0:00

Hey guys, welcome back to

0:02

a special episode of the founder

0:04

podcast. As we say to

0:06

2024 and gear up for an

0:08

even bigger bigger 2025. looking

0:10

back 2024 has has been nothing

0:12

short of a whirlwind. seen

0:14

seen innovation accelerate at

0:16

a rapid, unprecedented pace, AIs

0:18

transforming industries, market dynamics

0:20

have been unpredictable and

0:23

founders everywhere are navigating

0:25

through this exciting yet

0:27

challenging landscape. as

0:29

founders always chasing the next big

0:32

goal, next big breakthrough, the

0:34

next big milestone. the But before

0:36

we plunge before we plunge into I want

0:38

to remind you to you to pause

0:40

Reflect on how far you've

0:42

come. breath Take a deep breath,

0:44

recharge your acknowledge your journey. up To

0:46

help you gear up for

0:48

what's next, we've pulled together some

0:50

of our best lessons, insights and

0:52

stories and strategies from 2024. the

0:54

year Throughout the year, we've had

0:56

the privilege of speaking with

0:59

industry disruptors, seasoned entrepreneurs and visionary leaders

1:01

leaders shared their hard their wisdom. wisdom.

1:03

conversations have been jam been with

1:05

practical tips, game -changing strategies that

1:07

we can all apply to

1:09

2025. apply So sit back back enjoy

1:11

this recap of this year's

1:13

most valuable insights and let it

1:15

fuel your ambition and inspire

1:17

you to make 2025 your best

1:19

year yet for you and

1:22

your business. business. Here are the stories.

1:24

Learn the proven the

1:26

stories, learn the proven

1:28

methods and accelerate your growth

1:30

and future through entrepreneurship. Welcome

1:33

to the to the with

1:35

Nathan Chan. with Nathan

1:37

Chan. So up

1:40

first we have have Litke sharing his

1:42

experience collaborating with with West

1:44

and how how their partnership

1:46

really reshaped Adidas' approach to

1:48

innovation and creativity. dives Eric

1:50

dives into the challenges

1:52

and rewards of closely working

1:54

with a visionary like who

1:56

really really pushed the boundaries

1:58

and a level of attention that

2:01

not just the Yeezy brand

2:03

but the entire company's

2:05

mindset on what's possible through

2:07

collaboration. I think I think me to

2:09

me and there's a of stories of working with

2:11

partners with think partners are critical and whether it

2:13

be Lionel Messi or whether it be Kanye West.

2:16

messy or know it be partly for

2:18

the oceans. know They're all unique

2:20

little subsets and require a

2:22

different approach subsets and think a different

2:24

What I would say would I would

2:26

from a from a story standpoint is You

2:28

know, you've got to always look at these

2:30

partnerships from a win -win perspective. And you've

2:33

got to be able to say, to be what

2:35

is going to, is what does winning look

2:37

like for you? do you look like for

2:39

you? And, you to be prepared

2:41

for that goal that to move

2:43

quite consistently. move quite And, yeah,

2:45

And yeah, Kani Kani, Kani demanded a certain

2:47

a certain level of

2:49

attention. was happy to provide I was

2:51

happy to provide that with and so

2:53

he didn't like being down down into

2:56

the organization to do stuff He's a a

2:58

He's a maker. He's a thinker. He's

3:00

a doer. He required the highest level

3:02

of level of attention. So usually

3:04

he would seek me out on a

3:06

Sunday evening would seek me out on

3:08

a Sunday evening up. So you'd when he

3:10

was getting up, around Sunday, dinner be

3:12

around Sunday, settling down, okay, you're settling

3:14

down, okay, you're getting ready

3:16

for the work week the phone

3:19

would ring and... my wife will look at me

3:21

and I'd look at her and she'd be like,

3:23

it's Kanye, her isn't it? I'd be like, be

3:25

I'll be outside for another hour or so. it? I'd

3:27

be wanted to talk and I think that's part

3:29

of the commitment you need to make to

3:31

doing these to talk. You partnerships is giving yourself part

3:34

of the, the commitment you

3:36

know. make to doing these, these

3:38

big brand they need

3:40

to be heard. And you need to be going

3:42

into that as you know, opportunity to be heard. And

3:44

some people say, oh, it's Kanye. Like, you're either

3:46

crazy to talk to that guy because of what

3:48

he stands for. And this is before. he stands

3:51

for and this is you know all the you

3:53

know all the horrible things he's said

3:55

come out about out Jewish the Jewish the

3:57

Jewish the people. the people think

3:59

think he He was always, you know having

4:01

having things that he wanted to

4:03

talk about. and they typically they weren't

4:05

always the most flattering, so it

4:07

took a little resolve resolve to to

4:10

make yourself accessible to that

4:12

every Sunday. to that Was that that was

4:14

that with him and with him and and

4:16

you out burn you out I mean, he

4:18

he was um he was an he's a creator,

4:20

right? a creator So me, so

4:22

to me he taught He taught us a lot. how

4:24

to about how to create to how to

4:26

never compromise and never be done with

4:29

things and never settle for something that

4:31

we've done before. So I think So I

4:33

think his his His attention

4:35

to detail, on his focus on

4:37

consumer, and his ability to

4:39

redefine what's next. were

4:41

certainly inspiring. having said that, having

4:43

said that he was very very

4:46

challenging to work with on a regular

4:48

basis the teams know for the teams again,

4:50

my access to access to them my to

4:52

exposure to him was very limited I

4:55

was was only there as an escalation

4:57

for him the teams on the

4:59

ground I think he was very challenging

5:01

with he was from a detailed standpoint

5:03

and just from a detail and and just

5:05

from a expectation and well, there

5:07

you go. Cause

5:09

the thing is right, like. you go. Um,

5:11

because the I think of

5:13

the times if I think of times and

5:15

the, you know, the that kind

5:18

of as competition and that ambassadors

5:20

to for the

5:22

brand. build the brand. I I

5:24

truly, you know, standing

5:27

from a a bystander standpoint,

5:29

the and still are very cool.

5:31

are like that that was a that

5:33

was a really cool play really cool play.

5:36

know, I often think about a brand. about

5:39

and what makes a

5:41

brand cool, makes a

5:43

And that cool, right? product

5:45

behind product behind Adadas and, you

5:48

know, Kanya, that collaboration. That

5:51

was a a big move Adas and think

5:53

it was it really solid one. one.

