This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Georgia Young, a 28-year-old entrepreneur based in New York. Last year, Young was working in consulting when she started her side hustle Rallee: a line of caffeinated gummies for energy on the go. Rallee landed in 1,940 Walmart stores in eight months and is projected to bring in about $1.8 million in revenue in 2027. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. 

What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?
Before starting Rallee, I spent four years in strategy and sustainability consulting, advising private equity and private credit firms, global financial institutions and asset managers on their sustainability and impact investing strategies across multi-billion-dollar portfolios. It was an incredibly demanding environment with tight deadlines, overlapping deliverables and long hours.

I loved the pace and the challenge, but my days were often completely dictated by client demands. My background was also very far from consumer packaged goods. I have a master’s degree in sustainable business from the University of Miami. So when I first started working on Rallee, I was essentially teaching myself an entirely new industry while balancing a demanding full-time job.

When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
I developed Rallee while I was still consulting and launched it in January 2025. The inspiration came directly from that job. Working with demanding private equity and private credit clients meant constant overlapping deadlines, back-to-back meetings and very long hours. I was always trying to find enough energy to keep up, both professionally and personally.

Like so many people, I relied on caffeine, but I was increasingly frustrated with the options available. I didn’t have time to stand in line for a barista every time I needed a boost. Spending $5 or $6 on coffee or matcha several times a day added up quickly. And I wanted something better for me than traditional energy drinks. I wanted caffeine that was more affordable, convenient and thoughtfully formulated.

Researching manufacturers and testing samples

What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? How much money/investment did it take to launch?
The first step was figuring out if the product I had imagined could even exist. I researched gummy manufacturing, caffeine delivery systems and ingredient interactions. Then I worked with nutritional scientists to develop a formula that was effective, jitter-free and enjoyable to eat. We paired caffeine with L-theanine to support calm focus without the jitters; used a coated, slow-release caffeine for steadier energy instead of a spike; and added cordyceps mushrooms, all in a vegan, 10-calorie gummy made with real fruit.

From there, I reached out to manufacturers, tested samples and learned about regulatory requirements, packaging and branding. I had absolutely no background in food manufacturing. So the learning curve was huge. Because I was doing all of this alongside my consulting job, evenings, weekends and pretty much every spare moment went into getting Rallee off the ground. I kept consulting until April 2025, about three months after launch, before going full-time. Very quickly, I learned that a physical product is expensive before you’ve sold a single unit because formulation, MOQs, packaging, testing and regulatory work all add up fast. I invested all of my savings, around $45,000, to launch Rallee, and the business is still 100% founder-owned and self-funded today.

Tapping into advice from other founders

Are there any free or paid resources that have been especially helpful for you in starting and running this business?
Other founders have been my most valuable resource by far. I’ve learned an enormous amount from people who are a few steps ahead of me, particularly on manufacturing, retail negotiations, fundraising and distribution. You can spend hours researching something online, or you can have a 20-minute conversation with someone who has already been through it. Communities like Startup CPG have also been incredibly valuable. One of our biggest opportunities came through a Walmart submission connected to the community, which ultimately led to Rallee securing national distribution with Walmart. 

If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
I would have been much quicker to accept that not everything needs to be perfect before you launch. Coming from consulting, I was used to deliverables going through multiple rounds of review before they ever reached a client. I wanted every detail to be exactly how I had envisioned it. I’ve learned that building a consumer brand is an ongoing process of testing, learning and improving. You can spend months debating something internally, only to discover that customers care about something entirely different. 

That doesn’t mean compromising on quality or safety, but perfectionism is incredibly expensive when you’re funding a business yourself. Getting to 90% and learning from the market is often far more valuable than spending another six months chasing the final 10%.

Building a physical product requires significant cash

When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t?
The thing that surprised me most is how much cash a physical product ties up before you ever see a sale. Every production run means paying upfront for gummies, packaging and freight, often months before that inventory turns into revenue, and retail stretches that gap even further. On top of that, people underestimate how many different hats you have to wear, especially early on when you don’t have the budget to hire an expert for every problem. One minute you’re the creative director, the next you’re the finance team, and by lunchtime, you’re troubleshooting a manufacturing issue. It’s challenging, but it’s also one of my favorite parts of being an entrepreneur.

Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong? How did you fix it?
One example was during production for our Walmart launch. We were working toward a major retail deadline when a piece of sealing equipment we needed for our packaging didn’t arrive in time, and pushing production back simply wasn’t an option because we had retailer deadlines to meet. So, we completely rethought the process. We brought in additional labor, switched to handheld sealing equipment, and worked closely with our manufacturing team to get everything packed and ready. It was significantly more labor-intensive and expensive than we had planned, but we found a way to make it work.

7.6X increase in DTC sales, on track for $1.7M next year

How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn?
Honestly, it took longer than I expected, and I think that’s one of the most useful things I can share with anyone starting out. We launched in January 2025 and had sales from the very first month, but they were inconsistent through most of that first year while we worked out the right format, pricing and messaging. The turning point was our February 2026 relaunch. Once we focused on subscriptions, bundles and single-serve sampling pouches, our direct-to-consumer sales grew 7.6 times in four months. Almost everything we earn still goes straight back into the business because product development, inventory, packaging, marketing and logistics all require continuous investment. The distinction between revenue and profit is really important for anyone building a physical product business.

What does growth and revenue look like now?
Since our February relaunch, Rallee has gone from a direct-to-consumer brand to 1,940 Walmart stores in eight months, with our new six-gummy mini variety pack rolling out nationally and our full-size tubes launching in select stores. We’re conservatively projecting about $1.8 million in revenue in 2027. Our focus now is on expanding our retail presence, growing brand awareness, developing new formats and building a business that can scale sustainably. For me, the most exciting part is that we’re still at the very beginning of what Rallee could become.

What to do before spending thousands on product development

What do you enjoy most about running this business?
I love seeing something that started as an idea in my head become a real product that people genuinely love. There’s something incredibly rewarding about watching someone pick up Rallee for the first time, try it and understand exactly why I created it. One customer told us it was the first caffeine product that didn’t make her anxious, and that is exactly the problem I set out to solve. I also love the creative freedom of building a brand from scratch, developing new products, making decisions and seeing those ideas come to life, which is something I never take for granted. And of course, seeing Rallee on the shelves at Walmart was a pretty surreal moment. It’s one thing to believe in your own idea, but it’s another to see it sitting alongside brands you’ve known your entire life.

What is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice?
Before you spend thousands of dollars developing a product, speak to at least 20 people who you genuinely believe would buy it, and don’t steer them toward the answers you want to hear. Ask them what they’re currently using, what frustrates them about it, how often they buy it and what would actually make them switch. Their answers should shape your product, pricing and messaging before you’ve committed to your first production run.