Turning Feedback Into a Founder’s Superpower | Kirsten Maitland | Rebel Cheese
On this episode of Honest Ecommerce, we have Kirsten Maitland, a U.S. Navy veteran turned Microsoft agile coach who leveraged her tech innovation expertise to co-found Rebel Cheese, an award-winning Austin-based artisanal vegan cheese company backed by Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban. Rebel Cheese is revolutionizing plant-based dairy alternatives through traditional cheesemaking techniques and has earned national recognition from The New York Times. We talk about validating a product through emotional connection, learning to sustain momentum after viral moments, turning online orders into lasting connections, and so much more!
Honest Ecommerce · Chase Clymer with Kristen Maitland
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Show Notes
Kirsten Maitland is the co-founder of Rebel Cheese, an award-winning Austin-based vegan cheese brand backed by Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban. A former U.S. Navy veteran and Microsoft agile coach, Kirsten brings her background in tech innovation to reimagine plant-based dairy through traditional cheesemaking techniques and smart Ecommerce strategy.
After leaving a stable four-day tech career to pursue purpose over comfort, Kirsten built Rebel Cheese from a six-bottle wine fridge experiment into a nationally recognized brand featured by The New York Times. From launching DTC overnight during COVID to scaling through broken shipments and real-time customer feedback, her journey reveals what it takes to grow authentically while staying true to your values.
Whether you’re building a mission-driven CPG company or refining your feedback loop before scaling, Kirsten shares a masterclass in transforming curiosity and conviction into sustainable growth.
In This Conversation We Discuss:
- [00:03] Intro
- [00:55] Bringing tradition into modern food innovation
- [01:30] Turning passion for food into a scalable concept
- [02:34] Validating a product through emotional connection
- [03:33] Turning crisis into new growth channels
- [04:44] Fixing packaging with help from early partners
- [06:03] Shipping curated boxes to customers’ doors
- [07:00] Selling out with zero ads or paid marketing
- [08:00] Turning online orders into lasting connections
- [08:58] Delaying advertising to protect cash flow
- [10:21] Stay updated with new episodes
- [10:31] Learning to sustain momentum after viral moments
- [12:24] Studying investor dynamics before pitching
- [12:53] Episode Sponsors: Electric Eye & Heatmap
- [15:32] Launching fast to gather real customer feedback
- [18:01] Leveraging AI agents to save time and money
Resources:
- Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
- Plant-based cheese you'll actually love rebelcheese.com/
- Follow Kirsten Maitland linkedin.com/in/kirstenmaitland
- Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect
- Clear, real-time data built for ecommerce optimization heatmap.com/honest
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