Ep. 15: Seth Goldman: Co-Founder of Honest Tea

Seth Goldman is the Co-founder of Honest Tea, a company he started in 1998 and has grown to over $200 million in revenue.  Today, Honest Tea is the nation’s top selling ready-to-drink organic bottled tea. The Honest Tea brands are available in over 130,000 outlets across the United States.  The company was acquired by Coca Cola in 2011.

 

Some interesting insights from this episode:

  • Learn how he reinvented the entire bottled tea industry.
  • Being a relentless optimist helped get him through the tough times.
  • The company wasn’t just about a better tasting drink but about an expression of his personal values (health, the environment, working conditions in developing countries).
  • To successfully launch a startup, start with a very strong vision of the brand and then everything else will fall into place.
  • The best way to learn is simply by doing. Market research will only get you so far and doing too much of it could become a hindrance.
  • Excellence is having a vision and being able to execute on that vision without compromise.

Ep. 14: Dave Perkins: Master Whiskey Entrepreneur

Dave Perkins is the Founder and former CEO of High West Distillery, a craft whiskey producer.  He sold the company in 2016 after 12 years to Constellation Brands for $160 million.  He had a successful career in biotech marketing prior to that.  He lives in Park City, Utah.

 

Some interesting insights from this episode:

 

  • Learn how his biotech background prepared him for building a whiskey business from scratch.
  • He moved to Utah to start the company despite the state’s tight liquor laws.
  • He chose to become a distiller, not just a blender, despite the much larger investment and longer waiting period.
  • Learn how good contingency planning can help mitigate risk in a startup.
  • In addition to hard work, good planning and a distinctive product, serendipity played a key role in his success.
  • Excellence is taking pride in your work and giving it your best.

Ep. 13: Rich Wilson: Record-Setting Solo Sailor

Rich Wilson is the fastest American skipper to race solo around the world.  He completed the Vendee Globe 27,000 mile solo round-the-world yacht race this year in 107 days.  At 66 years old, he was also the oldest skipper to complete the race.  Rich is the founder of the SitesAlive Foundation, a non-profit platform to connect K12 classrooms to adventures and expeditions around the world.  He has a degree in mathematics and an MBA from Harvard and a Masters in interdisciplinary science from MIT.   He currently resides in the Boston area.

 

Some interesting insights from this episode:

  • Learn how his lifelong battle with asthma has provided the motivation to persevere both on and off the water.
  • 80% of success on the water is done prior to the start of the race.
  • Ironically, even in a solo racing voyage, the team is the most critical element of success.
  • Learn how he had not just one but two incredible strokes of luck which helped save his life when his boat capsized during one of his races.
  • Learn how he educated hundreds of thousands of kids around the world through the experiential learning platform of his sailing expeditions.
  • Excellence is knowing you put out your best effort on whatever axes are part of the equation.
  • “Most people will have a dream about what you should do but find what you dream to do and go do that one.”

Ep. 12: Morris Robinson: Opera Star

Morris Robinson is a world-renowned bass opera singer.  He has regularly performed at the Metropolitan Opera as well as opera houses all over the world.  He is also a highly regarded concert singer and has performed with many of the well-known symphony orchestras across the United States.  He is a graduate of the Citadel and currently resides in Atlanta with his wife and son.

 

Some interesting insights from this episode:

  • A 3 time All American football standout in college, at 6’3” and 290 pounds, he was deemed too small to make it in the NFL.
  • Learn why he quit the corporate world cold turkey to pursue a singing career.
  • If you do what you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life.
  • Learn how football helped prepare him for a career in the opera.
  • Talent is important but it’s not everything. You have to be willing to make sacrifices, work hard and apply yourself to achieve something great.
  • “If you have a dream, you have a right to go after it.”
  • “If you give your best at whatever you do, the product will be excellence.”

 

To some, Morris Robinson can be an intimidating presence.  He’s a big and powerful looking guy. Remember Popeye’s powerful nemesis Bluto?  Sort of like him.  There is also no pretense about Morris.  When he showed up for our interview, he was wearing workout shorts, a t-shirt and sandals.  If I told you that he’s an ex 3 time all American collegiate football player, that probably wouldn’t be much a surprise.  But if I then told you he’s now one of the great bass opera singers of our generation, you’d probably do a double take.  And Morris would have it no other way.

