You don’t have to build your business alone: Finding community and mentorship that moves you forward
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Written by Shawn Kim
on Aug 20, 2026
Building Fresh Peaches, the hardest times were when I had a dozen things I could do, all at once, and every one of them felt important. A new product line, retail readiness, creative strategy, building a creative pipeline, choosing a 3PL—the list goes on. Every option deserved time, money, and energy, and I had a limited supply of all three. When you’re standing in front of that many doors, it’s overwhelming, and choosing the wrong one can feel like a major setback.
What made it even heavier was the uncertainty. The people closest to me were incredibly supportive, but they weren’t founders who had faced these exact challenges. They couldn’t answer the question I really wanted to ask: “When you were standing where I am now, what did you do?”
Looking back, I can see how much that gap cost me. As a CPG founder, DTC was one of my biggest sales channels, and paid and organic social were my biggest growth levers. Early on, I couldn’t get to a profitable return on ad spend, and I didn’t really understand why. My target customer profile wasn’t quite right, my ads weren’t very good, and I definitely wasn’t an expert in ad management. I spent a lot of money trying different agencies and marketers, hoping someone would have the answer. There was a lot of second-guessing, and because it was my first time navigating any of it, I made expensive mistakes I probably could have avoided if I’d had another founder to talk them through with.
One weekly founder meeting changed my business
Along the way, I met another founder, and we started meeting every week. We’d talk about what we were working on, what was going well, and what we had tried. Over time, those conversations became much more than a check-in. They became a place to workshop real business decisions.
One of those decisions was whether to launch refill pouches.
I had already surveyed customers, and the results said that they wanted a refill option. The data was sitting right in front of me. But I stalled for months because launching a new SKU meant investing real cash at a time when my hero products were performing well. Playing it safe felt easier than making a big move.
During one of our weekly calls, I walked through my hesitation. My fellow founder helped me objectively weigh the pros and cons. Hearing the facts from someone I trusted, someone who understood both my business and my goals, gave me the clarity I needed. I realized I should have placed the order months earlier.
We placed our first purchase order in Q3 of last year. Since launching refill pouches, our recurring customer rate has grown from about 20% per month to more than 50%. It has been the single most impactful decision we’ve made for the long-term health of the business, and it had been sitting on my desk, backed by data, waiting for me to act.
That experience completely changed how I think about community. It isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a competitive advantage. It sharpens your thinking and helps you make better decisions faster.
What mentorship has looked like for me
When I first started looking for mentors, I had no idea what that relationship was supposed to look like—and honestly, I’m still learning. What I have learned is that it never hurts to ask. More people are rooting for founders than you might expect.
One of my mentors is an investor I met through a warm introduction. I noticed we had a mutual connection on LinkedIn, asked for an introduction, and he eventually joined as an advisor. Since then, he’s opened doors across marketing, production, and distribution.
Another mentor is Mina, whom I met through an accelerator program. She has successfully exited a company, is building another, and brings deep expertise in operations and product development. One of the biggest gifts she gave me was helping me identify my blind spots. She challenged me to prioritize branding. It was something I had been avoiding because I couldn’t easily measure the ROI and it wasn’t an area where I felt confident. That push led us to completely refresh our brand, packaging, and identity. The result was a brand that better reflected who we are and met the expectations of both customers and retailers.
How to actually meet these people
The ask that has worked for me is much simpler than people think. It’s usually something like, “I’m looking for mentorship, here’s where I am in my journey, and I’d love to learn from your experience.” The more specific you can be about what you’re hoping to learn, the better.
I’ve met founder mentors through local CPG communities, accelerator programs like Target Accelerators, and even through cold emails to founders I was convinced would never respond. Some of them did.
One lesson I picked up from a podcast has become a personal rule: always have the conversation. Go to the events. Join the networking groups. Make yourself available. You never know which conversation will change your business.
Give first, and do the uncomfortable thing
The fastest way I’ve found to build meaningful relationships is to stop leading with what I need. Instead, I stay curious about the other person’s story. My own work naturally comes up, and people who genuinely enjoy talking with you often offer help you never expected.
I’ve also found that helping other founders is one of the best ways to build lasting relationships. When I can answer a question or share something I’ve learned, I do. When I noticed the same topics coming up repeatedly in one of my founder groups, I offered to teach a session, even though public speaking is one of my biggest fears. That decision eventually led to speaking on panels and created opportunities I never would have found by simply asking for introductions.
Doing the uncomfortable thing opened more doors than asking ever did. It led to more conversations, stronger relationships, and opportunities I couldn’t have planned for.
Do this one thing this week
Look up the founder communities connected to your industry and your city and join them. Show up curious instead of transactional. Focus on building genuine relationships before you need them. There will always be a dozen problems to solve, but they become a lot less overwhelming when you have a community helping you work through them.
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About the author
Post topic(s): Business advice
