Podcast Summary: Brain Driven Brands

Episode: We're Taking a Break: What's Next for Brain Driven Brands
Host: Sarah Levinger (B)
Co-Host: Nate (A)
Date: January 21, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Sarah Levinger and her co-host Nate candidly announce a pause in the Brain Driven Brands podcast. They reflect on their personal and professional growth, share behind-the-scenes insights into their own brands and roles, and outline their reasons for this break. Rather than a farewell, this is a contemplative stop to reassess priorities, reposition their brands, and plan what’s next for Brain Driven Brands. The episode is rich in transparency, strategic thinking, and a dose of their signature humor.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why the Break? Personal and Professional Growth

• Recent Hiatus: Sarah apologizes for not posting in recent weeks due to illness, travel, and family commitments.
  • “I haven't posted mostly because we got crazy sick, traveling a lot, went to Disney with the kids... And then of course, you get to the beginning of the year, you reset a lot.” (00:12)
• Re-evaluating Priorities: Both hosts share how personal growth and professional responsibilities have led them to reconsider how and why they produce the show.
  • “You take a look at your priorities. And I think both Nate and I have been like, we've been changing a lot. I feel like we've been growing as people.” (00:23)

2. Origins and Evolution of the Podcast

• Podcast Beginnings:
  • Sarah recalls starting the podcast as a "pet project," crediting Scotty for believing in her.
    • “Shout out to Scotty if you're still listening. He's lovely, lovely gentleman. Took a chance on me and was like, let me produce your, your podcast for you...” (01:27)
  • Nate joined almost immediately as the only co-host candidate.
    • “You are my top pick and my only pick. I was like, if I can't have Nate, I'm not going to do [it]” (01:59)
• Growth and Impact:
  • The podcast grew organically from casual Friday conversations to a consistent, successful show with advertising and a strong following.

3. Reasons for the Pause & What’s Next

• Reflection on Fit and Future:
  • Sarah explains the need to regroup and ensure the podcast aligns with their evolving goals.
    • “The toughest part about branding and marketing is, though, does it fit where we want to go next?... I want to sit for a second. I think we should pause the podcast and think about what we want to do with it next.” (02:43)
• Assurance to Listeners:
  • It's a pause, not an end. Past episodes and their other content remain accessible.
    • “Obviously not the end, but it is a pause. We're going to take a minute just to be contemplative for a minute and see what happens next.” (10:48)

4. Personal Projects and Brand Updates

Sarah’s Focus: Personal Brand & Tether

• Rebranding and Streamlining:
  • Sarah plans to elevate her personal brand, making it more streamlined and cohesive.
    • “I kind of want the personal brand to become something a little bit more streamlined so it's easier for me to manage. But also I kind of want to work on the packaging.” (04:17)
• Clarifying Tether’s Purpose:
  • Nate gives a succinct summary of Tether Insights, underscoring its value in understanding deep consumer motivation.
    • Nate: “Insights is a consumer research analysis firm. What it does, it unlocks the real insights as to why people are buying from you. Insights that you cannot unlock from a normal post purchase survey.” (05:36)
  • Sarah admits she’s struggled with communicating Tether’s value and is using this break to regroup on messaging.
    • “That's why I'm working on Tether... I have not been describing it that way to my customers almost at all for the entirety of like my journey here in D2C.” (06:51)

Nate’s Focus: CMO at Adapt Natural, Startup & Messaging

• CMO Role at Adapt Natural:
  • Excited about driving "very quick and very profitable growth," building out teams, and leading the brand to new heights.
    • “Our plan is very quick and very profitable growth. We're doing that already our year over year comps look... so green from last year. It's awesome.” (07:26)
• Building His Own Brand:
  • Nate details the challenge and excitement of going from "zero to one" as a founder.
    • “It was a really started out as kind of like a passion project, but now I'm seeing that like it's got the legs to be something real... I never went from 0 to 1.” (08:17)
• Specialization in Messaging:
  • He emphasizes the transformative power of customer-centric messaging and growth-focused copywriting.
    • “Most... call it copywriting, but I call it growth. I joke internally with the Adapt team that CMOs right now stands for Chief Messaging Officer.” (09:13)
  • Tangibly, he’s been able to generate $7 million in incremental revenue through his copywriting work at one brand.
    • “I can prove an incremental $7 million from copy I've written at one brand in the last, like, 16 months.” (09:32)

5. Signature Banter & Human Touch

• Playful Exchanges:
  • Their friendship and wit shine throughout, such as the running joke about age and closing the show on a light, “weird” note.
    • Nate: “What else are staples of the show? I got to make fun of your age at some point.” (03:16)
    • Sarah: “Mentally. I think you're there already.” (03:36)
  • The episode ends with Nate teasing Sarah, and a mutual appreciation for the listeners.
    • Nate: “Sarah's 40.” (11:38)
    • Sarah: “Why do I end it on such a weird note every single time?” (11:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On growth and pausing:
  “Sometimes you gotta prioritize. So I would love to hear from you though, because I know you, we talked about this, of like the reasons that I want to kind of take a step back. What is your year kind of looking like?” — Sarah (06:54)

• On Tether’s deeper insights:
  “Unlocking the real reasons that people are choosing to buy your category and ultimately buy from your brand. I mean, has literally helped me take brands from 20 to 40 and 50 and 60 million dollars a year.” — Nate (06:27)

• On messaging as growth:
  “Most, you will call it copywriting, but I call it growth. Like, I joke internally with the Adapt team that CMOs right now stands for Chief Messaging Officer.” — Nate (09:13)

• On gratitude for listeners:
  “We honestly have a lot of good things to be very grateful for. Like, we're very blessed as people and we love that you guys have listened to us for so long, just yapping away.” — Sarah (10:48)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:12 — Sarah shares why there’s been a recent gap in episodes and how both hosts are re-evaluating.
• 01:27 — Origins of the podcast and why Nate became the only co-host.
• 02:43 — Sarah reveals her wish to pause and reassess the show’s direction.
• 03:16–03:40 — Playful host banter about age.
• 04:17 — Sarah explains her plans to streamline her personal brand.
• 05:36 — Nate succinctly describes what Tether Insights does for e-commerce brands.
• 07:26 — Nate discusses his growth strategy as CMO of Adapt Natural.
• 08:17 — Reflection on building a brand from scratch and past scaling experiences.
• 09:13–09:32 — Insights on messaging and its measurable impact on brand performance.
• 10:41 — Affirming the podcast is on pause, not ending, and gratitude for listeners.
• 11:38–11:59 — The episode closes with their trademark humor and endearing awkwardness.

Closing Thoughts

This episode is an authentic, valuable window into the lives and minds behind Brain Driven Brands. Sarah and Nate candidly discuss the realities of personal transformation, business evolution, and the sometimes hard decisions needed to grow. Listeners are encouraged to revisit previous episodes and follow their continued work across platforms, with the promise of more to come after this strategic pause.