TBPN Live - Kevin Hart live on TBPN

Episode Date: April 16, 2026

This is our full interview with Kevin Hart and his business partner James Morrissey, recorded live on TBPN.We discuss Kevin Hart’s approach to building authentic, long-term brands rather than slapping his name on products, his partnership with James and their strategy for breaking through a crowded tequila market with real ownership and storytelling, and the operational grind behind scaling a $200M business, from hands-on distribution to adapting to shifting media, consumer behavior, and the next generation of creators.Sign up for TBPN’s daily newsletter at TBPN.comFollow TBPN:https://TBPN.comhttps://x.com/tbpnhttps://open.spotify.com/show/2L6WMqY3GUPCGBD0dX6p00?si=674252d53acf4231https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/technology-brothers/id1772360235https://www.youtube.com/@TBPNLive

What's going on? What's going on, Ross? How are you? Welcome to the show. Thank you for taking the time. Big day. Thanks for having us. Big day.

Would love to get, I think everyone knows Kevin Hart, but. Well, I think everyone knows James. I was going to ask the opposite. I was going to say, it's not about me here. I'm going to take a second, and I'm going to highlight my guy. Okay. Yes, you know, some may be familiar with the idea of Kevin Hart. But in this space, man,

It's more about my business. And, you know, business is great. We have great partners. So take a second to highlight my guy, man. James, James has done a phenomenal job in self, with self, with his company, with his own entity. And the idea of finding cool ways to create and develop partnerships with faces that are, it can be more than just an ambassador. But more of a brand, he's done a great job, man. He's done a really good job of vetting out of the space.

And I'm lucky to have found someone with the mindset, the understanding, to help me do the things that I want. So execution only happens when you have people that can do so. James is that. He's an executor. So how did you two meet? What were the first meetings like? Where did the meetings take place? Like, where did all this come from?

We met about five years ago in the depths of COVID through mutual friends. and we're in the space of building brands, enjoying furniture, well-known individuals and entertainment, brands that they want to own, not just endorse. And we wanted to go into the tequila space for a long time. We liked the category. We thought it was very compelling, but the celebrity tequila space is completely oversaturated. At the time, it was very noisy. We needed something really compelling to break through and to make it right for us.

And when myself and Kev started talking during COVID, it became very clear, very quickly that we matched each other's energy. Absolutely. In terms of understanding the responsibilities of being, not just a face, but the brand, but being a business partner. Yeah. And the responsibilities of owning a brand and building one of these businesses for the long term.

But I think you understood early on what my wants and not once work. Like, you know, the biggest, I'll say the most important rules, that I have, I'm never, I'm never slapping my name on anything, right? If I can't embrace it or I can't do it on a daily and really have a authentic response to it and engage with it, as if I engage with everything in my life, then I don't want to do it. So all of my partnerships across the board, whether it's ownership, plays, equity plays, or ambassador-like roles, I truly am embedded and invested into the thing. So with the wine and spirit space, having my own tequila, it was necessary because I said, look, I only drink tequila.

I'm drinking everyone else's product. So developing my own version of a product that I can then drink at the same level that I drink my own when I am in a space of comfort or celebration could be dope. But let's put a story behind it. Like let's make it, let's make it different and let's exist in some rare air. What can be defining or redefining in this space that basically, that basically, right? represents me in the best way. And he was very diligent in and answering those questions and helping me navigate on that road. Right.

So the idea of hard work and hard work tasting different and the idea of a celebration being being attached to Grand Corpino because we believe that life should not only be celebrated, but what you do in daily should be celebrated. So hard work in whatever, whatever way, however it fits to you, how do you choose to celebrate it? My job was to give you a choice. Frank Coramino was that. You mentioned that the space was crowded. How did you think about finding differentiation on the product side, the distribution side? What really stuck out as like, okay, it is a complicated space, but there's a big opportunity here. I would say, man, you know, you have to have access.

So Juan Domingo Beckman Jr., of course, the family, what they've done in this space, you know, you're talking about generations on generation of success. and growth in the business, right? Like from a distribution outlet opportunity, there isn't a bigger option. So I think for us, it was getting one to understand the real want, getting him to understand the passion behind my want, and that this is not a celebrity play.

