Quiaoit 38:33

Uh right now it's more of a fluid conversation. I think once we get to a point where, okay, we need to have other investors or other types of capital come in. Um we'll look start looking at that, those options. You know, if we do need to take out debt, you know, we do have support on that end with um, you know, them with their relationships with different banks to take on to acquire debt if that's needed. Um but if we do take on other investors, we would like it to be very strategic investors, people that are uh well seasoned in industry can provide access to different avenues or are really good at marketing, or they're really great operations.

Prudent Spending And Cutting Losses

Keith Kohler 39:26

Um and so let's hold on to that for a second because I think you're making an important point that is worth repeating. For a lot of our founders out there, um, they might know that word strategic, right? Which is what you're saying, it's not just money, it's bringing expertise or the ability to open doors or create further relationships. The opposite of that, just for everyone's education again, is what I call just a strict financial investor, meaning they're putting money in and you might not even hear from them. Uh they might be, hey, just let me know how it goes. Every three months, send me that quarterly report and I'm good. Um, and yet I think that's a dance people get to consider because some, as you said, the strategics are there, but sometimes they might be better suited to be just that financial person. And you want to maybe focus your energies on only those people that are delivering a specific set of strategic support for you, right? Whether, hey, here's an investor who's awesome at operations, but no, I need the salesperson investor. And I'm wondering that dance and what are the areas type of strategic areas that most interest you.

Kristoffer Quiaoit 40:37

Yeah. I I would say the one that interests me is I mean, sales is always a thing, right? It's like how do we get more sales? Um, but the other piece is the operation side because managing a food company, there's just so many things that are involved in supply chain, and right, it's it's um like the operations of a company is is a hard thing. Um I mean, you could you could say I just want an investor in every single area, because honestly, CPG, it's so complex, there are so many moving parts. Um and it's you the there's almost infinite knowledge that you can get from somebody from a variety of people, right?

Keith Kohler 41:29

But I think yeah, even if you already consider yourself a subject matter expert in one of the functions, there's always fresh perspective, right? Great new insights, or even just feeling supported or having a sounding board, even if you feel I have a great strong expertise to just be able to talk to someone to reinforce your ideas.

Kristoffer Quiaoit 41:51

Absolutely. This is have a sounding board, someone that's been in it, you know, um, has experienced the same situations or similar situations, or can have some additional insight there. Um, but yeah, I think also access, right? Because a lot of it is who you know, and and right, and so connecting with different buyers, or those are the things is like you gotta know the right people to get you access. Um, and there are different ways to get access, but I think the quickest way is if you know somebody that already has that access available. So yeah, I think those are the things that we would be looking at is one is this this does that person have access to these um, you know, to these channels, um, or do they have access into figuring out how we can get our costs down, right? Um, either working with different manufacturers or can provide insight into how we manage our operations to uh reduce our costs. Because the sad part of CPG, I think, is well, it's we're we're always forced to drive our cost down, our price down because inflation is so high, all right, right? Like, and people are not making like the the power of the dollar isn't there. The power of the dollar isn't there, and so they can only put so much in their basket, and then they have a healthier product that's you know maybe uh is costing a premium and it's influencing that their decision, and then meanwhile, the gross you know the the grocery chain has to hit their margins, the distributor has to hit their margins, and then they're it's getting pushed onto the onto the manufacturers, the brands to reduce your costs.

Strategic Capital Over Just Cash

Keith Kohler 43:48

For sure, because your ability, yeah, and you have to take the hits, and you're taking the hits immediately on things like tariffs or supply chain or other price increases on your inputs, and yet your ability to pass those on, sure, in the direct to consumer world is one thing, but in the retail world, you you have is it true, like often have commitments that you can't touch it for six months, or or there's other very stringent conditions about what you can do in price increases or changes.

Kristoffer Quiaoit 44:15

There are strict and uh price increases, and it's it's it's tough, right? So it's a tough situation to be in, I think, as an industry. That I think it's gonna continue to consolidate because people are getting squeezed. Um, you know, you're seeing seeing more private labeling. Um, I think Costco, uh this is gonna be a tangent, but it's like what you're gonna see wholesalers start to grow, start to grow more and more because people are like, well, I can't shop at you know sprouts like I used to. I need to buy stuff in bulk. Um, and so so I think a lot of those are gonna get squeezed, you know. Private labeling is only gonna work for so long, and then um, but that's yeah, it's it's an interesting situation that we're in in CPG. Um, and I I don't know if it's gonna get any better.

Keith Kohler 45:14

So when you think, Christopher, in these next few months, as you're doing this capital race, what could success look like for you from that race?

