The $5M PO Problem and How Retail Can Break Your Brand

What does it actually take to get a brand onto a retail shelf, and keep it there?Erin Wall spent nearly a decade as a buyer and merchant at Target before becoming a broker, and now runs Lunr, a capital provider purpose-built for the most dangerous moment in a consumer brand's life: the gap between a purchase order and a fully stocked, actually-selling shelf.This is a conversation about what most founders get catastrophically wrong about retail, and what the ones who get it right have figured out.We cover:Why sell-in is the easy part and sell-through is everythingHow to walk into a buyer meeting prepared (and what kills your credibility fast)The $6M end cap moment: what happens when your eyes glaze over instead of light upWhy building your margins correctly on day one is non-negotiable, and why hoping they improve later is a strategy that failsWhere Lunr fits in the capital stack and why PO financing is still massively underservedHow Lunr underwrites: touching the product, connecting to bank accounts, modeling real contribution marginsWhy choosing your debt partner deserves the same scrutiny as choosing an equity investorThe Walmart private label story: what happens when the forecast doesn't pan out and your capital provider vanishesThe warning signs a brand isn't ready for retail, even if a retailer is offering them a slotDeduction management as an underrated margin leverCapital advice for founders heading into a still-uncertain 2026If you're building a consumer brand and retail is on the roadmap, this episode will save you from mistakes that quietly kill companies.