In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Hannah Dittman sits down with Graham Garzon, Vice President at Ground Force Capital — a consumer focused growth equity fund with deep roots in food and beverage. Graham brings a background in investment banking and private equity to a firm whose two founding partners are CPG entrepreneurs themselves, giving Ground Force a rare combination of financial rigor and operator empathy. He plays a key role in sourcing, evaluating, and diligencing new opportunities, as well as supporting portfolio companies as they scale toward an eventual exit.
Ground Force invests at the growth stage, typically writing checks between $10 and $40 million in brands doing north of $15 to $20 million in revenue. They are minority investors by default, focused on being the last institutional capital before an exit, and they lean in as active board members and thought partners — not passive check writers. Their portfolio spans food and beverage, fast casual restaurants, and the consumer enablement technology that powers emerging brands.
Hannah and Graham get into what growth stage investing actually looks like from the inside — what acquirers care about, why profitability has become non-negotiable, and what the journey from first institutional check to exit really involves. Graham also shares what the best founders and operators he has worked with all have in common, why the P&L is the fastest way to understand any business, and what he wishes he had known earlier in his career about balancing quantitative rigor with the willingness to take a bet.
Listen in as they cover:
- What growth stage investing looks like and how it is different from early stage venture
- The difference between minority and majority investment — and what it means for founders thinking about dilution and control
- Why profitability has become the most important shift in how investors evaluate CPG businesses in the last two years
- What acquirers are actually looking for today: scale, margins, and omnichannel execution
- The milestones brands go through during a growth stage hold period — and what needs to happen before an exit
- Why understanding your consumer purchasing journey is just as important as understanding your P&L
- The founder and operator traits Graham respects most: deep business knowledge, humility, and genuine curiosity
- Why Graham made a bet on meat sticks with Righteous Felon — and what it says about how Ground Force thinks about riding trend waves without overexposing
- What the first investor meeting actually looks like — and the three things you need to communicate clearly
- Advice for anyone looking to break into CPG investing and how to set yourself apart
Whether you are fundraising, approaching a growth stage raise, or just trying to understand how later stage investors think about your business, this episode is packed with practical and honest insight.
Episode Links:
Ground Force Capital: https://www.groundforcecapital.com
Graham Garzon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grahamgarzon/
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Show Links:
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- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
- Episode music by Super Fantastics