5:55

Was that something, you you said you

5:57

really handled the collaboration and kind

5:59

of the... Was was that? your thinking Was

6:01

that your thinking to came

6:03

me through how that came

6:05

about? was a Yeah, because I think

6:07

it was a brilliant move ways. many

6:10

ways. I think, I think listen, it's, it's, I'd love to

6:12

I'd love to say I had

6:14

the how to make that to it that but

6:16

it was. is I did not is

6:18

I did not sign Kanye

6:20

to that was brand that was done

6:22

by my predecessor Herman Dininger. I, I, I, when

6:24

I was appointed to the board when I was appointed

6:26

to the board position, where I business as well as,

6:28

you know, for that business, I, I had great people running

6:31

well as, you know, the the business, business in

6:33

general. him. It started as, know, I had

6:35

great people running the business. remember that

6:37

product working on the business, developing the business

6:39

with him. and, and really It started that on, on, on,

6:41

know, very small. that It started with, you

6:43

know, would present, he would present, he was, he would present, know,

6:45

the he would if you remember that

6:47

product, and some of our great he

6:49

running product he would present, he highlighting that on

6:51

the stages that he would present present,

6:53

on. he would And then, and then it,

6:55

you know, then that worked so well that we're

6:57

like, okay, now let's take the next step. Why don't

6:59

we give you an opportunity to create some of

7:02

your own an opportunity to create would go your

7:04

come to And Germany would go were

7:06

headquartered and he'd work in the

7:08

atelier shops with the in Germany, or

7:10

we were the developers. He'd work in the

7:12

and we really get to see with the

7:14

creation This guy is really a creative

7:16

force. I mean, just to see how

7:18

he goes. to see firsthand. 24 hours

7:20

hours a day, have you know, we'd have to

7:22

rotate people in to work with him from a

7:24

garment creation standpoint and what have you. and what

7:26

he would just And he would just like he'd be, go,

7:28

just like just like just like he'd music, I

7:30

believe, and just learning from him

7:32

as far as his from him as far

7:34

his creation remember he was the first person. I remember

7:37

he was the from a from standpoint that would

7:39

go to Asia, go to China would go

7:41

to Asia, work in the factory because he

7:43

wanted to see how things were being

7:45

made. He wanted to understand how to

7:47

create things. made. There's a lot of

7:49

richness there to learn from what a collaborator,

7:51

if you give them the permission, you give them

7:53

the keys. the keys to some of your some

7:56

of your infrastructure can really do and

7:58

so much that he saying about it it. You

8:00

know, one of the songs he the about all I need

8:02

was the infrastructure to prove my vision. It's

8:04

not unlike some of the things I know about

8:06

his music career. some of the things

8:08

ultimately we kept doubling down and so then

8:10

we built we kept room, down,

8:12

and sample room in a sample had, there was

8:14

a music studio next door where he

8:16

could in his music and his product at

8:18

the same time a he could go back

8:20

and forth because that's kind of how he

8:22

was. he could himself and he was

8:24

never really finished and he you know He would

8:26

again work with teams that we have on the

8:28

ground there. So forth, it It was a it was

8:30

a learning experience to say the

8:32

least from my own personal view.

8:35

know and know, and to be to for things

8:37

to go so badly I quickly,

8:39

I wasn't there for the the

8:41

the of the easy relationship with

8:43

Adidas, but. I certainly was

8:45

aware of it and witnessed it

8:47

and it to Kani enough to enough

8:49

to know things were You know, things

8:52

were not a good place for him, you know,

8:54

mentally, as as he's self -admitted, but also - also

8:56

for the things he was saying and the anger and

8:58

pain he was bringing into the world with some

9:00

of his comments. the world with some of his comments were

9:02

quite you know to myself myself I know

9:04

a lot of people that know for of

9:06

people that work for was a so it's it was

9:08

a it It was a it was a it that a

9:11

story that you know, few of us

9:13

will have to tell in its entirety

9:15

in it was it was it was it was it was

9:17

but it also was something I

9:19

don't want to want this of because of some

9:21

he made afterwards or during, I

9:23

think or during I think he also taught taught a

9:25

powerful a powerful lesson to and the and

9:27

the industry on how to create and

9:29

build things. things. Okay, so up

9:31

next we have have Allison Ellsworth

9:34

the exciting story behind behind Poppy's

9:36

Super debut. What started as

9:38

as creative idea evolved into

9:40

a last minute opportunity

9:42

that almost didn't happen. didn't

9:45

days to go. just four days

9:47

to go, - secured a spot

9:49

right before a spot right

9:51

the ad success tripled

9:53

poppy's brand awareness over. brand

9:55

awareness overnight. ready were ready

9:57

to start running media.

10:00

linear streaming cable TV. And so up into that point,

10:02

so just into that point, we had

10:04

just created some fun flavor spots

10:06

that were just all about flavor and

10:08

bubbles and and and juiciness. And

10:10

we're like, and is the next evolution

10:12

of that? So we went

10:14

into a creative process and came

10:16

up with up with what our was,

10:18

but we but we did not make

10:21

that Bowl Super Bowl ad, which

10:23

I think is really interesting. It

10:25

was just a piece of that we

10:27

thought that we evolution of a... of

10:29

a... Poppy. created it created it and

10:31

we started testing it and it was

10:33

performing really really well. were connecting with

10:35

it and we're like it and were like, This

10:37

is special, maybe we should throw this

10:39

up on the on the Super Bowl. Not a Not a

10:41

lot of brands can one say that two to actually

10:44

follow through and do that. get that a a

10:46

lot of people can wake up and just be

10:48

like, I'm gonna do a like gonna do a But

10:50

we just felt with the brand and our community

10:52

our the momentum and our growth, it was like

10:54

and moment and our time. our moment there

10:56

was a problem. We couldn't quite find a

10:58

Super quite find a They were all sold out. were

11:00

all sold out So we we started

11:03

calling around like crazy. I was part of this

11:05

of this group, found someone, emails, we

11:07

ended up, anyway, someone called called hey,

11:09

we got a hey, for you. a super

11:11

This was four days before the

11:13

Super days before the Super Bowl. Wow. Wow. And the thing

11:15

is we'd been wanting thing is we'd been wanting one

11:17

for a while. We've been looking, we we were

11:19

fully prepared. We had the creative, we had

11:21

the budget. We were like ready to go. wasn't

11:24

like we were were fumbling, trying to get it

11:26

last minute, but it ended up coming through

11:28

four days get it last minute. But the crazy catch was

11:30

it was a floater ad. So a lot of So lot

11:32

of people don't know. We didn't have an

11:34

exact spot. We didn't know when it was know

11:36

air. was And we just knew that it had

11:38

to air within the Super Bowl before the end

11:40

of the end of the and thank you for watching

11:42

you Super Bowl. the It could have been It could have

11:44

right? after, right? We that? go for it? go we

11:47

did not we a discount. a discount. And we

11:49

were so lucky it aired one minute

11:51

before halftime right before Usher went

11:53

on. went on. It was like the most

11:55

magical moment where everyone's getting

11:57

ready to watch ready to know. like, you

11:59

know. the half-time show. it just it just

12:02

really hit home for people it

12:04

it wasn't celebrity soup, which soup

12:06

will add has like 38 celebrities in it.

