Brand as Moat and the White Can

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What’s up Rock Nation! Today we’re joined by Ross McKay, second-time founder, brand architect, and the mind behind Cadence, the $2 sports drink built like a luxury brand.

Ross previously built Daring Foods into a nine-figure company, and now he’s moving faster, smarter, and with way more edge. In this episode, he shares how to build a brand that people brag about, why speed beats capital, and what it really takes to scale from startup to shelves in Target, Walmart, and GNC.

We get into why most founders focus on the wrong metrics, how to stand out in crowded categories, and why Ross thinks distribution doesn’t matter, velocity does. You’ll also hear how he hires, how he sets boundaries, and why the secret to Cadence’s success is obsession-level execution.

Check out Ross here:

https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@RossMackay1⁩ 

https://www.instagram.com/rossmackay/

https://www.instagram.com/cadence/

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Timestamps:

0:00 – Intro

1:14 – What Ross Is Doing Differently This Time

2:50 – The Power of Saying No

3:54 – Raising $150M and Losing Control

4:37 – How He Kept Control at Cadence

6:40 – Why He Only Raises From People He Likes

7:28 – Branding That Breaks Through the Noise

11:00 – Brand or Product: What Comes First?

12:20 – 600 Runners Showed Up for Day One

14:04 – Personal Brand Kickstart

14:29 – How Ross & George Launched With $240K

16:42 – Beverage vs Powder: Why They Went Hard Mode

18:57 – The Exact Moment They Knew It Was Working

21:11 – The Secret to Getting Repeat Customers

22:53 – How Cadence Became a Fridge Trophy

26:13 – Making Money at $2.50 a Can

27:54 – Competing With Gatorade (Not Hipster Brands)

28:44 – Why Store Count Is a Vanity Metric

30:28 – Ross’s Speed Strategy for Beating Big Brands

31:37 – Can You Stay Fast While Scaling?

34:03 – His First Hires & Who He Looks For

35:32 – Where His Relentless Drive Comes From

37:43 – Building a Billion-Dollar Brand With Boundaries

41:06 – Never Too High, Never Too Low

41:56 – How Cadence Is Built to Scale Fast

44:30 – The Real Game Behind Shelf Placement

46:04 – What Happens When You Flop in Retail

47:52 – Using Sales Data to Break Into Big Stores

50:05 – His Pitch to Take Over Retail

51:49 – Why Cadence Isn’t Just a Trendy Brand

52:30 – Going Head-to-Head With Beverage Giants

54:01 – How He Gets Retailers to Say Yes

55:16 – Outselling 50 Brands at GNC

56:22 – Why Every Retailer Gets a Unique Offer

58:55 – The $2 Luxury Philosophy

1:01:55 – What Your Fridge Says About You

1:03:29 – How Ross Obsesses Over the Consumer

1:07:20 – Why Cadence Doesn’t White Label Anything

1:08:43 – This Can Is Their Best Marketing Tool

1:13:28 – The Truth About Distribution Obsession

1:15:51 – The Only KPI That Matters in Retail

1:17:57 – You’ll Never Beat Big Brands on Capital

1:21:41 – How He Makes Million-Dollar Decisions Fast

1:23:52 – Speed vs Scale: Keeping the Culture Intact

1:26:29 – How He Handles Pressure in High Stakes

1:28:24 – Why Ross Is Gunning for a Billion in Revenue

1:30:08 – Leading When Everything’s on Fire

1:32:03 – Real Talk for Founders Building from Scratch

1:33:06 – Post Pod Debrief

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