Samuel Krost is the founder of KROST, a mission-driven fashion brand now sold in Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Saks, and around the world.

In this episode, Samuel opens up about scaling his label into a multimillion-dollar business, the lessons he learned from getting caught inside the infamous Fyre Festival, and how his network and philanthropy have shaped the future of KROST.

Enjoy!

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(00:00) Coming up…

(03:05) Growing up in a family of doctors

(04:57) Living on a different path

(05:34) The pre-college days

(06:14) Bio, chem, burnout

(07:17) Dropping out of pre-med

(09:33) Switching to NYU Sports Management

(10:53) Discovering a passion for fashion

(11:55) Advanced Solar Solutions

(13:06) Internship at Onia

(15:59) Samuel's journey at Onia

(17:21) Getting a call from Andrew Rosen: CEO of Helmut Lang

(18:54) It's all about who you know

(20:38) The student/work life grind

(22:30) Working as much as possible while in college

(25:24) Ja Rule calls with an opportunity

(28:50) Building relationships with Bella/Gigi Hadid, Selena Gomez, and other celebrities

(31:17) Fyre Media before Fyre Festival

(34:06) Absorbing knowledge at Fyre

(37:44) The Fyre Festival

(42:24) Fyre Festival up in flames

(46:55) The aftermath of the festival

(49:33) Getting a call from the FBI

(51:19) Bouncing back from an all-time-low point

(53:07) An offer to replicate Fyre

(54:30) 3rd guest joins the pod

(55:10) Founding a fashion brand

(57:01) Setting yourself apart / unfair advantages

(58:41) COVID and social impact while launching KROST

(59:51) Driven by DNA to give back

(01:00:57) How Samuel runs his business

(01:02:40) Collaborating with FILA

(01:03:45) Kosher Media

(01:04:33) Choosing the direction for Krost to go in

(01:06:01) Momentum Moment - doubling down / leading his team

(01:08:19) The brand evolving with Samuel

(01:09:15) Principles for effectively leading a team

(01:12:05) Where to find KROST apparel

(01:12:49) Expanding into Paris

(01:14:02) The key to Samuel's success

(01:14:45) Advice for starting a fashion company

(01:16:30) Follow your passion? Or chase the money?

(01:19:27) The #1 characteristic of standout employees: work ethic

(01:21:29) Life is about what you can do for others

(01:23:42) Want to stand out? Master AI

(01:25:37) Closing Remarks