He Launched a Tiny Ice Cream Factory, Now It’s a National Brand ft. Alec Jaffe

Summary

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Consumer VC Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Title: He Launched a Tiny Ice Cream Factory, Now It’s a National Brand ft. Alec Jaffe

Host: Mike Gelb
Guest: Alec Jaffe, Founder & CEO, Alec’s Ice Cream
Date: December 2, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Mike Gelb interviews Alec Jaffe, founder and CEO of Alec’s Ice Cream, a pioneering CPG brand known for high-quality, gut-friendly dairy ice cream with a focus on sustainability, regenerative farming, and innovative product development. The conversation takes listeners from Alec’s childhood obsession with ice cream, through the challenges of launching and scaling a vertically integrated brand—including funding, manufacturing, and distribution—to strategic product innovation and the future of consumer trends in both the ice cream and dairy industries.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Alec’s Early Passion & Brand Origin (00:04–04:29)

• Early Inspiration: Alec’s passion began in childhood, teaching himself to make ice cream after always craving it post-basketball games and finding his freezer full at home.

  "I love ice cream like any kid ... so I was like, well, I'm going to teach myself how to make ice cream. And never had any idea it would lead to where I'm at today." (Alec, 02:43)

• Turning Passion into a Business: After a startup he worked at shut down, Alec explored different products before recognizing a gap: great-tasting ice cream made with premium, clean ingredients.

Defining High-Quality Ice Cream & Market Gaps (04:29–05:50)

• Alec saw the market split between flavorful but unhealthy ice cream and “frozen dessert” products that substitute ingredients for calories and taste poorly.
• Alec’s strategy: Combine taste with quality by sourcing local, organic, pasture-raised dairy and minimal, clean ingredients.

The Science & Standards: What Sets Alec’s Apart (05:59–08:44)

• The Ice Cream vs Frozen Dessert Distinction:

  "It’s a standard of identity created by the FDA... a frozen dessert is less fat, more air, less solids typically. So it’s literally a different product, although it can resemble ice cream." (Alec, 05:59)

• Ingredient Quality & Gut Health: Adoption of A2 dairy became the key differentiator, with many customers reporting they can finally enjoy ice cream again without digestive issues.

Building the Supply Chain & Local Sourcing (06:42–07:32)

• Intensive relationship-building with local dairy farms.
• “We’re very involved with our supply chain—much more so than you would typically be for a brand at our size... Dairy is a very unique supply chain.” (Alec, 06:57)

Product Development & First Traction (08:44–10:31)

• Local distribution in the Bay Area around their self-operated factory in Petaluma, CA.
• Early feedback from local customers and retailers (Good Earth Natural Foods) was essential validation.
• Discovery of a small, shutdown ice cream factory catalyzed vertical integration.

Channel Strategy & Crossing the “Chasm” (10:32–13:07)

• Start in natural groceries, then expand beyond.
• Key point: Premium products must resonate across different consumer bases, not just Whole Foods but also Kroger, Walmart, and Costco.
• Success hinges on taste and a clear, relevant product differentiation; pricing needs to be “premium, but approachable."

Approach to Pricing & Value Perception (13:07–15:32)

• Pricing must fit category norms; can justify up to a 25–30% premium if the differentiation is clear and understood by the consumer.

  “If the people shopping at a Kroger don’t even know what [your product’s unique attribute] is, then... why am I paying $2 more...? That’s part of the challenge—being different but familiar at the same time.” (Alec, 13:07)

Fundraising & the Journey to Series A (16:24–20:27)

• Early funding was scrappy: angel investors helped Alec buy equipment and launch.
• VCs are wary of ice cream due to the tough economics of frozen products.
• Culture Cup’s viral success—boosted by TikTok—was pivotal for winning over investors, leading to a successful $11M Series A led by Imaginary Ventures.

Vertical Integration: Operating Their Own Factory (20:27–31:43)

• Why Self-Manufacture? Difficulty finding compatible co-packers led Alec to lease and equip a small factory.
• Pros & Cons: More control and agility, but complexity in operations, inventory, and working capital.

  “You’re kind of always running production... sometimes that agility can hurt you where you keep too many raw materials on hand.” (Alec, 29:25)

• Scaling Pains: Increased demand from national expansion led to capacity constraints ("a great problem to have").
• Balancing two product lines (pints and Culture Cup) out of a single small facility presents logistical and brand challenges.