Kristoffer Quiaoit 45:27

Um, success would be we have amazing investors who can help us provide access to certain channels that we're that we have in mind. Um also the operational side, right? They're like super knowledgeable figuring out how do we reduce our costs at every single level uh of you know every part of the value chain. And um and they're essentially an extension of our team, not just just uh people that are providing capital, right? Um, what I don't want is maybe a VC, you know, or a private equity is just comes in and then they're like, you just gotta hit these numbers, you gotta hit these numbers, right? And and they're pushing us to take on opportunities that we're not ready yet for, um while not providing any additional resources in terms of information people or access.

Keith Kohler 46:31

Yeah, Christopher, as I reflect upon what you said, um I love the fact that you say they become team members, not just capital providers or even strategic ones, but real team members who provide that support for the next part of the good journey, right? And I think that's really a critical distinction that a lot of people might miss out on, of not thinking how they could be integrated in some way well beyond the capital in providing like what we do together, energetic support or more of that sounding board of how we get that engagement. And I think the other thing too, the key point you made is we often find that folks raising capital might have, they might think it's gonna go one way, but perhaps they didn't set or understand the expectations when they took the money. Because as you said, I don't think you you want to be forced to go down any type of path that you don't want to. It's like, oh no, we have to make X million next year, and no matter what we do, we have to launch this product. And if it doesn't, if it's something you don't want to do, forget it. And yet founders can find themselves in that dilemma, particularly if they're getting too later stage VC and they lose control of their business, right? Where, hey, no, we're executing this product development plan and you don't have a choice.

Access, Operations, And Cost Pressure

Kristoffer Quiaoit 47:55

Yeah. And and we have to look at it from the VC standpoint, is like they're putting all these little bets into many companies. So if your company fails, you're okay. They have um a portfolio, they have eight I have a portfolio, and you know, they're gonna see all right who can meet up meet to meet the challenge. And so just understanding it from that perspective is important. Um, and you know, there will be times where you could take it on. But at that point, I think we would be very operationally sound. Um and it's just uh you know a freight train that they're like, okay, we just need to, we just need more gas, right? We just need more fuel because we it's already moving. And so um, I think that would be a perfect time to take on that that kind of money. Um, but yeah, I've heard too many horror stories of people taking on you know private equity or VC money and being forced to make strategic decisions that didn't align with the business, and it it crashed, right? And uh for these founders, they're devastated because they've invested a lot of their time, their energy, their you know, their heart and soul into the business. And for these, you know, for the VC and private equity, they're like, well, that's you know, cost of doing business, right? And so it's just an interesting dynamic, and and for us founders is to be very intentional about how you want to approach it.

Keith Kohler 49:32

That's really it, isn't it? I think if I were to put a theme on a lot of our conversation today, it would be that word intentional. I think particularly in in Good Journey, you've learned from the successes and the failures of the prior venture, right? And you've applied them in this setting, not just the very specific objective lessons, but I think the way you're showing up, the people you're calling in, the relationship you have with your founder, which I think is probably a lot better than what you had prior, right? And so in this second act, you really are getting the chance to be all of the Christopher you want to be.

Kristoffer Quiaoit 50:20

I mean, that's uh that's the intention is you know, how do I be 100% who I am? Um and how do I carry out my my purpose in life to to the to the full degree?

Keith Kohler 50:36

That's brilliant. So yeah, so as we wrap up spending our time together, um as is our custom here, we have two questions that we go through, and just invite you to say whatever comes up. And um so here you go. What are you most proud of, Christopher?

Kristoffer Quiaoit 50:57

I am proud of running a company while having kids. Right. Uh in my last company, I didn't have kids before. And um it's an it's a different dynamic now having kids. It's been also and amazing because it's brought a lot of awareness, self-awareness to being a parent.

Keith Kohler 51:24

Awesome. And second one is and I'll invite you to choose the time frame you want on this. What would Christopher today tell the Christopher who was just starting out? And you can either choose good journey or new, whatever one you want.

Kristoffer Quiaoit 51:46

This Christopher today would tell the one in the past is uh you are perfect the way that you are. There is nothing wrong with you. Um there is you and to to love who you are uh and love who you're not.

Keith Kohler 52:21

Um going a now and going down my energetic tangent as you say that, thank you because I feel you just delivered a message for me that I needed to remind myself of. So, beyond our listeners and our viewers, thank you for delivering that beautiful message uh from the universe and you being a channel for that. Um beautiful way to end it. And um, thank you, Christopher, for being here for sharing all these different parts of a journey and uh what that could look like, what it has looked like, what it is looking like. And we can't wait to see what you do next in Good Journey and how that journey continues to unfold. We'll be watching. Awesome. Thank you. So thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you so much for joining me on this episode of How I Financed It. I encourage you to reach out to me on LinkedIn at Keith Kohler1, and I look forward to connecting there.