Most industries have a broken layer no one owns. In CPG, it sits between planning an incentive and paying the rep who executes it. Today, that layer runs on spreadsheets, emails, and delayed payouts. Money leaks through confusion, missed execution, and operational drag.

Justin Hassenfeld and Micah Stein saw this problem and went directly to the source. Before writing code, they spent six months visiting over 2,000 independent retail stores, talking to brands, distributors, and reps. That work led them to a non-obvious insight. The distributor is the unlock. In less than a year, they scaled to billions in committed GMV and signed major brands.

The Opportunity

• $100B+ in trade incentives still run on manual workflows

• 200,000+ independent stores lack modern infrastructure

• 72% of trade promotions lose money due to poor execution

What Splink Actually Builds

• Incentive creation tied directly to in-field rep actions

• Real-time visibility into store-level execution and progress

• Automated payouts to reps through an embedded payments layer

• Data pipeline connecting brands, distributors, and reps

• Continuous optimization of incentives based on performance data

Conclusion

Trade incentives are one of the largest spend categories in CPG, yet they remain one of the least optimized. The problem is the execution. If the rep does not see the opportunity, does not act on it, or does not get paid quickly, the system fails.

Splink closes that loop. It connects planning, execution, and payout into a single system that aligns incentives across every participant. As more transactions flow through the platform, the data advantage compounds, improving targeting and outcomes over time. 

We are excited to back Justin and Micah as they build the operating layer for modern trade promotion — and turn one of CPG's most persistent inefficiencies into a platform that works for brands, distributors, and reps alike.