The Hard Truths of Fundraising Every Founder Needs to Hear (Melissa Facchina)
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The best investors do more than write checks, they roll up their sleeves.
This week, Melissa Facchina, Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Siddhi Capital, shares how she turned two decades of hard-won operating experience into a multi-fund investment platform reshaping the consumer packaged goods (CPG) landscape.
Melissa’s story begins on the factory floor of her family’s juice business and winds through 2,000+ co-manufacturing deals, 650 brand launches, and now over $70M in growth capital deployed. Along the way she’s proved that pairing seasoned operators with smart capital can unlock outsized results for founders and investors alike.
From Factory Floor to Fund One
Melissa grew up inside one of the nation’s largest private juice manufacturers, learning early that a brilliant product means little if you can’t make it consistently and profitably.
When her father told her she wouldn’t run the company, she walked out with just $17 to her name.
Consulting on manufacturing was the skill she had—and it became her advantage.
She launched Siddhi Ops, scaling it into the premier outsourced operations partner for emerging food and beverage brands.
By 2019 her team had supported 650 companies, negotiated thousands of co-man agreements, and helped drive 94 successful exits—establishing her as a go-to operator in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) world.
Turning Operators Into Investors
Investors began hiring Melissa’s team to diligence deals and fix broken supply chains.
The lightbulb moment: why not invest ourselves?
In 2020, she co-founded Siddhi Capital, raising a $70 million first fund in a single hour-long Zoom call with the former CEO of Credit Suisse.
Today Siddhi blends a 25-person crew—one-third investors, two-thirds operators—deploying both capital and expertise into high-growth CPG brands.
Fundraising Advice Every CPG Founder Needs
Melissa’s operator’s eye leads to a refreshingly candid take on fundraising:
Raise Enough Capital the First Time
Ninety percent of founders underestimate their capital needs and face punitive second rounds.Forecast Reality, Not Fantasy
Avoid “up-and-to-the-right” pitch decks that rarely match the messy realities of supply chains, retailer delays, and ingredient crises.Prioritize Relationships Over Spreadsheets
Investors and founders succeed only when trust allows open conversations about what’s really happening inside the business.
CPG Market Trends to Watch
Protein Everywhere—But Make It Clean: Accessible, high-quality protein products remain in demand.
Restaurant-Quality at Home: Brands like Momofuku satisfy consumers seeking premium meals without the restaurant price tag.
Beverage Challenges: High capital requirements and fierce competition make many drink launches risky.
Why It Matters
Jason calls Siddhi’s model “the secret sauce” CPG investing has been missing: operators with boardroom clout who can pick up the phone when a founder hits a supply-chain wall.
Melissa’s approach proves that capital plus executional know-how can change the founder–investor dynamic for good.
About Melissa Facchina
Melissa Facchina is the Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Siddhi Capital, an early-stage venture fund backing high-growth food and beverage brands. She previously launched Siddhi Ops, the premier outsourced operations firm for CPG, and has worked with over 300 companies.
She serves on the boards of Magic Spoon, Mid-Day Squares, Momofuku CPG, Aura Bora, immi (Fifty Foods), and Moku, and co-founded the Women on Boards Project to increase board diversity in consumer goods. Melissa holds a B.S. in Behavioral Neuropsychology from Rider University.
Connect with Melissa: LinkedIn | Siddhi Capital
Listen to the full episode for more from Melissa on:
Blending operators and investors to create outsized value
Building durable CPG businesses in a post-“growth at all costs” world
How founders can protect relationships—and their health—while scaling fast
