About Jennifer

Jennifer McKinley

Some people come to cash flow management through accounting. Jennifer McKinley came to it through survival.

Over 25 years in consumer goods, Jennifer has founded three physical product companies — a high-end yoga brand, a spa equipment business she eventually sold, and COR Silver, an 18-year-old nano-silver skincare brand she manufactures in South Korea and sells globally. Two exits. One ongoing. All bootstrapped.

The education that matters most didn't come from a classroom. It came from a business split that wiped her out financially in 2008 — right as the Global Financial Crisis closed every line of credit in sight. From rebuilding entirely on the business's own cash flow. From being stranded in New Zealand during COVID, running a US-based global business from the bottom of the earth, with no government support from either country.

She survived both. The business is still running. And the difference between the first crisis and the second wasn't luck — it was the financial system she'd built in the years between.

Jennifer now runs Margins & Meltdowns, a cash flow consulting practice and content platform for bootstrapped physical product founders. She works with a small number of clients at a time to build financial management systems that are simple enough to actually use, intuitive enough to actually stick with, and strong enough to hold when things get hard. Her consulting is grounded in the Profit First methodology — adapted specifically for the realities of inventory-based businesses, where cash flow behaves nothing like the textbooks suggest.

When she's not thinking about cash flow, she's most likely on or in the water — sailing, fishing, snorkelling, diving, or swimming somewhere beautiful. She hikes when the ocean isn't available, travels whenever possible, and has recently developed what she describes as an embarrassing obsession with golf. She splits her time between New Zealand and the United States, and is a board member of Kia Ora DC Kiwis, a New Zealand expatriate community organisation in Washington D.C.

Work with Jennifer

Ready to build a financial system you'll actually stick with?

Jennifer works with a small number of clients at a time. If you're a bootstrapped physical product founder who's ready to stop guessing and start knowing your numbers, let's talk.