Matt Allison

CHUC is on threshold of success. The introduction of its SXB product line with age gating technology, will provide proof of concept, demonstrating a successful resolution to FDA’s concern for youth uptake of vaping. https://lnkd.in/gbQ6a_qg

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“We passed QA. We’re good.” A founder told me 10 weeks out from launch, with a purchase order already signed with a major home automation distributor. CAD was polished…Series A secured. But cert labs don’t care if you passed QA. And two weeks later, they failed CE on thermal dissipation. Because the housing softened under sustained runtime. The probe registered abnormal heat transfer. Plastic warped. Assembly shifted. Alignment broke. The product, retail ready just days before - was now unshippable. And here’s the truth: The team assumed QA covered this. The dev house had said it was cert-ready. No one ran an independent teardown. No one owned the system-level risk. They thought they were checking boxes. They were actually missing the entire cert map. Same thing happened to another client: Their smart hub failed EMC testing - because even though the board was grounded, the metal shielding inside the housing was off by 0.2mm. That tiny misalignment caused interference and just like that, they couldn’t certify or ship. They didn’t know until after packaging was printed and pallets were booked. THE RESULT - $42K in rework - Missed Q4 retail slot - Margin erased from launch - Three new investor updates full of damage control This is the most common failure we see in smart product builds between $1.5M–$8M. They think “we passed QA” = “we’re safe.” But QA is not certification. And cert is not just paperwork, it’s physics. It’s what happens when your housing, PCB, and runtime conditions all interact under live testing. And if you haven’t pre-modeled that stack, the cert lab will do it for you. (And they don’t refund the result.) If you’re shipping anything in the next 90 days, here’s the question I’d ask: Has anyone run a system-level teardown, based on your actual CAD + BOM - to simulate cert failure before it happens? If you haven’t run this yet: comment “cert teardown” and I’ll send the 5-step checklist we use before clients make six-figure mistakes in the lab. Because your factory doesn’t fix that damage for you. You do.

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Manufacturers: quick Q1 gut check. With about two weeks left in the quarter… are you ahead of plan, on track, or scrambling?���� In January, Q1 and 2026 goals felt like they had plenty of runway. Now, we’re nearly 25% through 2026 and closing Q1. Reality tends to show up in the form of: • A line that isn’t running as efficiently as planned • Quality checks slowing down throughput • Operator turnover leading to errors and risk • A bottleneck that keeps popping up at the worst possible time And suddenly the question becomes: Can we still hit the numbers? 📈Don’t let complexity and legacy processes slow you down. Better visibility into what’s happening on the line, tighter processes, and eliminating just one recurring issue can add up quickly. At Matrix Automation, we deliver it all the time. Manufacturers make targeted improvements that help them finish a quarter and the year stronger than expected. So I’m curious: With two weeks left in Q1, how are things looking at your plant? DM me for a coffee chat and let’s see how the quarter is shaping up.☕ #QuarterCrunch #ProcessMatters #FinishStrong

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Dentures at 40 is a growing epidemic… * Dental care in the U.S. is often separated from medical insurance, creating a huge financial barrier for many people. * The cost of a deep root canal or a series of necessary crowns can easily run into thousands of dollars. * For too many Americans, retaining and repairing a tooth becomes financially impossible without adequate savings or coverage. * Instead, the quicker, less expensive alternative becomes extraction, eventually leading to the need for dentures or implants. * This is why prevention is paramount: we must become the Gurus of our own wellness and proactively care for our oral health. * Reducing your intake of ultra-processed foods, sugars, and sodas is a critical, accessible first step to avoid the denture stage. * When high costs drive medical decisions, we have a public health and economic issue that needs to be addressed for our workforce. * We need to advocate for dental health coverage that makes maintenance and repair a viable option for everyone. Watch my video for clarity…. #oralcare #denturesat40 #gurunanda

