What Proof does

Proof, LLC is a Chattanooga, Tennessee-based private company founded in 2020 that provides education and mentorship for emerging Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and food and beverage entrepreneurs. The company serves small business owners including restaurants, bars, food trucks, breweries, and packaged food brands, helping them move from concept to retail-ready operations, and also serves economic development offices seeking to build food and beverage incubator infrastructure in their communities.

Proof's product portfolio centers on an on-demand learning management system (courses.proofincubator.com) delivering video-based coursework across multiple programs: Business Essentials for Food and Beverage (an 8-week virtual course), Get Your Products Ready for Retail (CPG101), Multi-Channel Sales + Marketing, An Entrepreneur's Guide to Consumer Goods (CPG Master), and the cohort-based Tennessee Main Street Food & Beverage Accelerator. The company also offers 1:1 coaching, incubator design and management consulting services, and bilingual Spanish-language coaching. The underlying technology is a standard third-party LMS rather than a proprietary platform, and Proof's defensibility rests on its curriculum and human coaching rather than software differentiation.

Proof's revenue model combines three streams: low-priced on-demand course fees (CPG Master is priced at $29 for lifetime access), professional services for incubator consulting and curriculum licensing to economic development offices, and state-funded accelerator delivery through partnerships with LaunchTN (Network Partner for CPG), the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD), and TN Main Street. The company operated a physical Chattanooga food, beverage, and CPG incubator from 2020 to 2024, when the space was transitioned to a resident operator; Proof has since shifted to a program- and consulting-led model. The team (11–50 employees) is led by co-founder and CEO Michael Robinson and COO Kaleena Goldsworthy; Proof is privately held, and the only disclosed outside capital is a single $76,200 round in 2021 with no identified investors.

Name

Proof

Legal name

Proof, LLC

Website

https://proofincubator.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Proof, LLC is a Chattanooga-based private company founded in 2020 that delivers on-demand courses, cohort-based accelerators, incubator consulting, and one-on-one coaching for emerging consumer packaged goods (CPG) and food and beverage entrepreneurs, primarily across Tennessee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chattanooga

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. On-Demand Course Fees: Proof charges course fees for individual programs such as the CPG Master course ($29) and other on-demand programs for entrepreneurs. Revenue is generated from tuition-style payments for self-paced digital coursework.
2. Incubator Management & Consulting Services: Proof offers end-to-end incubator consulting and management services to economic development offices, property owners, and community partners. Revenue is earned through professional services contracts to help others launch or manage food, beverage, and CPG incubators.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Proof provides industry education and mentorship through online programs, workshops, and one-on-one coaching for emerging CPG and food & beverage companies. The company also offers end-to-end incubator design, development, and management services to economic development offices and community partners, helping them launch and operate food and beverage incubator programs.

Product overview

Proof is an incubator and educational platform for emerging CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) and food & beverage companies. The company offers a platform-plus-programs architecture consisting of on-demand online courses (Business Essentials for Food and Beverage, Get Your Products Ready for Retail, Multi-Channel Sales + Marketing, An Entrepreneur's Guide to Consumer Goods) and cohort-based accelerator programs (Tennessee Main Street Food & Beverage Accelerator). These programs provide industry education, mentorship, and support including 1:1 coaching, weekly cohort sessions, and expert guest speaker sessions to help entrepreneurs build stronger, more scalable, and sustainable businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Essentials for Food and Beverage An 8-week virtual course for owners and operators of restaurants and food-service businesses, focused on stabilization and growth.
• Get Your Products Ready for Retail (CPG101) Intensive program for emerging consumer-packaged goods brands, covering finance, operations, marketing, distribution, fundraising, and growth planning to rapidly expand growth.
• Multi-Channel Sales + Marketing Equips entrepreneurs with tools and resources to improve, stabilize, and grow their food and beverage concept into a sustainable, profitable venture.
• An Entrepreneur's Guide to Consumer Goods (CPG Master) A comprehensive workbook and course guiding entrepreneurs through the consumer goods industry, with over 70 pages of guidance, 11 types of analysis, and expert advice for launching and scaling CPG businesses.
• Preparing for a Loan Prepares entrepreneurs to confidently pursue loans, financing, or investment by strengthening core business readiness.
• Multi-Channel Mastery Helps entrepreneurs build a cohesive sales and marketing strategy across multiple channels.
• Tennessee Main Street Business Essentials for Food and Beverage Foundational course supporting restaurant, cafe, bar, brewery, food truck, and pop-up operators in building a strong and sustainable business, delivered as part of the Tennessee Main Street Food & Beverage Accelerator.
• Tennessee Main Street Get Your Products Ready for Retail (CPG) Designed for packaged food and beverage businesses; helps entrepreneurs prepare for wholesale, retail, and distribution opportunities as part of the Tennessee Main Street Food & Beverage Accelerator.
• Tennessee Main Street Food & Beverage Accelerator A statewide, cohort-based accelerator program for food and beverage businesses located within Tennessee Main Street communities, combining on-demand learning, live support, and hands-on coaching.
• 1:1 Coaching Weekly one-on-one coaching with a dedicated Proof Coach, tailored to the business's specific needs, offered alongside cohort and self-paced programs.
• Proof Incubator Design & Management Services End-to-end incubator design, development, and management services for food, beverage, restaurant, and small-scale manufacturing industries, including building infrastructure, tenant recruitment, and results-driven programming.