12:08

it. And it was just this

12:10

this of why we are soda

12:13

and poppy a soda. I I think we

12:15

said soda 17 times and

12:17

it was actually like crazy, we

12:19

counted. We And we tripled our

12:21

awareness Our Our household penetration went

12:24

up. Just the amount of

12:26

people being like, like, wow, poppy a soda

12:28

for the next generation. just like overnight

12:30

happened. All right now let's hear from

12:32

Noah Kagan who highlights one of the best

12:34

of the best traits that

12:37

founders from from everyone else which

12:39

is taking action advice on how he

12:41

tests on how he tests

12:43

ideas without needing directly why

12:45

speaking directly to customers is the

12:47

key to validating demand. of a Coming

12:49

back to the beginning of Million Dollar

12:51

Weekend and what I've seen be the difference

12:54

of success from someone being a zero person being in

12:56

person. is that they that they started.

12:58

And what they use as is an excuse

13:00

to actually do the hard part, which is to

13:02

see if there's really customers. part, which to see

13:04

if there's how you get a customer And someone

13:07

to be your customer. a customer is you

13:09

ask someone to be your customer.

13:11

The cyber that come in Cyber, what it should be

13:13

called. out truck right, that was six years

13:15

from when he Right. That was six years it

13:17

till he actually delivered it. think

13:20

the and was about 10 years. people wanted

13:22

it so from when he announced it, full

13:24

self -driving, it's been 12 years and I don't

13:26

think it's out. about 10 years. still in

13:28

beta. This is just one This is just

13:30

one example. so the reality is And so you

13:32

see if people actually how do you

13:34

see if people actually want something before

13:36

you go and invest of lot of or

13:38

need it to get investments? So I built an absciment I built

13:40

my previous million dollar company my

13:42

an investment. And so, company without do

13:44

you actually do these things? do you actually do

13:46

these it's not about the it's not about

13:49

the capital. back on a back comment,

13:51

comment, you you you guys are are tech

13:53

tech Like, yeah, Like, I I very fortunate. to

13:55

to work for Mark Zuckerberg. I was very

13:58

fortunate to be around Peter around Peter Thiel. and

14:00

be around like literally the elite, the know, you know not

14:02

whether the politics, just like elite thinkers in business and

14:04

to be able to learn from them so then be

14:06

able to apply it and kind of teach it then

14:08

be able I live in Texas to the rest

14:10

of the world, outside of Silicon Valley. Texas to the rest

14:12

was talking to Justin outside of Silicon and I

14:14

was and Fire? to Justin mayors and I

14:16

have gone know back on from kettle fire

14:18

yeah he that's a big company, on

14:20

and Fire. guys beast that's a think it's

14:22

like company business selling soup. yeah I think it's

14:24

I remember asking him because he

14:26

dollar at selling soup yeah Oh Oh, really? you

14:28

you go. he's a smart market. Yeah, yeah, Yeah. hired

14:30

somebody that for us. work for us. Yeah, he's a

14:33

he's guy. a really great guy.

14:35

He lives in Austin as well I

14:37

remember I remember asking him, I said, why are Why

14:39

doing soup? You know, like, you're like,

14:41

you're smart. And he's like, he's like, don't I

14:44

don't want to compete against people like

14:46

you are smarter. you are smarter. Like

14:48

in the I'm competing against competing

14:50

against like normal people. know, you know. someone like

14:52

him or him like Larry like I just

14:54

did a put out a video on I

14:56

YouTube channel. put out a believe on

14:58

a billionaire, if not beyond.

15:00

He does a billionaire million a

15:03

year he plumbing. 650 million dollars

15:05

a year doing plumbing and basements

15:08

said, for him to win most of the time, win

15:10

show up on time and sober. he they

15:12

show up on time and sober now I'm I'm

15:14

competing against like Stanford,

15:16

MIT, and and

15:18

competitors. showing up and

15:20

on time? on time That's a lot better. and

15:23

and that's just plumbing in basements and so And

15:26

so, you know one of the businesses I'm most

15:28

excited about is lawn care. excited about is lawn

15:30

care and because it's universal and

15:32

it's universal and You don't do the lawn,

15:34

the lawn dies. don't take care of your pool,

15:36

out of water take care not happy. pool, it goes And

15:38

so that's a great, the you want not

15:40

AR, And so no competition over there. want

15:42

and you could put and AR, me a text when

15:45

you come to my house, otherwise they just show

15:47

up and they don't tell me anything or let

15:49

me request things via send me a text. And you could

15:51

validate all those businesses businesses on a few doors, calling

15:53

your neighbors, asking at church, asking and find out

15:55

very quickly. is, and You can get customers to do that. you

15:57

can get customers to do that. And I don't.

16:00

think you need a lot of investment of mow lawns. mow You

16:02

sell some customers, some you go and rent one. can go even

16:04

rent goes for tech, if that's also what people want

16:06

to do, which that's been my whole, want that's how I've

16:08

made all my money, my so. that's how I do is

16:10

tech, but it doesn't mean do exclusive to how people

16:12

get successful. to how I think through my

16:14

YouTube channel. and I think through my YouTube channel

16:17

I get excited when people are getting rich in weird ways.

16:19

rich in weird ways like of my of my I'm still

16:21

trying to interview this guy, the guy that creates this guy

16:23

know, you know, you know, he creates a little, a little the

16:25

sense the ones you ones you put on them

16:27

when you on to the bathroom. put on them to the

16:29

There's a brand in America called America And

16:31

I'm just like, I wanna meet the

16:33

guy that like I want to meet the guy that they're there's

16:35

so many ways of getting rich. It's awesome

16:37

so it's available to everyone. And I believe,

16:39

and it's available people are and where they can

16:41

be. truly that they are and

16:43

where they can be is much closer than people be, where they are

16:46

and where they much closer. And you can get

16:48

rich doing cookies. people In your rich doing much closer

16:50

and you I'm rich coconut cookies.

16:52

caps. get rich doing this You know,

16:55

there's just so many interesting ways of getting rich,

16:57

but it's getting started. work. getting good at asking

16:59

people for things and then following a process, which is

17:01

what I laid out. which is to make it available for

17:03

everyone. And I don't believe you need capital. I don't

17:05

believe you need a bunch of other co capital. I I

17:07

don't think you need to use need a You can. other can do

17:09

all these things, but I think you have to. I think

17:11

you have to find real customers with real problems. I don't think

17:13

you then from there, I think we can build these other things

17:15

that help support that. with real most people just do it the

17:17

other way. from there, yeah, we can build these

17:19

other things that Yeah, it's so But most

17:21

how it's the most obvious

17:23

thing, just to speak to prospective

17:25

customers or speak to existing

17:27

customers, but it's something that it's something

17:29

that people just like, the plague. plague. Yeah

17:32

I can tell you why it's because they're afraid.

