Beyond A Million 204: Scaling a $100M+ Beverage Brand in an Industry Few Survive with Aaron Hinde
Starting a business is hard. Starting a beverage company is almost impossible. With a 95% failure rate in year one and 99% by year five, most founders never make it out alive.
That's what makes Aaron Hinde's story so compelling. As the Co-Founder of FITAID, a clean-ingredient beverage brand now valued north of $100M, he's navigated a landscape that destroys nearly everyone who steps into it.
In our conversation, Aaron breaks down the truth behind building in one of the harshest categories in consumer goods, from the retail relationships that quietly drain millions to the dozens of moments his company nearly went bust.
If you're building a brand, scaling a team, entering a competitive market, or simply trying to figure out how to keep going when the pressure of entrepreneurship hits, this episode will reframe what's possible.
Key Takeaways with Aaron Hinde
00:00 Intro
01:40 The Hidden Retail Fees That Kill Beverage Brands
05:09 The Most Important Metric Beverage Founders Should Track
07:56 The Real Differentiator Behind FITAID Energy Drinks
10:34 "Clean" Energy Brands That Aren't Actually Clean
12:16 Deciding When to Launch (or Kill) a Product Line
17:13 Why Entrepreneurship Isn't for Most People
21:12 Dean Jackson's Framework for Defining Success
24:01 Resourcefulness, Persuasion, and Relationships at Work
31:29 How to Save Your Company When the Market Collapses
35:36 How Great Leaders Keep Their Teams Aligned
38:59 Facing Your Blind Spots As a Leader
45:24 The Non-Negotiable That Would Kill a $500M Offer
48:28 What He'd Do Differently If He Started Again
52:06 The Freedom That Comes From Dropping the Mask
53:39 Aaron's Advice for New Entrepreneurs
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