The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan 458: Break One Rule and Break It Hard: David Lester of OLIPOP PBC
David Lester learned a lot from his first venture. After spending a decade in the beverage marketing industry, he teamed up with his co-founder Ben Goodwin to work on formulating a soda that’s good for you. After three years, they sold their first business but didn’t feel they’d gotten the product correct. So, they returned to their research for two years and discovered the right product market fit. In 2016, Lester and Goodwin launched OLIPOP PBC–a new kind of soda with the benefits of plant-based fiber and prebiotics. OLIPOP started in 24 independent stores in Northern California and now is stocked in 20,000 stores nationally and endorsed by celebrities like Camilla Cabello, Gweynth Paltrow, Nick Jonas, and Priyanka Chopra.
Listen to Nathan and David discuss:
- What he learned from his first venture Obi Probiotic Soda
- Starting over to make a better product in OLIPOP
- How humility can give you confidence as a founder
- Spending two years perfecting the formula with academic research
- The manufacturing process for beverage startups
- Why you should start with independent retailers first
- The break one rule and break it hard method
- Authentic connection with celebrity partnerships
- Why product market fit is more important than marketing
- And much more beverage startup advice…
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