Mission summary at the top (sections 01–06). Nine approvable sections below — each with a clear status, notes for the team, and a decision panel.
Sections 01–06 · Mission Brief
Informational
The mission, in one page.
Easy Days is the kava-forward functional shot — American made, lab-tested, nothing to hide. We're taking the shelf Feel Free just vacated with a clean formula and a real field army.
Product · 2 oz functional botanical shot · noble kava · public COA portal · no kratom, no 7-OH.
Opening · 6,500 pre-educated doors across FL/NEPA, NJ, PA, IL, KY · $23M ARR ceiling · $4.2M Yr-1 realistic.
Landscape · 6 legacy brands, all category-scarred (kratom, bans, class-actions). Easy Days is the clean lane.
Matrix · Only brand with clean formula + c-store native + real field activation day one.
Org · Co-founders + CMO Ernie Manansala + open President of Sales + 4 pillar leads + advisor bench.
Sections 01–06 are context, not approval gates. Approvals begin at section 07.
01
Hiring Plan V5 · Phase 1
Needs approval
FL owns half the army. 10 FMMs across 5 markets. Palm Beach HQ.
1 President → 2 Coast Directors → Field Marketing Managers in every market. FL/NEPA carries 5 — that's where 60% of the doors live.
→ Focus section — approve the full field army below.
Phase 1 FMMs
10 FMMs
FL/NEPA 5 · NJ Plainfield 1 · PA Philly 1 · PA Scranton 1 · IL 1 · KY 1
East Coast Director: FL · NJ · PA (7 FMMs report in). Central Director: IL + KY (2 FMMs).
Phase 1 (Q1–Q3) · Prove the model — 13 W-2 + 30 1099. W-2 OTE annualized $1.42M; FL carries 42% of payroll.
Phase 2 (Oct–Dec) · Layer in DMs — +8 DMs → 21 W-2. Trigger: 1,500+ live doors, first chain conversation, reorder rate >40%, or first distributor PO. +$760K annualized, $190K in Yr 1.
Phase 3 (Year 2) · National ramp — 60+ field. Chain-account team (7-Eleven, Wawa, Sheetz, Circle K), non-traditional channels, GA · NC · OH · MI · TN · VA. Trigger: 3,500+ live doors, Series A close, chain PO in hand.
Phase 1 total Yr-1 W-2 payroll: $1.61M.
03
Strategic PR Partner
Needs approval
BLAZE PR — our official PR agency recommendation.
Award-winning CPG/lifestyle PR agency (blazepr.com). As we enter a highly visible growth phase, BLAZE controls the narrative, builds category authority, creates investor confidence, supports retailers, and prepares us for national scale. Not just press — a strategic business function.
→ Approve BLAZE PR as our official strategic PR partner at ~$10K/mo retainer.
Retainer (est.)
$10K / mo
Core investment in brand equity, crisis readiness, media credibility
Annualized
$120K / yr
PR retainer — separate from field/fleet/merch budgets
Recognition · Hermes Awards · PR World Awards · Communicator Awards · LA Business Journal · PR News Awards · PRSA PRism Awards · Silver Quill Awards.
Why now · disrupting a category makes PR a business function — retailer confidence, responsible comms, trusted category leadership, long-term valuation.
04
Influencer Growth Engine
Needs approval
Creator.co — creator-led revenue acceleration.
Not just influencer marketing — a creator, content, and paid media ecosystem. Build a pipeline of new creators every month, turn them into a decentralized content studio, and amplify winners through whitelisting + paid boosting.
→ Approve Creator.co at ~$22.7K/mo as foundational DTC growth investment (total growth budget ~$33K/mo).
Current Meta $60–70K + Creator.co lift $100–200K → $1.92M–$3.24M annual
Creator Acquisition Engine — consistent monthly pipeline of new creators generating authentic content, new audiences, social proof at scale.
Content Production Machine — product education · lifestyle · testimonials · founder/brand storytelling · UGC for ads · community awareness.
Paid Media Amplification — creator whitelisting + paid boosting turns winning influencer content into scalable ad campaigns.