Culture Cup: The Breakout Success (20:39–24:28)

• Created out of necessity for a “novelty” product using available capabilities.
• Key insight: Add probiotics to A2 dairy, then coat cups in chocolate—leading to a fun, gut-friendly, and viral product.
• Organic TikTok buzz drove immense demand (“people DMed us day one: ‘It’s not in Whole Foods yet...’”).

  “It’s gone better than I expected... it just has been going crazy ever since then. It’s lifted the brand. It’s lifted our pint sales as well.” (Alec, 22:11)

Scaling Supply & Navigating Industry Trends (32:24–36:15)

• Dairy demand is rising as consumer diets swing back to animal protein and nutrient density.
• Challenge: The supply of pasture-raised, regenerative family farms is not growing, and many are closing.

  “Dairy farming is a hard, it’s a lot of work. So... age of farmers increasing and them wanting to retire; do kids want to take over the family farm? ...That’s something that’s happening throughout the agricultural system.” (Alec, 35:12)

Regenerative Agriculture: Definitions & Partnerships (36:15–42:05)

• Personal roots: Alec’s family exposure to sustainable farming inspired the brand’s mission.
• The definition of “regenerative” is debated; Alec adopts an outcomes-based view: land health, carbon matter in soil, and resilient ecosystems.

  “Are you actively repairing the planet and the soil that is on your land or not—that’s ultimately how I think about it.” (Alec, 38:19)

• Partners with Land to Market for third-party soil and outcomes verification.

The Frozen Category: Challenges & Competition (42:21–46:23)

• Frozen (especially ice cream) is extremely competitive, with finite shelf space and strong regional players.
• The freezer aisle is seeing a wave of innovation, yet logistics and category saturation make it one of the toughest spaces in grocery.

Product Innovation & Brand Vision (47:46–56:45)

• A2 dairy as a differentiator is still early in the American zeitgeist, but awareness is growing.
• Flavors are developed in-house via a collaborative process, focused on gaps/opportunities in the competitive set.
• Focus on expanding core products (pints, Culture Cup), while also exploring new ideas—but with discipline.
• On VC partnership: Value comes from thought leadership, network introductions, healthy tension, and honest dialogue, but “ultimately, [investors] should be aligned with what you want from them.” (Alec, 51:35)

Books & Inspiration (61:39–63:50)

• Personal inspiration: Shoe Dog (Phil Knight), Endurance (Alfred Lansing)
• Professional inspiration: Ramping Your Brand (Dr. James Richardson)

  “That book to me was the most clear look at how to think about building a brand in CPG.” (Alec, 62:45)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• "I love ice cream like any kid... I was like, well, I'm going to teach myself how to make ice cream." ([02:43], Alec Jaffe)
• "Frozen dessert is like... less fat, it's more air, it's less solids typically. So it’s literally a different product, although it can resemble ice cream." ([05:59], Alec)
• “A big component is the A2 dairy we use... so many customers reach out and say they can finally enjoy ice cream again.” ([08:12], Alec)
• "If the people shopping at a Kroger don't even know what [your differentiation] is, then... why am I paying $2 more?... That’s also part of the challenge—being different but familiar at the same time." ([13:07], Alec)
• "Culture Cup... just started. It got more traction than anything we have ever posted ever. Hundreds of thousands of views, over a thousand comments. Such a positive sentiment, which you never get that on the Internet." ([22:11], Alec)
• "There are these core links between [pints and Culture Cup]... clean ingredients, A2 dairy, gut healthy, and just taste and delicious product experiences." ([25:04], Alec)
• "Dairy is a unique supply chain... It takes time for supply to catch up [to demand]." ([33:20], Alec)
• "It’s really about how do you create a healthy dialogue, healthy conversation, and use that conversation [with investors] to get the company to the best place." ([53:51], Alec)
• "Things take way longer than you think and they're usually going to cost more than you think... you can't always just will your way through something." ([60:46], Alec)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Alec’s origin story & early product development: 00:04–04:29
• Ingredient philosophy and supply chain: 04:29–08:44
• Technical standards of ice cream: 05:59–06:42
• First retail experiences and vertical integration: 09:01–10:31
• Channel strategy—expanding beyond natural: 10:32–13:07
• Pricing and value communication: 13:07–15:58
• Raising capital and Series A insights: 16:55–20:27
• Culture Cup: from idea to viral success: 20:39–24:28
• Managing growth, factory operations, and working capital: 24:28–31:43
• Supply chain challenges in dairy: 32:24–36:15
• Defining and verifying regenerative agriculture: 36:15–42:05
• The frozen aisle’s competition and innovation: 42:21–46:23
• A2 dairy in consumer consciousness: 47:46–48:18
• Product development and maintaining brand focus: 49:15–56:45
• On investors and boardroom dynamics: 50:56–54:45
• Recommended books and inspiration: 61:39–63:50

