AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Moon Pals are weighted stuffed animals that hug you, designed to help children sleep better and feel secure. The concept revolves around magical creatures that live on the moon and act as guardian angels for children while they sleep. The product comes with a children's book that explains the story. Moon Pals have received positive feedback from children and parents, as they provide comfort and become a beloved toy. The creator aims to expand the Moon Pals universe by exploring different avenues such as comics, pop-ups, movies, and games. With no external investors, the focus is on staying true to the core idea and delivering valuable experiences to children.
The discussion around Moon Pals highlights the importance of intellectual property (IP) in capturing consumer attention and building enduring brands. While some may underestimate the value of IP, John Fiorentino emphasizes that it can be a powerful driver of success. By creating a fantasy world and developing characters and stories, Moon Pals taps into a universal truth that resonates with children and their parents. Fiorentino also believes that investors often undervalue IP, as they focus more on infrastructure plays rather than investing in imaginative and compelling experiences. However, the increasing recognition of IP's potential suggests a shift in perspective.
The discussion delves into the delicate balance between genius and self-destruction that many creative individuals face. John Fiorentino emphasizes the importance of staying true to something bigger than oneself and being the shepherd of an idea rather than making oneself the product. The line between success and failure often lies in whether one leads with love and a commitment to a greater purpose or succumbs to ego-driven motives. Examples like Disney, Elon Musk, and Kanye West demonstrate the power of building a brand that transcends the individual and delivers extraordinary experiences and products to consumers. Staying humble, following one's heart, and pursuing truth can be the keys to long-term success.
John Fiorentino envisions a future where consumer brands must compete by creating intricate and multi-dimensional experiences for consumers. This includes crafting stories, building characters and worlds, and fostering a deeper connection with the audience. The goal is to occupy a place in the consumer's mind as a trusted friend or guide. By creating a compounding story that expands across various dimensions, brands can capture attention and loyalty. Fiorentino believes that technology advancements, such as AI and cheaper production methods, will enable smaller teams to compete with larger corporations. The focus will shift towards artistically driven, multi-dimensional experiences that deliver value and have a lasting impact on consumers.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of creating value that lasts beyond short-term gains and shareholder value. He suggests that building consumer companies with a focus on long-lasting value and capturing the essence of what people truly love can lead to significant success. He believes that IP (Intellectual Property) holds immense potential as a trillion-dollar opportunity, highlighting the importance of creating magical experiences and unique character IPs.
The speaker discusses the importance of authenticity and tapping into one's unique talents to stand out in a crowded marketplace. He believes that genuine connections, rare abilities, and the ability to make people feel something they've never felt before are invaluable assets. He emphasizes the need for entrepreneurs and artists to inject their personalities into their work and engage with audiences on a genuine level. He also warns against turning oneself into a product and advises focusing on serving something bigger than oneself to create meaningful and lasting success.
My guest today is John Fiorentino. John is a product inventor and entrepreneur who, in the space of a few years, has bootstrapped four products; Gravity Blanket, Moon Pod, Moon Pals, and Birthdate Candles which have collectively sold hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue. Our conversation is quite different than normal. Alongside his successful brands, John has had a range of life experiences – from starting as a Jazz musician to working for Justin Bieber - that give him an original worldview. I was especially interested in his points around product positioning, creating magic for consumers, not letting yourself become the product, and how to build enduring brands. Please enjoy this great conversation with John Fiorentino.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
-----
This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus streamlines the investment research process so you can get up to speed and find answers to critical questions on companies faster and more efficiently. The Tegus platform surfaces the hard-to-get qualitative insights, gives instant access to critical public financial data through BamSEC, and helps you set up customized expert calls. It’s all done on a single, modern SaaS platform that offers 360-degree insight into any public or private company. I’ve been so impressed by the platform that my firm, Positive Sum, recently made an investment in Tegus. We did so because we feel that Tegus will be the gold standard platform for investing research for decades to come. As a listener, you can take Tegus for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.
-----
Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus
Show Notes
[00:02:25] - [First question] - The amazing story behind Gravity Blanket
[00:08:51] - What he’s learned about positioning relative to product
[00:13:17] - How fundamental truths drive creativity in commerce
[00:16:17] - Real-world examples of magic as he defines it
[00:19:50] - The investability of consumer businesses from his perspective
[00:25:25] - His contrarian thoughts on venture-backed startups
[00:28:00] - How unique personalities create compelling IP and monetize it
[00:38:28] - The fine line between creative power and self-destruction for brand founders
[00:45:13] - The importance of consumer business goals being larger than oneself
[00:48:45] - The story of the Moon Pals weighted stuffed animals
[00:53:15] - How investors undervalue IP and mythology
[00:57:20] - Leveraging uniqueness as a founder to boost your brand power
[01:00:53] - His eye-opening experience working on Justin Bieber’s team
[01:05:20] - How he identifies potential magic-makers and enables them
[01:09:16] - An odd commonality between high-level successful people
[01:12:14] - Whether or not one could map out their own archetype framework
[01:15:23] - The dangers of focusing on one’s own persona and image as the product
[01:18:19] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode