Advice Line with Daymond John of FUBU

Today’s callers: Cristopher from Chicago wants to expand his family’s salsa brand from farmers markets into retail. Next, Darcy in Australia considers adapting his protein bar brand’s messaging to reach beyond his core enthusiasts. Finally, Seema in Canada seeks strategies to increase B2B sales for her ethical kitchen linen company. Plus, Daymond and Guy talk about what makes a great Shark Tank pitch, and why Guy decided to start How I Built This 10 years ago. Thank you to the founders of Sabor a Mexico, Raised Nutrition and Cooks Who Feed for joining us on the show. If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode—where Guy and former show guests take questions from early-stage founders—leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to [email protected] mailto:[email protected] or call 1-800-433-1298. And be sure to listen to FUBU’s founding story https://art19.com/shows/how-i-built-this/episodes/018d90eb-de65-4695-97f9-706dc5e64df1/embed as told by Daymond on the show in 2018. This episode was produced by Katherine Sypher with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Kwesi Lee. You can follow HIBT on X https://x.com/HowIBuiltThis & Instagram https://www.instagram.com/howibuiltthis/ and sign up for Guy's free newsletter at guyraz.com http://guyraz.com/ and on Substack https://guyraz.substack.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Guy Raz?

  This episode of How I Built This is presented by Engine, the modern travel and spend platform built for businesses that are growing. Book faster, save more, and watch your rewards stack up. Stay tuned later in the episode to hear how Engine is helping thousands of businesses travel smarter.

• 0:21Guy Raz?

  Our presenting sponsor today is Anthropic, the team behind Claude. Every founder on this show started with a hard question, not the marketing plan, the 2:00 AM kind. Is this idea any good? Am I the one to build it? Should I quit my job? Anthropic got built the same way. A public benefit corporation founded on one hard question. How do we make sure AI goes well for people? So they asked over 100,000 people their hopes and their fears and are publishing what they find, even the uncomfortable parts. Me? I've got my own hard question about AI. Here it is.

• 1:03Guy Raz?

  If everyone has access to something that can help them write the business plan, build the prototype, analyze the market, maybe even come up with the idea, what separates the people who actually build something from everyone else? I don't have a clean answer yet, so I've been sitting with it with Claude. There's hope in hard questions. Ask yours at claude.ai/hibt. We get support from US Bank. A question I love asking founders. What's the one decision you almost didn't make? The one that changed everything? Because it's never the obvious stuff. It's never, I decided to start a company. It's the small, boring Tuesday afternoon decision you barely remember making

• 1:48Guy Raz?

  until you realize it's the reason everything after it either worked or didn't. Say you're 18 months in. Business is growing. You've got expenses coming from six directions. Gas for the van, office supplies, your phone bill, team lunches that are actually client meetings, and you're putting it all on whatever card you grabbed in year one. You're not thinking about it. Why would you? You've got bigger problems. But here's the thing. Path A, you keep going like that. End of the year, you're sorting through statements, trying to figure out what went where. You've left hundreds, maybe thousands on the table in rewards you never earned, money that could have gone back into the business.

• 2:29Guy Raz?

  Path B, you pause and get the US Bank Triple Cash Rewards Visa Business Card. Now you're earning 3% cash back on gas and EV charging, office supply stores, cell phone service, and restaurants. You pick up an extra $750 cash back as a bonus. And you've got a low APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months while you're scaling. Same business, same expenses, two completely different outcomes based on one small decision. Visit usbank.com/business to learn more. The creditor and issuer of this card is US Bank National Association pursuant to a license from Visa USA, Inc.

• 3:13Guy Raz?

  Some restrictions apply. If you travel often, you'll want to hear about this unprecedented offer. For the first time ever, new Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card members can earn two Delta Comfort Round Trip flights for travel within the 48 contiguous US states, Puerto Rico, or the US Virgin Islands. Plus, you can earn 50,000 bonus miles towards your next getaway. And who doesn't appreciate an elevated airport experience? Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card members get access to the Delta Sky Club, your pre-flight oasis to recharge with 15 visits and four one-time guest passes each medallion year when flying Delta together.

• 3:58Guy Raz?

  That's up to $950 in annual value. Value estimate based on $50 per visit rate to purchase additional visits or bring a guest to the Delta Sky Club. Make every trip feel more rewarding with the card that upgrades your travel. Apply today at delta.com/cardsocial. Offer ends November 4, 2026. Minimum spending requirements and terms apply. Flights are fulfilled as flight certificates valid for Delta Comfort or Delta Main to select domestic destinations. Book 21-plus days in advance. Up to $80 per person and taxes and fees apply. Other restrictions apply.

• 4:45Guy Raz?

  Hello and welcome to the Advice Line on How I Built This Lab. I'm Guy Raz. This is the place where we help try to solve your business challenges. Each week, I'm joined by a legendary founder, a former guest on this show, who will help me try to help you. And if you're building something and you need advice, give us a call and you just might be the next guest on the show. Our number is 1-800-433-1298. Leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and the issues or questions that you'd like help with. All right, let's get to it. Joining me today is Daymond John. He's a longtime judge on Shark Tank, of course, a speaker and an author, and the legendary founder of the streetwear clothing brand FUBU. Damon, it's great to have you back on the show. Welcome back.

• 5:28Speaker 01

  Thank you. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

• 5:31Guy Raz?

  So when we first had you on, this was back in 2018. You, of course, told the incredible story of how you were working at Red Lobster in your 20s and trying to start your own business. And this was in the early 90s. And how you came up with the idea of creating a clothing brand, the brand that, of course, would become For Us, By Us, or FUBU for short. That brand became a huge hit, and the story of how it happened is just incredible. And as always, for anyone listening who has not heard Damon's episode of How I Built This, you should absolutely listen to it. We will put a link to it in the show notes. Damon, you know, over the years, you've worn tons of different hats. But I'm curious, I mean, as a Shark Tank judge, right? You've seen hundreds of pitches by early-stage founders.

