Built on Passion

Most big brands start with a big idea. But when you’re establishing your business, thinking too big holds you back and turns into procrastination. 

Your business success could start as simply as an idea for better ski gear and a factory in some guy’s garage. 

At least that’s how it was for Chris Pew of TREW Gear. Chris is here to tell you the story of how to build your business from an idea to a successful brand. 

In this episode you'll discover how to build a lucrative business from scratch with nothing but a simple idea and some courage. 

Listen now! 

Show highlights include:

• The “Frankenstein's monster” method that lets you design a killer product without any experience (5:21) 
• How to find your first production factory, even if you think everybody will knock you back because you are too small (7:10) 
• Why the fastest way to develop a high-selling product is to drive across country for weeks on end (9:31) 
• The “hot, medium, mild” strategy that will have retailers begging to put your apparel line in their store window (11:23) 
• Create a cult following around your brand by pivoting into a 21st century retail model (12:18) 
• Sell to your online store’s “on the fence” customers by telling them about the “living room dressing room” (20:57)

Life as a bootstrapper can be tough. You don't have the luxury to hire extra team members.  And you can't pour money into marketing like the bigger brands. 

But with the right mindset your small size becomes an advantage that lets you run rings around your competition. 

In today’s episode, you’ll meet Priority Bicycles’ co-founder, Connor Swegle. Along with his co-founder, Connor made Priority Bicycles one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns in history and turned his passion into his job. 

In this episode you will discover how to turn your bootstrapper status into an advantage and carve out a lucrative niche in your market. 

Listen now!

Show highlights include:

• Why bootstrapping lets you run rings around your VC-funded competition when a hot new trend appears (10:17)
• The “fearless storyteller” method that convinces manufacturers to produce your product even if you can't guarantee them sales (12:36) 
• Why one-day traffic spikes make the cash register ring (even if you don’t make any sales) (14:23)
• The “reckless” launch strategy that lets you make more sales in the off-season without sacrificing profits in the peak season (20:22)
• Why barely planning makes you more profit than a detailed 5 year plan (31:42)

A common dream amongst entrepreneurs is to create a brand so big it defines a culture. 

These brands start from passionately serving a niche community. But if you’re not careful, money gets in the way and you lose sight of your purpose. 

So, how do you prevent it? 

By remembering that your business is not your identity. By detaching yourself from the results, even when your competitors overtake you. And by learning from someone who’s done it before. 

Like today's guest Dan Abrams. He started Flylow to serve the backcountry skiing community. Even as Flylow expands into new markets, they never stray too far from their roots. 

In this episode, you’ll discover how to build a brand so big it defines a culture, while staying true to your roots. 

Listen now! 

Show highlights include:

• How “divorcing your brand” helps you sleep better at night and stay level headed when leading your business (5:26) 
• How grassroots marketing lets you dominate multinational brands (even if you can barely scrape together a dollar for advertising)  (17:30)
• Why the dorky teenage cashier down the street makes your brand more sales than a well-polished ad campaign ever will… if you have a good brand story (25:43) 
• Why paying big bucks to celebrity athletes sabotages your sales and damages your brand (and who to work with instead) (32:59) 
• The “sun and shoes” method that makes critical decisions easier even if you’re stressed out of your mind (46:47)

There’s a nasty trap that plagues today’s entrepreneurs. 

They think all you have to do is build a better product and the customers will form a line. But if you go into business with that attitude, all you’ll do is burn a bunch of money without making a sale. 

Even if you’ve got a great product, you still need to find your customers. Which can seem like an uphill battle, so it helps if you learn from someone who’s done it before. 

Someone like today’s guest Travis Merrigan of Grayl. Grayl’s bigger message is doing good, helping people and driving to make the world a better place, any way they can. They’re doing good, and they’re doing well financially too! 

In this episode, you’ll discover how to find consumers for your product, how to attract superstar team members,  and how to change the world through your business. 

Listen now! 

Show highlights include:

• How to “kickstart” your business by getting paying customers before you build your product (8:07) 
• Why a great brand story lets you hire top level talent on a tight budget (9:23) 
• How to get your next product idea: all you need is a problem, a child’s toy and a bike pump (16:55)
• How you can save the planet with your business (even if all you do is run the local corner store)  (32:04)
• Why paying your employees to work for someone else lets you attract top-level talent to your business (44:29)
• How to turn your business into a perpetual motion machine that keeps growing no matter how much money you give away (48:44)

In business it’s important to play to your strengths. So if you’re a manufacturer, keep manufacturing. If you’re a marketer, keep marketing. 

But playing it too safe can blind you to a big opportunity for decades. If you step outside of your comfort zone, you could be bound for a big payday. 

That was the case for Devil-Dog Dungarees. The company had been manufacturing apparel for other brands since 1927. But now, Devil-Dog is on track to become the next Levi’s. 

In this episode, you’ll meet our guests Sean Connelly and Stephanie Newman.  They’ll show you why pivoting unlocks explosive growth. You’ll discover insider tips for growing your brand (or even starting it from scratch). 

Listen now! 

Show highlights include:

• Why a close relationship with your supplier lets you scale your “best sellers” faster (10:21) 
• A simple, obvious (but rarely done) way to guarantee repeat business (16:31) 
• How to add “sustainable” features to your product without sacrificing profit (21:27)
• The “dirty hands” secret that lets you start a successful business (even if you don’t have any idea how to start) (25:55) 
• How showing your product to retailers gets you more sales (even if they never buy it) (27:39) 
• How to get an “emerging brand” award even if your brand has existed for years (29:48) 
• Get free marketing with an almost undetectable addition to your product (30:38)

Sure, making money is great. But what if you could use your business to change the world? 