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Additional Insights

• Key Success Factor: Viral social media (TikTok) was pivotal for Culture Cup's launch, reinforcing the importance of digital engagement for consumer brands.
• Industry Trend: Demand for gut-friendly foods and “regenerative” practices is rising, but consumer education on terms like “A2 dairy” and “regenerative agriculture” lags behind.

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Tone & Language

The conversation is open, pragmatic, and filled with founder-level candor about challenges, failures, and the iterative nature of building a CPG brand. Alec balances optimism and realism, providing actionable insights and honest reflections on scaling sustainably in an intensely competitive segment.

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Transcript

[Mike Alb]

What compelled you to learn how to make ice cream when you were in elementary school?

[Alec Ja]

I love ice cream. My freezer was always full of ice cream and so I was like, well, I'm going to teach myself how to make ice cream.

[Mike Alb]

Did you have any idea that you thought this was going to work as well as it did in terms of the product selling?

[Alec Ja]

We launched it in stores April 7th and that day we had people dming us being like, it's not in Whole Foods yet. I went to three different stores like I can't find it. Where is it? Yeah, it's just lifted the brand. It's lifted our pint sales as well. So it hasn't really cannibalized. It's been a really pretty amazing thing to see. Foreign.

[Podcast Narrator]

Hey, I'm Mike Alb and this is Consumer VC where we break down what it takes to invest in and build scalable consumer brands. If you're enjoying the show, hit subscribe on your favorite platform and sign up to the newsletter at the [e-mail] you'll get a weekly roundup of the latest fundraises, product launches around consumer and new episodes of this podcast. Know that when you subscribe you're helping us make more of this content. Our guest today is Alec Ja, who is the founder and CEO of Alex's Ice Cream. How Alex's Ice cream is different from conventional ice cream is that it uses sustainable regenerative dairy and a 2 protein dairy that's also gluten free which is better for digestion and low inflammation. Recently they raised an $11 million Series A LED by imaginary vendors. In this episode we discuss why Alex

[Mike Alb]

started experimenting with ice cream in the

[Podcast Narrator]

first place and the problem that he was solving that he thinks hasn't been solved in ice cream. Why they decided to become vertically integrated, also why they took on venture money and how Culture cup, their product expansion exploded the business. Which is a really, really interesting and cool story. But before we get to Alex, before we get into it, I want to share more information about our sponsor Glimpse. This episode is brought to you by Glimpse. Glimpse is an AI powered end to end deductions management service that's focused on recovery revenue from Keiki, Unfi, Amazon and Target for consumer brands. They help by the centralized deductions with backups. They fully handle disputing on your behalf, the brand's behalf and they streamline the accounting process. They work with 100 plus brands that include pure Hydration, Little Box and sauce. If you have a brand and Would like to learn more about how they can help you buy deductions in retail. Go to tryglimps.com that is T R Y GL I M P S. Without further ado, here is Alec.

[Mike Alb]

Alec, thank you so much for joining me here today. Happy Friday.

[Alec Ja]

Yeah, thanks for having me. Happy Friday.

[Mike Alb]

First of all, I love your ice cream. It's absolutely delicious. Tell me what compelled you to learn how to make ice cream when you were in elementary school?

[Alec Ja]

So I love ice cream like any kid, you know. I, it's just something that I can remember when, you know, coming back from basketball games as a kid, we'd stop at Baskin Robbins on the way home. My freezer was always full of ice cream at home. It just was kind of this thing that we would always have. And so I was like, well I'm going to teach myself how to make ice cream. And never had any idea it would lead to where I'm at today.

[Mike Alb]

Where did you. Well, when did you think about then ice cream in regarding to actually creating an and ice cream business.

