The Daily Stoic - Listen Now: How I Built…Liquid Death

Episode Date: April 1, 2024

Have you ever wondered how some of the biggest companies were built? On the podcastHow I Built This, host Guy Raz talks to the founders behind the world’s biggest companies and brands to learn the real stories of how they built them. How I Built This with Guy Raz is a master-class on innovation, creativity, leadership and how to navigate challenges of all kinds.Follow How I Built This on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen toHow I Built This early and ad-free right now on Wondery plus. Wondery.fm/IFD_HIBTFor more deep dive and daily business content listen to Wondery– the destination for business podcasts. With shows like How I Built This, Business Wars, The Best One Yet, Business Movers and many more, Wondery means business.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey there listeners, there's a podcast I love because it's hosted by a person I really like who you may have even seen me on stage with in San Francisco. He filled in for Robert Green, I guess it was last year. And he has an awesome book which we carry at the painted porch. Guy Ross's How I Built This is a podcast where each week he talks to the founders behind the world's biggest companies to learn the real stories of how they built them. In each episode, you hear these entrepreneurs really go into their story. And Guy is an incredible interviewer.

He doesn't just dance around the surface. He has real questions, because he himself is an entrepreneur. He's built this huge show and this huge company. In a recent episode, they talked to the founder of Liquid Death, that crazy water company that's become this billion dollar brand. I'll play a clip from that episode

of How I Built This Right Now. And to hear the rest of the episode and more of how I built this, follow the show on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to how I built this early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts.

And for a deep dive in daily business content, listen to Wondery, the destination for business podcasts with shows like How I Built This, Business Wars, The Best One Yet, Business Movers and many more. Wondery means business. Wondery. I remember calling one of my best friends and telling him, I'm like, hey, I think I

have the new business ideas. Like, what is it? I'm like, I want to put water in cans that look like cheap beer. And that felt right to me because I'm like, you know, everybody wants stuff they're not supposed to have. You know, it's like they say, hey, if you want teens to think something's cool, you actually market it to people in their 20s. You know, it's like energy drinks,

they kind of market to teens, but 17 year olds don't think monsters the coolest thing, but 12 year olds do, you know? Yes, oh yes. Yeah, so it was like, hey, if we actually want, you know, teens or even people in their 20s them want something, like let's not make it look like a kiddie energy drink that 12 year olds think. Like let's not make it look like a kiddie energy drink

that 12 year olds think is cool. Let's make it look like a beer that like everyone between 15 and 50 think is cool. So then, but from like a naming perspective, I thought some of the craft beers had some of the most interesting like brand names compared to regular beer, where it was like, there was like a skull crusher IPA, there was like arrogant bastard ale.

Yeah, yeah. They had all these really interesting. Fat tire. Fat tire, yeah. I think like one of the early like really bad names that I had was like Southern Thunder. I think it was. Terrible name. Terrible name.

But I think when I really started thinking about like, again, it's like, okay, let's take a terrible name. Terrible name. But I think when I really started thinking about, like again, it's like, okay, let's take a step back. Like if I launch this thing for real, there's going to be no dollars for marketing. And the only chance this has at survival is it has to be something that people naturally want to share on social. So then I started thinking like, okay,

what are some of the names where if someone saw this, they have to share it. And that's where it's like you literally start trying to think of what's the dumbest, craziest thing you could think of, like start there. Yeah. Like Liquid Death, like Liquid Death was one of these names. It was just like, what sounds like something that like you would never want to drink. And it's like, you know, Liquid death. Like, do the opposite of what you

think you should do. But I remember thinking like, yeah, liquid, like, a beverage called liquid death, like, there is no chance someone's not sharing that if they see that in a store. Aaron Ross Powell And so, when you, I mean, and even when you were raising money, right, from friends, and then eventually, you were able to raise a little bit from a VC firm that had, I think, had invested in Dollar Shave Club. Did any of them ever ask you, well, what's the qualitative difference? Like what makes your water taste better or were they all kind of convinced by your argument that that doesn't matter? It's water, you know, spring water is spring water generally.

It's all about the branding side. Yeah, I mean, that was always part of my pitch. Like as a marketing guy who really understands the nuance of brand, that's what I could make clear for people. The reality is that in most things, it is brand why things win, not functional differences. Like Nike doesn't market because they say, hey, our shoes use this type of material

that lasts 37 days longer than Adidas. Like, no, no, no, it's all brand or why someone's buying a $700 Gucci t-shirt that has the same functionality and thread or whatever it is as like a $20 Target t-shirt. Might be the same factory. Might be the same factory. But that you can more easily understand why brand matters

and why that is still successful. Because I think for me, that's the definition of brand. You can listen to How I Built This Early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. And for a deep dive in daily business content, listen to Wondery, the destination for business podcasts with shows like How I Built This, Business Wars,

The Best One Yet, Business Movers and many more. Wondery means business.