MEET THE STAFF OF STARTUP CPG

Quick 7 with Erin Fasano, Managing Editor for Spotlight

1 TELL US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND IN 3 SENTENCES.

I often tell the story of my 7th Grade Science Fair submission - I studied TV advertising to prove my hypothesis that ads are targeted based on the media content (toys on Nickelodeon, beer on Football, etc). My partner and I won first prize, and my obsession with marketing, media, and branding was born! I've funnelled that interest into a career in advertising and branding, and am now taking my first steps into entrepreneurship with my baby, Starryside Company.

2 WHAT ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT (IN 5 WORDS OR FEWER)?

My Family, Food & Bev Startups, Gross Margin, and anything Italian.

3 WHAT'S BEEN THE MOST REWARDING PART OF BEING A PART OF THE STARTUP CPG COMMUNITY?

There has been so much! The Startup CPG team, especially our founder Daniel, is a passionate, experienced, well-networked group all focused on delivering for the community, and I've learned a ton from them already. And the community writ large is SUCH a rich resource - I truly believe you get out of it what you put in. I make it a point to be active on our Slack as much as I can, helping out with a random experience or quick vendor recommendation that could save someone hours of research. And when I have a question, I have felt reciprocated with helpful advice from the community. I really couldn't imagine my current role or trying to start my business without the support of Startup CPG. I'm also deeply appreciative of the experience as Managing Editor; working with a team to pump out quality content with the help of the community has been both challenging and fun!

4 FAVORITE SNEAK-INTO- THE-KITCHEN-AT-MIDNIGHT SNACK.

McConnell's Sea Salt & Cookie Ice Cream! We have a shop near our house so even late at night, its just a Postemate away!

5 A CPG BRAND YOU USE/EAT/ DRINK EVERY DAY.

I'm so obsessed with brands - I often joke with friends that "Instagram made me buy this." One of my current faves is Bev, the female-founded, canned-wine - I always have a few of their sparkling in the fridge. I can't say I drink it every day, but I do love it!

6 FAVORITE PODCAST OR REGULAR CLUBHOUSE CHAT TO TUNE INTO.

I'm a not-so-secret political junkie so a lot of my pods are from the Crooked Media family of pods, but I also love Taste Radio and our Startup CPG podcasts! On Clubhouse, I really enjoy what our team has been putting out in our Club, really great conversations delivering incredibly relevant advice.

7 BEST ADVICE YOU'VE EVER BEEN GIVEN AS A CPG FOUNDER YOURSELF.

Progress over Perfect. I also hear often (on one of my Crooked pods, Pod Save America) that President Obama often said, "Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good." Its great advice because I come from a corp CPG background where the product had to be perfect to launch because we were going to invest heavily in slotting to secure wide distribution right out the gate. We spent months, and sometimes years, perfecting the product, the package, tweaking formulas, validating shelf life. When starting small like we're doing at Starryside, we can just GO! I'm really excited to get our product out to market and continue soliciting feedback from consumers, improving along side them on this journey.