Cohort 01 · Tuesday, October 6th, 2026 to Thursday, December 3rd, 2026
You have a product and customers who buy it. Getting it into a big store is a different job, and nobody teaches it. We have done it from both sides. Jasmine bought for Walmart for nine years. Madia designed products inside Target, Walmart and Five Below, then built our own brand into eight national retailers. Over eight weeks we walk you through the whole thing, in plain language, one step at a time.
Free · Five minutes
Who we are
We built Black Paper Party together and got it into eight national retailers. Between us we have bought, built, priced, packaged and pitched. Now we teach it together.
Buyer
I spent nine years as a buyer at Walmart. Hundreds of founders sat across the table from me, and I said yes to some of them. Then I became one of them.
As co founder and Chief Merchant of Black Paper Party, I have priced the products, signed the contracts and lived with the paperwork. I know what the person across the table is thinking, because I was her.
The founders who got the yes made my job easy. I will show you how.
Builder
I am a designer first. I built products inside Target, Walmart and Five Below, including a children's brand at Walmart that grew to a billion dollars in sales.
Then I co founded Black Paper Party and took our own line from sketch to shelf. I know how to make something a store can sell, and I will teach you every step.
Every product has to earn its spot on the shelf. Does yours?
20
Years combined inside the Walmart, Target and Five Below buying and product offices
$3B
In retail products we have been responsible for, as buyer and as builder
08
National retailers that have carried our own brand
20,000
Store shelves our products have been on
Black Paper Party has appeared on Shark Tank · The Today Show · The Kelly Clarkson Show · Essence · Ebony · Black Enterprise · CNN
Why brands get stuck
Either the product was not built for a store, or the pitch did not give the buyer what she needed. Most founders never find out which one it was. We teach both, so you never have to guess.
Built for the shelf
We teach you what a store needs from a product before it says yes: the right size and packaging, the safety checks passed, and a sample that matches what your factory will ship. Get those right and the product does its own selling.
Ready for the meeting
We teach you what a buyer needs from you in the room: what your product replaces, what it adds to her numbers, and why her customer will pick it up. Give her those three and she can say yes with confidence.
What you leave with
The size, the packaging, the safety checks and the small details a store needs, decided before you pay a factory.
What it costs you, what the store needs to make and what is left for you. Worked out at 500, 2,000 and 10,000 units, so there are no surprises.
How to find one, how to check them and how to get honest numbers, so growth does not break your supply.
Who you are talking to, what she needs to hear and every number ready before she asks.
Start here
Five minutes, twenty questions. The Retail Readiness Audit looks at all five parts of being ready: your product, your price, your operations, your brand and your business basics. You get a score, a breakdown and one clear next step. Even if you don't enroll, the results are yours to keep.
How it works
Tuesdays · 7:00 PM Central · 90 minutes
We teach from both sides, work through a real example with you and walk you through that week's tool. Recorded, so you can watch again.
Thursdays · 7:00 PM Central · 60 minutes
Bring your homework and your questions. We look at real products from the group, anyone who wants a hot seat gets one, and nobody leaves stuck. Live only.
Week 01
A clear map of the retail landscape and an honest read on where you stand today.
Week 02
A trend story with evidence behind it, and a profile of the buyer you will be pitching.
Week 03
A product plan built for the shelf, your onboarding paperwork started, and a vendor agreement you can read without a lawyer.
Week 04
A supplier and a fulfillment partner you have checked out, and real unit costs and payment terms at 500, 2,000 and 10,000 units.
Week 05
A price that works for the store and for you.
Week 06
Packaging that sells itself and meets every requirement, settled before production.
Week 07
A line plan, a pitch deck, a meeting prep sheet and a plan for getting the meeting in the first place.
Week 08
A pre ship checklist, a sell through target, a purchase order you understand and a plan for the relationship after the first order.
What you keep
Calculators, checklists, templates and calendars. They are how the work gets done, and they are yours after the course ends.
Is this for you
Enrollment
Eight lessons. Eight office hours. Twenty six tools. Two instructors who have done it, in a room small enough that we know your product by name.
Pay in full
$2,500
Charged once at enrollment.
Two payments
$1,500 × 2
$1,500 at enrollment, then $1,500 on Tuesday, October 27th, 2026 from the card on file.
Enrollment closes Saturday, October 3rd, 2026
Questions
Yes, as long as you have a product. Take the audit first. It will show you where you stand and whether eight weeks is the right amount of time for you.
Yes. Fifteen people, sixteen live sessions, and office hours every Thursday where anyone who wants a hot seat gets one. This is not a webinar.
Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:00 PM Central. The lesson runs 90 minutes, office hours run 60. Sessions run October 6th through December 3rd, with no sessions the week of Thanksgiving.
The Tuesday lessons are recorded. Office hours are not, on purpose. If you will miss more than two Tuesdays, wait for the next cohort and we will save you a spot.
No, and be careful of anyone who does. You will not be turned down for something you could have fixed.
One assignment a week, about two to three hours, all on your own product. Nothing you do is throwaway.
Two payments of $1,500. The first at enrollment, the second charged automatically on Tuesday, October 27th, 2026, the start of Week 4. Total $3,000.
Saturday, October 3rd, 2026. Fifteen seats, first come first served.
Cohort 01 runs Tuesday, October 6th, 2026 to Thursday, December 3rd, 2026, with a break for Thanksgiving. Fifteen seats. Enrollment closes Saturday, October 3rd, 2026. We would love to have you.