[Alec Ja]

So I was working in tech at a startup and I was a sales and marketing employee at this small startup and the company was shutting down. I was like, okay, well what do I want to do? What do I want to do for my, for my career, my life and start playing around some different ideas. I just kind of had this, this itch to create something and started experimenting with a bunch of different products. One of them being ice cream of course. And um, I recognized that there just wasn't this, there wasn't a pro, an ice cream in the market that tasted amazing and was made with really great high quality ingredients that I could feel good about and you know, were better for me and that kind of just like I was like, oh, this is a really interesting potential opportunity. So just started experimenting with recipes at home making product for friends and family and spent a long time doing that and then eventually people liked the product enough. I was like, okay, maybe this will be a interesting business idea and started going from there.

[Mike Alb]

Can you walk me through in terms of how you thought about your definition in terms of like high quality ingredients? How do you thought about how you thought about even like the supply chain side of things from probably the get go and, and elaborate as well in terms of what other companies you felt like they were not doing?

[Alec Ja]

So I was looking for an ice cream that like I, I noticed that there was ice creams that either tasted great but I didn't feel great after eating them or these low calorie ice creams that really were frozen dessert kind of food science experiments that didn't taste that great to me. And I was like, why can't we combine the sort of ethos or mission of what these products are trying to do into one thing? And so I started with just like, how can we make a really clean, simple, delicious, organic ice cream pint and using really high quality. We started with local pasture raised family farms and then, you know, use really simple ingredients and kind of build it from there. And then we eventually started transitioning into like a 2 dairy. Getting involved with regenerative farming and just continuing to further this, this mission of delicious ice cream that is, tastes better and is better for you and the planet.

[Mike Alb]

When you can you walk us through in terms of what the difference is between in your mind, a frozen dessert versus ice cream?

[Alec Ja]

So it's literally, it's a standard of identity created by the fda and it has to do with how much, you know, butterfat is in the, the ice cream, how many, what they call solids, you know, how much air can you whip into the product. There's all sorts of things that, that go into it. And so a frozen dessert is. Frozen dessert is like, you know, less than the, you know, it's less fat, it's more air, it's more, less solids typically. And so it's just like literally a different product, although it can resem ice cream.

[Mike Alb]

How, how did you go about, I guess building these relationships with, with farmers and then for local pasture raised family farms?

[Alec Ja]

Yeah, I mean it's just, it's a lot of, just kind of time and effort of reaching out, building relationships and networking within the dairy world and you know, going out to the different suppliers, different distributors. And I would say we're very involved with our supply chain. Much more so than typically you would be for a brand at our size and especially with dairy. Dairy in itself is a very unique supply chain that involves you, requires you to be very involved with the farm level side of things.

[Mike Alb]

Can you talk a little bit about, about as well how you thought about experimenting with, in terms of when you felt like you actually nailed it and got it right when it came to taste and also as well, you know, feeling better afterwards. And a dumb question, but, but is it because of the higher quality ingredients that you feel better afterwards because, because of Alex? Is there, is there other, is there other in terms of different quantities that you're, that you're kind of think as well when it comes to different ingredient choices? How do you think about nailing that Part of it too.

[Alec Ja]

I think that the A2 dairy we use is a big component of that. It's. It's been pretty incredible how so many customers reach out to us and say that they can finally enjoy ice cream again because of the A2 dairy that we use. And they don't have digestion issues and, you know, they don't have any discomfort after eating our ice cream. So I would give. Give a lot of credit to that. And then I think just having, you know, a clean, simple ingredient list is also helpful.

[Mike Alb]

How so what was. What was the approach first when it came to distribution? And when did you know that you had. When you had the right product that you were. That you felt like had it had a shot of do it had a shot of doing well.

[Alec Ja]

So we started locally. We started in the. In. We're based in the Bay Area around San Francisco, and we have actually our own manufacturing facility in a town called Petaluma, California. And so we started really just selling stores locally around, around the factory. I mean, I would drop off product and put it on the shelf myself. Our first retailer was Good Earth Natural Foods and in Mill Valley. And I would stop by and drop off product there. And then I think it was really just looking at consumer feedback and hearing people saying how much they love the product, seeing the sales going, and then also feeling like we had something really unique and different was. Was something that just made me feel like, okay, like, let's just keep expanding this. And also we. We have this. We found a shutdown ice cream factory. And so we moved in there. And it's like, well, we have this factory as well. Let's try to build capacity and get volume going through the factory. And then I think this year when we came out with our new Culture cup line, that has really been a huge spark. And like, okay, now that we've grown a lot within the natural grocery channel, working with retailers like Whole Foods to build that initial base and that initial interest in the product. And now that we have something that seems like it's really working, how do we start expanding that into wider channels beyond the natural channel?

