Hitting The Mark

I sit down with my lawyer (indeed!), who has not been my lawyer before I invited him onto my show. I came across their site, wilkmazz.com, after hearing Sam speak in an interview and it took me only a few split seconds to know that I have to get him onto this podcast. I believe in a brand being authentic, and direct, and as simple as being bold sounds, it takes a special personality and lots of guts to actually pull it off and to pull it off successfully, and the partners at this San Diego law firm sure pulled it off. Sam and I talk about why they have a bold and authentic brand, how it helps and where it hurts. An episode that any bold entrepreneur and marketer should dive into and learn from when they need a good kick in their behind to take some bold moves. To connect with Sam, hit him up at holler@wilkmazz.com or visit the ever so intriguing 'anti-law-office' law office brand at wilkmazz.com ____Full Transcript: F Geyrhalter: Welcome to episode number 14 of Hitting The Mark. It's still such a baby, 14 onl

Fabian sits down with Chris Kerr, the Chief Investment Officer at New Crop Capital, who has nearly 30 years of leadership experience with startups and venture capital investing. He has spent the last decade focused on impact investing with a concentration on the plant based foods sector. We recorded this episode the day after Beyond Meat hit the stock market. The brand is a poster child of Chris Kerr's investment portfolio, and it also is an industry daring darling. And what went well beyond the wildest expectations with stock trading at nearly triples from the original IPO price the day after, this episode is filled with enthusiasm and learnings that go well beyond one brand. An episode any entrepreneur should digest as we discuss the importance of naming, how you can build a company around a brand and how a startup needs to test, test, test, and then test again. You can learn more about Chris via the New Crop Capital site. ____Full Transcript: F Geyrhalter: Welcome to Hitting the Mark. Today, we go beyond m

Fabian talks with a founder who is doing his part in keeping the ocean clean, and he's doing it through his brand that is selling skateboards, sunglasses, surfboard fins, and Jenga games. Ben Kneppers is a co-founder of Bureo, an emerging B Corp focused on creating innovative solutions to ocean plastic pollution. Through the team's initiative, Net Positiva, Bureo has created Chile's first ever fishnet collection and recycling program. Net Positiva provides fishermen with an environmentally sound end-of-life solution for their fishing gear, while Bureo receives highly recyclable raw materials to create innovative products that bring net positive solutions to the world. Remarkable in many ways. Ben shares his insights on how to get strangers to believe in and act upon your vision, how Patagonia got involved with his brand, how collaboration is part of his brand's success story, all the way how to score a major PR story on CBS Evening News without spending a dime and so much more. You can dive into the Bureo uni

Fabian talks with Mark Wallace for whom skiing has always been the driving force in his life. It took him from Saddleback to Park City and then all over the world as he lived the dream as a semi-pro ski racer. Mark learned the nuances of ski building during a job at a Boston construction firm, dedicating countless hours during nights and weekends. He started Parlor with two friends in an abandoned funeral parlor in Cambridge, honing the science and art of ski building. We discuss his company's focus and dedication to the sport and its tribe, how far the brand is able to take the important brand traits of customization and personalization and how Parlor leads with authenticity. If you are, just like me, into skiing or snowboarding, this episode is a must. If you like to learn more about connecting with your tribe or honing in the art of customization, this is a must-listen for you as well. You can learn more about Parlor via parlorskis.com, or as Mark showcased his approachability, you can just call him up, &q

In this episode, we talk with Frank Demmler, who can take credit for 500 companies, some 10,000 jobs, and $1 billion of investment capital. For over 30 years he has been an investor, advisor, and educator in Pittsburgh's technology-based entrepreneurial community, which hardly existed when he first started but has grown to be one of the most active and desirable entrepreneurship hubs today. We dive into two of the companies he assisted, Automated Healthcare, which deploys robots in hospital pharmacies and has been acquired by McKesson for $65 million, and clothing brand Modcloth. He shares Modcloth's startup story from college sweethearts to putting a few clothes online for sale to turning into a beloved brand that innovated especially through the power of crowdsourcing. Much to absorb in this episode, especially if you are interested in leveraging the power of your tribe. You can connect with Frank via LinkedIn. ________________Full, Unedited, Transcript: F Geyrhalter:                 Welcome to Hitting The

Talking with the de Haas twin sisters about their brand of premium mixers: How they managed to build a beloved brand at a young age (all while finishing their masters degrees and having started careers in finance). We talk about their story from idea to bottle to shelf, the advantages of having a co-founder, how the brilliant name Double Dutch came about (yes, it all happened at a bar), how the brand's fun copy has come together organically over the years and why Joyce and Raissa (who made it onto the Forbes 30 under 30 list this year) wish they would have paused and created a more cohesive visual and verbal brand when they saw initial interest in their products. You can learn more about Double Dutch and see where you can get your mixers for the perfect cocktail at www.doubledutchdrinks.com ________________Full Transcript: F Geyrhalter:                 Welcome to Hitting the Mark. Today we travel to London, via the Netherlands as we welcome identical twin co-founders, Raissa and Joyce de Haas, whose award-win

In this episode, we dive into influencer marketing with Colin Szopa, who created a brand for fitness influencers to connect in deeper ways with their tribes. We debunk the myth that influencers are Prima Donnas to work with, learn about how personal brands support each other versus compete with each other on the same digital platform as well as the art and science of crafting a meaningful and descriptive name for the app store. You can find Plankk Studio in the app store if you are ready to sweat it out with some of the biggest names in fitness. ________________Full Transcript: F Geyrhalter:                 Welcome to Episode eight of Hitting the Mark. Today I'm joined by the founder of a brand that enables other brands and in this case of Plankk Studio those brands are personal brands. Today we enter a world of personal trainers and influencers and the man that helps them monetize their audience. Colin Szopa is the founder and CEO of Plankk an only two year old technology and content company that partners wi

