Zach Olson is one of the cool kids. He's got a super chill skater-surfer vibe, but the innovative and creative mind of an engineer. He started a skate shop, then built a cloud-based accounting service to help small businesses, like his skate shop. After he sold Bookly to KPMG he decided to get back into vehicles with 4 wheels, but set his sights on something bigger than skateboards - automobiles. Treads combines a mobile app and backend software with a unique mobile, local partner workforce to give consumers the ability to have their vehicle serviced in their own driveway. Treads started with selling and installing tires using a monthly subscription model, and is expanding into oil changes, wiper blades, and other auto maintenance services done at your home or office.

Check out Treads.app!

This episode was sponsored by Awsm (www.awsm.com) - a platform that makes it easy for consumer brands to reward and motivate their customers with equity ownership. Customers with ownership buy more product, stay loyal longer, are and are more likely to refer their friends.

The Brand, Sweat, & Tears podcast is available on YouTube, Rumble, and all popular podcast platforms.

This is a double-feature!
I was finally able to get local marketing legend Alex McArthur, an early employee and head of all things marketing for two rocketship consumer brands - Purple Mattress and Kizik Shoes - to come into the studio and tell the growth stories behind both brands. I was recovering from a cold, but didn’t dare reschedule once I’d locked Alex down, so my voice sounds nasally but I still really enjoyed hearing Alex’s experiences and learning about these two great brands. Alex is a creative, humble, talented marketer who was in the right place at the right time (multiple times) and has surrounded himself with phenomenal teams to generate impressive growth for multiple brands in his career. This was another fun one!

This episode was sponsored by Awsm (www.awsm.com) - a software platform that gives consumer brands the ability to leverage a small amount of their equity to multiply their revenue, increase their margins, reward their brand ambassadors, and turn their customers into raving fans.

The Brand, Sweat, & Tears podcast is available on all popular podcast platforms.

Kurt Workman and the Owlet team have experienced almost all the highs and lows a consumer product startup can go through over the past 10 years, but they have survived and are poised to thrive with the support of their investors, the grit and perseverance of the core team, and the fanatical loyalty of their evangelical customers. Kurt is a great example of a consumer product creator who never gave up and made great sacrifices to bring Owlet to life, to make a big difference in customers' lives. Lots of great bits of wisdom and honesty in this one!

https://owletcare.com/

This episode was sponsored by Awsm (www.awsm.com) - a software platform that gives consumer brands the ability to use a small amount of their equity to turn their customers into loyal, evangelical fans.

The video of this episode of Brand, Sweat, & Tears podcast is also available on YouTube and Rumble.

Alex Lawrence is a talented tech entrepreneur, professor in the Professional Sales Dept at Weber State University, and now the owner and founder of EV Auto - a unique electric vehicle auto dealership that carries all makes and models of EV autos. His unique approach and commitment to an incredible buyer experience has enabled his dealership to experience early success and has put them on track to be the premiere EV auto dealership not only in Utah, but eventually the country. We had a blast recording this episode "on the road" in one of Alex's Tesla Plaid Model S cars. We started with a literal bang - check it out!

https://evauto.com/

This episode was sponsored by Awsm (www.awsm.com) - a software platform that gives consumer brands the ability to leverage a small amount of their equity to multiply their revenue, increase their margins, reward their brand ambassadors, and turn their customers into raving fans.

Nate and Vanessa Quigley are the dynamic duo behind Chatbooks - automatically printed photo books using favorite images from your phone, computer, and social media feeds. Success hasn't come overnight - they have spent a lot of sweat and tears over the years to get their business to where it is now, and somehow through it all have grown closer together as a couple.
Listen to the story of how they eventually found true product-market fit and grew rapidly from there. They are both incredibly talented yet humble entrepreneurs who have raised a great group of kids while building an amazing product and company together.

This episode was sponsored by Awsm (www.awsm.com) - a software platform that gives consumer brands the ability to leverage a small amount of their equity to multiply their revenue, increase their margins, reward their brand ambassadors, and turn their customers into raving fans.

www.chatbooks.com

Ben Perkins: collegiate soccer player, apparel entrepreneur, quarter-zip pullover supermodel. At the age of 13, Ben hatched the idea that would later become Blue and White Collar, then ultimately &Collar - a nearly indestructable but simultaneously comfortable dress shirt that was durable, stain repellant, soft, wrinkle-free, and machine-washable. Ben shares his journey to becoming a consumer brand creator and the joys and challenges of bringing a physical product idea to life. Check it out!