[Mike Alb]

How so?

[Podcast Narrator]

Love to.

[Mike Alb]

Love to get into a bit more to how you think about crossing that chasm. Because I've talked to investors and they say, you know, the sweet spot is you found. You find a brand that's kind of like doing really well and natural, but are able to. To generate enough appeal, price point and everything to actually be able to kind of cross that chasm and actually really excel into big box into Mass. How did, how do you think about just channel diversification? And as you mentioned, you started with natural. But how, how do you think about like doing that leap or just overall like different sales channels?

[Alec Ja]

Yeah, I would say it's about, I think about a lot of like okay, who, who is shopping in the store and what are the things that they actually care about? And you have to have a product that appeals to, let's just use Whole Foods as like a representative of the natural channel. Like how do you have something that appeals to the whole food shopper but then also appeals to Kroger, Target, Walmart, Costco, all those different types of shoppers as well. And so I think it's about finding something that delivers on some unique attributes to the category that have a widespread enough appeal that you can feel confident about jumping over to those channels and then also ultimately just delivering on taste. Like we're making ice cream. It has to taste good. And if you have something that tastes good and it also stands out as unique, then I think you really set yourself up for being able to jump over into those channels. But it is super difficult. Like it's not like you just put the product in and then all of a sudden it starts working in those other channels. Like you need to make sure you have the right pricing, the well plans, you know, the right marketing support. There's a lot there.

[Mike Alb]

Well just if you can dig into about pricing as well. Because I, that would be, that'd be just how you think about it from a, you know, where you maybe have natural channel which you might have a bit more, a customer base that has a bit more disposable income versus mass, which or, or conventional that where they might not. How do you think about balancing? And I know that that's. There's. It. You can get a lot more granular obviously, but just as that as a, as kind of a 40,000 foot foot step from it. How do you think about, from it. From, from that perspective

[Alec Ja]

I would say that you're, it's all like within the context of your category that you're in. And so all right, we're going to the ice cream set and let's say we're going into a conventional retailer. It's our first time going into conventional retailer. I'm often looking at what is, what is the ceiling, how much are, how much are people trained to or experienced with paying for ice cream at the high end and then who are we really competing against and if we're going to be at a premium and how much of a premium are we going to be and is that an approachable premium? You know, you don't want to be double the price of your closest competition. But if you are offering something that is a more premium product than what's out there, then you should be able to, to get that premium. But it just has to be within, within reason or that to you know, get people to be willing to trade up for what you're, what you're selling. And then I think it's about having attributes within the product. Things that are making, make your product unique and different. Do people understand the value of that? You know, you can have a super unique, different, different thing about your product that makes it really cool in your eyes. But if the people shopping at a Kroger don't even know what that is, then they're like, well why am I paying $2 more for this thing? I don't even know what this, whatever differentiating factor about your product is. So that's also part of the challenge is being different but familiar at the same time.

[Mike Alb]

Do you think about it as well as infringer of your category is there from conventional ice cream per se? Like, like how many, like how many, how much willing, how much premium percentages would, would people be willing to actually pay for regarding your product?

[Alec Ja]

Yeah, I mean I think like it's, it's very dependent on, on the retailer and the environment. But I feel like you know, up to like 25% is probably the high end. Maybe 30%. Depends. It all depends on like well, what do you have and what do you.

[Mike Alb]

This episode is brought to you by Glimpse. Glimpse is an AI powered end to end deductions management service that's focused on recovering revenue from Khe, Unfi, Amazon and Target. For consumer brands, they centralize deductions with backups.

[Podcast Narrator]

They fully handle disputing on your behalf, the brand's behalf and streamline the accounting process.

[Mike Alb]

For more information, check out try glimpse.com and let them know that Mike sent you.

[Alec Ja]

How engaged is that shopper who's looking for that thing? And if you have something that you know, maybe they will pay 50% more if they like desperately need this, want this thing and you're the only one who, who's offering it or you've put it together in a really compelling way. But yeah, I mean I think there, there's a lot of category dynamics at play that make it hard to just say like here's a, here's like the percentage that you can go premium.

[Mike Alb]

That's, that's really Helpful. Thank you. I know you just raised a big round a series A which. Congratulations. That's so exciting and incredible especially in today's market. Just really impressive and just awesome. Talk a little about, about those early stages of raising capital when you were, when you were much smaller, how were you able to do it? When was, when was it the right time in order to raise that capital as well? And what do you think about your journey?