This is not a check grab and run. This is a want to build something that can literally be attached to my family name and give me an opportunity, to build generational success, wealth, visibility, whatever you want to call it. But I want that. How do I get that? You have to go to the people to have it.

So I think that was our biggest one. And as you talk about separating yourself, well, when you have that machine and that machine understands your real energy and those two things connect, well, you're already so much different from anything else in the space, right? Like the space is crowded because people believe that, oh, let's get a famous person and put the famous person name on a bottle and just put the bottle on the shelf and it's yourself. That's not true at all. Like, why did you make it? What's the story behind it?

What do you care about? Do you really drink this? And if so, why? And how did you develop the liquid? What is your plan for a year two, three, four, or five? Like, people really love a story. And if you have an authentic one, I find that people respond to it. So the years of operation and configuration as to what we want to do were the best parts of the business

because after the liquid came out, well, it wasn't a shock to us of why we were happy and why we loved it. We did the work. Yeah. We did the work. Yeah, question from the chat. Walk us through the actual product development process. I'm assuming trips to Mexico, a lot of tastings, iteration. Yeah.

But what did that look like? So there's a lot more that goes into this business than meets the eye for the consumers, right? So to your point earlier, the liquor business, the alcohol business, it's a very complex industry to navigate based on the three-tier system, dating back to the years of prohibition. So there's certain criteria in ways you've got to navigate, and ultimately to build success, our perspective on it within consumer products and goods, and particularly within alcohol, where we saw the biggest opportunity over the last five years, is large corporations typically do not disrupt.

They innovate. They innovate well with liquids. They innovate well with package. But generally, they're not disruptors. And that's not saying the alcohol industry alone. It's every large industry. So it takes independent entrepreneurial companies to be real disruptors. Like you guys are speaking to the guy from Grunz the other day. You guys are speaking to, you know, John from Happy Dad. These are independent companies that are bucking the trend. And our model has been, let's be that independent spirited business.

Let's make those bold, calculated decisions in real time and be really fast and agile in terms of how we operate in the market day-to-day. But let's partner with the best large corporate in the business being Proximo and Juan Domingo Beckman from the Beckley Corporation. And let's bring some real scale to the table. So that muscularity of the Proxima machine and the agility of us in the market every day leading on what consumers see, that's been a very successful partnership for us and it's helped us block that trend. And I also also think just to add to that, right? Like, you know, you're not dealing with rocket sciences, right? Literally like people that are successful and people that have won, they've done it for a reason.

So you're not trying to recreate the wheel or redesign the wheel. You're trying to better service the will. So sometimes the will, it falls into a space where everybody jumps on and the expectations are, of norm and they don't understand that you got to energize the will you've got to go in with some new energy in which you'll find those people will respond to that i think our energy yeah yeah okay i don't know what that was but yeah okay yeah yeah yeah yeah you got real you got real You need you guys, we'll get you guys set up with a sound board for some of your other meetings for when you're on Zoom. You can, you can.

That just did something to me. I took an express on a real time. I don't know for sure. Okay. So yeah, to resell strategy, you have a massive platform, but you have to get the product to a place where people can buy it when you're promoting it. What was the thought between distribution, getting it in stores, and then starting to push the promotion funnel versus just telling you. telling everyone about it and they're like yeah I'm excited but where do I get it oh it's only available in a few stores well a it's patience okay um and B it's actually realizing the real work that goes with that

like yes I have a large platform and a huge social media following but that is a meeting that as soon as I post something and say do it that people respond yeah um you have to like be on the ground you have to do the real work so within distribution you got to go and you got to go talk and meet and shake the hands and build the relationships, right? The work that you're looking for is a response of what people feel the, the reason for your implementation in this space. Like when the partners meet you and they say, oh, he's not here for fiction.

He's here for real. This is not fake. Yeah, we will support and we will back. And we will suggest this to the new customer when they walk in. Try Kevin Hart's to Killers really good because Kevin Kemp, in here and Kevin sat in front of us and Kevin made us understand not only why we should taste it but why we should back and support it. It's no different from a new artist.

If a new artist is really hungry, you're showing up at every radio station and every DJ outlet and you got your CD or you got a hard drive because I want you to hear my sound, listen to it and you're going to get way more nose that you are going to get yeses. But the breakthrough yes, when it goes on the radio waves, makes the work so much worth it. In this space, the work of getting every restaurant, every brand, every chain, every wine and spirits, liquor store, independent chain, et cetera. Like, yeah, I read.