• 6:14Guy Raz?

  What tends to grab your attention in a pitch? What are you personally looking for in a founder or in their brand or company to make a decision on whether to invest?

• 6:26Speaker 01

  Well, you know, I always say that nobody has a right to judge you but God. We're only judging what is working for us. So I'm listening to the story and seeing if it's a play for me. Will I add value? Can I either reduce costs or increase sales by what I'm doing? If not, my money is just as good as anybody else's money. All right. But now, when I get down to the founder, did they create this because they had a pain or they were trying to bring a customer joy? What is the backstory to the failures that they've had and how they still decided to overcome that failure because they knew that the solution or the pain they were solving with somebody else was something bigger and better?

• 7:09Speaker 01

  And then, of course, do they know their market, their audience, their numbers? And then finally, is who are they? Can I trust that they will make the right decision? They're problem solvers? That people could look past the company and look at who founded the company and want to buy into their story? Because that company may move from selling socks to underwears to lotions to something else. And is that person constantly the one that people are going to trust to take them down that route of telling them that story? So I always ask founders, I say, you know, if you can't answer, why me? Why now? And why this? Then you have a me-too product. But you have to at all times in your career be able to say, why me? Why now?

• 7:53Speaker 01

  And why this?

• 7:55Guy Raz?

  It's sort of the flip side of this question and related, which is, and we get asked this question a lot. We've had hundreds and hundreds of founders on this show over the past 10 years, and I'm asked this question a lot. I'd be curious to get your take on it, which is, what do you think the attributes a successful entrepreneur needs to have to actually bring something out into the world that flourishes? What are the attributes, maybe personal qualities or attitudes, that they have to develop to make them successful?

• 8:27Speaker 01

  I think they have to be a good storyteller. We've established that. I think that they have to be a little, they have to have an ego, but very vulnerable simultaneously. The ego is that, or the confidence, it's not an ego. The confidence they are going to get this done. And then they definitely have to be of value to their customer. They're constantly trying to solve problems. But I think the most important thing, and I think it was Elon Musk who said it, is they have to have a very, very high tolerance for pain.

• 8:57Speaker 01

  They have to know they're gonna get whipped. They're gonna get the door slammed in their face. Every single partner they have is gonna doubt them at a certain point and everybody public is gonna tell them they're an idiot. And they have to be able to endure that pain for a long period of time. And many people can't endure that pain.

• 9:15Guy Raz?

  Yeah, but it's critical. You are right. It's great advice.

• 9:18Speaker 01

  So I want to ask you a question, if you don't mind.

• 9:20Guy Raz?

  Please. Yes.

• 9:22Speaker 01

  You know, when did you start the podcast?

• 9:25Guy Raz?

  10 years ago, Damon.

• 9:27Speaker 01

  You know, the way that I got onto Shark Tank was because they actually saw me on Donnie Deutsch. What was that called? The Big Idea?

• 9:33Guy Raz?

  Oh, yeah.

• 9:33Speaker 01

  I think that was called, right? And they realized that I could, I could take a pitch. But in between that time, I don't recall anybody ever celebrating and getting into the heads of who's behind the product and or the business CEOs. And I, I started a new division called CEO Access where I manage CEOs and I try to make them the next Sharks. But as I looked at your, the history of who you have from like Spangst to Barbara Corcoran to Jose Andreas, they seem like they were almost on the rise to be stars. And then you, you point them out, but then you'd point out other people too who are CEO rock stars.

• 10:14Speaker 01

  What made you realize 10 years ago, lately is probably like the four, last four years that people started to say, well, CEOs are the new rock stars. But what, what, what drove you to want to get into the heads of people like me and Mark Cuban and Barbara and, you know, all these people?

• 10:32Guy Raz?

  I think at the core of it, Damon, it's because they are some of the most dramatic stories you can tell, right? Building a business has all of the core elements of a, of a drama, right? Of a, of a movie. There's triumph, there's failure, there's catastrophe, there's loss, there's joy, you know, and everything in between. The stakes are so high. And especially when you've put decades, you know, years and decades of your life into something that could collapse. And so I think that for me, initially, it was about the drama and the stories that, that I could tell through business, through the prism of business. But ultimately,

• 11:16Guy Raz?

  I also knew that there was all of this wisdom, this, you know, like, we'll call it collective wisdom in the United States around the world. But I say the United States because the US really is sort of the, it's, it's the focal point. It's the heart of, of entrepreneurship historically. And so I felt like there was a need to harness those, that wisdom, right? And, and to basically give people the playbook. I mean, there is no one single playbook, right? And there's no guarantee, but if you could find out how people solve their mistakes and, and sort of navigated the challenges that they faced, then you might have a, a

• 12:00Guy Raz?

  better chance at solving a similar crisis or challenge when you face it, if that makes sense.

• 12:07Speaker 01

  Yeah, no, because I look at you as, you know, you had somebody who wrote about the DNA of entrepreneurs, which is, you know, Napoleon Hill.

• 12:16Guy Raz?

  Yep.

• 12:17Speaker 01

  Then you go to Shark Tank. When I go into Shark Tank, I said, nobody cares about the crap we talk about all day in the boardroom, but leave it up to Mark Burnett to put a nice, you know, music drop at this point, then run to a commercial right before somebody gets hammered?

• 12:33Guy Raz?

  Yeah.

• 12:34Speaker 01

  It shows. And then you went even further. And I said, well, now, somebody's now getting into the brain on what created that person and how they built this. So anyway, I found it fascinating that you, that you've been doing this long before a lot of other people. So maybe that's why you're, the episode I did with you is one of the most brought up episodes when I'm on the streets, because you, you get right into the head and I appreciate it.

• 12:59Guy Raz?