I’m not talking about cheap tricks like “we donate 1% of profits to charity”. 

I’m talking about real changes you can see, like saving the rainforests, sheltering the homeless, and feeding the hungry… all while maintaining a healthy profit. 

It’s possible. And today’s guest Philip Freeman is here to show you how. He’s the founder of Murphy’s Naturals, an outdoor lifestyle brand and certified B Corp. 

In this episode, you’ll discover how to put more money in your pocket, while making a lasting positive impact on the world. 

Listen now!

Show highlights include:

• How generating terrible business ideas  sets you up for success (even if you abandon them) (3:09) 
• Why walking down the drinks aisle at the supermarket lets you launch your business without fear of competition (4:21) 
• Why caring husbands create more successful businesses (and how you can get an edge, even if you’re a bachelor) (6:20) 
• How a clear mission statement lets you attract better employees, do more good, and enjoy more time outdoors (14:53) 
• The 3 P’s that let you save the planet while still making a profit (19:19) 
• A little-known way to attract superstar employees (without ever advertising) (27:30)

Our lives are full of “first world problems”. It’s annoying to tie your shoes… you ran out of milk… your drink is a little too warm… 

You might think they’re meaningless… but what if you could turn these “first world problems” into a business that sets you up for life? 

Chris Gronkowski did exactly that after taking an NFL “first world problem” and turning it into The Ice Shaker. 

In this episode, he’s here to show you how to get Ice-Shaker success, even if you aren’t an NFL celebrity. 

If you’re looking to launch a new business or get recognized by VCs, you can’t miss this episode. 

Listen now!

Show highlights include:

• How to take a “leaky tap” problem and turn it into a firehose of profit (3:44) 
• How to bring your first prototype to life while spending almost $0 in R&D (5:26)
• The simple strategy that gets your business idea a “yes” from all 5 Sharks (or any venture capitalist) (6:15) 
• How to get massive growth by riding the next social media wave (without dying a sudden death at the next algorithm update) (7:50) 
• Why skipping business school gives you a competitive advantage MBA graduates could only dream of (12:01) 
• Why hiring “trustworthy” employees is holding your business back, and letting “unknowns” take the wheel will unlock new levels of growth (13:06)
• The 3 business characteristics that will have wealthy businessmen fighting each other to acquire your company (14:23) 
• Why businesses are incentivizing their employees to stab them in the back (and how to make them bring you profits while you sleep) (15:14) 
• How to bring an underperforming team member back into line without a “disciplinary meeting”, HR department… or even saying a word! (21:04)

You’ve probably taken vitamin, protein or magnesium supplements before. Those are great for your health, but there’s an invisible aspect of our health most people ignore: Our gut biome. 

The trillions of bacteria in your body control more of how we feel, think and perform than most of us know. 

When your gut biome is unhealthy, you might gain weight, feel stressed or get sugar cravings. When you fix your gut biome, you’ll have more energy, feel healthier and watch health issues disappear. 

In this episode, you’ll hear from Jonathan Scheiman and Carolina Barsa, two of the founders of FitBiomics. They developed Nella, a game-changing probiotic designed to improve your gut health and help you perform your best. 

They’ll share why probiotics are so important—and how you can improve your gut health to unleash your full potential. 

Want to improve your performance every day? Listen now!

Show highlights include:

• Why the gut biome was a “hidden” part of our health for decades (and how that’s changing) (7:37)
• The two principles of gut health that help everyone from elite athletes to everyday people be their best selves every day. (22:24)
• The Tom Hanks movie that shows you exactly how to overcome your biggest challenges. (27:05)
• Why probiotics aren’t a magic pill that solves all your problems (and how to create a holistic healthy lifestyle) (29:43)

Kinona was started while Tami and fellow co-founder, Dianne Celuch were getting more and more into Golfing. Having a background in fashion, it was tough to look past the lack of innovation in apparel options for women that the industry had to offer. When it comes to style and inclusion the Golf Industry has been a little slow to adapt to the changing times and those are two major keystones that Kinona is built on. After years of getting more and more into the sport, they decided to roll up their sleeves and help bring the Golf industry into the 21st century by providing more than just a “pink it and shrink it” option for women. Having years of experience bringing brands to life and products to market they managed to develop apparel that doesn’t just look incredible but, breathes life into the sport.

In this episode of Built On Passion Tami Fujii shares her journey leading up to starting Kinona, some of the skills and tools that were key to Kinona’s swift success, how the golf industry’s need to evolve to open up the space, and the “How” and “Why” behind Kinona

Matt sits down with Take Two founder Jerek Lovey. Take Two makes plant-based barely milk with a huge emphasis on sustainability using upcycled spent grain as a key component in their tasty game-changing dairy-free milk.

Take Two is changing the game for plant-based milk on seemingly all fronts. To start, their dedication to sustainability is unparalleled to the point of them helping to repurpose thousands upon thousands of spent grain that otherwise would go to waste. On the nutrition front, their barely milk is so much more nutrient-dense than your typical plant-based milk but, most importantly the taste and texture of Take Two is amazing. It really all comes down to barely as the x-factor to fixing the classic problems of plant-based milk while helping offer a better more sustainable solution. So, how just how does one start a plant-based milk company let alone pioneer a new and progressive upcycling technique.

In this episode of Built On Passion, Jerek Lovey shares the story of how he started a plant-based milk brand from the ground up, how barely is a game-changing grain of the future, what it took to build out their upcycling process, and the ‘How’ and ‘Why’ behind Take Two.