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Why Delayed Gratification Matters in Network Marketing 🚀 Shortcuts may bring quick money, but only delayed gratification builds a sustainable business. Top network marketers: 🔹 Focus on long-term vision 🔹 Invest in personal growth 🔹 Build lasting relationships The reward? Financial freedom + lasting success. 🌟 Hashtags: #NetworkMarketingSuccess #BusinessGrowth #DelayedGratification #SuccessHabits #EntrepreneurLifestyle #MindsetMatters

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When you’re on the journey of entrepreneurship, you can’t do it alone. You need mentors, coaches, and consultants who’ve been through it—people who can help you structure your business the right way from day one. Success isn’t built solo, it’s built with guidance, strategy, and experience. 💡🔥 #BeDifferent #Entrepreneurship #Mentorship #BusinessGrowth #Leadership #RoyKirchner #AIandVideoSalesGrowthExpert

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What's the real ROI of "knowing your numbers" in a dental practice? It’s a question that goes beyond simple P&L. Every practice has data from its PMS and accounting software, but the challenge is turning that data into a clear financial return. Being 'data-driven' isn't about loving spreadsheets. It's about answering critical questions: --> How much does one hour of idle chair time really cost you? --> Which specific treatments are boosting your margin vs. draining it? --> Are your marketing efforts attracting profitable procedures? Answering these questions is the key to growth. We wanted to make the ROI of this approach tangible. That's why we built the ClinBI ROI Calculator. In a few steps, it estimates the potential financial return of making data your most powerful asset. See the ROI of data-driven dentistry for yourself: https://lnkd.in/dseNHSm8. #DataDriven #BusinessIntelligence #DentalROI #PracticeManagement #DentistryUK

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INVENTORS - Is making great quality products and offering excellent customer service important? Of course it is! 76% of consumers will stop doing business with a company after just one bad experience. That’s a pretty high number. It’s one thing to invent a product and be excited about it. It’s completely something else to ensure your product is made very well and you offer great customer service, lengthy warranties, and an overall excellent customer experience. Sadly, these points are often overlooked. Inventors usually get excited and just want to get their product made and to market quickly and don’t think about how people will perceive it and then how they will handle things when customers complain. And they will! Even the best brands get complaints - even if the complaints are legitimate or not. Having a customer service plan BEFORE you start selling your product is important. But, making sure your product is well made will prevent many customer issues. Having simple packaging with clear instructions will also prevent many issues. Having a customer service email or phone number is needed and expected by consumers. Doing all this sets you up for building a successful brand that people will share with their friends and family! #inventing #licensing #products #sales #retail #success

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Grateful to Suken Jain for having me on his podcast - The Sync Leadership Lab. We had a great conversation about the path to CEO, navigating a male-dominated industry, and some advice to the next generation of female leaders. Listen today on: Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gJH3qingApple Podcast: https://lnkd.in/g3afFJ6z

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Before NuCare signs an agreement with a new manufacturer, I ask one question. "Walk me through your worst inspection." The answer tells me almost everything I need to know about whether we should be working with them. The manufacturers I want to work with answer this question honestly. They acknowledge the issues that came up. They explain what they did to address them. They show me the documentation of corrective actions. They demonstrate that they treat regulatory feedback as input, not as an attack. The manufacturers I walk away from get defensive. They downplay the issues. They blame the inspectors. They show me polished marketing materials instead of remediation records. In manufacturing, perfection isn't realistic. Every facility has had inspection findings at some point. What separates great manufacturers from problematic ones isn't whether they've ever had a 483. It's how they responded to it. A manufacturer who can speak candidly about their failures is usually a manufacturer who's learned from them. A manufacturer who pretends they've never had any is usually a manufacturer who hasn't learned to be honest. This is the kind of vetting that happens before any API enters the NuCare catalog. It's the part of procurement most pharmacies never see. But it's the foundation of everything we ship. #ManufacturerVetting #APIProcurement #QualityAssurance #CompoundingPharmacy #NuCareAPI