[Alec Ja]

We had a unique start in that we found we, we were having some trouble finding a co packer to work with us because we had some unique requirements around our dairy supply and we're a small volume because we're a brand new brand and we ended up finding this shutdown factory. They're going out of business. It's a 4,000 square foot factory so it's, it's tiny and we, we were just leasing the space but we bought all the equipment installed so it wasn't a huge investment but we needed to make that investment. So that required us raising money kind of from the beginning and we really took the approach of just like scrapping together angel rounds as we tried to prove out the concept. And then when we really started to see some real traction on a national basis that's when we started to go out to more like the venture funds and raise money there and then honestly it was a slog. It was so hard. Really, really difficult for a variety of reasons. One, investors are scared of ice cream, they're scared of frozen, they don't like the margins compared to supplements or beverage or whatever. And I think when we launched Culture cup that really put us in a new, a new place in investors eyes of seeing this really interesting product that was very differentiated and that really helped things. But you know, I think it's about, and I'm glad saying it now in a way I'm glad that it went that way because I think if we would have signed up to go with a VC too early, there's all the growth expectations that come with that and that's, that's fine. Like that's, that's the game that you're signing up to play if you go that route. And the business wouldn't, wasn't ready for that and the product and the proposition wasn't ready for that at that time. So yeah, I think it was like for us we needed to find our footing more until we were ready for, for that jump up.

[Mike Alb]

So, so, so in, in, in retrospect it was better that you aren't, that you weren't able to maybe Have a VC on. On before. Because. Because. Well, because you didn't have Culture cup yet, right?

[Alec Ja]

Yeah, I mean, I think it was like, not like it was more about what Culture cup represented, I guess, of like finding this really breakout product that was going viral on social kind of from day one. Selling out at Whole Foods from day one and just having this product that then warranted the vc kind of like, okay, you're signing up for, for this, like, it's, it's cool to get all that money, but also like, here's what you're signing up for. And so being, you know, and like, that's just what it is. Like, no judgment on it, good or bad. It's just what the dynamics of that. That route are.

[Mike Alb]

How.

[Alec Ja]

Yeah, sorry. I was gonna say it's just like, it was harder. It was harder not having like, there. I definitely would have loved to have money back then, but the business wasn't ready for it. So I think it's. It's all like when you, when you get to a certain point, then you go do that, that thing, but versus, like trying to skip steps.

[Mike Alb]

How. How did you come up the. How did you come up with the idea of Cult?

[Alec Ja]

We came up with the idea. So we were asked to create a novelty product, which ice cream novelties are anything that's not ice cream, like a pint or tub. And Culture cup, like, kind of technically isn't a novelty, it's a cup. But we packaged it like a novelty, and so it's sold in a four pack. We're like, okay, we have our own factory. Our factory is tiny. We don't have the footprint to install a novelty line to make like a ice cream bar or a sandwich. So what can we do? Well, we can make these little cups and then how do we make these little cups interesting? And that led to the brainstorming of just thinking through, okay, let's add the probiotics in, because that then we already have the A2 dairy or we already have this like, gut friendly dairy. Let's add the probiotics that really hit on that gut health aspect of what we're doing. And then we added the chocolate shell to, you know, which added a really fun sensory texture experience. And it's all about just how do we. How do we stay aligned to what our brand represents and create something that's super different and unique that we can also make in our own factory. And so it was really, I think, a story of constraints leading to interesting innovation.

[Mike Alb]

That's awesome. That's awesome. And did you have any idea that you thought this was going to work as well as it did in terms of the product selling?

[Alec Ja]