17:34

It's easier can tell you why to because they're

17:36

afraid. get It's easier for them to talk to

17:38

strangers and get rejected than to their friends the

17:40

feel embarrassed. are the ones when in the reality your

17:42

friends are the ones who want to help you the most. that want

17:44

to make you the ones I want to make you

17:46

succeed ways to be One of the best ways to

17:48

be successful in entrepreneurship is liquid assets. is look what

17:50

assets You already have. Look at what your unfair advantage

17:52

is. is. There's a a

17:54

gentleman who works who I met and he who

17:56

I met. start a newsletter He's like I can do I

17:58

can do health and fitness was like like you were

18:00

an NBA health coach. Right about

18:02

the NBA. You can't copy that. Or

18:05

like on YouTube, no one can copy Nathan talking

18:07

about founder. No one copy talking

18:09

about Apsuma, because that's just me. And

18:11

so, you know thinking about what do

18:13

I have an access to which people like I've

18:15

been in Silicon Valley So it kind of knew

18:17

when I started absumo, I was like,

18:19

well, maybe I can cold email or get referrals to people over

18:21

time, which I was able to do. I was

18:23

able to work with Tim Ferriss and work with these different

18:25

people from just being in that environment. And

18:28

that's available for everyone, Like, like who do you know? This

18:30

guy, that Jake that came here recently, he plays a lot

18:32

of golf. I don't know how

18:34

to play golf, I just do the driving range in

18:36

Margaritas. Jake

18:39

plays a lot of golf with a lot of people He has

18:41

an advantage there Or maybe geographical advantage.

18:43

Maybe you're in India. Maybe

18:45

you have something in South America, wherever it is. How

18:47

do you take advantage of that and compete unfairly in

18:49

these areas, which is what I encourage people to do?

18:52

doesn't mean you can't, otherwise it's just gonna make it, make

18:54

it a lot harder on themselves. Okay,

18:56

up next we've got Shay

18:58

Mitchell who talks about the creative

19:00

concept behind the base wash

19:03

pop -up. So instead of showing

19:05

away from customer complaints about the

19:07

light -colored luggage getting dirty, she

19:09

leaned in and set up

19:11

a luggage car wash complete with

19:13

custom scrubbers, bubbles, and drying

19:15

fans. And it was more than

19:17

just cleaning bags. It was

19:19

about showing customers that base goes

19:21

the extra mile to make

19:23

things right. So a common issue

19:25

into an unforgettable. brand experience. Pop

19:28

are a really fun one for

19:31

us because we are majority D

19:33

C. It's

19:35

that time where we can get to

19:37

be, meet our consumer in real life.

19:39

And I think, you know, we don't

19:41

have that commitment that we would necessarily

19:43

have if we were in brick and

19:45

mortar. And so when we have that

19:47

pop -up, I mean, this one was

19:49

super short. It was like three days,

19:51

two really, two and a half. Which

19:55

is crazy Because like that was a

19:57

lot of work for those two days, but

20:00

it's because we get to go crazy with

20:02

our crazy with our design and think about it.

20:04

You know, we first started, our first pop -up

20:06

was at at the and that was about a

20:08

month. about a month and it was our base motel. And

20:10

I wanted to start with motel because I knew

20:12

that eventually we'd go into a hotel we'd

20:14

go into a hotel and It It was

20:16

a small little pop up there. I just, I I

20:19

to be to be able to create this

20:21

sort of experience for our consumers who

20:23

had never seen us in real life

20:25

to be able to come in into

20:27

this curated experience and like get to

20:29

see the product to see the a

20:31

normal setting setting. this motel setting. We had a little

20:33

check -in desk, you know? we had a little like

20:35

at at that point it wasn't our hotel yet.

20:37

So we just had a little waiting area

20:39

and like a couple a but they could see

20:42

the product in like a space like that. space

20:44

And that was really fun. Then we moved into

20:46

the we moved into the base hotel there we took it

20:48

another step further. We had a check -in counter

20:50

We even had an elevator and then you went

20:52

into the room into the we had a bed

20:54

on the side of side you could see could see like

20:56

where your your product would look in a

20:58

room. If you were We had, we had, you

21:00

know, the little cosmetic case in a bathroom

21:02

that we had. We even had a patio

21:04

space. Like, it was really cool because people hadn't

21:07

seen anything like that. And I didn't want

21:09

to just create a store atmosphere. I wanted

21:11

to create. I wanted experience, again, because being

21:13

so heavy on heavy on we never get

21:15

that opportunity to see people in

21:17

real life in real life. and to bring an

21:19

experience. And then with the

21:21

base wash, that that was an idea that

21:24

came because we were launching this

21:26

new color, our clean slate collection. Clean

21:28

slate, top of the of the year fresh

21:30

start that campaign that we had actually

21:32

shot in November for, it was like

21:34

this car wash, you know, know cleaning the

21:36

luggage. It was this like cool.

21:39

I see blue color and And the whole

21:41

whole thing was just like fresh bubbles,

21:43

of that and then I had kind

21:45

of seen some seen on social People

21:47

on like I got this color and

21:49

it got dirty, you know it got

21:51

My suitcase has, you

21:53

know, has, you know, a couple stains on

21:55

it, and I'm like, I'm like, you

21:57

know, on one hand, I'm like, like,

21:59

oh man. Does feel this way when people like

22:01

get their Air Force ones dirty, you know,

22:03

do people get like mad at Nike? I don't

22:06

know don't know. you you the bag. It was brand

22:08

new. It was clean I can't control what

22:10

happens to it when people are to it down

22:12

the thing into that it down the thing but they

22:14

still come for me they one point I'm like, me. And

22:16

at one point, just tone it in.

22:18

just hone it in. I get get really sensitive

22:20

about it because base is truly like my first

22:22

child. It's my company. I put everything into

22:24

it So of course I feel it more. I

22:26

don't care when people speak about me, but

22:28

when you speak about the brand about me, but when baby,

22:31

I'm like, brand and my baby, I'm

22:33

like, ugh. So anyways, Bringing it

22:35

back, I I was like, people are saying

22:37

that this and the lighter the lighter color

22:39

obviously, are getting dirtier. dirtier. Let's

22:42

create this experience where we can do

22:44

like a service for them and we

22:46

can clean up their bags. and And this

22:48

is all about fresh bags. fresh year, is

22:50

clean slate. bag, You know. your clean

22:53

have know, of have this sort of base wash, cart wash,

22:55

vibe. And from from there, it was

22:57

just like, boom, I visited so

22:59

many car washes. I pulled so

23:01

many I knew that I knew that I

23:03

wanted an old coffee machine in

23:06

there. I wanted a water station.

23:08

I I wanted buckets everywhere. I

23:10

wanted sponges. we know, we partnered with

23:12

with scrub they came out with out with

23:14

own little suitcase scrubbers, you know?