Creator strategy — ~$1,000 avg partnership → ~10 new creators/mo · 120+ partnerships/yr. Each creator = content partner + advocate + acquisition channel + community builder.
Timeline — M1 Foundation (recruit, setup, test) → M2 Growth (optimize, amplify, ID winners) → M3 Scale (predictable engine, spend against winners).
Expansion once validated — TikTok · YouTube · Google · additional creator partnerships. Target $200K–$300K+ monthly revenue via diversified digital ecosystem.
05
Comp Package V1
Needs approval
Base + doors + reorders + truck.
Four-part comp mechanic benchmarked to Red Bull, Liquid Death, and premium beverage field orgs. Classification: hybrid.
→ Confirm the team is good with this comp process.
01 · Base — guaranteed 60–70% of OTE. Predictable monthly pay so reps show up on Monday.
02 · Doors opened — $75–$150 per verified account, paid on first PO shipped. Photo + retailer signature required.
03 · Reorder velocity — 3–5% of reorder revenue for 12 months on doors they opened. Retention pay.
04 · The truck — top doors-per-month per state drives the hero vehicle for 30 days. Gas + insurance covered. Public leaderboard.
Perks: health stipend, equity pool (0.05–0.5%), free product, gear + wardrobe stipend, phone stipend, 4-day week option after Y1, 5 paid 'Easy Days Off'.
Legal: Directors / Region / District Mgrs = W-2. Field reps under DMs = 1099. Brand Ambassadors event-based.
06
Comp Tiers V3
Pending · fine-detail meeting
Lean bases. Uncapped commission. Every seat can double their base.
Base is the floor, commission the ceiling. Top performers earn 1.8–2.2× base — and drive the hero vehicle. Phase 1 skips District Managers until doors earn them.
→ Pending — fine-detail launch meeting in Florida before approval.
Rows 1–5 = full-year Phase 1 payroll. Phase 2 DMs = OND stub only (start October).
Total Yr-1 W-2 + 1099 payroll: $2.4M (W-2 OTE $1.45M + 1099 pool $960K + Ph2 OND stub $190K). Matches Budget Bucket 02.
07
Route to Market
For alignment
5 states. 4 channels. One conversation.
FL/NEPA-led route across 6,500 doors. Phase 1 (Q1): FL/NEPA — ~4,000 doors, 5 FMMs on the ground day one. Best-in-deck market.
→ Alignment check — confirm everyone understands the states + route to market we're launching.
The Monday call: pitch the switch → sample on the counter → write the first PO → leave the display same day → log the tracker (Status · Rep · Priority · Notes) until it migrates to GoHighLevel.
Counter unit placed same day; golf-bag dealer loader at volume threshold. Merch as marketing.
How we use GoHighLevel
GoHighLevel is the CRM + field-ops backbone. The pre-educated door target list loads into GHL; reps log every door visit (Status · Rep · Priority · Notes); automated follow-up + reorder cadences fire per account; trade-show and creator leads route into GHL pipelines; dashboards report velocity + display compliance to leadership.
08
Fleet V3 · American Iron
Needs approval
6 wrapped vehicles. FL owns the fleet. The truck IS the comp plan.
Orange base, matte black accents. The RAM TRX is the CMO's vehicle — secured for auto-partnership sponsorships and flagship events nationwide.
→ Approve how many vehicles and by when — need a locked build/wrap date for all 6.
W-2 base $860K · commission $585K · 1099 pool $960K · Ph2 stub $190K · sampling/events $400–700K · content/PR $120–200K
Year 1 all-in
$3.27M–$3.79M
Fleet + field · 36-mo lease, mid-spec build, 5-market Year 1
10
Merch as Marketing
Needs approval
Tchotchkes aren't giveaways. They're brand impressions paid once, earned for years.
Three budget lanes: POS to own the shelf · wearables to build cultural gravity (the Liquid Death move) · dealer loaders to close the field call (the Budweiser move).
→ Approve the $370K merch budget.
Lane 01 · POS
$70K
Counter displays, racks, cooler decals, clings, LED signage, Q3 refresh