I'll admit, a jar of sourdough starter sometimes gets pushed to the back of the fridge and ignored when life gets in the way. An un-fed starter that has developed a crust and an unpleasant grayish liquid (called hooch) on top is not the prettiest of sights. Once, a friend of mine happily informed me they had thrown away something rotten in the back of my fridge while I was out. It wasn't until a week or so later when I realized my beloved starter had been the ‘something rotten.’ Sigh, time to start over.

I've talked about how important it is to feed your starter on a (reasonably) regular schedule. But actually the most important part of this process isn't adding the new flour and water, but discarding a good chunk of the old. All the helpful microbes produce acids as they ferment, and over time those acids build up while available nutrients are depleted. Without the right balance of fresh flour and water, the ecosystem becomes increasingly inhospitable to healthy growth.

It feels wasteful and sad to discard so much of my starter down the drain every time I feed it. I invested my time and money (good flour is expensive these days) into this product and labor of love. But out it must go to keep my starter active, lively, and poised for growth.

I have learned that there are ways to create value out of the discard. Sourdough waffles are a classic discard vehicle, and always appreciated in my house on Sunday mornings. Some more creative outlets I've found recently are chocolate chip banana bread and ridiculously easy scallion pancakes (just add baking powder, water, and sliced scallions and fry up in a skillet). I feel much greater satisfaction when I can kick-start something new instead of seeing it go to waste.

In any portfolio company, the need to discard (divest) underperforming, non-strategic brands is also essential. As branded portfolio companies strive for growth, they acquire and innovate, often to the point where there isn't enough fuel to invest in keeping everything healthy and growing. Ideally, there is still value to capture — through selling brands to another owner, licensing to another operator, or spinning off into a new venture.

Sliced chocolate chip banana bread made from sourdough discard

One company's under-performing, under-nourished starter,

can be another company's chocolate chip banana bread.

Portfolio planning can be heart-breaking work that requires deep, cross-functional collaboration and compromise. Brand teams are always completely invested in each brand and line extension they bring into the world. Finance teams, while they see the value in discarding lower margin products, typically don't build divestments and discontinuations into business models — every possible revenue source must be tapped to achieve financial expectations. Sales teams will always have those customers who cannot survive without the product on the chopping block.

This is where a strategic partner (within or outside the business) can bring a neutral lens and help companies make tough decisions about what stays and what goes — as well as where it goes.

The goal isn't a smaller portfolio.

It's a stronger one.

The exciting part comes after the discard: taking the resources, attention, and energy you've freed up and going all in on the businesses you believe in—growing existing products, innovating, and pursuing the partnerships or M&A opportunities that fill the gaps.

Portfolio Planning Steps I Learned from my Sourdough

1. Define What You're Feeding — What is the future vision of the portfolio? Before deciding what to discard, you need to know what you're trying to grow. Define the strategic ambition, target consumer, growth priorities, and role of each component of the portfolio.
2. Watch for the Signs — There is no magical “discard now” indicator. Look across growth, margin, velocity, strategic fit, consumer relevance, channel performance, operational complexity, and future potential. The signals need to be considered together.
3. Make Room to Grow — A portfolio can become overextended, just like a starter. Too many brands, SKUs, and priorities dilute resources and attention. Decide what products no longer fit the vision, strategy, and growth expectations and scoop them out to create space for growth.
4. Consider the Possibilities — Discard doesn't have to mean destruction. A brand that no longer fits your portfolio may have significant value for another owner, channel, licensee, or entrepreneur. One company's discard can be another company's opportunity.
5. Nourish the Core — The real point of portfolio rationalization isn't getting rid of things. It's redirecting resources toward the businesses and product lines with the greatest potential. With fewer jars to feed, investment becomes more powerful, more concentrated, teeming with potential.

Discarding existing revenue sources to invest in future revenue is a high-stakes blend of art and science. Not only are the company financials at stake, but the culture, vision, and purpose of an organization as well. Facilitating this process with a strategic, non-biased perspective is absolutely critical to drive profitable growth into the future. The exciting part of this lifecycle is going all-in on the priority business — growing existing products, innovating, and engaging in M&A opportunities that fill crucial gaps.

The goal isn't to minimize discard. The goal is to maximize what you can grow with the resources you have.

What could your business build and grow if you stopped trying to grow everything?

Blade Advisory performs consumer and market research to assess portfolio gaps or misalignment, defines the right portfolio to meet business strategy and long-term growth objectives, and identifies the partnerships, M&A targets, and category extensions worth pursuing — backed by hands-on due diligence.