So I expect to see the results of my work. I expect to see people responding because I know what I did to get it in to a space of conversation. And I think for me, that energy is an energy that I'm, not going to let go of and my partners have responded to it tremendously that's why we see where we sit today where is the business today how big is it what are sales what can you tell us about the shape of the business the business today grand formino is another the fastest growing celebrity tequila brand in the world um here we go and we grew last year by 100% year on year we've done 200 million

dollars in retail sales hit that gonged John. Congratulations. Turn it to a DJ Calmedian. This is better than anything I've ever done. Yeah. Uh, should, uh, zooming out, should every celebrity launch a product?

Should every influencer have a product? What advice are you giving to other celebrities? Absolutely not. I would say that from a celebrity perspective, most celebrities should not create businesses that they want to own. The endorsement model is a good model for most celebrities, but for entertainers who truly have the understanding, the know-how, and the commitment to put into work and prioritize said project over everything else outside of their day job, that's when it's compelling. And that's what was compelling in this partnership. Well, I don't even like the word, the word celebrity when it's used and attached to me because it's, it's, it's not what it's underwhelming.

Yes, it's, it's underwhelming. to what I really am. Right? And I get it. I get what that is. Yeah. I get the star, celebrity, etc. Not why we partner with each other. But as an entrepreneur, as a real business mind,

as a real like worker that's not afraid to do, build, etc., you're so much more, right? Like the idea of a mobile or concept of that is just a person that wants so much and is willing to do so much and it's doing so much it means i'm not afraid to partner or align with people who have done so in this space slapping somebody's name on something and just thinking that it doesn't work it doesn't work you're you're you're in rare air of opportunity and the celebrities that have had amazing success in the space of business brand uh portfolio they do the work right like I just throwing out names you look at a Kim Kardashian I don't

think Kim gets the true credit that she deserves at all times of actually doing the work people understand Kim shows up yeah she doesn't just have the idea she shows up like the people know that they're gonna see her on a daily the office for the employees know that Kim walk through the halls they know that her office is there and she's in meetings she's on call she does the work so I myself am a do the work individual. And I think when you are and you are committed, there is no work of loss.

You're always going to win because you're doing what everyone else refused to do. They don't have the patience. They don't have the strength and mental ability to stay true to something through the ups and downs and see it all the way through. It's not easy. It's a very, very hard space to operate in. And yes, we're in amazing air right now, and I love it.

Will it stay this way? Who knows? But no matter what, you're committed to it, whether it's up, down, whatever, your chew to the process, and you know that ultimately, sun is always gonna be at the end of the tunnel. That's where we are.

That was the most compelling part of this partnership. Having a partner who understands who's willing to be on the phone every day, the good days and the bad, but ultimately understanding the business behind the brand. Yeah. So, Kevin, how are you thinking about,

maybe not work-life balance, but work-work balance. You have multiple roles, multiple projects. If you're going into a movie, are you telling everyone, okay, I need space, I need focus for a couple weeks, or are you trying to have, okay, I'll do something in the morning and then something in the evening? What is your workflow like on a day-to-day basis? You're going to be pouring shots for the whole cast and the director.

This is an example of why they need to, why they need to fit your lifestyle yeah right if things fit your lifestyle and fit your day-to-day you'll find that you're never forcing and truly fighting for time sure right everything can be done correctly i am a i'm a product of structure and operation i have amazing team around me and within that if i'm doing a movie i'm doing a movie but while doing a movie well how do i make my partners a part of said movie is in the spaces for me to amplify partnerships or relationships if I'm on tour can I position or present certain relationships and partnerships that I have to be visible while I'm doing the things that I'm

doing hey man I'm golfing what partners can I align or or place in within what I'm doing on a regular hey I got vacation time coming up but when I do go on his vacation time man it's relaxing but I have certain relationships and partnerships that service the idea of relaxation and what it looks like and what should feel like as a partner you're always thinking of how to service those that are aligned with you and when you have a mind like that and you operate like that it becomes a systematic thing it's never a fight so yes i am 365 i am uh you know a son up to sundown person with work but because of my system nobody gets left out wife kids partners