  I'm really happy to hear that. Well, we, we appreciate having a chance to tell the stories and also appreciate the fact that founders are, you know, really want to open up. Because it's, it's a, it's a, it's a form of generosity to share your story and your, your failures. It's not easy to do that. But it's really important for people to know that Daymond John worked at Red Lobster. You know, people didn't answer his calls, right? No one gave him the time of day. And that's, that's what I'm trying to do. I want people to feel inspired by that, to, to know that you don't have to have connections and money. And, you know, it's, it's, you can really build something if you believe in it and you're, you're prepared to put in the time and the work and the grit.

• 13:42Speaker 01

  Well, keep doing it, man. Good stuff. Thank you for having me. I appreciate what you're doing.

• 13:46Guy Raz?

  Thank you for being on. Damon, are you ready for, to take our first call?

• 13:51Speaker 01

  Yeah, let's go.

• 13:52Guy Raz?

  Let's go. Okay. Welcome caller. You're on with Daymond John, Shark and founder of FUBU. Tell us your name, where you're calling from, and a little bit about your business, please.

• 14:02Speaker 02

  Hi, guys. Hi, Damon. It's an absolute honor to be here with you guys today. My name is Christopher Navarro, and I'm calling from Chicago, Illinois. I'm one of the co-founders of Sabora Mexico Salsas, along with my mom, Marlene, and my dad, Sergio. At Sabora Mexico, we're on a mission to put flavor back into salsa through authentic family recipes, bold flavors, and of course, a little bit of heat.

• 14:24Guy Raz?

  Amazing. Thanks for calling in. So tell us a little bit about the salsas. You've got, how many flavors do you have? Yeah.

• 14:32Speaker 02

  So we have, it's about nine salsas. Well, eight salsas and one pickled product. But, you know, we've got all sorts of different flavors with our, like, best seller being an avocado-free guaca salsa.

• 14:44Guy Raz?

  Wow. Wow. And tell, tell us, tell us a little about the origin story.

• 14:49Speaker 02

  Yeah, of course. So our, our business started in 2024 officially, but I mean, I, it really goes back much, much more than that. On my dad's side, my grandma, she had a taqueria in Mexico. And my dad, growing up there, that's where a lot of our recipes kind of originated from. And then from there, you know, when we immigrated to the US, we were fortunate enough to bring all of those here. Actually ran a taqueria here for about a year before the building closed. But in 2024, my dad was finding himself without a job, unfortunately. And my mom had the idea like, hey, you know, people love your salsa, people love your food. Let's, let's give this thing a chance. And we found some farmers markets and we kind of went from there.

• 15:30Guy Raz?

  Wow. And so you are selling right now in farmers markets, mainly in the Chicago area?

• 15:36Speaker 02

  Yes. So our, our number one sort of channel is farmers markets. We also sell online through our website. And then we have a subscription box service through our website as well.

• 15:45Guy Raz?

  And how, tell me a little bit about, about your sales. Like, what are you guys expecting to do this year?

• 15:51Speaker 02

  Yeah. So this year, we're expected to do around $340,000 in sales. So this is our biggest year to, to date. Yeah, it's about double what we did last year. So.

• 16:02Speaker 01

  Very nice.

• 16:02Guy Raz?

  That's amazing. All through, mainly through farmers markets. Well, congrats. Good work. Before we dive in a little further, what's your question for us?

• 16:10Speaker 02

  Absolutely. So how do you know when you've truly outgrown the business model that got you started? You know, farmers markets for us have been an incredible way for us to build our brand, maintain strong margins, but they're becoming increasingly labor intensive and harder to scale. How would you decide when it's time to move into retail or maybe another growth channel without expanding too early?

• 16:30Guy Raz?

  Damon, 340 grand at farmers markets loan, pretty good for this year. But, you know, are they ready to expand? What, how do you know?

• 16:40Speaker 01

  That, that is a good question. You know, it's how much time is it taking up of, of your, your time? Because you do not want to abandon what's really making you because you're getting more than you're getting the sales, you're getting the investment in a community, you're building a great community. I don't think the jump is to go to retail. So by the way, when you go to retail, you do four times the amount of work for half of the, the reward, right? Because, you know, you now have to deal with buyers, you had to come a vendor record, you have to ship it. And by the way, you know, the larger companies have put more people out of business than they put them in business because they have their own criterias on what you have to solve. So, give you an example, if you're

• 17:21Speaker 01

  making a bottle of salsa for four, and you're selling it for about 10, you know, to your regular Farmers Day market, you probably have to make it for three and sell it for five. So they can sell it for 10.

• 17:33Guy Raz?

  Yeah.

• 17:33Speaker 01

  All right. So that's one of the problems. So how do you expand outside of the farmer's market, but not yet take on the big obligation of large box retail? So a couple of options are you go to small mom and pop stores. Those are the great operators. They're selling your goods, telling you what they like about it, not liking about it, paying on a credit card right away. They don't need terms and everything else. And then, of course, live selling and selling direct to consumer online. I would start dipping my toe in there, but do not, you know, don't ignore the golden goose just yet. And I don't think you should ever totally ignore the golden goose.

• 18:09Guy Raz?

  Yeah, I, I think that's great advice. I, I agree that, you know, you, you, you mentioned you're in about how many farmers markets right now?

• 18:17Speaker 02

  About 15 markets this season.

• 18:19Guy Raz?

  Okay, which is a lot. And that's mostly you and your dad and your mom and anyone who can help out?

• 18:24Speaker 02

  Yeah. So we have about four, like, staff people that help us out for the season. So we're able to, on our busiest day, which is Saturdays, we're at five different markets.

• 18:33Guy Raz?

  And, and how much does a jar cost?

• 18:35Speaker 02

  So we have an eight ounce jar that is $9. And then we have a 12 ounce that is $12.

• 18:41Guy Raz?