Watch on YouTube

www.andcollar.com

The Brand, Sweat, & Tears podcast is available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Rumble, iHeartRadio, and other popular podcast platforms.

This episode was sponsored by Awsm (www.awsm.com) - a software platform that gives consumer brands the ability to leverage a small amount of their equity to multiply their revenue, increase their margins, reward their brand ambassadors, and turn their customers into raving fans.

Rob Poleki, the founder and creator of Washie, is getting crap done! Washie's first product is a commercial toilet seat that has a smart motion-activated sensor the dispenses anti-bacterial foam onto the seat, allowing the user to wipe and disinfect the seat with a piece of toilet paper before using. More sanitary than the paper seat shields, and easier to use! Rob talks about the crazy and creative things he had to do to get his invention in front of early customers and potential investors, and the grind behind bootstrapping a new product to market. Rob's got an infectious smile and a never-give-up attitude - and his product is super cool. You won't want to miss this one!

https://www.washiepro.com/

This episode was sponsored by Awsm (www.awsm.com) - a platform that makes it wicked easy for consumer brands to share equity ownership with their agency partners, their influencers and brand ambassadors, their customers and fans, and their employees.

Jenny Wecker is the founder of Fawn Design - a fashionable bag and leather goods brand for women. Over 10 years ago, Jenny sewed the very first bag for a friend - a fashionable diaper bag. More friends wanted one, word-of-mouth spread, and Jenny had a company. Jenny is too humble, extremely talented, and we had a blast talking about her entrepreneurial journey - the ups and downs and emotional rollercoaster of building a brand from nothing.

www.fawndesign.com

This episode was sponsored by Awsm (www.awsm.com) - a platform that makes it wicked easy for consumer brands to share equity ownership with their agency partners, their influencers and brand ambassadors, their customers and fans, and their employees.

Nicole Tanner is a humble, talented, driven, friendly, optimistic entrepreneur and creator. She created a movement with her drive-thru drink shop, Swig, and popularized a phrase with the "dirty" soda. Many competitors have attempted to replicate her model, but Swig continues to grow and thrive centered on Nicole's relentless focus on quality, customer service, and the sweetest combinations of drinks for all ages. While it hasn't always been smooth sailing, Nicole has found the right partners and the right combinations of mix-ins to help her dream grow well beyond her first store in sunny St. George, Utah. This episode was fun!

This episode was sponsored by:

Awsm (www.awsm.com) - a platform that allows consumer brands to easily share ownership with their agencies, their influencers and brand ambassadors, their customers, and their employees. It's like Venmo for ownership.

Creatably (www.creatably.com) - a video creative and growth advertising agency helping consumer brands grow their audiences, and their revenue, exponentially.

Drew Manning started Fit2Fat2Fit over 10 years ago in order to help people who have struggled with their weight, nutrition, self-esteem, and mental health achieve a healthier, happier lifestyle. In order to gain more empathy for his clients he gained 75 lbs in 6 months, then lost that 75 lbs in the following 6 months. He documented his journey and shared it with the world. This unique and amazing transformation process caught national media attention, and helped him catapult his training programs into the spotlight. A few years ago, he did it again! This time with the help of social media he tracked his daily decline as well as his progress back to fit, and invited many of his clients and social media audience to join him - which I did! In the course of a year, following Drew's program, I lost 65 lbs. I still need to lose about 35-40 more, but I'm a big fan of Drew's and his program and was very lucky to have him on the podcast as a guest. Check out his amazing story, and how he turns vulnerability into a strength while helping his clients to do the same.

www.fit2fat2fit.com

I want to thank my sponsors:

Awsm (www.awsm.com) - a platform that allows consumer brands to easily share ownership with their agencies, their influencers and brand ambassadors, their customers, and their employees. It's like Venmo for ownership.

Creatably (www.creatably.com) - a video creative and growth advertising agency helping consumer brands grow their audiences, and their revenue, exponentially.

Graystoke Networks (www.graystokenetworks.com) - a full-service podcast management agency that helps busy executives with every aspect of launching and managing their own podcast.