23:16

And then this wall, I wanted

23:19

to use the material to material to

23:21

base logo that then had like... drawing sort of fans,

23:23

sort of fans, you know, like when

23:25

you're going through that car wash car

23:27

up your car. I wanted that for

23:29

the little photo op and I want the

23:31

and all of this stuff and it's

23:33

just such a fun way to play

23:35

for us because I'm like, oh, we

23:37

get to have them come in to

23:39

our experience oh, we get to have them um, to our

23:41

this whole vibe for our consumers vibe for

23:43

our consumers and the, the, Cleaning up their their you

23:45

know, was just sort of just back

23:47

to them our being awesome. to Whether you

23:49

bought something or not, if you had

23:51

a something or we would clean it for

23:54

you. base bag, we would clean it for you. And I

23:56

wanted to do that. I that. I also, though,

23:58

am the complete opposite. I will. love when

24:00

my bags are all batted up and I

24:02

love stickers that are like take it off

24:04

of them I want it to look travel

24:06

just like I want my passport to be

24:08

like full of stamps I feel that way

24:10

about my suitcase but not everybody does so

24:12

for those people who don't we cleaned it

24:14

up for them All right, up

24:16

next, we've got Alicia Scott, who

24:18

shares the story behind her brand's

24:20

name change and how a trademark

24:22

dispute turned into a blessing in

24:24

disguise. So she opens up about

24:26

launching under the name skinny Dip

24:28

Cosmetics, receiving a cease and desist

24:31

letter shortly after. And really how

24:33

that experience led to the birth

24:35

of range beauty. funny because

24:37

initially the entire theme, the

24:39

name, was completely different. So we

24:41

were originally called skinny Dip

24:43

Cosmetics. because I loved the

24:45

idea like skinny dipping You're at your

24:47

freest moment, right? And so that's how

24:49

I wanted you to feel, even though

24:51

it's makeup, I still wanted you to

24:54

feel free. I wanted your skin to

24:56

feel free as if you weren't wearing

24:58

anything like skinny dipping. and so that

25:00

was our initial name. And,

25:02

you know, we were very chronicle

25:04

girlies so lots of pinks

25:06

and glittery and all of that.

25:08

and our first initial order came under

25:10

that name and it came when

25:12

we added our website to our social

25:14

media. So I had a landing

25:16

page with the wait list and so

25:18

once the page went live, those

25:20

people who are the wait list were

25:22

notified. and so and

25:25

were also hosted on Squarespace

25:27

initially So our first order

25:29

came through Squarespace. and we operated

25:31

under schedule. dip I believe I was,

25:33

I maintained it live for a month.

25:35

before I was sent a cease and

25:37

desist um what's called skinny dip

25:39

it's a company out of London and

25:41

they actually started it off with

25:44

phone accessories and then they went into

25:46

fashion I believe and then they

25:48

watched their own makeup line. and they

25:50

evoked me and my little self they

25:52

emailed me and said hey infringing on

25:54

our trademark And so

25:56

we can go to court or you

25:58

can shut down. And I

26:00

thought, oh my gosh, like so small,

26:02

I didn't even... It's fine.

26:05

So I set down and that's

26:07

what led me back to the

26:09

drawing board and how range was

26:11

actually born. Mmm,

26:13

so... So this

26:15

is an interesting experience because I had something

26:18

similar happen to me in the early

26:20

days founder. So when I started, founder wasn't

26:22

called founder. It was called Key to

26:24

Success Magazine and we were sued by a

26:26

big business magazine out of the States,

26:28

one of the biggest ones. And

26:31

for trademark infringement, they

26:33

didn't send us a cease

26:35

and desist though. They,

26:38

lodged You know proceedings, so

26:40

I got a FedEx package

26:42

basically saying that I

26:44

needed to appear in Dallas,

26:46

Texas on this date

26:48

for trademark infringement and This

26:51

was the first four months

26:53

of Starting Founder and... and

26:56

I remember waking up in the morning and

26:58

receiving that letter and being like, oh

27:00

my God. and just like, so scared. And

27:02

I'm like, I remember speaking to my

27:04

mentor at the time and I said, he's

27:06

like, I said, I'm so scared. And

27:08

he's like, what do you like, He's like,

27:10

you have any money? And I was

27:12

like, I was like, no. And he's like,

27:15

well, because I was scared I was going to go bankrupt. And

27:17

he's like, would do you have any money? And I was

27:19

like, no. And he's like, well, what does it matter then? And

27:22

yeah, it's like, it's a

27:25

scary feeling, right? It was

27:27

scary because I remember getting

27:29

it And I do

27:31

recall ignoring it at

27:33

first, because I'm like, no.

27:36

And back then I did obviously

27:39

it was my error and not, You

27:41

know I filed for my LLC, but I

27:43

didn't look up to see okay, this

27:45

trademark? And I was thinking well I spell

27:47

it this way and you spell it

27:49

that way and I'm doing this and you're

27:51

so then I can't be infringing And

27:53

they repeatedly, they kept sending emails and said, okay,

27:55

we can take these to court. and

27:58

And And I remember I sent off.

28:00

a - anyone you know, I'm a small

28:02

business. I just, I I'm just

28:04

getting started. started you know for you to

28:06

come at me this way, know it was

28:08

fine I You know, it was fine, I

28:10

think I was fortunate the time I was hand At

28:12

the time, I was hand do a run where so

28:15

I didn't do a run where let's say I

28:17

had. with the name but at the time I with

28:19

the name, but at the time I

28:21

did have boxes. I had outer with the

28:23

name name just just went to waste, obviously

28:25

the website. website our social media like.

