Hitting The Mark

Jordann Windschauer-Amatea is the third consecutive 'mom entrepreneur' on this show who successfully conquered the food business. And she is another amazing inspiration to anyone who wants to move a passion into a business and subsequently into a brand with heart and soul. Jordann founded Base Culture as a bakery catering to the healthy, pure, and primal lifestyle that can be summed up as the Paleo diet while she was in college. She wanted to live a healthy lifestyle, but have a brownie, so she baked it until it was perfect. She could not find a co-packing facility, so she created her own and waited for 2 years to have it finished while keeping hundreds of stores and journalists interested in her products waiting. What I learned about Jordann is that she is stubborn and passionate – and those two traits may just be the key ingredients to her success. Today, at age 27, she is working out of a 44,000 square foot facility and her range of products can be found in over 7,000 stores nationwide.  Learn more about Base CultureSupport the show and get on monthly brand advisory calls with Fabian

Junea Rocha, co-founded Brazi Bites. Since our last episode, we know it takes no culinary background to create a food product that sells like hotcakes, or in Junea's case, like hot cheese bread. I had such a great time hearing her story, from being a civic engineer to running her brand with her husband. Killing it on Shark Tank, making Inc's fasting growing private company list in the U.S. for the past two years, spending three grueling years on the road selling and testing their product, to today, where they run 8,000 stores. And you will soon know why, as you will be able to witness her drive, her contagious energy, and learn from Junea's vast branding and positioning knowledge. Not only if you're in food and beverage or branding, or if you want to take the leap into entrepreneurship from your cushiony job. No, even if you are a regular consumer, this is a fascinating conversation. Learn more about Brazi BitesSupport the show

There are 782 minutes of combined insights and inspiring journeys we had to edit down to arrive at this 32-minute special, which hones in on 5 key areas:Brands challenging the normThe importance of people – Your tribe and your cultureInvestors' viewpoints on brand thinkingBrand DNA - your brand in one wordAnd to finish it off, not-to-be-missed brand advice from these successful entrepreneurs and investors that we needed to bring back up front and center.Show your support for Hitting The Mark, and if you have been listening and have not rated the show yet, please do so wherever you listen to podcasts.Thank you, and enjoy!_______________________________________________Here is who you will be hearing from on this episode:BRANDS CHALLENGING THE NORM:3:15 - 5:35 = Liquid Death (Mike Cessario)5:35 - 7:13 = Wilkmazz (Sam Mazzeo)7:13 - 8:59 = Antis Roofing (Charles Antis)8:59 - 10:21 = &Pizza (Michael Lastoria)10:21 - 13:02 = Charity Water (Scott Harrison)THE IMPORTANCE OF PEOPLE – YOUR TRIBE AND YOUR CULTURE:13:37 - 14:11 = The Futur (Chris Do)14:11 - 14:30 = Double Dutch (Raissa & Joyce de Hass)14:30 - 14:36 = Journey Meditation (Stephen Sokoler)14:36 - 15:36 = Parlor Skis (Mark Wallace)15:36 - 15:49 = Journey Meditation (Stephen Sokoler)15:49 - 18:18 = &Pizza (Michael Lastoria)INVESTOR'S VIEWPOINT ON BRANDING:18:47 - 19:35 = Angel Investor (Frank Demmler)19:35 - 21:18 = Dormitus Brands (Mark Thomann)21:18 - 22:26 = New Crop Capital (Chris Kerr)BRAND DNA – YOUR BRAND IN A SINGLE WORD:23:23 - 23:29 = The Futur (Chris Do)23:29 - 23:31 = Rogue Brands (Raaja Nemani)23:31 - 23:32 = 4th & Heart (Raquel Tavares)23:32 - 23:34 = Bureo (Ben Kneppers)23:34 -23:35 = Journey Meditation (Stephen Sokoler)23:35 - 23:37 = Antis Roofing (Charles Antis)23:37 - 23:38 = Beboe (Clement Kwan)23:38 - 23:39 = Idagio (Till Janczukowicz)23:38 - 23:39 = Charity Water (Scott Harrison)23:39 - 23:40 = Liquid Death (Mike Cessario)23:40 - 23:43 = &Pizza (Michael Lastoria)23:43 - 24:04 = Bureo (Ben Kneppers)24:04 - 24:35 = Charity Water (Scott Harrison)24:35 - 25:01 = Idagio (Till Janczukowicz)25:01 - 25:28 = Beboe (Clement Kwan)25:28 - 25:53 = Rogue Brands (Raaja Nemani)NOT-TO-BE-MISSED BRAND ADVICE:26:26 - 26:46 = Rogue Brands (Raaja Nemani)26:46 - 27:02 = The Futur (Chris Do)27:02 - 27:20 = Barrel Bourbon Foods (Matt Jamie)27:20 - 28:10 = Cameo (Devon Townsend)28:10 - 28:22 = Tiny Beans (Eddie Geller)28:23 - 29:23 = Double Dutch (Raissa & Joyce de Hass) 