Quantifiable outcome

• Go from Recipe to Retail in 60 Days
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• LaunchTNcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerProof is LaunchTN's Network Partner for Consumer Packaged Goods. LaunchTN is a public-private 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting entrepreneurship and economic development in Tennessee. The partnership enables Proof to deliver CPG-specific mentorship and programs to Tennessee-based entrepreneurs, leveraging LaunchTN's broader startup ecosystem, funding access, and network.
• TNECD (Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProof partners with TNECD to deliver the Tennessee Main Street Food & Beverage Accelerator, a statewide cohort-based program. TNECD supports the initiative financially and administratively, and Proof provides the curriculum, coaching, and program execution for food & beverage entrepreneurs across Tennessee Main Street communities.
• TN Main StreetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProof partners with TN Main Street to deliver the Tennessee Main Street Food & Beverage Accelerator, making programs accessible to any food or beverage business located within a Tennessee Main Street community. The partnership combines TN Main Street's community network with Proof's industry expertise and curriculum.
• LivePlanminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProof offers its community a discounted subscription to LivePlan, a business planning platform. This partnership provides added value to Proof's entrepreneur community by giving them access to business planning tools at a reduced cost.
• RecipalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProof offers its community access to Recipal, a costing and nutrition fact label tool. The partnership helps CPG entrepreneurs manage product costing and regulatory compliance for nutrition labeling through discounted or preferred access.
• Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce (INC Connect)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProof collaborated with the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce on the INC Connect incubator initiative. The partnership leverages the Chamber's economic development network and infrastructure to support food, beverage, and CPG entrepreneurs in the Chattanooga region.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Capital Factory: Texas-based startup accelerator and coworking hub running cohort programs, mentorship, and government-partnered initiatives for entrepreneurs. Comparable accelerator-plus-public-partnership model, though not food-specialized.

Others

• Indie Food Network: Community and education platform supporting independent food and beverage brands with courses, events, and retail-readiness resources. Comparable target audience (emerging food/CPG brands) and digital education delivery to Proof's on-demand courses.

Broad incumbents

• Techstars Retail: Global accelerator network (Techstars Retail and related programs) supporting consumer and retail-focused startups with cohort mentorship. Comparable accelerator/cohort format to Proof's programs, though broader in vertical scope.
• Small Business Development Centers (SBDC): Nationwide SBA-funded network offering free business advising, training, and accelerator-style programs to entrepreneurs including food and beverage founders. Comparable public-sector partner/incubator model to Proof's TN Main Street Accelerator.
• SCORE: U.S. nonprofit network providing free small business mentorship, workshops, and education across all industries including food and beverage. Comparable to Proof's mentorship and online course offerings but at much larger scale and free of charge.

Direct peers

• Hatch Innovation: Food tech and CPG accelerator and venture fund running cohort programs with mentorship, retail pilots, and capital readiness support. Comparable accelerator format and food/CPG entrepreneur focus to Proof's Tennessee Main Street Accelerator.
• Union Kitchen: Washington, D.C.-based food business incubator and accelerator that supports emerging food and beverage entrepreneurs with shared kitchen space, distribution, and education. Highly comparable to Proof's former Chattanooga incubator model and current program-based offering for CPG/food founders.
• Food-X: Food startup accelerator (formerly affiliated with SOSV) running cohort-based programs for early-stage food and beverage companies, combining mentorship, capital readiness, and retail access. Mirrors Proof's accelerator and cohort-based delivery model.
• La Cocina: San Francisco nonprofit food business incubator providing kitchen space, mentorship, and pathways to retail for low-income and immigrant food entrepreneurs. Comparable to Proof's CPG and food-service entrepreneur focus, particularly the combination of operational support plus business education.
• Almanac: CPG strategy and growth advisory firm offering consulting, workshops, and educational programs to emerging consumer packaged goods brands. Comparable to Proof's coaching and curriculum layer for CPG entrepreneurs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/proofincubator
• Facebookfacebook.com/proofincubator
• Instagraminstagram.com/Proof_bar_incubator
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/proofincubator

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Proof