Morris has always relished the dichotomy of his existence – a 6’3”, 290 pound aggressive offensive lineman on the one hand and a talented performance artist on the other.  Those two seemingly contrasting personas have been a part of his identity throughout his life.  Even today with his football playing days well behind him, he certainly doesn’t “look” or “act” the part of a world-renowned opera singer (not that I personally know any of them).  An image of a polished, clean-shaven and formally dressed sophisticate driving a Mercedes may come to mind but certainly not a casually dressed, scruffy-looking former athlete driving around town in a Hummer.  That’s one of the things I love about Morris Robinson – he is who he is and he makes no apologies.

So what do you do when you finally come to the realization that your lifelong dream of playing football in the NFL isn’t in the cards?  Like most of us, you do what you feel you have to do to make your way in the world.  That is, you settle.  For Morris, that meant getting a job in corporate sales for a technology company.  That is what he did for seven tedious years until he woke up one day and felt empty inside.  Despite his success at it, the passion just wasn’t there.  He knew deep inside that it wasn’t in God’s plan for him to spend the rest of his days toiling away in corporate America.

His wife Denise also noticed that the spark was missing which is why, unbeknownst to Morris, she had secretly set up an interview for him at the prestigious Choral Arts Society of Washington.  The Director fell in love with his beautiful voice upon the very first note.  And that’s all it took for Morris to embark upon a new journey to rediscover this remarkable gift he had always had but which had laid dormant for many years.  It wasn’t so obvious at first how he could leverage his vocal talent into a career but that was beside the point.  Corporate sales had become a grind and he needed some excitement in his life.  With singing, he got just that.

With a voice as naturally sweet and powerful as his, it didn’t take long for Morris to get discovered.  But the road from salesman to opera star wasn’t an easy one. Talent notwithstanding, becoming an opera singer meant going back to school, both literally and figuratively.  He had to relearn how to sing operatically.  He had to learn how to act.  He had to learn multiple foreign languages (most operas are in Italian and German).  And he had to learn how to take critique. And lots of it.  While he had the advantage of a beautiful voice, singing opera is not something you just do.  It would be years of hard work and sacrifice and swallowing his pride to learn this difficult craft and make it as a professional opera singer.

So why did he do it?  Why did he decide to take this risk and essentially start over when he was already well ensconced in his corporate career?  Because according to Morris, “If you have a dream, you have the right to go after it.”  And he believed in himself.  His attitude from day one was that if someone else could do it, then he could do it too.  In his heart of hearts, he knew that if he wanted something badly enough and was willing to truly devote himself to it, he could accomplish anything.  No goal would be beyond his reach, even if that goal were as bold and audacious as becoming a world-renowned bass opera singer.

Ep. 9: Marquis Grissom: Baseball Legend

Marquis Grissom is a former professional baseball player.  He led the National League in stolen bases in 1991 and ‘92, was a member of the National League All Star team in 1993 and ’94 and won four consecutive Golden Gloves.  He joined the Atlanta Braves in 1995 where he helped them win their first and only World Series.  In all, he played 17 years in the majors, hitting 227 homers, stealing 429 bases and finishing with a batting average of .272.   Today he runs the Marquis Grissom Baseball Association, a foundation he started which teaches kids how to perform at their highest levels, both on and off the baseball field.

 

Some interesting insights from this episode:

  • How hard work at a very young age would help prepare him for a successful baseball career.
  • Learn which sport he always dreamed of playing as a professional. Hint: It’s not baseball.
  • Hear what his Plan B and Plan C were if baseball didn’t work out.
  • Hard work, discipline, focus and determination were the keys to his success.
  • How he was able to turn around a season-long slump just in time to help the Braves win its first World Series.
  • The lessons learned in baseball are life lessons kids will carry throughout life.
  • The way to not live in the past is to be even happier living in the present.

 

You don’t have to look real hard to see where Marquis Grissom’s work ethic comes from. He didn’t have a cozy lifestyle growing up.  If he wasn’t pumping water to boil for his parents and fourteen siblings, he was chopping wood, laying bricks, mixing mortar or doing a number of other odd jobs. His parents laid the foundation early on that you have to work hard to achieve anything in life.