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Funding your business—without giving up equity? Yes, it’s possible. Join me on July 9th from 9–10:15 AM PST for the Money Module at Livelihood NW Ascend Program Advanced Strategy cohort: Exploring Financial Capital Options—part of a powerful series designed to help small business owners understand their funding options and build with intention. I’ll be speaking on how to find and win grants, nondilutive funding, pitch competitions, and awards — all the scrappy, smart ways I bootstrapped DTOCS into a 7-figure business 💼. You’ll also hear from: Craft3 (CDFI loans) Kiva (crowdfunded microloans) JPMorganChase (bank products) Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (angel investing) Discover which capital path is right for your business and how to tap into the money already out there waiting for founders like YOU. Let’s get you funded—without giving away your power. 🔗 Apply to the program here-https://lnkd.in/gaCXe2bP. Please contact Ascend’s Program Manager, Colleen Slinkard at colleen@livelihoodnw.org for questions. Picture credit: Andrew Alexander in Oregon. #GrantsForFounders #SmallBusinessFunding #BootstrappedBusiness #WomenEntrepreneurs #AccessToCapital #StartupFunding #PNWEntrepreneurs #FoundersFunding #NondilutiveCapital #DTOCS #SustainableStartups #ClimateEntrepreneurs #BuildWithoutBurnout #BusinessGrowth #FundingYourMission

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Start planning for your sellout before it happens. Here’s why. Because selling out is actually the easy part. I know that sounds wild. But after 30 years in live commerce I have watched more brands fall apart after their best day than before it. A vascular surgeon and I developed a product together. We called it So Vein. It sold out on ShopHQ in hours. Then it went viral with over a million views. Nobody saw that coming. Including us! I celebrated for about five minutes. Then the network called. They wanted us back immediately. That call is every founder’s dream and every founder’s panic at the same time. When the So Vein sellout happened I still felt the rush of oh no, now what. The difference is I already knew the answer. We moved fast. Manufacturing, silkscreening, fulfillment all handled without losing the momentum we had just built. Two months later we were back on air. That wasn’t my first sellout rodeo. I was part of a team that broke records on live television before anyone called it live commerce. I’m sharing that not to brag but because those years shaped everything about how I work today. How to build stories that convert in a feed, in a live moment, on any platform. How to sell with precision and fulfill without chaos. How to stretch every dollar across time zones, continents and supply chains that do not always cooperate. You don’t need a full in-house team immediately. You need one person who has the right network already in place. Most startups aren’t sitting on extra capital. The right strategy matters more than the biggest budget. You need a plan. Your sellout moment is coming! The question is whether you will be ready for the call that follows. Start here — I sat down with Melory Johnson and Blakely Despres on Pretty Equity to talk about exactly this. We got into some things that will make you laugh, some that will make you cringe, and all of it is free insight you can use right now. Link in the first comment. If you are building something and want to be ready before the moment arrives, DM me. What’s your biggest fear about a sellout? #BeautyFounders #LiveCommerce #TikTokShop #InstagramShopping #PrestigeBeauty #BeautyBusiness #BrandStrategy #StartUp

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🚀 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲? Most dental marketers obsess over lead gen. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵? 👉 It 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻—and AI is the game-changer. In this quick 60-second video, I break down how the smartest multi-practice locations are 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁, 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀: ⚙️ 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱 → Scores patient behavior and flags churn risks early 📊 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 → Tracks real-time sentiment and turns feedback into action 🔁 𝗚𝗼𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 → Automates HIPAA-compliant follow-ups and maps the entire journey These aren’t just tools—they’re growth systems. We’re seeing practices 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝟯𝟬–5𝟬% without spending more on acquisition. 💬 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀? 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 for a single dental practice, multi-practice locations, or DSO—𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗜-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 #DentalMarketing #DSOMarketing #PatientRetention #GenAI #HIPAACompliant #CMOInsights #MarketingAutomation #GoHighLevel #SalesforceHealthCloud #NuParadym