Fabian sits down with Raquel Tavares, the founder and CEO of Fourth & Heart, an artisanal food brand based in Los Angeles, set on a mission to modernize ancient pantry food staples – starting with a line of grass-fed, flavored, pure spreadable butters known as 'ghee.' A fascinating story on how to make it in the food business while coming from a marketing background, how to utilize branding to introduce a product in a category unfamiliar to many shoppers, why crafting messaging from your heart is key, and how to juggle family and entrepreneurship. This marks the beginning of 3 back-to-back episodes featuring female founders. All 3 of these upcoming guests succeeded in an industry with many curve-balls that is hard to make it in: the food industry. And out of sheer co-incidence, 2 of these founders happen to be Brazilian women taking the US food market by storm. We kick it off with Raquel Tavares, the founder & CEO of Fourth & Heart, who migrated at age six to Northern California with her mother and brother in the early 80’s. She currently lives in Los Angeles and is a mother of two young boys.  Raquel is the principal creator of Tava Organics, the parent company of 4th & Heart, which also happens to currently be the 4th fastest growing Food & Bev company in the country. If this quote by Eckhart Tolle, which appears on the Fourth + Heart web site, speaks to you (as much as it inspired me), then make sure to not miss this episode: "Life isn't as serious as the mind makes it out to be." Links mentioned: Fourth & HeartFourth & Heart on InstagramHitting The Mark Patreon PageFINIEN Brand ConsultancyHappiness Won

Fabian talks with Scott Harrison, the founder of charity: water, one of the most trusted and admired non-profits in the world. Solving the water crisis one donation and one well at a time, Scott and his team created a brand that breaks the stereotypes of what a charity is and how a charity acts. He re-branded 'charity' while creating a beloved brand of his own. Charity: water is a champion in brand messaging, design, and storytelling while leading with technology and innovation. A paramount episode not to be missed.  President Obama praised Scott Harrison, and so have Arianna Huffington and Michael Bloomberg. Without a doubt, I knew he would be a charismatic and smart guest. But having Scott share his inspirational story and dive into the details of how he built the brand, and how branding was actually a crucial component of charity: water's success, went beyond my highest expectations. Scott is the founder and CEO of charity: water, a non-profit bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in need around the world. He is also the New York Times best-selling author of Thirst, a story of redemption, compassion, and the mission to bring clean water to the world. In the 13 years since he founded his organization, charity: water has mobilized over 1 million donors around the world to fund more than 38,000 water projects in 28 countries and bring clean water to 10 million people. He was ranked number 10 in Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in business. And in this episode you will witness why. To get inspired, not only for the ways in which you build your brand, but for the way you live your life, give this episode a listen. Links mentioned:charity: waterTHIRST - the bookSpring - the videoHitting The Mark Patreon Page

Fabian sits down with Till Janczukowicz, the founder of Berlin-based IDAGIO, which is often described as being the Spotify for classical music. As the future of music listening is streaming and streaming services aren't designed for classical music, Till is on a mission that is much bigger than his product: to save classical music from extinction in the digital age. This fascinating conversation shines a light on how to craft exciting and compelling brand messaging and design that works flawlessly to attract audiences of all ages.  Music to me is, and has always been existential. From when I was a little boy growing up with a concertmaster – in many of the world's most famous orchestras – as my dad, in Vienna, and constantly visiting his workplace, the famous Musikverein, to today where I am a music aficionado, an avid vinyl record collector as well as a (fairly amateur) music producer. Music is a passion, or 'addiction' as my wife would say, and a great source of joy for me. Having Till Janczukowicz on this show was a big personal pleasure. His classical music streaming app, IDAGIO, is constantly running a fine line between catering to the young and the old, the classical novice versus the expert, and it is a fascinating branding game. Till discusses how classical music, as a brand, was intimidating, and how he and his team are breaking that wall down, out their offices in Berlin, Germany. And how classical music's role and perception in society has changed over the years, and what role technology played in it. We discuss how to showcase music visually, with all of its nuances, is an extremely difficult task, one that IDAGIO mastered from day one. So many fascinating takeaways in this conversation, one that struck with me, and that should give you an idea on how deep we are diving into not only the brand discussion, but also the entrepreneurial journey as a whole: "The bigger you grow as a corporation, the more you have to bring things that are on a subconscious level to a conscious level." A delightful conversation that truly inspired me, and I believe it will do the same for you. To support this show, please head to Patreon.

In this 20th episode of Hitting The Mark, Fabian talks with the first founder of a 'new green economy' brand to make it on this show, Clement Kwan of bespoke lifestyle cannabis brand Beboe. Clement comes from the world of high-end fashion. He helped reposition the Diesel brand for America, moved to Milan to take the license back for D&G (Dolce & Gabbana), and later became the president of Net-a-Porter, the biggest online luxury retailer on a global basis. This episode shows what can happen when you follow your heart and how a brand is being built by adding one authentic layer of story, emotion, and design on top of another. If you look at a cannabis product by Beboe you would not think of weed, rather of art, design and fashion. This was derived through great brand thinking and design. Clement Kwan has reached great heights of success yet decided to follow his heart and, together with Co-Founder Scott Campbell, launched a luxury brand in a segment that has not seen much sophistication before. Today, the Beboe brand has its own store within Barney's in Beverly Hills and has also carved out its own clientele. Listening to Clement's fascinating story from growing weed in college to make tuition, to becoming an M&A investment banker in Silicon Valley, to holding the president of Net-a-Porter position and learning how he yet turned to where his heart told him to go is inspiring on many levels. But it is also an episode about the sheer power of great design, honest storytelling and how having a deep understanding of a particular audience can make any product succeed, even in a market that did not know it was ready for it.