It’s that strong work ethic ingrained in him at an early age that would underpin much of his success as a professional baseball player.  He was willing to do whatever it took to become the best he could be.  Being competitive wasn’t good enough.  He strove to be the fastest, the strongest and the smartest player on the field at every game.  That meant more batting practice, more fielding practice, more running, more conditioning and pretty much more of anything and everything to gain that extra edge. When the odds of a high school baseball player making it to the major leagues are a miniscule 1 in 5,000, it’s no surprise that it would take this kind of herculean effort to realize his dreams.

As talented and as driven as he was, he also had a good head on his shoulders.  He attended college instead of chasing the quick buck. Education was a value he always embraced, even with the lottery ticket to fame and fortune. And knowing that a prolific career in professional sports is never guaranteed, he always had a backup plan.  Had baseball not worked out, he could have been just as happy as a fireman or construction worker.

So when you’ve had a standout professional sports career with all the fame and money and glory that comes along with it, how do you prevent yourself from looking in the rearview mirror for the rest of your life?  It sounds like a worn platitude to say you just need to find something after retirement that fills you with as much passion.  But that’s exactly what Marquis did in founding the Marquis Grissom Baseball Association.

The mission of the foundation is to teach kids how perform at their highest levels both on and off the baseball field.  The staggering odds of making it as a professional baseball player aren’t lost on Marquis.  He knows the vast majority of these kids won’t ever see a dime from the sport. But if he can prepare these kids to go to college, whether or not baseball is part of the package, he’ll feel like it was worth all the effort.  And with 83% of his students going to college, mission accomplished.

You won’t find too many superstar athletes as modest as Marquis.  With all of his incredible talent and disciplined work ethic, it’s somewhat of a surprise that it’s luck to which he attributes most of his success.  It’s hard to argue that serendipity plays a role in just about any success story but in this case, it’s a very minor supporting role.  That said, for Marquis, it’s all beside the point.  For that was then and this is now.  And all that matters now is to show gratitude by dedicating this next chapter of his life to teaching the next generation the fundamentals of baseball and of life.

 

Ep. 8: Jay Faison: Serial Entrepreneur and Visionary Philanthropist

Jay Faison is the Founder and Chairman of SnapAV, a high growth technology company that designs and distributes audio-video products. SnapAV has been on the Inc 500 List for several years and was acquired by General Atlantic in 2013 for around $200 million.  He is also the Founder and CEO of ClearPath Foundation, whose mission is to accelerate conservative clean energy solutions.  Jay has received many accolades including the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Southeast region award and Politico’s Top 50 visionaries transforming American politics.

Some interesting insights from this episode:

  • How his ADHD is a contributing factor to his entrepreneurial nature.
  • The biggest challenge in scaling the company was himself.
  • Intellectual humility is a key to growing as a leader.
  • Find a niche that others aren’t in so at least if you’re swinging for the fences, there aren’t any other batters to worry about.
  • Why he decided to give away the vast sum of his wealth while still in his 40’s.
  • How his pattern recognition allows him to see around corners where others can’t.
  • “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re probably not going to get there.”

 

When you’re running a small audio/video business and being overcharged and underserved by your suppliers, what do you do?  If you’re like most people, you get angry and frustrated and complain.  But not if you’re Jay Faison.  Because if you’ve got the mind of an entrepreneur like Jay, you see that broken supply chain not as a problem but as an opportunity.  And you seize upon it.  And that is how SnapAV was born.

Why didn’t anyone else see this obvious disintermediation play to create the Amazon of the audio video industry?  Jay has a unique gift of pattern recognition.  Some people who are incredibly bright can see several moves ahead on the chess board. Jay admittedly isn’t one of them.  But Jay is able to see multiple games being played at once and can choose which one has the best odds of success.  When you’re an entrepreneur trying to disrupt an industry, that intuition can help dramatically improve the odds of success.

There’s another gift Jay possesses that few entrepreneurs have. It’s intellectual humility. When you’re intellectually humble, you can recognize your blinds spots.  And when you can see your blind spots, you know how to ask for help.  In Jay’s case, he understood that the biggest hurdle in scaling his company was himself.  Like many entrepreneurs, he was great at doing but not at leading.  He had to learn how to let go and transition from being a tactical entrepreneur to being a strategic leader.  His vision, his leadership and his grit would allow him to build and eventually sell one of the fastest growing companies in the country.

