hint

What do you do when faced with someone who doesn’t believe in your dream? According to Kara Goldin, you put your foot on the gas and keep moving forward. This week Kara and Jennifer sit down to discuss how Kara overcome the challenges of breaking into the beverage industry, and her journey of being passed over by Coca-Cola before becoming the founder of Hint, Inc. Listen in as Jennifer and Kara discuss how to believe in your vision, tapping into your passion, and the critical question you should ask yourself when feeling stuck.

About Kara Goldin:

Kara Goldin is the Founder of Hint, Inc., best known for its award-winning Hint® water, the leading unsweetened flavored water. Kara has been named one of InStyle’s Badass 50, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs, Fortune's Most Innovative Women in Food & Drink and EY Entrepreneur of the Year for Northern California. The Huffington Post listed her as one of six disruptors in business, alongside Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. Kara is author of the WSJ and Amazon best-selling book, Undaunted, and she hosts The Kara Goldin Show where she interviews founders, entrepreneurs and other disruptors across various industries.

You can connect with Kara in the following ways:

Twitter: @KaraGoldin

Instagram: @KaraGoldin

TikTok: @KaraGoldin

LinkedIn: Kara Goldin | LinkedIn

Website: https://karagoldin.com

Podcast: The Kara Goldin Show on Apple Podcasts

Let's move the ball, make things happen, and dominate our game!

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Kara Goldin is the co-founder and CEO of the beverage company Hint Inc.

She discusses co-founding Hint with her husband Theo, why and when she decided to bring in outside investors after bootstrapping for so long, and why singer-songwriter John Legend became an investor.

To stay up to date on future episodes and learn more from Alisa, sign up for her newsletter!

If you like what you hear, please subscribe to the podcast!

Learn more about Hint at drinkhint.com
For more stories and advice on founders and CEOs, head to alisacohn.com

Connect with Alisa!

Follow Alisa Cohn on

• Instagram: @alisacohn
• Twitter: @alisacohn
• Facebook: facebook.com/alisa.cohn
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisacohn/
• Website: http://www.alisacohn.com

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In This Episode You’ll Hear About:

• What it was like growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona as the youngest of five children, constantly craving a job, and finally landing a job at a toy store at the age of 14
• The takeaways she learned in her experience at TIME, CNN, and AOL, that its important to do the little things that people will remember
• Why it's important to be kind and helpful to everyone because you never know where they’re going to end up 
• How it can sometimes be luck that gets you to where you are, but most of the time its persistence
• How after drinking 10-12 diet sodas every day, she came to the realization of how bad they were and gave her the idea to look into alternatives
• The challenges entrepreneurs face in building a business from zero
• Why she believes every founder should have their own personal attorney
• The importance of choosing the right investors, and how to filter for the right ones
• The advice Kara has for inspiring entrepreneurs or those that have an idea but don’t want to be a founder

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To Find Out More:

http://www.drinkhint.com/

Quotes:

“​​All of a sudden I'm going to these toy fairs and understanding margins and understanding less is more and critical things. I would go back into the classroom and I was so bored in the classroom versus what I was learning in these situations.”

“As you're building, you're really focusing on those things that are a little bit hard for you.”

“Years later, I still tell new recruits at Hint that the number one thing they need to do is make sure their boss and their team are successful. I run into so many people who make the mistake of worrying about how they look and concentrating on their own feelings, to the extent that they don't appreciate what's going on around them, focusing outward on those who depend on you and the rest of the team makes you a valuable person, gets you more responsibility and ultimately gives you a chance to not just look like, but also be a superstar.”

“If you walk into a situation and maybe you feel like ‘this isn't my place like my people aren't here or whatever.’ You rise above it and you be who you are supposed to be. You be yourself.”

“There's going to be luck, but there's also this persistence that plays in”

“I was shocked when I saw that nothing like Hint was on the shelf at the store.”

“I've had a lot of good stuff happen, I've had some not so good. And you know, that's life, right? That's how you learn, that's how you make mistakes, and how you get better.”

“Understand what you really enjoy.”

“Having a different lawyer who is actually looking out for you really key.”

“The key thing is to enjoy what you're doing and do something that you think has purpose.”

“Too many people are focused on making a buck and flipping a company quickly. If you actually lead with a concept, a company that is actually going to solve a problem, that you think will actually change people in some way for the better, then the money will come. And I think just always be thinking that. If that's what your purpose is in starting a company, that's the right purpose.”

Complacency = Death (ft. Kara Goldin)

The power of momentum on the path to purpose

OPENING QUOTE:

“So often people sort of get stuck, I guess it's the goal. Go find your purpose, go find your mission. But sometimes in order to find that purpose and mission, you just have to start with not staying complacent.”