business, comedy, film, you know, company, let's just say within company, employee, relationship, like all of these things are embedded into an idea of my day-to-day and what I have to do. So it's never left behind, it's never skipped or overlooked. It's implemented and rightfully so. Yeah. Everyone's been tracking a million different changes in media and entertainment over the last decade throughout your career like what what has been the biggest crucible moment what has been the biggest trend change that you felt okay uh i need to adapt my strategy i i think everyone in my community

needs to adapt our strategy uh how have you processed the evolution of media over your career i'll say getting older yeah right i mean i'm i'm i'm i'm about be 47 in the summer um Witnessing a shift in marketing and a shift in entertainment, right? This younger generation and how they're navigating and operating within social media, within storytelling, within finding ways to present themselves to the masses. I mean, you know, the concept of a live streamer and a person that is literally talking to a screen all day and looking at a chat with comments, but finding a way to build revenue to where it's coming in droves, right?

Like that to me, it's exciting. It's exciting to see a shift. So you don't fight that. You find a way to be a part of it. You find a way to support it. So where I think I've had an amazing lift is in amplifying that younger generation, right? Like when I have a chance to sit beside some of these younger guys that are doing these amazing things, or it's dope for them to have stars like myself on their platforms or supporting them in that space.

I don't need nothing or want anything return. I just want to see people win. But when you're supporting the new, it just makes you aware. Not being aware is ridiculous. Fighting what is in real time a new space of success, you're seeing ad revenue, crazy space spends from the biggest brands in the business and you're seeing where they're now spending it. Television is changing. The on-demand feeling want has changed. How we watch movies and what movies have changed. Live entertainment still exists today, but it's bigger than ever because

people still want to go out, but you realize they still want to be home. You got to go and you got to say, how do I basically fit into these pockets and how do I deliver in a manner to where it's real and it's never forced? Where you do this? that will support first and elevation for them and then things come back to you. Right now it's all about me saying I see you young guys, you young women. I love what you're doing. I want to see you when. How can I help you?

And then in return, their audience gets to say, Kevin is cool. But it's a, it's a them first, me second now. James. There's a prime example, Jordy, of you guys. When we've been tracking what you guys have been doing for the last two years, it's incredible. And when the business outlets came up in terms of the list of targets, TBPN was on the top. We want to be in the story.

We want to know what's new. We think it's bold and exciting what you're doing. Congrats on the deal with Open AI. Thank you. But, I mean, you guys are just getting started. But us knowing you, us knowing that we want to be on that platform, that's what it's about. And big companies don't often think that way, but we're empowered to be able to make those decisions day-to-day to be here with you. It's a great point.

Last question, guys. James, is there a competitive dynamic between some of your different partners? The chat is talking about your work with Post Malone and ASAP Rocky. I know all these guys are very competitive. Is there any kind of dynamic internally who can build the biggest brand? I know you don't want second or third, Kevin. It's not a competition, but there is no shortcut to success, and it's hard work is required. Oh, it's a, it's, it's looking like it's a competition.

Whenever somebody says it's not a competition, you know it's a competition. I would tell you this. We should all look at what each other are doing. And you figure out ways to take small pieces of the recipe that that's working, right? Like, I think ASAP and post, and then a greater job in building businesses and building brands, myself included. And when you see what's working for each other, you find, ways to take pieces. Like, ultimately, I want to see everybody win. I would love to see us all win. I would love to see his company succeed and be everything that it should be and more.

But you would just hate for somebody to win, win more than you. I want everyone to win. Just slightly less than me. I'm winning. No, I love it, guys. If I was a betting, man, I'd be betting on you. I know your work ethic is going to be insane. I know while they're sleeping, you're going to be at every restaurant, every club, getting everybody on the program. So I'm excited to follow along.

And thank you guys for sending. We will enjoy it this weekend. Yeah, the next time will be in the studio. Yeah. Let's do it. I want to get all the effects in real time. Man, yeah, I need to, your energy is unbelievable, man. You guys deserve the hype.

Here, scoot over, screwed over a little bit there. Let's go. That's what I'm talking about. Thank you guys, man. Great, great to see you guys. We'll talk to you soon. Have a good day.