 If you think of a roofing company, you think of small businesses that have a hard time staying in business. Lots of competition in a tough service environment with high employee turnover rates and low customer retention. One thing you would not think of is branding.Fabian sits down with Charles Antis, a founder who has been at it for 30 years. His is not a new brand, nor one that is shockingly innovative or disruptive at all as it relates to the services it provides, but Charles Antis, founder and CEO of Antis Roofing and Waterproofing, has built a brand on the power of good a long time before it became a mainstream business etiquette and to an extent most can only aspire to. This episode dives into how being empathetic, being adaptive, having high emotional intelligence and being a critical thinker can create a strong culture, a better planet, and an admired brand – even in commodity-type service categories where true brand thinking is rarely even being considered. This is where Charles Antis comes in, who founded his namesake company Antis Roofing & Waterproofing in 1984 and soon thereafter started to inject it with personality and the stigma that it needed to be bigger than just the service offering he provided. Charles himself turned into a conscious capitalist, who has donated every single roof installation of every single home built by Habitat Orange County since 2009 and was honored with the American Red Cross Corporate Hero Award. This is the story of a roofer who turned into a leader in corporate social responsibility and who sees himself as a futurist. Charles shares with us how leading with cause will shape an amazing corporate culture (Antis has a 93% employee retention rate) and drive new business, all while giving real meaning to what you do.

Fabian talks with Stephen Sokoler, the founder and CEO of Journey Meditation. Stephen runs a company on a mission: to help all people live happier, healthier, less stressed lives. Founded in 2015, Journey is building the world's largest, most supportive meditation community both online and off. TechCrunch coined it 'the Peloton of meditation.' Journey also operates corporate programs with organizations ranging from Facebook, Disney, and Nike, to charter schools, hospitals, and non-profits. Take a breather and let your mind wander, away from the Donald Trump and Boris Johnson world on the outside, to start looking within, because here's a thing you don't see mixed very often: meditation and branding. And on this episode, we see the two blend together effortlessly and authentically since Stephen listened to his friend Simon Sinek's advice and asked the question 'why?' at the onset of his new venture, and a great brand foundation derived from it. It is not an easy task to stand out amongst the many mindfulness apps – from Headspace to Calm (which is valued at $1 billion) – while creating a brand that does so in an authentic manner. But Founder and CEO Stephen Sokoler and his team at Journey Meditation did just that, and mainly through the use of imagery (cleverly branded by use of color) featuring members of their tribe, from staff to teachers, shown in everyday life poses rather than sitting with their eyes closed, meditating. The Journey LIVE meditation app is an experiment in community creation, which is at the heart of branding. Stephen shares with us how he crafted a brand around human connection and why a brand's meaningful foundation is essential for any successful launch. Now, close your eyes, take a breath, and hit that play button. Once you are done, and you realize that you'd like to meditate to an actual class, hit the app store and search for Journey LIVE to get on the path of finding your inner zen.

In this episode, Fabian talks with Mike Cessario who founded Liquid Death, the first irreverent bottled water brand that can compete with the cool factor of unhealthy brands from beer to energy drinks. Inspired by the death metal and punk rock culture, Liquid Death takes an extreme approach to branding and marketing, in stark contrast to aspirational health and wellness brands. Launching into the water business with a brand named Liquid Death, while getting $2.3 million in funding from the likes of Michael Dubin, of Dollar Shave Club fame, and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, is nothing but a genius brand move and the more you listen to Mike (who is an alumn of my alma mater, ArtCenter College Of Design), talk about his brand, the more you will adjust your own point of view on branding and marketing. So go ahead and go punk rock with us and 'murder your thirst' for an insanely inspiring episode. When I heard about a water brand called Liquid Death that comes in tallboys, reminiscent of beer cans, that behaves like a death metal band, that boosts insane (and insanely great) copy and imagery, and on top of it is 100% mountain water from the Austrian alps, I had to reach out to Co-Founder and CEO Mike Cessario to make some sense of it all, to the extent that is possible. By now I assume you have visited the Liquid Death web site and you got a taste of what you are in for. This is a story about a Creative who comes from the advertising and branding world, who spent his career creating brand stories for greats like Netflix and Gary Vee, and found that it was time to create his own story, his own brand. And it had to be authentic, good for the planet and crazy as hell. If you want your head blown (I do have to use some Liquid Death lingo here) and hear about how his idea was crafted, why people go crazy over it and how his waters help kill plastic bottles along the way, all while poking major fun at marketing, and, yes, branding, as a whole, give this episode a listen. If you like what you hear you can grab some Liquid Death waters on Amazon or you can jump back onto the Liquid Death web site and join their Country Club, but you will have to sell them your soul first. True story.