—Kara Goldin

GUEST BIO:

Kara Goldin is the founder of Hint, best known for its award-winning and industry-leading Hint Water. She’s also the bestselling author of Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters. She’s been named to InStyle’s Badass 50, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs, Ernst Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Northern California and one of the Huffington Post’s six disruptors in business alongside the likes of Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.

Links:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Wiki
• Undaunted, book by Kara Goldin

CORE TOPICS + DETAILS:

[4:32] - What’s the Worst that Can Happen?

A simple question with powerful implications

To become undaunted, you have to boldly confront the worst-case scenario and determine that it’s not enough to derail you from your path. If you ask yourself what’s the worst that can happen, then when the worst happens you are entirely unphased. 

[11:27] - Turning Setbacks Into Momentum

How Kara turned a devastating blow into renewed focus

When Hint water was dropped from Starbucks stores after a new buyer switched up their strategy, Kara was devastated. But instead of languishing in frustration, she listened. She networked. She didn’t stay complacent, and she kept moving forward. Then she got an email from Amazon about a grocery business they were starting…

[33:54] - Sometimes Purpose Begins with Fun

Can’t find what you love? Start with what you enjoy

Not everyone gets a bolt-of-lightning flash of insight about their purpose when they’re still a teenager. For many, the only place to begin is with the things you enjoy. Love playing music? Follow that. Love being an entrepreneur? Go that way. You can’t know your direction until you set off toward some goal, even if it doesn’t ultimately become your destination.

[44:37] - Misery Loves Company

Feeling lost? Consider the greats

Steve Jobs felt lost. Da Vinci felt lost. Throughout history, some of the great geniuses and innovators experienced stumbles and roadblocks. When you’re feeling stuck, look to them for inspiration— not to revel in their wins, but to see that even the most worthwhile ideas and innovators have experienced bumps (or massive, inescapable craters) on their road to success.

RESOURCES:

• [1:13] About Hint
• [1:23] Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters
• [17:36] The Power of Playing Offense

Follow Kara:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Wiki
• Undaunted, book by Kara Goldin

Follow Paul:

• Playmakers Podcast
• The Power of Playing Offense
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Youtube

SHOW PARTNER:

The WHY Institute

Are you ready to find your ‘why’? Our partners at the WHY Institute have created the single most high-impact assessment for finding your personal why in life and work. In just five minutes, discover more about who you are, how you think, and why you do what you do than any other personal assessment available.  

The best part? It’s completely free for Playmakers listeners. Are you ready to find our WHY in just five minutes? Take your assessment now.

FREE ASSESSMENT

ABOUT PLAYMAKERS: ON PURPOSE:

The Playmakers: ON PURPOSE podcast is an all-access pass to a purpose-centered tribe of leaders in business, sports, and life who are on a mission of meaning and impact. The show takes purpose from an out of reach North Star to a practical and tactical exploration of how we can step into each day, ON PURPOSE, where life no longer happens “to us”, it begins to happen “for us”. 

From the Why Coach of the San Francisco 49ers to your coach, take a seat at the table with sports industry executive, #1 bestselling author, personal transformation expert, turned senior leader, advisor to PurposePoint and The Why Institute, and Success Magazine's Top Global Thought Leader, Paul Epstein, in this inspiring, yet immediately actionable podcast. 

From formative stories pre-purpose to personal and professional transformation’s post-purpose, each show will share a high-energy, prescriptive blueprint to ignite impact and drive inner success, fulfillment, and purpose no matter your starting point. 

It’s time to meet Paul at the 50 and get ready to live and lead ON PURPOSE.

Learn more at: PlaymakersPod.com

ABOUT DETROIT PODCAST STUDIOS:

In Detroit, history was made when Barry Gordy opened Motown Records back in 1960. More than just discovering great talent, Gordy built a systematic approach to launching superstars. His rigorous processes, technology, and development methods were the secret sauce behind legendary acts such as The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

As a nod to the past, Detroit Podcast Studios leverages modern versions of Motown’s processes to launch today’s most compelling podcasts. What Motown was to musical artists, Detroit Podcast Studios is to podcast artists today. 

With over 75 combined years of experience in content development, audio production, music scoring, storytelling, and digital marketing, Detroit Podcast Studios provides full-service development, training, and production capabilities to take podcasts from messy ideas to finely tuned hits. Here’s to making (podcast) history together.

Learn more at: DetroitPodcastStudios.com

ABOUT THE HOST:

Paul Epstein may not be a hard charging running back on the actual football field, but his list of high-profile wins in the world of sports will have you thinking that he could be.