  I'm sure the margins are pretty good on that. And as Damon mentioned, once you go into Into wholesale, you're selling for a lot less than that and you're making less than that. Where I completely agree that I think that you don't want to give up the farmers markets where you're really interacting with customers, hearing their feedback. But I do think that you want to start talking to smaller, as Damon mentioned, smaller proprietors. Maybe start with some natural grocers, food stores, smaller independent shops in Chicago where you can start to test the waters out and learn how quickly the inventory turns. Go and sample in those stores when you have a chance. And that really

• 19:23Guy Raz?

  gives you, at that point, in a sense, the right to take the next step. Because once you really get big, then you're talking about finding a distributor. And if you're going to work with a Whole Foods, or a Sprouts, or a Kroger, or Albertson's, one of these big chains, you're talking about a whole different ballgame. But it might be worth it to really just identify five or six smaller food proprietors in the Chicago area for the next six months to a year, and really test it out. And then, if that works, then you would want to pitch a bigger regional grocer.

• 20:00Speaker 02

  That's really interesting. We have had some people, you know, living down the street from me is kind of our local bodega, for lack of a better term. And I've gifted them some salsas, and they love it. And they're excited to get the product in there. But I've been very hesitant, just because you hear it so often, like, you want to get into the big stores. But at the same time, you do hear those kind of horror stories of just the amount of work and the small margins of what happens. So I've been kind of conflicted, whether, which route to take on that.

• 20:27Speaker 01

  The mom and pop stores are always, they're always much better. The big stores go to the mom and pop stores to look at what is moving. They're always going to be better than anybody else. You're talking directly to the owner proprietor. You know, the kid who's putting out the product in Sprouts is busy on Instagram, thinking about where they're going to go to college next. You know, they're not telling the story. You know, the mom and pop stores were the ones who made FUBU. People walked in there and they said, you want Nike, that's fine. But these four young men are busting their butt, and it's quality goods, and it's moving faster than Nike, and I'm even buying a piece.

• 21:01Guy Raz?

  And it's local, it's Chicago, there's a great family story there. It's a family that has a history, you know, running taquerias in Mexico, and now you brought those recipes to Chicago. I mean, that's really where you get the traction. That's really where you start to develop brand awareness and excitement. And that moves a lot faster than you can imagine. We've had many of those examples on the show in the past. So I would definitely start to find, identify some smaller stores in Chicago. Go into those stores, talk to customers, hand out samples. It gives you that experience of understanding how it's going to work at scale in retail.

• 21:44Speaker 02

  That's really interesting. And I appreciate the information. That's really helpful. And I already have my eye on a couple. So I'm really excited about getting into work on that.

• 21:52Guy Raz?

  Great. Christopher Navarro, the brand's called Sabore Américo. Thank you so much for calling in. Good luck.

• 21:57Speaker 02

  Thank you, guys. Have a great day.

• 21:59Guy Raz?

  Thank you. All right, we're going to take a quick break, but we'll be right back with another caller and another round of advice. Stay with us. I'm Guy Raz, and you're listening to the Advice Line, right here on How I Built This Lab.

• 22:17Guy Raz?

  We get support from Engine. A lot of founders start with a product or an idea. But at some point, the business becomes something else. Think about Brian Scudamore. He started 1-800 Got Junk with one truck and a vision to make junk removal a real brand. That worked. And then it became hundreds of crews across multiple cities, trucks on the road every day, routes changing by the hour, and a team that had to be in the right place before the customer even called. Or Beryl Stafford, who started Bobo's by baking oat bars in her kitchen. Next thing she knows, she's flying to retail meetings, demoing at trade shows, managing distributors coast to coast, running a national food brand out of what used to be a family

• 23:02Guy Raz?

  recipe. Or Tom Hale, who built backroads around the idea that active travel could be a premium experience. That means guides in six countries, gear shipments, guest logistics, thousands of moving pieces that all have to land before a single trip begins. Different businesses, same truth. Here's what I've noticed after talking to hundreds of founders. The hard part is rarely the big idea. It's what happens when the idea works. Suddenly, you've got people on the move, and all the logistics that come with it. That's the real test. And that's why I think Engine is worth knowing about. Engine is the fastest growing modern travel and spend platform in the country, built for small and medium sized businesses.

• 23:47Guy Raz?

  The average business traveler spends 45 minutes booking a single trip on a legacy platform. With Engine, that drops to as little as two and a half minutes. Last year, Engine customers saved $318 million on travel. Average savings of 26% on hotel bookings. No contracts, no booking fees. More than 1,000 businesses join Engine every month. Join them and get $500 when your business signs up and starts traveling at engine.com/built.

• 24:24Guy Raz?

  When I pull up to a gas pump to fill my car, I'm not thinking about chemistry or engineering. I'm thinking about getting in, filling up, and getting on with my day. And it reminds me a little bit of the founders I talked to on this show, because the best ones obsess over things their customers will never see. Tiny details, invisible improvements, relentless iteration. And not because anyone's watching, but because it makes the product better. That's what the mobile brand does. It engineers fuel the same way great founders engineer their products. Mobile Supreme Plus Premium Gas helps keep engines three times cleaner, which can mean better performance and improved gas mileage. It's for people who care about

• 25:07Guy Raz?

  what's under the hood, even if they never see it. Three times cleaner compared to mobile regular gas in port fuel injected engines. Actual results may vary. Visit mobilefuels.com for details. AI isn't just opening new business opportunities, it's changing the way businesses get work done. The questions they ask, the decisions they make, the routine tasks they can hand off. That's the idea behind NetSuite Next, the next generation of NetSuite with AI woven into the tools your business already relies on. NetSuite Next surfaces insights exactly when you need them, puts agents to work on routine tasks and problems, and lets you

• 25:48Guy Raz?

  ask complex questions in plain language, like talking to a knowledgeable colleague. But technology is only part of the story. AI is also reshaping how people and teams work together. And that shift is already underway. That's why NetSuite wants to put a new, expert created business guide in your hands today. It's called Aligning for the Agentic Era: How AI is Changing Everyday Work. And right now, it's yours, absolutely free. Inside, you'll discover how AI could reshape work across your entire organization, and how to position your business to prosper from it. If your revenues are at least in the seven figures, get NetSuite's free business guide, Aligning for the Agentic Era: How

• 26:33Guy Raz?