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Legal cannabis is finally organizing against the hemp industry… Beginning in August of 2025, a new MSO-funded campaign called “Future of Hemp” has been buying digital ads and soliciting new members in their fight to end “the legal loophole unintentionally created by the Farm Bill”. The campaign is organized by Washington veteran Michael Bronstein and his DC firm:  the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH). While the trade association purports to speak for the hemp industry, hemp companies are conspicuously absent from the list of sponsors which include: The Cannabist, Cresco Labs, Verano, Acreage, AYR, Wyld, Terrascend, Pharmacann and GTI among others. The campaign is clear as to their their objective:  -Closing the so-called “Farm Bill loophole” that allows intoxicating hemp derivatives to be sold outside regulated cannabis systems -Establishing plant parity — treating intoxicating hemp products with the same standards applied to THC cannabis -Ensuring the future of non-intoxicating hemp remains viable under fair, science-based rules Careful not to point a finger at fellow Americans, the campaign identifies the enemy as “foreign manufacturers” who flooded America with hemp derived precursors to “synthetically converted compounds like delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, and THCP.” The visibility of the digital campaign comes in the wake of last week’s letter from the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) urging Congress to clarify the federal definition of hemp. It isn’t clear if the group was involved in the creation of the letter, but one can imagine that they might not want to be directly associated with any campaign that rescinds cannabis access for millions of Americans.

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When it comes to acquisitions, the goal isn’t to collect shops — it’s to CONNECT STRENGTHS The best deals don’t just add revenue. They add capability, capacity, or culture that amplifies what you already do well. Because a bad fit, even if it’s profitable, will drain your time, your systems, and your sanity. But the right fit? It MULTIPLIES what’s already working. Here’s what a good fit looks like: ⚙️ Capability Fit: They bring skills or equipment you don’t have — 5-axis, wire EDM, automation, coatings, etc. 📦 Customer Fit: Their customer base complements yours (not competes with it). 👥 Cultural Fit: Their team can blend with yours without breaking your rhythm. 💰 Operational Fit: Their systems, quoting style, and quality standards don’t clash with your core processes. Buying a shop isn’t just about what you get. It’s about how well it runs with what you’ve built. Because when alignment is right — 1 + 1 doesn’t equal 2. IT EQUALS UNSTOPPABLE MOMENTUM And if you haven’t tuned in to our latest MSG Podcast episode yet — Episode 14: “How to Grow Your Shop Through Acquisitions” — the link is in the comments. 🎧 #MachineShopGrowth #SmartAcquisitions #ManufacturingStrategy #ShopGrowth #BusinessIntegration #ManufacturingLeadership #MACHINING #PrivateEquityMindset #GrowthThroughAcquisition #StrategicFit

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Following Church & Dwight Co., Inc.’s analyst day last friday, Hero Cosmetics co-founder Ju Rhyu announced she will remain at CHD working with corporate development aside from helping Hero, a bullish signal for CHD. CHD’s recent acquisitions have been very successful. touchland’s sale increased 1.4x under a year, TheraBreath 4x sales in 4 years and Hero 3x sales in < 3 years. We estimate that the valuations of Hero, Touchland, and Therabreat have increased 200%, 38% and 200%, accordingly, since acquisition. CHD currently trades at a fwd p/e of 25x compared to the S&P’s 25x. In 2025, CHD delivered $1.2B in cash flow from operations, CHD’s financial position, recent success with acquisitions, & Ju Rhyu’s addition to corp dev is a strong signal that CHD will continue making strategic acquisitions - meanwhile, most conglomerates are shedding assets, there is seemingly an opportunity for CHD to make a leapfrog move here over a few legacy portfolios

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Would you believe that the women's restroom is DIRTIER than the men's restroom? (Maybe not always) But really? Please help Cindy Sexton 💭 explain to Paul Shin 🌮 Another epic episode with #TalkingCRAP! #podcast #funny #interview #business #restroom #funfact

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