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184. How to Build a Premium Brand (without luck) ft. Ross Mackay

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Dec 4, 2025

Guest

Ross Mackay

In this discussion, Ross Mackay, a second-time founder and brand architect of Cadence, shares his journey to building a premium sports hydration drink. He emphasizes the importance of saying no to opportunities that don't align with goals, prioritizing speed over capital, and why distribution channels are less significant than product velocity. Ross also reveals his strategies for brand differentiation, product validation, and maintaining a strong company culture as he scales towards a billion-dollar vision.

01:57:12

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ADVICE

Prioritize Ruthlessly And Learn To Say No

Say no to opportunities that don't align with your priorities and KPIs.
Prioritize time allocation and avoid taking every retail or fundraising offer impulsively.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

Raised Money Without Losing Control

Ross raised capital but retained control by choosing partners on his terms.
He treated investors as strategic allies instead of desperate lifelines after a prior exit.

insights

INSIGHT

Brand As Your Primary Moat

The real moat in CPG is the brand, community, and product IP combined.
Packaging functions as marketing — the can becomes a fridge trophy that drives word of mouth.

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What Ross Is Doing Differently This Time

01:13 • 2min

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Mistakes from First Fundraise and Retail Rush

02:46 • 1min

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Raising Capital While Keeping Control

03:55 • 3min

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Positioning Cadence as Performance Hydration

06:41 • 4min

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Brand as Moat and the White Can

11:00 • 16sec

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Iterating Product and Brand Simultaneously

11:16 • 1min

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Early Traction: Run Clubs and Events

Founders' Seed and Selective Investors

14:21 • 22sec

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Choosing Beverage Over Powder: The Hard Route

14:44 • 1min

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Product Validation and Retail Buyer Moment

15:46 • 3min

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Driving Repeat Purchases Through Efficacy

18:58 • 2min

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Fridge Trophy: Premium Brand Signaling

21:12 • 2min

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$2.50 Luxury Pricing Strategy

22:55 • 3min

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Units-Per-Store: The Retail Heartbeat

26:15 • 2min

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Speed as a Founder's Competitive Edge

28:00 • 3min

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Preserving Speed While Scaling

30:30 • 1min

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Early Hiring: Trusted Teammates and Self-Starters

31:40 • 3min

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Origins of Drive and Work Obsession

34:10 • 1min

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Family Non-Negotiables and Boundaries

35:39 • 2min

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Emotional Equilibrium as CEO

37:46 • 3min

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Retail Rollout Timeline: Target to Walmart

41:06 • 1min

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Economics and Manufacturing for Scale

42:10 • 2min

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Endcaps, Fit-Outs, and In-Store Impact

44:33 • 1min

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Trade Spend and Influencer-Driven Retail Tactics

45:42 • 26sec

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Handling Underperforming Retail Accounts

46:08 • 2min

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Pitching Retailers with Performance Data

48:12 • 1min

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Outselling Competitors in Specialty Fridges

49:18 • 51sec

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Flavor Strategy and Category Differentiation

50:09 • 5min

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Packaging and Can as Marketing Tool

55:30 • 6min

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Distribution Obsession vs. Velocity Focus

01:01:00 • 5min

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Retail KPI: Units Per Store Per Week

01:05:50 • 5min

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Capital Limits: You Can't Outspend Giants

01:10:50 • 5min

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Making Big Decisions Fast

01:15:50 • 5min

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Keeping Culture Through Scale

01:20:50 • 5min

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Handling Pressure When Stakes Are High

01:25:50 • 4min

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Long-Term Ambition: A Billion Revenue Goal

• Mentioned in 45 episodes

Amp It Up

Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity

Frank Slootman

In 'Amp It Up,' Frank Slootman shares his leadership approach for achieving hypergrowth. The book emphasizes the importance of raising standards, aligning teams, sharpening focus, picking up the pace, and transforming strategy. Slootman argues that most leaders can significantly improve their organization's performance without expensive changes to talent, structure, or the business model. He stresses the need for execution, a strong team culture, and a relentless focus on the mission. The book provides practical advice on making conflicted choices, promoting collaboration, and maintaining high standards to avoid mediocrity.

The 10 Minute Personal Brand Kickstart (FREE): https://the505podcast.courses/personalbrandkickstart

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/

SUSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER: https://the505podcast.ac-page.com/rock-report

Kostas' Lightroom Presets

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COP THE BFIGGY "ESSENTIALS" SFX PACK HERE:

https://courses.the505podcast.com/BFIGGYSFXPACK

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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