  AI is Changing Everyday Work, at netsuite.com/built. The guide is free to you at netsuite.com/built. netsuite.com/built. Does your team want a website that looks and feels handcrafted but is still fast to ship? Well, Framer is built exactly for that. With Framer, you design on a visual canvas with responsive layouts, hosting, and a CMS built in. So the work is production ready from day one. And you can get it done with help from Framer's AI agents. Framer is the AI website builder that helps creators, teams, and businesses ship production ready sites

• 27:15Guy Raz?

  faster than ever while getting every detail right. Prompt, inspect, edit, and publish in one place at a whole new pace. AI agents and humans work together. The agents bring speed and scale, and people bring taste, judgment, and control. Learn how you can get more out of your site from a Framer specialist, or get started building for free today at framer.com/built for 30% off a Framer Pro Annual Plan. That's framer.com/built. Rules and restrictions may apply.

• 27:58Guy Raz?

  Welcome back to the Advice Line on How I Built This Lab. I'm Guy Raz and my guest today is Damon John, founder of FUBU and a Shark on Shark Tank, and we're taking your calls. Damon, you ready for our next call?

• 28:09Speaker 01

  I'm ready. Let's do it.

• 28:11Speaker 03

  Hey Guy, hey Damon. Great to meet you and great to be here. Thanks so much. My name is Darcy. I'm based in Ballina, New South Wales, Australia. And along with my wife Jess, we are the founders of Raised Nutrition. At Raised, we are making whole food protein bars, free from any artificial flavors, sweeteners, preservatives, fillers, or even any natural flavors, for that matter.

• 28:33Guy Raz?

  Okay, welcome to the show, Darcy. So you are making a protein bar. Of course, there are thousands of protein bars on the market. Tell us a little bit about why yours is different, why somebody would choose yours over any other protein bar.

• 28:48Speaker 03

  For sure. Yeah, so you're 100% right. When we sort of looked at the protein bar market, it's a very, very saturated category. Our inspiration from it initially came from the RX Bar sort of model that Peter Rahal did in CrossFit. My wife Jess and I have trained Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for many years. And with that sport comes a lot of injuries and a lot of problems like that. So kind of initially didn't hit the ground thinking that we wanted to make a protein bar. What we ended up doing is having a look at, you know, why everyone's getting injured so much, myself included, and seeing, you know, that the nutritional component is huge there. And realizing that, you know, in Jiu Jitsu, there wasn't much available for people who wanted to start addressing that. So we wanted

• 29:31Speaker 03

  to make a product that spoke to the needs of that kind of sport.

• 29:36Guy Raz?

  Got it. Okay, so Jiu Jitsu, so protein bar right now for, aimed towards the Jiu Jitsu crowd. How long have you guys been in business?

• 29:44Speaker 03

  We've had the business founded for about 18 months, but we've only been live and trading for about seven months. We spent about a year working on the recipes to really build the thing that we wanted to build, so.

• 29:55Guy Raz?

  Got it. And tell me a little bit about your, your initial sales. What are you guys doing right now?

• 30:00Speaker 03

  We're sort of growing month on month, which is great. Last 30 days is about 18K. And that's definitely, you know, that's the peak for us at the moment.

• 30:07Guy Raz?

  And mostly direct to consumer right now?

• 30:09Speaker 03

  Mostly direct to consumer.

• 30:10Guy Raz?

  Or all entirely?

• 30:11Speaker 03

  Yeah, there's a, there's a handful of sort of wholesale customers with some Jiu Jitsu gyms and a couple of other health food stores, but yeah.

• 30:17Guy Raz?

  Got it. All right. Before we dive in a little further, what is your question for us?

• 30:21Speaker 03

  So we're finding quite quickly into this, that most of the uptake of our product is coming from outside Jiu Jitsu, ironically. It's, it's very much a health and wellness sort of product. So given that we're finding our audience isn't Jiu Jitsu based, should we continue on with the Jiu Jitsu origin story in the brand? Or should we start to move away from it so we don't alienate the people outside of the sport?

• 30:43Guy Raz?

  Okay, interesting question. Daymond John, questions, thoughts, ideas for him?

• 30:49Speaker 01

  Yeah, so why are you finding more success out of Jiu Jitsu? What are the reasons?

• 30:54Speaker 03

  I think the main bit of feedback we get is that we've gone and created a pure health food product that is very clean label. And I think it's just naturally attracting the people that are essentially pack flippers, the people who want to check the ingredients on everything. It doesn't seem to be the case in Jiu Jitsu that that is the predominant crowd. I don't think the health food focus is really there in the sport yet. So we are finding that runners and swimmers and just general health, health enthusiasts are the people that seem to be more attracted to the brand naturally.

• 31:24Speaker 01

  Got it. So, so I think that, I think that you need to land on something, right? And I think that Jiu Jitsu, first of all, is the natural history. That's the FUBU for us bias. And I think it's a little too early to hop off of that, because you want to hang on to something. It does not mean it's going to alienate anybody, because I got to tell you, when I first started drinking Tito's and I heard it was gluten free, I couldn't care less about gluten. I was paying extra for gluten at the time, but I just started drinking Tito's. Before you know it, I was drinking too much of it. Right? You know, so how it was brought to my attention was not necessarily why I then ended up buying it. So I wouldn't suggest it, and I think it's a little too early to move off of why

• 32:07Speaker 01

  you were created. Because then how do you tell your story? You know?

• 32:11Guy Raz?

  Yeah, I completely agree with you, Damon. I mean, you know, you think about Yeti, we just did Yeti on the show. That brand was started for fishermen originally, right? Lululemon for women who do hardcore yoga, as you mentioned, RX Bar for CrossFitters. But that was the tribe, those are the tribes that really pushed those products out into the mainstream. And you're so early in right now, you're only a few months in, that I think it's really worth kind of honing that tribe, right? And eventually down the road, you, you might say something like, well, we built these bars because, you know, we couldn't find a recovery bar, some clean recovery bar for people who do Jiu Jitsu. And that's why we initially made them clean ingredient, wherever you describe it, right?

