Jennifer Liao’s journey with MìLà is nothing short of remarkable. From a grassroots project where they collected orders through Google Forms, it evolved into a successful venture that raised $21.5 million in its second round of funding.
This episode doesn't just serve up the story behind MìLà’s signature frozen soup dumplings; it provides a feast of insights on the ingredients for business growth, fundraising, and the power of community-driven marketing.
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**On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:**1. Fundraising Strategies and Investor Relationships2. Navigating Logistics for Frozen Food Distribution3. Product-Market Fit Testing4. Branding and Content Strategy Development5. Scaling Manufacturing 6. Leveraging E-commerce Platforms
Timestamps03:37 Experimenting with frozen soup dumplings06:17 How testing and running ad campaigns on Meta led to MìLà’s rapid growth14:59 Product-market fit testing, team expansion20:43 Establishing a team for content and branding28:00 Getting funded, setting realistic goals, and scaling for success35:52 The supply chain side of frozen, perishable goods37:22 Building infrastructure for proactive outreach38:46 Product innovation, retail expansion
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Past guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.
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Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internet)Olivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplement)Castmagic - AI Workspace for Content)
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Jennifer Liao) - Co-Founder of MìLà)Blaine Bolus) - Co-Founder of Castmagic)Ramon Berrios) - Co-Founder of Castmagic)