28:27

like going through the process of

28:29

changing everything, but. It

28:31

was scary and at the same

28:33

time, it made me time and made

28:35

me I doing something

28:37

that landed me on

28:40

your radar radar enough? Where I

28:42

have I have barely launched, at

28:44

the time our social media was

28:46

very much buzzing, I will

28:48

say. say, but it was, it give me

28:50

that little, what did I

28:52

do? I do? that would land my

28:54

small brand on because were sold in were

28:56

sold in were sold you They were

28:58

sold these all these different stores

29:00

in the US well as their UK presence

29:02

But it did make me

29:04

feel like okay there there must be

29:06

something that you feel a little

29:08

threatened by maybe, by so. so yeah

29:10

no that's no, that's awesome. I don't know

29:12

about don't know about you but my experience

29:15

was it was a blessing in disguise because

29:17

then that's how I got the name I got the

29:19

name founder right mm-hmm Exactly

29:21

right, was absolutely a

29:23

blessed witness guys Even at

29:25

the time, our the was tagline

29:27

the Forgotten Shades. for the I

29:29

was nervous to really push

29:31

our story of being of being

29:33

and eczema -prone skin, because you know

29:36

we're in know, we're in an industry where flawless

29:38

skin is pushed and we're in an industry

29:40

where conventionally pretty is pushed and

29:42

so And so though though it was

29:44

our benefit and everything, I I was

29:47

just like, oh, let's focus on being

29:49

clean beauty. Let's focus on saying we

29:51

prioritize deeper skin tones. deeper skin but

29:53

it absolutely was a blessing

29:55

in disguise because disguise beauty, beauty, up

29:57

with that up with the whole

29:59

rebrand. that we did like our packaging

30:01

now and our branding now and our messaging

30:03

now, we needed that to happen. Yeah,

30:07

it's such a great story. Thank you

30:09

for sharing just lastly on that. Did

30:11

you? Like,

30:13

did you ever think about giving up when

30:15

all of that happened? No, I

30:17

think that was another blessing was

30:19

that, you know, god forbid I

30:21

was five years in under skinny dip and

30:23

they sent me that, you know? For

30:25

them to send it, and I honest, like

30:27

I say, I believe it was one

30:30

to two months. It was very shortly after

30:32

we launched. And even

30:34

though I was upset about the waste of

30:36

money again on the outer packaging and things

30:38

like that, it wasn't a large run so

30:40

it wasn't, oh my gosh, I have thousands

30:42

and thousands and thousands of things with skinny

30:44

dip on that I now have to discard. It

30:47

was definitely still like, oh, I hate that I had

30:49

to waste my money and I can't use these things. But

30:52

it to be so early on, that

30:54

was where I was fortunate. All

30:56

right, up next we have our

30:58

man Guy Kawasaki reflecting on his

31:00

time working with Steve Jobs. He

31:03

shares a crazy fascinating story about

31:05

being put on the spot

31:07

by Jobs and the critical lesson

31:09

that he learned about honesty, preparedness,

31:11

and the difference between mission driven

31:13

and egocentric leadership. One day

31:15

I'm in my cube and Steve

31:18

Jobs shows up with this stranger.

31:20

and He

31:22

asked me what I thought of this

31:24

product and I told him, you

31:26

know, Steve it's a mediocre product, mediocre

31:28

user interface, doesn't really take advantage

31:30

of the back and toss graphics

31:32

and capabilities and I just basically

31:34

ripped on the product and the company.

31:37

And after that, he turns and

31:39

he says to me, I want

31:41

you to meet the CEO of

31:44

the company. So just say Steve

31:46

completely set me up but There's

31:48

a lot to learn from

31:50

that story, so number one

31:52

is you better be well informed

31:54

when you work for someone like

31:56

Steve, because I guarantee you that

31:58

he probably thought that that - and

32:00

was crapped, too. crap And

32:02

so if you had said you great.

32:04

it was might have fired me on

32:06

the spot. me You know, because

32:08

it would mean that I was

32:11

stupid it would he did not tolerate

32:13

stupidity. and he did not tolerate

32:15

should be So you you

32:17

should be prepared. you And you

32:19

should also be honest, because also

32:21

you had tried to hedge

32:23

that if you had tried might have

32:26

been fired. you also might

32:28

have been know. Let's just

32:30

say say that when you When you came

32:32

to work in the Macintosh you

32:34

had to prove yourself every

32:36

day. every day. That's what life was

32:38

like. many many people, know, know, they've

32:40

heard the stories and seen

32:42

the movies, etc. And they all all think, you

32:44

know, what an asshole to work for. How

32:47

terrible. But I'll tell you. I tell you, I am

32:49

am where I am because of Steve

32:51

Jobs. I don't think I don't think I

32:53

would have progressed in my career nearly

32:55

as much without that experience. I've

32:57

come to look back on the

32:59

toughest coaches, toughest bosses, toughest teachers,

33:01

and I've come to believe they

33:03

teach you the most. believe they teach

33:05

you the most. And, you You

33:08

know, there's a very

33:10

important lesson in the

33:12

categorization of assholes. So there are

33:14

assholes are are who are

33:16

mission -driven assholes, and they're

33:18

assholes who are egocentric. driven

33:21

assholes. So the egocentric

33:24

assole. is all about myself

33:27

you I, I not am I not

33:29

brilliant? I Am I not the

33:31

best? Am I not the

33:33

greatest? there's And then there's the mission driven. assil,

33:35

and the -driven asshole only cares

33:37

that you create a

33:40

great product or service. product or

33:42

service, and you, you know, customers, and

33:44

you make customers, and

33:46

you please customers. And gonna

33:48

gonna stand in the way of that

33:50

mission. mission. That's the kind of

33:53

mission mission-driven Steve Jobs was.

33:55

He was not the not

33:57

the ego-centric mission. was not the

33:59

the ego-centric... Assole, he He

34:01

was the mission driven assole. So all

34:03

your you entrepreneurs out there are listening.

34:06

I'm not I'm not saying that you have

34:08

to be an asshole, but you have to

34:10

be mission -driven. All right we

34:12

have Raquel and Adam Boris who

34:14

shared a a story about being

34:16

catfished by a fake fake who was their

34:18

manufacturer for nearly for years. two years

34:21

From a fake lab set up

34:23

to deceitful contracts and inflated

34:25

prices, they recount the moment they

34:27

realized something was off and

34:29

how they eventually uncovered the truth.

34:31

they eventually found a perfume in

34:33

Sydney I found a perfume easily and we

34:35

worked with him for we worked

34:37

with him for like two and a half

34:39

to three years. years. And then I always

34:41

said to Adam. Adam, I don't don't think he's

34:44

a like I don't think

34:46

he's the the perfumer. And I did, I

34:48

it for so long because he

34:50

wouldn't give us IP to the recipe, like

34:52

the recipe, because we the recipe we're trying we

34:54

needed it because our to we're registering

34:56

our products overseas in the UK and

34:58

Europe and it's like and they a

35:00

hectic process the they were asking for

35:02

like the full IP and I'm like

35:04

we don't own don't own it like

35:06

it's not ours ours. this guy wouldn't

35:08

give it to us and he's

35:10

like and then then I then I I was

35:12

like like he doesn't he doesn't doesn't own

35:15

it like otherwise that because we're like we'll give you

35:17

whatever money you want and like no no and I'm

35:19

i'm like everyone has a price and was

35:21

like like he mustn't own it, it's not

35:23

his to give his to give then turns out turns

35:25

out at the wasn't he was like the middle

35:27

like the getting it made by the perfumer

35:29

who we now work with. now work with but

35:31

his he's and it's nothing wrong

35:34

with nothing wrong with the lots of right that

35:36

he was deceitful about it. he was a

35:38

website about had he had a

35:40

years said history in the

35:42

fragrance industry. fair history in the to

35:44

his core of who he was

35:46

and all of that. of you know.

35:49

He yeah and you know believable. believable. And every

35:51

time we'd meet him, him was. was at

35:53

a we had a office or something something like

35:55

that. with wrong with that, but sort

35:57

it wasn't starting to piece together.