For most entrepreneurs, selling the majority ownership in your business for $200 million is an accomplishment of a lifetime.  It’s a good excuse to kick back, relax and live the good life.  Buy a few vacation homes, a couple limited production sports cars and of course a private jet for good measure. You can simply rest on your laurels and not ever have to take on the monumental challenge and stress of starting something again.  But not if you’re Jay Faison.

Jay knew that the right thing to do is to give away most of his newly acquired wealth while he’s still in the prime of his life.  Of course, the easiest thing to do would be to write checks to a bunch of non-profits.  But never one to take the easy path, he contributed $165 million into a foundation called ClearPath.  It’s mission – simply convince conservatives of the importance of clean energy.  In other words, he chose to essentially launch another startup whose goals were far more daunting that those of his for-profit venture.

It hasn’t been easy.  The environment has become a very polarizing issue and while capital has provided him access to key people in Washington, convincing them to create and adopt environmentally friendly legislation has been a grind.  He’s well aware that success won’t happen overnight.  But he continues to chop away at it with the guiding philosophy that “we don’t inherit the Earth from our parents but rather, we borrow it from our children”.  It’s hard work but it’s well worth it.  Because according to Jay, when you’re trying to change the world, there’s simply a satisfaction you can’t get anywhere else.

Ep. 6: Mandy Rae Krack – Fearless, Freediving Phenom

Mandy-Rae is an accomplished freediver based in Vancouver, British Columbia.  She holds 7 freediving world records and 13 national records.  She owns Performance Freediving International where she teaches freediving courses to the general public.

 

Some interesting insights from this episode:

  • Entering a flow state allows you to hyper focus and achieve amazing results.
  • The mammalian dive reflex is a survival mechanism we share with whales and dolphins.
  • Visualization plays a critical role in the pre-dive planning.
  • She views the 14 underwater blackouts including one trip to the ER not as deterrents but as learning experiences.
  • Success is as much mental as it is physical.
  • Working toward achieving ambitious goals should be fun and enjoyable, not feel like a chore.
  • Anyone can be trained to hold their breath for several minutes and dive deep. We all have the potential to push ourselves further than we think possible.

 

What’s so special about holding your breath under water?  Not much if your plan is to dive down 10 feet in a pool while holding your breath for a few seconds. But try going down 500 feet in the ocean while holding your breath for several minutes.  That’s what the competitive sport of freediving is all about.  It’s about as “pure” a sport as you’ll find.  No fancy equipment.  No burdensome rules.  No crowds.  It’s just you and the water and your willingness to see just how far you can push yourself.

So how is Mandy-Rae able to do it?  How is she able to submerse herself to depths fifteen times the pressure we experience on dry land while holding her breath many times the average human breath hold?  It turns out there’s both a physiological component and a mental one.

Let’s start with the physical.  There’s something known as the mammalian dive reflex that humans share with whales, dolphins and most mammalian sea creatures.  It’s essentially a survival mechanism that kicks in the minute you submerse yourself in the water. First our heart rate slows way down which reduces oxygen consumption.  Next, the blood vessels constrict, reducing blood flow to the limbs while maximizing blood flow and oxygen to the most critical organs in the body – the heart, brain and lungs. Finally, the blood accumulation in the lungs acts as a protective barrier, preventing the lungs from collapsing under extremely high pressure.

As with any endurance sport, the physical element is just half the battle, sometimes even less.  The mental toughness is what separates the wheat from the chaff.  It is the mental edge which gives champions like Mandy-Rae the ability to set new world records over and over again.

First there is the pre-dive prep.  For Mandy-Rae, there is a mental shift that occurs from being a land-based human to a marine animal. It’s not just about the physiological transformation but the mental one. In her own words, you must learn to “become part of the water”.  For the next few moments, that underwater world is one in which you must feel very much at home.

Next is the visualization.  Just like with skiers going through an entire slalom race, turn by turn, in their heads before they leave the gate, so too does Mandy-Rae go through an entire dive before she ever submerses herself.  This exercise includes working through potential issues that may arise during the dive so if and when they happen, she’s already dealt with them and can be calm while working through them.