Paul has spent nearly 15 years as a pro sports executive for multiple NFL and NBA teams, a global sports agency, and the NFL league office. He’s transformed numerous NBA teams from the absolute bottom in league revenue to top-two in financial performance. He’s broken every premium revenue metric in Super Bowl history as the NFL’s sales leader. He opened a billion-dollar stadium, helped save the New Orleans NBA franchise, and founded the San Francisco 49ers Talent Academy.

He's since installed his leadership and high-performance playbook with Fortune 500 leaders, Founders and CEOs, MBAs, and professional athletes.

Now, as a global keynote speaker, recognized by Success Magazine as a Top Global Thought Leader, #1 bestselling author, personal transformation expert, turned senior leader and advisor to PurposePoint and the Why Institute, and host of the Playmakers: On Purpose podcast, Paul explores how living and working with a focus on leadership, culture, and purpose can transform organizations and individuals anywhere to unleash their full potential.

Learn more about Paul at PaulEpsteinSpeaks.com

CREDITS:

• Paul Epstein: Host | paul@paulepsteinspeaks.com
• Connor Trombley: Executive Producer | connor@detroitpodcaststudios.com

Why did I want Kara Goldin on The CLS Experience? It’s simple, she didn’t just disrupt the entire beverage industry when she founded Hint, she trailblazed and created an entire new category. She is the ultimate Disrupter and an exciting and terrific human. Without further ado

Join your host Craig Siegel as he sits down with former tech executive turned super entrepreneur, disrupter, best selling author, speaker, founder of the iconic brand Hint, the official drink of Silicon Valley, the trailblazing Kara Goldin. Craig and Kara talk being fearless and curious enough to change the world. They demonstrate being big thinkers and having no ceiling on what’s possible with the right strategy and effort. Kara and Craig illustrate the peaks and valleys of the true entrepreneur and how to handle the most challenging times. Kara pulls back the curtain on growing up with big ideas and aspirations and landing a job at the iconic AOL, with a goal to get close to Apple and Steve Jobs. Kara showcases leaving AOL and being a bit unfulfilled and curious about her next chapter, leading to putting all her eggs in her new basket, and giving birth to the iconic Hint brand. Kara didn’t only disrupt the entire beverage industry, but she created a whole new category. Kara developed the first ever unsweetened flavored water. Kara displays her entrepreneurial makeup and what the future holds for her Hint empire. 

➤  To connect with Kara follow @KaraGoldin on Instagram

➤ Join our CLS texting community for free daily inspiration and business strategies to elevate your day, text (917) 634-3796

To follow The CLS Experience and connect with Craig on Social Media:

➤ INSTAGRAM

➤ FACEBOOK

➤ YOUTUBE

➤ WEBSITE

➤ LINKEDIN

➤ TWITTER

➤ CLS TOOLKIT

➤ CLS MEMBERSHIP

In 2005, Kara Goldin just wanted to break her soft drink addiction. Fast forward to today and Goldin is founder and CEO of Hint, a $220M (USD) beverage producer of fruit-infused waters and lifestyle goods that offers a healthy alternative to sodas and artificially sweetened drinks. IQ sat down with the former AOL executive and current “accidental entrepreneur” to get her insight on what it takes to start a successful business from scratch, and her leadership advice for other dynamic female executives and would-be entrepreneurs.

This week's special guest is Kara Goldin, CEO and Founder of Hint,  the No.1 non-sweetened beverage company not owned by Coke, Pepsi or Dr.Pepper in America and the bestselling author of Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts & Doubters 

We learn about Kara's journey from tech executive to food entrepreneur, motivated by her desire to find healthier beverage options. It's a fascinating story of perseverance and pivots, starting with Kara and her husband boot-strapping their way into Whole Foods to triumphantly creating a whole new category and and evolving Hint into a powerful omni-channel brand with strong wholesale, direct-to-consumer distribution and, now, even a store! We also get Kara's perspective on striking the right balance between wholesale and going direct--lessons that all brands can benefit from.

But first we open up the episode with our quick takes on recent retail news that caught our attention, including Camp's rather ironic move into a former Toys R Us space. We also learn that Amazon processed more in the value of product returns than Target sold the old fashioned way last year and that the soon to be world's biggest retailer has (as yet) undisclosed plans for a small space in a Texas mall. We wrap up by unpacking Adobe's holiday e-commerce forecast and try to make sense of Crocs continued remarkable success.