35:59

together yeah And then we had a call with him.

36:01

with him about like the next the

36:04

next that were were coming. and I And

36:06

I looked at the background of the the

36:08

I'm like, I'm like fake a fake set up like you

36:10

have like a um like a like coat on

36:12

the girl had a lab coat on coat

36:14

on and she was walking

36:16

around this circle table product display all

36:18

over it over it. I'm like

36:21

we started him thinking about like this

36:23

is not adding up and then like looking like

36:25

pausing the video I'm like this is

36:27

bullshit Yeah. So you got off the call

36:29

off the call and

36:31

we're like fully up with this.

36:33

with obviously we get lots of

36:36

people reach out to us, you get lots of

36:38

people reach out to us, the know, throughout the

36:40

process once they see the brand. to make your

36:42

stuff. We wanna make your fragrance, we wanna

36:44

make your fragrance. And you And you

36:46

never to to sort of disrupt that that

36:48

product because it's fragrance and it's so

36:50

like, you know, important that it stays the same

36:52

all the time. all the time. Do we say to all

36:54

these people that reach out all the time? the

36:56

time? And And then one

36:58

guy just very persistent. persistent. he

37:01

sent an email. He sent sent it

37:03

a DM to personal page once, and

37:05

he said, once. And at the

37:07

time, we're having a time, we're having a

37:09

problem on a control control our

37:11

best seller. our and

37:13

he he messaged said, and

37:15

know what's wrong with wrong with Nomad.

37:17

I'm like, obviously no one

37:19

you please call me I need to

37:21

speak to you guys speak to you was

37:23

in a meeting like, I stopped when I

37:26

minute. Adam. This guy makes that fucking perfume,

37:28

I know it. I he did, I called

37:30

him, I was on the phone too,

37:32

and he told me everything, phone too other he told

37:34

me everything, other. other perfume, I just said his

37:36

name, would get emails from like

37:38

um, like, because we Amanda, like all

37:40

these different people, they were all

37:42

him just on fake emails. these different people, they

37:44

so it was just him and just

37:46

fake us like triple the price. him and

37:49

he was like charging now like, about it,

37:51

he's very angry the he was

37:53

dictating like that terms and things

37:55

with us even angry. Those terms weren't

37:57

what he was being provided by by

37:59

our now. a few more. months. And every had

38:01

to pay up, Brian. time we would time

38:03

we would launch a new product, he

38:05

would just more It's just more expensive because

38:08

it's a new a new even though it wouldn't need

38:10

to be. and he would

38:12

to be and he from ingredients all

38:14

of these magical places

38:16

around the world. Yeah. places around

38:18

the just didn't simply didn't

38:20

simply exist. the first

38:22

two years two years of who's Elijah

38:24

were catfished by We were catfished

38:26

by our supply. The product was still

38:29

good because it was getting made from getting

38:31

guy, good but just the way it

38:33

was being filtered the us. being filtered

38:35

into us, like The payment terms were

38:37

terrible. were terrible, was hard to work with. with,

38:39

I had to to just be super patient

38:41

just like, well, this is our product. I'm

38:44

I'm just gonna have to deal with this

38:46

guy with this stop it now. don't want to stop it

38:48

we had started looking at different at

38:50

different perfumers and to people our try and

38:52

see if they could match it to

38:54

get the same try no one could.

38:56

But thank God for for Brad. Brad's like such

38:59

awesome dude to work with, isn't

39:01

he? Our now perfume, he's great. great. But yeah,

39:03

that was kind of. was a lot. that

39:05

was a lot. a lot. Yeah, that's how how it All

39:07

right, how it happened. All right Ezra

39:09

got Ezra He shares He shares his

39:11

personal philosophy on navigating the ups

39:13

and downs of business. He opens

39:15

up about the mistakes He's made

39:17

he's made, the importance of staying consistent

39:19

and he's three rules for success.

39:21

Yeah I mean look, you know

39:23

you make mistakes, right mistakes, I've had

39:25

to I've I've had to a couple

39:27

hundred a dollars worth of inventory. I've

39:30

dollars worth know, I've made plenty

39:32

of mistakes. I've had, you know, I've the

39:34

interesting thing about business And

39:36

ultimately, you will be

39:38

humbled by about and things will

39:40

go wrong be you will fail. it

39:42

And as you scale, things are constantly

39:45

going wrong while they're going right. And

39:47

so it's like. And so it's like how

39:49

you... As an as an entrepreneur or business

39:51

owner, navigate the experience of failure and

39:54

the experience of making mistakes. and then if

39:56

then if you torture yourself and beat

39:58

yourself up about the mistakes, then you're... Like

40:01

Like, if you're trying to fix a mistake

40:03

in a mistake mindset, you're not gonna

40:05

be successful. And so learning to accept that

40:07

as part of this, you make mistakes,

40:09

you fail, things go wrong, and your

40:11

job is to show up. every

40:13

day a positive attitude

40:15

and Do the best you can

40:17

and take the next step in the direction of your goals.

40:19

And if you just do that. if you

40:21

keep positive and keep moving and do

40:23

the next thing that you can do.

40:26

you will be successful because it turns out

40:28

it is a longevity game. It is a

40:30

marathon. And, you know, you and I have

40:32

been in this industry a long time, how

40:34

many people have we seen burn out, go

40:36

under, you know, give up before the miracle?

40:38

It's like, you just have to keep at

40:40

it. And so I think outside of specifics,

40:42

what I've done is I've stayed consistent, and it

40:44

is the only reason. I mean, again, I don't

40:46

think I'm any smarter, any better than anyone. I

40:48

just do the fundamentals and I do them consistently.

40:50

And one of the other things I will say

40:52

is, I have three rules in business, okay? First

40:55

one, have fun. What does that mean?

40:57

right? doesn't mean be frivolous and do stupid

40:59

things. means take care of yourself mentally,

41:01

emotionally, spiritually, physically, energetically, have hobbies, have relationships,

41:04

have things outside of business so that

41:06

when you show up to your business, you

41:08

can have a positive attitude, you can

41:10

bring the enthusiasm, and you can enjoy yourself

41:12

because if you're miserable, you

41:14

look, my daughter died nine months

41:16

ago. like you you you

41:18

are going to Miss the point

41:21

of this game that we call life if you're just

41:23

not having a good time so and by the

41:25

way if you're having a good time It's compelling and

41:27

people want to come hang out with you and

41:29

they want to like be with you So number one

41:31

have a good time number two make truly good

41:33

things that serve the world that serve your community and

41:35

never stop improving them So,

41:37

make good stuff. Number three,

41:39

be profitable. Have fun! Make

41:42

good things and be profitable. And if you can do

41:44

that at any scale. any scale, $50

41:46

,000 a year, $500 ,000 a year,

41:48

$5 million a year. you have

41:50

won the game that we call business. And I

41:52

cannot tell you the number of people that

41:54

I see that are overworked and under fucked and

41:56

shackled to these businesses that they don't

41:58

like, and we're making. tons of money, but but

42:00

you don't want their life. their life. And so I

42:02

think for new people, you gotta remember

42:04

to about the journey. about the doing this because

42:07

you are chasing some form of freedom, freedom of

42:09

time, freedom of location, of running away from the

42:11

pain of a shitty job that you hate, wanting

42:13

to take care of your parents. job These are

42:15

all things that I experienced, to The reason I became

42:17

an entrepreneur. parents. These are way that you achieve that

42:19

freedom is, and the other thing about this is. I

42:21

became an There is no amount.