Finally, she enters what is commonly known as the flow state.  This will allow her to focus 100% of her mental abilities on the task at hand.  This will remove all external distractions as well as the internal ones – those voices in our head that give us pause and make us second guess ourselves.   In the flow state, there is no thinking and there is no feeling.  There is just doing.  It’s a hyper-focused mental state that allows her to push herself to the limits and achieve extraordinary results.

Why does she do it?  What drives her to go deeper toward the ocean depths again and again?  For one, it’s fun for her.  She truly enjoys going through the rigorous training and discipline it takes to set a new record.  She likes seeing how hard she can push herself. But just as importantly, achieving something you once thought impossible can be life changing.  She sees this in many of her first time dive students. The breakthroughs they have in the pool change them in profound ways by giving them the confidence to try new things in life and achieve other breakthroughs outside the water.

Mandy-Rae is the first to admit that she has a few physiological advantages that give her a slight edge on her record setting dives.  Her lung volume is larger than average and she’s able to equalize her ears rather easily.  But her confidence, her attitude, her mindset and her belief in herself are the advantages that any of us can share with her.  If there’s something you want in your life and you believe in yourself and apply yourself, there’s nothing holding you back.

 

Ep. 4: Sid Mashburn: Men’s Fashion Aficionado with Southern Hospitality

Sid is the co-founder and owner of Sid Mashburn men’s clothing store.  Both Esquire and GQ have named Sid Mashburn one of the best menswear shops in America.  Today they have five stores in five cities and 135 employees and are continuing to add new stores every year.

 

Some interesting insights from this episode:

  • How Sid sees himself in the hospitality business, not the retail business.
  • To find the white space, just follow your heart.
  • How a company culture kit is critical to scaling a business.
  • What are economy of time, economy of mind and economy of money.
  • How trying to be all things to all people can be an effective business strategy.
  • You can have enormous success by just taking things one step at a time.
  • Aiming to be the best at something is more important and rewarding than trying to be the biggest.

 

Walking into a Sid Mashburn store is not like walking into any other men’s clothing store.  It’s a full sensory experience, from the classic rock ‘n’ roll tunes cranked up high to the stuffed wildlife protruding from the walls to the seagrass on the floor to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.  Oh, and of course there’s also the ping pong table.  This is all part of a master plan to make the store feel like a warm and inviting place to anyone who walks through the doors.  “The store is meant to feel like a fraternity that everybody gets a bid to”, as Sid conveys the ambiance he’s trying to capture.

This unique in-store aesthetic is just the tip of the iceberg in Sid Mashburn’s retail experience.  It’s all about the high-touch service you’ll find the minute you enter the shop.  You’ll be greeted with a smile and offered a beverage of your choice. They’ll ask if you’d like to have a seat while they hang up your jacket. What you won’t find here are high pressure sales tactics. That’s because the sales people are not on commission.  The goal is simple – to have you feel like you’re walking into someone’s home.

Sid was raised in a small town in Mississippi and it’s not hard to see how the southern hospitality he grew up with has become a core piece of the brand DNA.  It’s not fake.  It’s not for show.  It’s just an authentic expression of who Sid is as a person. He doesn’t see himself as being in the retail or clothing business but rather, the hospitality business.  He craves having that intimate relationship with the customer which is why he likes to benchmark against best-of-breed hospitality brands – think Danny Meyer in the restaurant space and the Ritz in the hotel world.

Marketers are taught that you need to have a well-defined target audience to succeed. Sid never got that memo. He wants everyone to feel welcome in his shop which is why you’ll find a $65 pair of Levis just a few feet away from a $10,000 suit.  Customers range in age from 11 to 87 and between his physical stores and his e-commerce business, he touches pretty much every corner of the country.

We’ve all heard the cliché to follow your passion.  It’s usually easier said than done.  But Sid Mashburn has done just that since day one.  He’s as enamored today about fashion as he was in his youth when clothing defined his childhood as much as music and sports.   And you can see that he truly just enjoys helping people.  He’s as happy to patch and repair an old worn pair of pants if that’s what you need as he is to sell you an elegant handmade suit.  His business goals are much more centered on taking care of people, both employees and customers, than they are on growth and profits.

This isn’t to say Sid isn’t ambitious.  He’s very success-oriented.  It’s just that success in his mind is defined much more by quality than it is by quantity.  The overarching goal is simple – to become the best shop in the world.  And judging by the accolades bestowed upon him by GQ and Esquire, he’ll already well on his way.