Hey Brand Builders,

If you’ve ever wondered how anyone actually scales a biotech company in one of the most regulated, complex industries on earth — without venture capital and big-pharma profit pressure — this episode is for you.

I’m sitting down with Eric Moyal, Founder and Executive Director of Project Insulin, a nonprofit on a mission to produce its own generic insulin and sell it directly to patients at cost. No price gouging, no games with insurance, and a clear focus on the 1.3 million Americans who are currently rationing their insulin.

We get into:

• How Eric’s journey as a professional nonprofit fundraiser and his sister’s rare illness pushed him into health equity work

• The moment he realized insulin hasn’t meaningfully changed in 30 years — but the price has

• What it really takes (time, money, and emotional stamina) to develop a biosimilar drug from scratch

• Why he chose a nonprofit model over a traditional startup

• How LinkedIn and intentional networking literally built the foundation for Project Insulin

• The mindset shift founders need when they’re building something that might take 5–10 years to fully materialize

If you’re building anything in biotech, health equity, regulated industries, or long-timeline ventures, this is a masterclass in patience, planning, and asking for help.

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About Eric Moyal

Eric Moyal is the Founder and Executive Director of Project Insulin, a nonprofit working to produce a generic long-acting insulin and sell it directly to patients at cost, regardless of insurance status.

He’s a professional nonprofit fundraiser, board member for a CRPS organization, and a deeply mission-driven founder with a background in higher-ed fundraising, health equity, and relationship-based capital raising.

When he’s not grinding on drug development timelines, you can find him in spin class, eating Frosted Mini-Wheats, or demystifying LinkedIn for other founders.

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Connect with Eric & Project Insulin

• Website: projectinsulin.org

• Email: emoyal@projectinsulin.org

• Learn how to volunteer, host a fundraiser, or support their next phase of drug development on the site.

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Chapters / Timestamps

0:00 – Intro: Why insulin access and health equity matter

2:00 – Rapid Fire: Coffee vs tea, cereal, mornings, and spin class

5:15 – Founder tools: LinkedIn, Monday, and staying out of procrastination mode

7:00 – How Eric actually uses LinkedIn to build real relationships

11:00 – “Professional fundraiser”: what that really means in the nonprofit world

15:00 – Eric’s sister, rare illness, and learning the cost of healthcare the hard way

18:30 – The Boston-to-Miami bike ride for awareness and fundraising

22:30 – CRPS, TOS, and becoming a board member for a rare disease nonprofit

24:30 – Meeting his partner with Type 1 diabetes and discovering insulin hasn’t changed in 30 years

26:30 – The moment he realized insulin is a money problem, not a science problem

27:30 – What Project Insulin actually does and how the model works

30:30 – Cutting out the middlemen: pharma, PBMs, wholesalers, and insurance

35:00 – From U.S. launch to global impact: regulatory pathways and ambitions

36:30 – Who Project Insulin is really for: the 1.3M Americans rationing insulin

39:00 – Access, awareness, and partnerships with clinics, FQHCs, VA, and ADA

43:00 – Eric’s 3-month, 6-month, and 3-year roadmap for drug development and fundraising

47:00 – What he wishes he’d known earlier (and why he’d still start with networking)

51:00 – Burnout, LinkedIn comparison, and the lie that “everyone else is winning”

55:00 – “Nobody cares” (in the best way): why you should still celebrate your small wins

57:00 – Who Eric needs to meet next: health equity funders, operations leaders, and volunteers

1:00:00 – Dana’s closing + how to support Project Insulin and The Brand Blueprint

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For SeedSpot Special Ep. 2, we’re joined by Logan Cuvo — Founder & CEO of Best Dam Tape — to unpack how a niche performance brand can scale from equipment rooms to big-box retail. Logan shares the exact steps behind his B2B-first traction with NCAA and pro teams, then walks through his retail-readiness plan: Walmart.com KPIs, Open Call prep, packaging/UPCs, EDI, 3PL, and PO financing.

We cover channel selection (DTC vs. retail vs. B2B), forecasting for first ships, why retail-ready packaging matters, and how to bring buyers hard data instead of hype. If you’ve ever wondered how to take a specialty product into national distribution the right way, this is your playbook.

What you’ll learn:

• How B2B team sales (NCAA/NHL) can accelerate early volume and validation

• Turning online KPIs into in-aisle confidence for buyers (walmart.com → stores)

• Retail readiness: UPCs, EDI, 3PL selection, line capacity, PO financing

• Packaging essentials: retail-ready vs. raw product, and when to upgrade

• Regional launch logic: why concentration beats nationwide out-of-the-gate

• Founder soft skills: relationships, distributor readiness, and manufacturing visits

Chapters:

• 00:00 Intro — SeedSpot Special

• 02:00 Rapid-Fire: routines, sports, early retail memory

• 08:00 Origin story & brand naming conviction

• 12:00 B2B traction with NCAA/NHL (equipment managers & players)

• 15:00 Retail strategy: walmart.com KPIs → Open Call

• 20:00 Marketing budget, merchandising, and point-of-sale needs

• 22:00 Regional launch logic vs. nationwide

• 24:00 Product lineup: clear tape, cloth tape, scented beeswax

• 31:00 UPCs, EDI & retail-ready packaging

• 36:00 Manufacturing relationships, line capacity & 3PL lessons

• 44:00 Global vision & distribution (Canada, UK, Sweden)

• 47:00 How to choose channels: DTC, B2B, or retail

Follow & Subscribe: Apple • Spotify • YouTube

#SeedSpotSpecial #BrandBlueprintSales #CPG #RetailStrategy #WalmartOpenCall #Hockey #BestDamTape

We’re back from fall break! 🎉 After a 5–6 week reset, The Brand Blueprint returns with a special Seed Spot Founder Series rolling out over the next several weeks. We’re kicking it off with Tristan Gandolfi, VP of Programming at Seed Spot, to unpack what actually gets founders retail-ready: data-driven storytelling, buyer psychology, live buyer simulations, and non-dilutive support that turns proof into POs.

In this episode (Capsule 6 | Sales & Distribution):

• Why buyer pitches must lead with data (velocity, margin, trend fit)

• How to make a buyer’s job easy (answer their questions before they ask)

• DTC → regional → chain: building your proof trail

• Why “Shark Tank pitches” ≠ buyer pitches

• Seed Spot’s national programming, mentor network, and outcomes

• New Seed Spot Emerging Brand cohort for pre-buyer founders

00:00 We’re back from fall break + Seed Spot Series kickoff

01:00 Why Sales & Distribution matter (Dana’s Big CPG background)

02:18 Rapid Fire + Midwest ↔ AZ life

10:58 What Seed Spot is & why it’s different

15:40 Going national/virtual: access anywhere

22:10 Why the Retail Accelerator (who it serves)

25:10 NEW “Emerging Brand” cohort (pre-buyer)

28:05 Data > drama: the buyer’s POV

31:05 Iterating curriculum to real founder needs

33:15 Live buyer simulations (why they work)

39:15 Build a buyer-ready, data-driven deck

46:10 Adapting to category shifts (Ozempic effect)

47:30 KPIs & outcomes: tracking success

53:05 Making mentor meetings high-ROI

54:20 Other Seed Spot tracks (nonprofit, health equity, spring training)

58:05 Spanish/English programming

59:30 How to evaluate accelerators (equity vs non-dilutive)

1:03:15 What’s next in the Seed Spot Founder Series

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