• 32:54Guy Raz?

  You want that community to be the force multipliers, like, like the CrossFitters and RX Bar, who talk about the product because they like it. And, you know, Jiu Jitsu is a high energy sport, right? You get a lot of injuries. You mentioned recovery is critical. It's the same with a lot of sports, the same with swimming, it's the same with running. And so I think at this point, you really want to lean into that community and use them as your ambassadors.

• 33:21Speaker 03

  That's correct. Yeah, yeah. And that, that feels like the way, I mean, we'd, we'd love to take it, because obviously Jiu Jitsu was our inspiration. It's the sport we love. And, you know, in terms of getting into a crowded market, you know, we don't want to just hit the shelves with everyone else. We, we do want to carry our story forward. And it does, you know, it feels like that that would be a good way to do it. Yeah, cool.

• 33:40Guy Raz?

  Yeah, Damon, any other thoughts? I mean, I, one thing I thought of was the Australian angle. I mean, is there anything Australian, like the ingredients or anything specifically Australian about these bars that might make them interesting to people outside of Australia?

• 33:52Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, I think another key selling point that we seem to find pops up here in Australia, at least time and time again, and may hold some, some water for overseas, is that we are using a few key specialty Australian suppliers in the chain. So it's Australian grass fed collagen, Australian grown fruit where we can, things like that. So that, that is another reason I think we're finding people outside of the sport that are attracted to it for different reasons as well.

• 34:19Guy Raz?

  Yeah, it's interesting. By the way, collagen makes, that means they're not vegetarian or vegan, right?

• 34:23Speaker 03

  Correct. Yeah, yeah.

• 34:25Guy Raz?

  Yeah. It's an interesting ingredient to add to a protein bar.

• 34:28Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're definitely, in Australia at least, collagen protein is having, yeah, it's getting in the spotlight a fair bit as people are starting to realize, you know, particularly for the injury side, like ligament support, tendon support, things like that. That's what it's, it's good for. So, yeah.

• 34:42Speaker 01

  Is that the defining, is that the defining ingredient in the bar, the amount of collagen in there for the injuries?

• 34:50Speaker 03

  Yeah, we kind of call it the hero protein in the bar. It's about five grams of collagen per bar. But we've also combined it with an Australian pumpkin seed protein and an organic sprouted brown rice protein as well. So we've got three protein types for a good amino acid spectrum. And we're trying to get lots of minerals like magnesium and zinc in the bar as well for the recovery side of things. So.

• 35:08Speaker 01

  And is that what is attracting other people to it, collagen?

• 35:11Speaker 03

  I think so. I think it being one of the key ingredients is, yeah, is definitely an attractor, for sure.

• 35:16Speaker 01

  Yeah. You could, you could upplay that a little bit, you know, within the marketing. Make sure you upplay that somewhat on the packaging.

• 35:24Guy Raz?

  Yep, I agree. The brand is called Raised Nutrition. Darcy, thanks so much for calling and good luck.

• 35:30Speaker 03

  Amazing. Thanks so much, guys. Really appreciate it. Thank you very much.

• 35:33Guy Raz?

  Thank you.

• 35:33Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 35:35Guy Raz?

  Stay with us, because after the break, we'll talk to another founder working to take their business to the next level. I'm Guy Raz and you're listening to the Advice Line, right here on How I Built This Lab.

• 35:56Speaker 04

  Joe Button here. Football season is finally back and PrizePicks is bringing out their best offer yet. New users who sign up will get $150 in lineups if you win your first $5 lineup. That's right, if you win your first $5 lineup, you'll get $150 in lineups. On PrizePicks, you simply pick two to six players, pick more or less on their stat projections, and submit your lineup. Then sweat it out as you watch your picks play out live. It's the best way to get more locked in on game day. Make all the picks you want, this football season, all in the same app. Also, PrizePicks is going crazy with the deals to start the football season, giving users a new promo every day during Stack September. And now, PrizePicks is available nationwide. So what are you waiting for?

• 36:41Speaker 04

  Lock in for kickoff because everyone and everything is on PrizePicks. What you want?

• 36:46Speaker 05

  Download the app today and use code WONDERY to get one of your $50 instantly in lineups if you win your first $5 lineup. PrizePicks, run your game.

• 37:04Guy Raz?

  Welcome back to the advice line on how I built this lab. I'm Guy Raz and today I'm taking your calls with Damon John, founder of FUBU. Damon, ready for our next call?

• 37:13Speaker 01

  I'm ready. Let's go.

• 37:15Speaker 06

  Hi Guy, hi Damon. My name is Seema Sanghavi and I'm calling from the Niagara region, just outside of Toronto, Canada. My company is Cooks Who Feed. We ethically produce kitchen linens with a meal give back. We collaborate with well-known chefs to design products for our retail line. And we also create custom linens for businesses, mostly in hospitality and tourism. Today, we've provided around 2 million meals to those in need through the sale of our linens.

• 37:42Guy Raz?

  Awesome. Welcome to the show, Seema. So this is a, this is not a nonprofit business, it's a for-profit business, but it's a social enterprise.

• 37:49Speaker 06

  Correct. Yes, very much for-profit business. But we're, we're all about doing things the right way and making sure we're not harming the planet. And we own our own production facility just north of Delhi. We actually hire women from the surrounding villages who don't usually have opportunity and train them to be seamstresses and provide them with a safe, fair place to work.

• 38:09Guy Raz?

  And, and how long have you been in business?

• 38:11Speaker 06

  It's been about six years now.

• 38:12Speaker 01

  Very good.

• 38:13Guy Raz?

  Okay. And, and so it's aprons and, and what else? Like when you say linens, what are the products?