In this episode, we break new ground with Eddie Geller, a startup founder who is well beyond his brand's IPO. His app has accumulated a staggering three million users, yet many of you may have never heard of it because he has a very targeted appeal: Young parents and their parents. We talk about the difficulty of marketing across generations, creating a brand name that can be used as a verb, and how going against users' expectations may turn into your startup's most important feature. Learn more about Tinybeans; and also check out this episode's sponsor, Mister Maginsky, a startup that is changing men's underwear forever.  Full Transcript: F Geyrhalter:                 Welcome to Hitting the Mark. On our first six episodes we covered a lot of ground from a founder who was on SharkTank, where he tanked, to an investor bringing back beloved brands like Iva and the 90's Pepsi Co drink Slice, but today we break new ground with a startup founder who is well beyond his brands IPO. His app has accumulated a staggeri

Mark is an entrepreneur who is dedicated to both relaunching iconic dormant brands as well as investing in early-stage consumer packaged goods companies, focused on better for you products. His fund, Spiral Sun Ventures and his brand revitalization company, Dormitus Brands, are currently collaborating on reinventing the soda brand Slice as a "better for you" beverage. This episode is full of branding and startup nuggets that no entrepreneur or marketer should miss out on. This episode is full of branding and startup nuggets that no entrepreneur or marketer should miss out on. Mark has been doing this for a while and gained an enormous amount of knowledge and his passion is contagious. You can learn more about the new Slice, reach out to him via LinkedIn or ask me for his personal e-mail and I am happy to facilitate an introduction. We will soon announce a way Mark asked my listeners to participate in the new Slice brand definition. Stay tuned by following us on Instagram as it involves some free pro

Maxwell created his company while in college as a requirement from his parents. Fast forward and he appeared on Shark Tank and flopped. Today Maxwell is successfully running an array of disposable bed sheet brands that are available internationally. He shares how changing the brand name was a game changer for his startup, why the .com still reigns supreme, how carefully crafted words will lead to sales, and how he learned to persevere regardless of how often you hear the word 'no' along the journey – "Just get to that word quicker." You can learn more about his products at Peelaways.com or reach out to him directly via LinkedIn. ________________Transcript: Fabian Geyrhalter: Welcome to episode number five of Hitting the Mark. It's only number five, which completely blows my mind. It feels like we've been on this journey for a lot longer than that. If you're new to Hitting the Mark, a special welcome to you. Today we talk with a founder, who knows how to not take himself too seriously, while taking h

I made a promise to myself to never feature a client - or former client - of mine on the show, but I am good with sprinkling in an entrepreneur now and then who I also call my friend. Today is such a moment and I am sure you will all appreciate that I did so. I personally am always delighted to talk with him, learn from him and be the critic he never asked to have. If you are a founder, marketer, designer or just a curious human being, this episode is not to be missed as it clearly shows us why Chris Do, and his online platform, The Futur, have such a fanatic following and why the company is seeing 300% growth year over year. Chris shares his insights on how his passion project turned into a small phenomenon (hint: teaching is the best form of marketing), why you should put your media buy budget towards content strategy instead, if it is dangerous to be the face of your brand, how important data really is in marketing (hint: it may not be quite what you thought), why culture is more important than branding (a

Today you are in for a treat. A mouthwatering treat that sadly will remain a verbal-only treat to you and me as we will spend this episode with an innovator in a segment a lot of us would love to dive right into: Kentucky Bourbon. If you're a foodie, if you like soy sauce or bourbon, perhaps both, or if you run an F&B business, this is an episode to indulge in. Matt created a brand that is rooted in a romantic story; a story of place, taste, and craftsmanship. A story that created a company that continuously grows between 38-50% a year yet each of the 5,000 gallons of their soy sauce are still being meticulously hand-numbered. You can peruse Bourbon Barrel Foods' products via their site.

Founders creating physical products, even more so if they are consumable, and even more so if they have to show provable results, sure are fascinating! Dr. Ginger's story from a swift idea to a working formula, design and actual consumers picking up a tube of toothpaste in stores around the US is surprising and uplifting. Listen to Dr. Ginger Price and her brand of oral care products, which will soon be seen at Target and Whole Foods stores around the country. You can learn more about her company and products through below links: Dr. Ginger's website Dr. Ginger's Instagram For the podcast deal to get Fabian's book 'Bigger Than This – How to turn any venture into an admired brand' for $6, click here.

Fabian Geyrhalter talks to Raaja Nemani on this inaugural episode of Hitting The Mark. Raaja is the Co-Founder of Rogue Trading Company (the parent company to Rogue Advising, MarketerHire, and Rogue Brands). Previously, he was the Co-Founder and CEO of Bucketfeet (a D2C, artist-designed footwear brand). Bucketfeet was acquired in 2017 by Threadless. We dive into Raaja's factory-direct platform and discuss how brand strategy has affected his recent company launches as well as when he was scaling the successful footwear marketplace Bucketfeet. Branding went far beyond the image and was tremendously important to Bucketfeets' positioning, sales as well as company culture. Select companies Raaja co-founded that are being discussed in this episode: Rogue Brands Bucketfeet You can connect with Raaja via LinkedIn.