42:23

that you achieved that freedom is, There's no amount

42:25

of money you're gonna make. this. There's no There's

42:27

nothing that will change things for you.

42:30

If you cannot have it here and now,

42:32

if you cannot enjoy your life, if have

42:34

fun, have gratitude, have fun, have have pleasure, find

42:36

enjoyment. here and now. now, you

42:39

You won't get it there and then. Nothing will change

42:41

for you because wherever you go, there you are.

42:43

I went from being on the lower end of the

42:45

economic spectrum, growing up very poor to now being

42:47

one of the wealthier people I know and I can

42:49

tell you, money doesn't give you happiness. poor, It buys

42:51

you comfort, one nice to be comfortable but after about,

42:53

and let's call it 200 grand a year, it's not

42:55

doing anything else for your mental health and your

42:57

enjoyment of your world. So. of your The key

42:59

is, is, your life now. if you can

43:01

if you can do that, you'll be way more successful.

43:03

All right, All right, and finally,

43:05

we have Will Goodera. who shares

43:07

a story that captures his

43:09

philosophy of unreasonable hospitality. recounts a

43:11

He recounts a moment at Park,

43:13

Madison went where he really

43:15

went above and beyond to

43:17

fulfill a simple request for

43:19

your New York street hot a

43:21

fine dining transforming a fine dining

43:23

experience into something truly unforgettable.

43:25

in the dining myself a the dining room

43:28

at a busier than normal lunch service,

43:30

and I was helping out the team. And

43:32

And I found myself clearing appetizers from a

43:34

table a table of four. They were They were Europeans on

43:36

vacation to New York just to eat at

43:38

restaurants. In fact, this was fact,

43:40

this was their last meal. They were going to

43:42

the airport to head back home back home straight afterwards.

43:44

They'd been to the best been to

43:46

the best restaurants in New York. They've

43:48

been to like like Danielle and La Bernardino, Perse and

43:50

now Percet, and now 11 But then one woman jumped

43:52

in and said, yeah, you know it. said,

43:55

yeah, you know what? had a hot hot for

43:57

one of the one of the street carts. And

43:59

it was like... one of those those moments

44:01

from a cartoon from a know the character

44:03

has a good idea. So I walked

44:05

back into the kitchen, dropped off the

44:07

hot kitchen, dropped off the hot dog, or the plates

44:09

outside. bought a hot a ran ran

44:12

back inside. came the hard part, Then came

44:14

the hard part, which was convincing my chef

44:16

chef to serve it in our fancy

44:18

restaurant. But I got him too, and we cut But

44:20

I got him up and we cut the hot

44:22

dog up into four perfect pieces out little

44:24

of ketchup a a swish of mustard. mustard. a

44:26

little a little relish. And before their final savory

44:29

their final savory course which

44:31

at the time was a honey

44:33

lavender glazed muskovy duck that been

44:35

dry aged for two weeks weeks, I

44:37

brought out I brought out what we

44:39

in New York call a dirty dog. And explained

44:41

it, I said, hey, I said, hey, I want

44:43

to make sure you don't go home

44:45

with any culinary regrets. culinary regrets. York City

44:47

your New York City hot dog. And I'd I'd

44:49

never seen anyone react to

44:51

anything I'd served them. they the

44:54

way that they reacted to that. to that. Athletes

44:57

always go to the tapes and they've

44:59

had a bad go to the what had a bad game

45:01

to see what they did wrong. They don't often enough go to

45:03

the tapes and they've had a good game to see what they

45:06

did well to make sure they keep on doing that thing. they

45:08

keep on doing that thing. And so I

45:10

did with the hot dog. And it required

45:12

three three things. I needed to be

45:14

present. Like basically Like, basically stop

45:16

thinking about everything else I needed to do

45:18

and fully focus on those people. people.

45:21

I I needed to, yes,

45:23

take what I did seriously,

45:25

but also stop taking taking

45:28

seriously. seriously. Like too many companies

45:30

are so focused on their brand on they

45:32

don't do things that feel off do things

45:34

that feel but sometimes it's the

45:36

off -brand things that will bring

45:38

your stakeholders the most joy. bring your

45:41

stakeholders the most joy. And

45:43

three, The whole thing thing

45:45

recognized that with unreasonable

45:47

hospitality. It's not about creating.

45:50

One size -fits -all experiences.

45:54

What made that special was that it

45:56

was one size fits one. was one size

45:59

fits one. those three things. We

46:02

now had our roadmap. and

46:05

our trajectory from that point forward.

46:08

Yeah, we were excellent at our food. was

46:11

best in class and our service was

46:13

as close to technically perfect. But

46:18

We became number one. because

46:21

we made the choice to be as unreasonable

46:23

in pursuit of how we made people feel

46:25

as every other restaurant on the list was

46:27

in pursuit of simply the food they were

46:29

serving. And

46:32

to our journey. was a

46:34

ton of trial and error. around

46:37

investing as much intention

46:39

and creativity into making people

46:41

feel seen as

46:43

we had historically into the

46:45

product we were selling them. All

46:47

right, so before we wrap

46:50

up, I can't let this moment

46:52

pass without thanking you, our

46:54

incredible community, whether you've been listening,

46:56

watching, or reading along with

46:58

us, you're the reason we do

47:00

this. founder wouldn't be where

47:02

it is today without the energy

47:04

and support of this incredible

47:06

community of entrepreneurs. So here's to

47:08

making 2025 the year we

47:10

push beyond our boundaries, take risks,

47:12

and create something truly remarkable. I

47:14

can't wait to see where your journey

47:16

takes you and I'll be right here

47:18

cheering you on every step of the

47:20

way. Thanks for tuning in and I'll

47:22

see you soon. If you loved this

47:24

episode make sure to check out my

47:26

interview with Emma Greed on how solving

47:28

a problem she was so passionate about

47:31

led to the creation of and good

47:33

American. And so I do think it's

47:35

so much of it starts with like

47:37

addressing things that bother you that you

47:39

find, you know, you've got to create

47:41

a solution for because, know at the

47:43

end of the day You've got to

47:45

be passionate enough and sometimes crazy enough

47:47

to go Round and round and round

47:49

to actually solve a problem