• 38:19Speaker 06

  Yeah. So on our retail line, we do, we have a kids line for kids aprons. We do our chef aprons. Those are our flagship product. We also do tea towels, grocery totes, wine totes, linen napkins. And then for businesses, we've done everything from, you know, different style of aprons, server aprons, bar aprons, chef coats, table cloths, really anything that fits under that kitchen linen umbrella.

• 38:44Guy Raz?

  Yeah, these are nice. I'm looking at your website right now. Seema, what, what percentage of your sales right now are B2B versus direct to consumer?

• 38:52Speaker 06

  About 75% are B2B right now. So we work with small, like restaurant groups. We work with celebrity cruises, so large, large businesses and even culinary schools as well.

• 39:04Guy Raz?

  You're working with celebrity cruises. That's great. And are you, how much personalization do you do? For example, a restaurant that wants their, their logo or label on their aprons.

• 39:15Speaker 06

  Yeah. So full, they get to choose their colors. They get to really do their own style, their logos. We do embroidery in-house. Yeah, really it's anything, pocket styles if they have, if they want to do different color straps. So really it's, as you know, we can customize as much as they would like.

• 39:33Guy Raz?

  I've got tons of questions for you, but before we dive in further, what is your question for us?

• 39:37Speaker 06

  So my question is, we really want to focus on growing our B2B side of the business because that's, that's where we've seen the most growth. It's repeatable, like working with businesses that require aprons to run their business and their more larger volume sales. So how do we convince them to switch vendors? This is my question.

• 39:56Guy Raz?

  All right. Daymond John, I want to bring you in. Questions, thoughts for Seema before we dive into her question?

• 40:03Speaker 01

  Well, as any customer, what is keeping them up at night? You know, vendors don't often switch because you're better. They switch often because the old guy or girl they're dealing with seems to start getting a little risky. And they feel that you're a safe progression of where they can go. So you'd have to prove to them why you're safe. You know, as I call it, give them an undeniable package, you know, something that allows them to test the waters with you, test it very small and feel that if it doesn't go anywhere, they didn't risk everything. What is your unique selling proposition to them?

• 40:44Speaker 01

  Sometimes it's, why Bombas socks is the most successful product in Shark Tank history. Sometimes it's, you can brag about two things, what you've done with us and how you've helped somebody else get a meal. And that can be in your communication.

• 41:01Guy Raz?

  You know, Damon, you mentioned Bombas and I, and of course you were an investor and we've had both those guys on the show and it's an amazing company. But correct me if I'm wrong, I mean, people don't buy Bombas socks because they give a pair away to a homeless shelter. They buy them because they're good socks primarily, right?

• 41:17Speaker 01

  I would say both. I would say, and you're right, product is always going to be king. You can't make crap product, right? So I would say that they go and check out the socks and say, oh my God. And then they go, and by the way, it's giving away a pair. And that thing is the thing that's making people go. And by the way, because my daughter, I remember told some of her friends, I'm buying you 10 pairs of socks for the holidays and you're going to help give away 10 to 10 other people because it becomes a bragging point. But of course, product is always going to be king.

• 41:47Guy Raz?

  Yeah. The reason, Damon, I asked you about the, the Bombas and the, the mission is because, you know, the, the evidence I have seen in recent years is that at the end of the day, consumers choose value, right? Quality and value. And of course, there are some consumers who are going to, you know, buy a razor because it's going to help somebody in need or a pair of glasses because it's going to. But, but by and large, most consumers, from what I've seen, still choose value and quality. It's, Seema, I'm looking at what you're selling here and it looks like really high-quality products and a good value. But I wonder, have you been able to identify businesses that are aligned with the mission?

• 42:29Guy Raz?

  Where the mission will matter, like restaurant, like some Michelin restaurants, it may be really important to them. It may be a part of the story they want to tell. How, how much of that are you doing to identify businesses that are really, that where this could really matter as part of their story?

• 42:46Speaker 06

  Yeah. I mean, we've really just tried to focus on the higher end, the higher end tier. Cause I've noticed that that's where there is already a focus on sustainability and social responsibility. But that mostly just comes from the F and B space, right? Like they're looking at where are we sourcing our ingredients? And for the conversation and for me is, okay, well, it's great that you're looking at that from, you know, the food and drink standpoint. However, what about all your kitchen linens? Like why are they, why are you using polyester? Why is it made in China? You know, so you're obviously giving back to your local community. That's great. We can help you do that even further. And that's by purchasing something you're already purchasing. And we've been very good at meeting the price, if not beating the price while having the impact.

• 43:28Guy Raz?

  You know, I think also of restaurant groups, right? Like we just did Stephen Star Restaurants, which is a very successful restaurant group in the United States. I think they've got nine out of the top 100 highest grossing restaurants, independent restaurants in the United States. You know, a lot of these restaurant groups are focused on sustainability. And I wonder if you have made attempts to try and reach some of those groups?

• 43:52Speaker 06

  I have. Unfortunately, it's been unsuccessful, but I'm still at it.

• 43:58Speaker 06

  And it's funny that you're saying all this to kind of, you know, the whole idea of, you know, how to make them the hero. And I feel like that's, that's what actually helped us get Celebrity, which is our biggest client to date. It was, you know, hey, you guys are using, are single-use plastic free. Why don't we create an apron that is made out of, you know, recycled plastic bottles? So that's, you know, sustainable fabric and it has the meal give back. And they tell that story. They use them for their onboard culinary classes. So every time they give them, they tell the story, right? So it's like, how do we make them look good? And that's what I try to do when I, when I pitch is how can I help you look better? And, and fit with what you're trying to achieve as well.

• 44:34Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think Guy has a point. I mean, somebody who aligns perfectly with that would be Jose Andres in World Central Kitchen. Right? Because he's about giving meals as well and so many other things.

• 44:45Guy Raz?

