The Game Changing Attorney Podcast with Michael Mogill

422. The Power of Perseverance: Lessons From a $250M Brand with Kara Goldin [Encore Edition]

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Dec 16, 2025

Kara Goldin, the visionary founder of Hint and bestselling author of Undaunted, shares her remarkable journey of building a new beverage category. She reveals the challenges of overcoming industry skepticism, including a Coca-Cola executive's dismissal of her unsweetened flavored water. Kara emphasizes the importance of pushing through doubt, learning from failures, and using customer feedback over expert opinions. Her insights on perseverance and conviction are a powerful reminder to embrace bold ideas, even when others doubt them.

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ANECDOTE

From Kitchen Experiment To Product Idea

Kara began Hint after cutting fruit into her water and failing to find an unsweetened product on shelves.
She transitioned from tech executive to experimenting in her kitchen and testing a beverage idea.

ADVICE

Build What You Want And Learn Fast

If you don't see a product you want, build it and take it to market to test demand.
Ignorance of industry jargon can be an asset for creative problem solving and innovation.

INSIGHT

Category Creation Becomes Its Own Advantage

Creating a new category is like climbing Everest and requires persistent effort.
Big competitors entering your category can actually validate and grow your relevance.

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What if the only thing standing between you and the next level is the courage to ignore the experts?

In this encore episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael Mogill sits down with Kara Goldin, Founder of Hint Water and bestselling author of Undaunted, to reveal what it really takes to build a brand, a company, and a category from the ground up. From rejection and industry pushback to Goliath competitors and well-meaning “experts” who swear your idea won’t work, this conversation is a blueprint for staying unshakably committed to your vision, even when no one else understands it.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

Why bold ideas are doubted before they’re celebrated — and how to push forward anyway
How to distinguish genuine insight from the limiting beliefs of others
What it takes to stay persistent when you’re creating something no one has ever done before

If you want a real-world example of what unwavering commitment can create, this episode is it.

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Show Notes:

04:32 — Why Kara says she never would have started Hint if she knew how difficult the journey would be.

06:34 — What it took to create a completely new beverage category and convince buyers it mattered.

08:57 — The moment a senior Coca-Cola executive dismissed her idea and told her Americans “love sweet.”

12:51 — How Kara learned to separate genuine expertise from limiting beliefs disguised as advice.

16:06 — What watching Ted Turner build CNN taught her about conviction and pursuing ideas others doubt.

22:01 — How giving up Diet Coke for her own health became the unexpected catalyst for creating Hint.

30:56 — How little she actually knew about the beverage industry and why that ignorance helped her innovate.

35:25 — How landing Starbucks became a breakthrough moment that suddenly reversed without warning.

39:07 — Why Kara believes dark days don’t last forever and how unexpected opportunities follow adversity.

Links & Resources:

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Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O’Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more.

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