Kara Goldin is the Founder and CEO of Hint, Inc., best known for its award-winning Hint® water, the leading unsweetened flavored water. She has been named one of InStyle’s Badass 50, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs, Fortune's Most Innovative Women in Food & Drink and EY Entrepreneur of the Year for Northern California. The Huffington Post listed her as one of six disruptors in business, alongside Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. Kara has successfully navigated the world of large companies and startups in many industries including media, tech and consumer products. In addition, she understands retail and direct to consumer well. She is an active speaker & writer and hosts the podcast The Kara Goldin Show where she interviews founders, entrepreneurs and other disruptors across various industries. Kara’s first book, Undaunted, published by Harper Leadership, was released in October 2020. She lives in the Bay Area. Follow Kara on all social handles @KaraGoldin

Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here.

Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus        Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  and       The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.  You can learn more about Michael       here  or on       LinkedIn. 

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor, board member, and keynote speaker focused on strategic growth and transformation and the impact of digital disruption. He is the author of the bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption and the forthcoming Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption , which will be published in April 2024 and is now available for pre-order at book retailers everywhere. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on social media..

Don't forget to join Steve's new Linked Group for his new book.

Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice, a keynote speaker around the world and consumer growth consultant.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,   The Voice of Retail, plus  Global eCommerce Leaders podcast, and The Food Professor , Canada's top food industry podcasts and one of the top management podcasts in the nation according to Apple, with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.    You can learn more about Michael  on  LinkedIn. 

Be sure and check out Michael's Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

This episode of The Jake Dunlap Show features Kara Goldin, Founder and CEO of Hint, Inc. Even as a little girl, Kara learned that it's never too late to reinvent yourself and create your own opportunities. Her drive to learn business concepts from day 1 became the foundation for her success during her storied career.

After graduating, she kept an open mind, toured around the country, and interviewed with over 90 companies to figure out what was best for her. She created a vast network for herself and ended up applying for her journalism degree with Time Magazine.

Kara's story is characterized by an intense desire to keep learning and grabbing opportunities as they come. These traits would allow her to meet directly with executives who would recognize her passion and open even more doors for her. 

Years after her first real job with Time, she would go on to build a billion dollar ecommerce business, found Hint Water, win awards and recognitions like Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs in 2011, and write her book Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters.

Listen to the full podcast on Kara’s journey of self-discovery, curiosity, and the value of continuously learning as you go along your way.

QUOTES:

28:40 "Your journey, no matter what you do, as you go on your journey you can start to pick the things that you really like about it."

32:46 "I should ask more people what they do and maybe they'll be willing to set me up with jobs with their companies. So then, anyone who came across my path, not just in Teepee, but also my dad's friends, I was like, who do you know in LA?"

43:23 "Where do you think you're lacking? I would ask these questions that just showed curiosity and, to your point, that's who you want to hire. Great managers want to hire people that help them think."

49:16 "That's what happens when you start not only a new company but when you're the only one in the space in a new category, as I share with entrepreneurs, you got to stay alive along the way and you got to wait for the consumer to catch up."

52:11 "You can still get back up from your challenges. You just have to figure out how not to freeze or when to slow down or when to pivot along the way. All those things are so critical."

More about Kara

Kara's very first job was at Alphabet Toys when she was just 14 years old. By the time she was in college, she would also wait tables at Teepee where she learned that opportunities are not just given to people, you can make them yourself by engaging others in meaningful conversations.

After graduation and landing her first real job as an executive assistant with Time Magazine, she would eventually rise up to become the Circulation Sales Manager. She would then move to CNN to work in sales, and then switch industries to work in ecommerce with 2market.

This venture, under her leadership, would become a billion-dollar business that would eventually be acquired by AOL where she served as VP of Electronic Commerce and Shopping. 

After a few years and several pregnancies, Kara would found Hint Water with a desire to provide consumers a fun yet healthier alternative to soda which had caused her health to decline. Since its founding in 2005, Hint would become the largest independent beverage company without ties to Coke, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper Snapple.

Find out more about Kara Goldin and connect with her in the following links:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karagoldin/
• Website (Hint) - https://www.drinkhint.com/

Learn more about Jake Dunlap and Skaled by visiting the links below:

Jake Dunlap:

• Personal Site - http://jakedunlap.com/
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakedunlap/
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/JakeTDunlap
• Instagram - http://instagram.com/jake_dunlap_
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JakeTDunlap/

Skaled:

• Website - https://skaled.com/
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/skaled
• YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsw_03rSlbGQkeLGMGiDf4Q

WELCOME BACK!

Nik Sharma is on this week, chatting about his experience in the DTC [Direct-to-Consumer] field and why he thinks that space is important for Gen Z, getting paid what you're worth, and managing celebrity social media accounts at age 15.

Pretty please leave us a cute lil review, and we'll see you next Friday!

Follow Nik: @mrsharma on TW

Follow Generation Slay: @generationslay on all the things

Follow ~ME~ : @emmahavi on all the things