{"podcast":{"title":"The Startup CPG Podcast","slug":"the-startup-cpg-podcast-1235739","podcast_index_feed_id":1235739,"rss_url":"https://feeds.transistor.fm/startupcpg","website_url":"https://startupcpg.transistor.fm/","image_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/WNouK7j5vR6Y4BOYi04oDl3hjEsu2FYQMPHcqVNY7hc/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9hMTFl/MTgxNTNlZTAwZjU1/ZmNmNWM1ZjkwMDg5/NTU4MS5wbmc.jpg","author":"Startup CPG","episode_count":474,"summary":"The top CPG podcast in the world, highlighting stories from founders, buyer spotlights, highly practical industry insights - all to give you a better chance at success.","last_synced_at":"2026-08-02T06:22:47.976796+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast-1235739"},"episode":{"title":"Founder Fundraising Journey: Frozen One, Alan Chen & Conner Mennig","slug":"founder-fundraising-journey-frozen-one-alan-chen-conner-mennig","published_at":"2026-07-25T07:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast-1235739/founder-fundraising-journey-frozen-one-alan-chen-conner-mennig","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast-1235739","url":"https://share.transistor.fm/s/469b1571","audio_url":"https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/pdst.fm/e/media.transistor.fm/469b1571/d8dc3851.mp3","summary":"In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Alan Chen and Conner Mennig, co-founders of Frozen One - a protein ice cream brand built to prove that \"better for you\" doesn't have to mean sacrificing taste. Frozen One delivers 40 grams of protein and under 400 calories per pint, a fraction of what a traditional pint of ice cream contains, and has grown into one of the fastest-rising frozen brands in the country. Alan and Conner met at UW Madison in 2020 and reconnected in Austin while both stuck in unfulfilling sales jobs. A single gym conversation in January 2025 about the lack of good high-protein options turned into a Ninja Creami machine that same night - and a trademark filed two days later. Together they run a scrappy, relationship-driven operation: Conner focused on operations and finance, Alan on product and marketing, both present at every investor and buyer meeting. Hannah and the co-founders dig into the three fundraising milestones that took Frozen One from a Ninja Creami in an apartment to over 2,300 doors nationwide, including Target, Wegmans, and Central Market. Listen in as they discuss: How a single gym complaint in January 2025 turned into a trademark filing two days later Landing a $250K first check on a SAFE from a local Austin investor Conner met at a house party The scramble to close an oversubscribed $2M round after Target asked for 1,500 doors in three months Splitting founder responsibilities: Alan on product and ice cream R&D, Conner on operations and finance Landing Central Market by cold-calling the buyer - and how that velocity data fueled investor conversations Building the team: a creative director roommate, a \"head of ice cream,\" an ad-ops hire, and a new COO from Van Leeuwen Why the current $5.5M roun…","meta_description":"In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Alan Chen and Conner Mennig, co-founders of Frozen One - a protein ice crea…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2342,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-startup-cpg-podcast-1235739/episodes/founder-fundraising-journey-frozen-one-alan-chen-conner-mennig/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast-1235739/founder-fundraising-journey-frozen-one-alan-chen-conner-mennig.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}