I Was a Buyer for Target and Watched Many Brands Go Bankrupt. Here's the Dark Side of Landing on 10,000 Shelves. Founders often think about retail benchmarks all wrong. Once they realize their mistake, it's too late.

I feel bad saying this, but I have accidentally bankrupted many companies.

I didn't mean to! I was a senior buyer at Target, which meant that I was one of the people responsible for identifying new brands, getting them onto shelves, and (hopefully) setting them up for success. I tried only working with brands that were truly ready for retail, but sometimes I got it wrong. Founders might have said they were ready and showed me evidence that they were ready, but they were not actually ready. I'd put them on Target's shelves, and the impact would destroy them.

This is the stuff that founders never see. It's what I want you to know before you make the same mistake.