🎙️ Episode: Jake Karls - Co-founder of Mid-Day Squares, Forbes 30 Under 30 Cover Boy
In this episode of "Inside The Inspired," host Jonathan Z. Cohen sits down with the incredible Jake Karls, the co-founder of Mid-Day Squares and a Forbes 30 Under 30 cover boy. Jake's entrepreneurial spirit and determination have propelled him to create a successful and innovative brand that is reshaping the healthy snack industry.
🔸 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-karls-653106ba/
🔸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakekarls_/?hl=en
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Introduction of Jake Karls (0:00:01)
Overview of Midday Squares and disrupting the snack industry (0:00:27)
The power of personal branding and storytelling (0:00:58)
Challenges of entrepreneurship and building a successful business (0:01:18)
What it means to "build out loud" and how it has helped Midday Squares (0:02:36)
Legal battle with Hershey's and how "building out loud" helped Midday Squares (0:04:16)
Disrupting the chocolate industry with innovation (0:08:07)
Building a legacy brand and redefining the chocolate world (0:09:16)
Jake's transition from a bankrupt business to focusing solely on Midday Squares (0:11:51)
The importance of innovation and storytelling in building a successful business (0:12:14)
Midday Squares' mission to show that you can win by being yourself (0:13:14)
Midday Squares' functional chocolate bar and unique two-layer texture (0:14:27)
The need to build their own manufacturing facility to support their innovation (0:15:21)
Jake's role as a rainmaker and building relationships for Midday Squares (0:15:35)
Finding the balance between building friendships and doing business (0:17:00)
The development of Midday Squares' healthy snack and Jake's own fitness journey (0:18:29)
Building a relationship with customers through hand-delivering products (0:23:21)
The impact of hand-delivering products on building relationships with customers (0:24:39)
The importance of humanizing the brand and building fandom (0:25:00)
Forecasting and accounting for growth while maintaining a balanced margin (0:26:34)
Balancing growth and margin to invest in the company (0:27:07)
Midday Squares' strategic approach to growth and media (0:28:07)
Embracing storytelling and emotion to build a strong brand (0:30:10)
Jake's surreal moment of being on Forbes 30 under 30 (0:31:19)
Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs to be themselves and unlock their superpower (0:31:55)
Jake's advice to stay focused on what makes you great to achieve your ideal spot in ten years (0:32:44)
Midday Squares' store locator and social media handles (0:33:18)
"We're not just changing the package and moving on. That's what everyone does. They settle. They do all that stuff, and they quiet themselves down. We're fucking bold. We're going to be bold, and we're going to be authentic." - Jake Karls on the Hershey's legal battle (0:06:11)
"This is the prime example of what you discussed earlier, Jonathan, about building out loud. We built out loud through a technical legal case, potentially, and it worked in our favor because it was truth, it was real. This wasn't bullshit. It was this is exactly what's happening. Let's just share it." - Jake Karls on the Hershey's legal battle (0:07:38)
"The moment you start being somebody else, like we always are taught to do, is the moment you fail. So you might as well take a chance. Step into that zone of discomfort that makes you be more you. And then you'll start to see doors open up like you've never seen." - Jake Karls on being yourself as an entrepreneur (0:31:55)