  But I also think in addition to that, like part of, of what really a brand like yours benefits from is hard referrals. Because you're trying to get bigger organizations that use linens and aprons and, you know, that really are using volume to, to give you a shot. And so to get that, I, I think you're, you're going to benefit the most from your existing clients, you know, who are going to offer referrals on your behalf.

• 45:15Speaker 06

  We are, we just recently started working with Relais Chateau. So one of their locations here in Canada. So I'm trying to use exactly what you're saying, trying to get them to refer me to the other Relais Chateau brands within like North America, because there's so many locations in the US. To say like, if you're, now that you're working with us and you're happy with the product, you know, could you introduce us to these other locations? Because their focus on sustainability is, is, you know, is equally there.

• 45:41Guy Raz?

  Damon, just one, one question though. I mean, 75% of her sales right now are, are, are B2B. I, my instinct is don't discount direct to consumer, right? I mean, Bombas is a direct to consumer. I mean, that's, that's their bread and butter. I know that people probably don't buy aprons and linens as much as they buy socks, but people do buy linens and aprons for, you know, for their homes.

• 46:06Speaker 01

  Oh, you'd be absolutely surprised. You know, the hottest thing in, you know, these days are live selling, live selling on whatnot, TikTok shops and all these type of things. And live selling, you can live sell to an audience of other ambassadors that will sell the product themselves. Or you can live sell directly to consumers. The best thing about that is you're, you're directly hearing what they're thinking about the product, right? You know, you sell obviously to B2B. You don't know why the person liked to this, you know, the end customer liked it, disliked it, what they loved about it, what they prefer about it. But live selling platforms are the best by far. It is a huge, huge market right now and we're right at the, we're right at the beginning of it. And you get some real feedback.

• 46:50Guy Raz?

  Seema, one, one final bit of advice for you, just my, my thought is, I would love to see images, pictures, videos of these aprons being made. I mean, the process of making these, of dyeing them, of embroidering them, the work that's going into it. I think that should be the selling point. These are handcrafted by artisans in India with the finest materials and quality. Oh, and also by the way, you know, we are feeding people. We're also employing all of these women who are building their own businesses or whatever story you, you can tell around that, I think is important. But I also think that the quality and the production process should be out, out in front.

• 47:33Speaker 06

  Okay. Thank you so much. It's not lost on me on how, you know, great this opportunity is. So thank you so much both for your time today.

• 47:41Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 47:41Guy Raz?

  Thank you, Seema. Cooks Who Feed is the brand, Seema Sanghavi. Good luck. Thank you so much for calling in. Yeah, I mean, I think it's interesting you were saying about Bombas and that you found, from what you know, there are a lot of people who are buying it or who are choosing Bombas because of the social mission.

• 47:59Speaker 01

  Well, that's what was attracted to them. That's what keeps them there. And again, it's a story, right? You know already because you've interviewed them, the founders, they're in those communities. They know the directors of the communities. They know the people there. So this is not just a random gift. This is kind of, it means something to them. And then once you buy a pair like that, you like the product, you don't go elsewhere, really.

• 48:21Guy Raz?

  I think I'm wearing a pair right now. Actually, as we speak, I am. So there you go.

• 48:26Speaker 01

  There you go.

• 48:26Guy Raz?

  Before I let you go, I have one question for you, Damon. If you could go back to you at Red Lobster, you know, the guy in his 20s, and you could give him advice now, based on all your experience, what you know, what you've done, what would you tell him?

• 48:42Speaker 01

  Financial intelligence. Learn how money works, because I can't guarantee you'll make a million or a billion, but I guarantee you're going to have to pay the bills, you're going to have to balance the checkbook, you're going to have to have resources. And if you start putting away now and invest in millionaires and billionaires who in this thing called the public market, you don't, Steve Jobs is never going to call you to ask to fix a computer because he's dead. Bezos is probably not going to call you to ship a box. And if you learn how to work those numbers, you'll also be better prepared for when you want to launch a FUBU, buy a home and various other things. So don't wait till you think you're going to hit the lotto or lightning is going to strike you, because most likely that's not going to happen. You've got to start studying it today.

• 49:25Guy Raz?

  Get rich slowly.

• 49:27Speaker 01

  Get rich slowly. That's it. It's the marathon, but do it.

• 49:30Guy Raz?

  For sure. That's Daymond John. He's the founder of the streetwear brand FUBU and of course, a shark on Shark Tank. Damon, thanks so much for coming back on the show.

• 49:37Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 49:38Guy Raz?

  And by the way, if you haven't heard Damon's original episode, go back and check it out. It is an incredible story. And here's one of my favorite clips from that episode. You come back to New York with $300,000 worth of orders. How are you going to finance that?

• 49:55Speaker 01

  That was a big question right there. I didn't know what I didn't know. I didn't have any financial education. I didn't even have an accountant at the time. So I went to all the banks I could, and I got turned down by 27 of them.

• 50:09Guy Raz?

  27 banks?

• 50:11Speaker 01

  Yeah. It was so bad loan sharks were turning me down.

• 50:14Guy Raz?

  Hey, thanks so much for listening to the show this week. And by the way, please make sure to check out my newsletter. You can sign up for it for free at guyraz.com or on Substack. And of course, if you are working on a business and you'd like to be on this show, send us a one-minute message that tells us a little bit about your business and the questions or issues that you're currently facing, because we would love to try and help you solve them. You can send us a voice memo at [email protected] or call us at 1-800-433-1298. Leave a message there and make sure to tell us how to reach you and we'll put all of this information in the podcast description as well. This episode was produced by Catherine

• 50:58Guy Raz?

  Cypher with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Kwesi Lee. Our production staff also includes Alex Chung, L.A. and Coats, Casey Herman, J.C. Howard, Carla Estevez, Chris Messini, Kerry Thompson, Niva Grant, and Sam Paulson. I'm Guy Raz, and you've been listening to How I Built This. Thanks again to Engine for their support. If your business is growing and your team is traveling, Engine makes it simple and saves you money doing it. 33,000 businesses have joined. Now it's your turn. Engine.com/built.