Justin Baldwin, founder of the acclaimed Justin Winery, chronicled the development of his highly awarded brand and spoke about the importance of leveraging one’s skill sets and admitting their weaknesses, mitigating risk through financial discipline and how entrepreneurs can best position their companies for success in good times and bad.
Allison & Stephen Ellsworth, co-founders of prebiotic soda brand Poppi, spoke about lessons learned from their first year in business, the keys to winning investment on “Shark Tank,” how they navigated a brand overhaul and maintaining their independence while aligned with influential and experienced strategic partners.
Brendan Brazier, co-founder of pioneering plant-based protein brand Vega and “hard” cold-pressed juice brand Pulp Culture, spoke about how his passion for plant-based nutrition culminated in Vega, why the company embraced the saying “ignorance is our only competition,” how he assessed the opportunity for a better-for-you alcoholic beverages and his perspective on the evolution of plant-based foods.
GT Dave, founder & CEO of GT’s Kombucha, spoke about the brand’s recent packaging refresh and what he viewed as significant problems in how consumers perceived each of the company’s product lines, how his perspective as a category creator impacted the moves, why he’s embraced a more public persona than in the past and reacted to the provocative “Forbes” profile of him.
Miguel Garza, co-founder & CEO of Mexican-American food brand Siete Family Foods, spoke about the principles upon which the company was founded, the roles of family and love play in the company’s operations, the hallmarks of its product development and innovation strategies and why revenue isn’t the defining metric for Siete to become an iconic brand.
Jessica Weiss Levison, founder/CEO of Peekaboo Organics, a maker of indulgent ice cream infused with hidden vegetables, spoke about the importance of identifying those who instantly “get” the concept, shared the unconventional way in which she met a Target buyer, her process for raising capital and a key way to avoid slotting fees.
Carl Goyette, CEO of pioneering organic energy drink brand GURU, spoke about how a disciplined business strategy has paved the way for sustainable growth, why the company “says no to a lot” of opportunities, and why he believes that having both experience in a corporate environment and a thirst for entrepreneurship have been key to his ability to manage and build the brand.
Jamba Dunn, the founder and CEO of Rowdy Mermaid Kombucha discussed the duality of Rowdy Mermaid’s current trajectory and its long-term business strategy, the brand’s function-forward approach to formulation, why he was cautious about aligning with a private equity firm and how his role as CEO has changed over the years.
This week, we’re joined by the team behind upstart brand Rowdy Energy, NASCAR champion Kyle Busch and Suja co-founder Jeff Church. The duo spoke about their decision to enter the competitive energy category, leveraging Busch’s fame and fan base in an authentic way and how Church is incorporating lessons from the Suja playbook into Rowdy’s business strategy.
We spoke with Bubble founder & CEO Jessica Young about how she drew upon her experience as a chef and product developer to launch the health-focused online marketplace, how Bubble is enhancing visibility and sales for small brands via the platform and how she assessed opportunities and challenges for the company and thoughtfully communicated each to investors.