It's gone. I had high hopes for the product. I would say it's gone better than I expected. So it's been something that I was like, okay, I think this will be really interesting, really unique. It hits on some. Some things that are very wide, you know, wide, appealing attributes and trends, like with probiotics, lower calories, lower sugar, tastes surprisingly great for a quote unquote healthy ice cream. And I was like, okay, let's, you know, let's put it out there. Let's see how it goes. And I feel like as a brand we had kind of quietly been building this. This very loyal following, but it wasn't like we had, you know, blown up on social media or gone viral or anything like that. And so I was, you know, cautiously optimistic and we, our social media manager put out a post on her. So on her personal handle on TikTok, like a couple weeks before the launch. Just as like kind of a thing that she did, just, you know, having fun on TikTok. And there's like a basic carousel still images, like the lowest production. It's just like lo fi, like still images, carousel text on the image. And it was really nicely done, but, you know, not anything like crazy. And it just started. It got more traction than anything we have ever posted ever. By far. Like hundreds of thousands of views, over a thousand comments. Like very. Such a positive sentiment around, like what people were saying in the comments section, which you never get that on the Internet. And yeah, just was from. We launched it in stores April 7th and that day with people dming us being like, it's not in Whole Foods yet. I went to three different stores. Like, I can't find it. Where is it? I'm like, well, it's day one of the reset. Like, just give us a couple weeks and. And it just has been going crazy ever since then. Yeah, it's. It's just lifted the brand. It's lifted our pint sales as well. So it hasn't really cannibalized. It's been. It's been a really pretty amazing thing to see.

[Mike Alb]

How do you. How do you think about quantities overall? Because you. You are vertically integrated and that you have your own. Have your own factory. How do you. Which obviously when you have kind of two different product sets, I'd imagine it's challenging. How do you. Or you can tell me that it's not challenging, but. But how. How do you think about that in terms of expansion with, with, with Culture cup selling and performing really well. Not that the pints aren't. The pints obviously are this, are the original, the staple product from the, from the beginning. But how do you think about that, that, that kind of balancing act?

[Alec Ja]

Yeah, it's, I mean we've got two different product lines. We have one tiny little factory, we only have one production line. So we're changing things over trying to make things work. And then it's just, you know, it's also a lot of just inventory management. You've got a lot of skus and then you're, you're marketing both products. So it's created some, just some challenges of like okay, how do we evolve as more of this like platform ice cream brand versus like just selling our pints and like the, the pints aren't low calorie or low. We're not market. They're not like they're really delicious indulgent pints made with the gut friendly A2 dairy and like cleaner ingredients. And that's a little bit of a different message than Culture Cup. And so how do we, how do we thread that needle of showing up consistently as a brand? But I think ultimately it's, it's all kind of worked and flow together because there are these core links between the two products with clean ingredients, A2 dairy, gut healthy and just taste and delicious product experiences.

[Mike Alb]

How, how also I know that you kind of talked a little bit about the story in terms of why you vertically integrated at least on the manufacturing side that there was this, there was this factory, old factory and it's like well we, we have seems like a really good deal here in place. At the same time managing a factory and managing your brand to you know, very different to you know, two different businesses.

[Podcast Narrator]

Right.

[Mike Alb]

In a lot of ways what, what has been your approach when it comes to, when it comes to managing the factory and, and also even how you think about with product expansion now you're you know, you're your national. In so many different retailers about, like, about capacity constraints or, or what have you.

[Alec Ja]

Yeah, that's something that we really came up against this summer of really we got too much demand and we can't. Which is a great problem. Which is a great problem to have.

[Mike Alb]

Yeah.

[Alec Ja]

Yes. Yeah, it's. I've been, I've heard that line a lot this year. It's a great problem to have and it is, it really is. And so. But it's still a problem. But it's still a problem and so how do we solve it? And so we've done some work on expanding production capacity and making sure that we're able to fill our orders. And, and then on the biz, like, man, it really is like managing two different businesses. You're, you're, you know, you're sort of your own co packer, so you're dealing with production, you're dealing with, but when the machine breaks down, it's, it's on you. You know, your maintenance, your maintenance needs to go and be able to fix it. There's a, I've learned so much on the operational side of things because it forces you to when you're running that factory, like your ops needs to be dialed in, you can't be loose there. And so I think it's really helped us build a strong culture of being really on top of the details with how we operate, how we look at everything from production planning to food safety. And then yeah, I think in the early days, especially when you're resource constrained, it puts a challenge on marketing. Like we're spending a lot of dollars at the factory that other brands just get to throw directly into marketing. And so I'm really excited with the funding that we've just raised that now we're going to be able to start to do a little more on the marketing front, put some more budget there and yeah, but it is a challenge that anyone who does self manufacturing will tell you. You have to really get good at

[Mike Alb]

balancing those two things, managing working capital and that and that side of the business. Do you think it becomes easier or harder when you self manufacture?

[Alec Ja]

In a way, it depends. It depends. I think almost harder though. In some ways. In some ways it's easier because you, you can do smaller production runs. You can kind of, you know, have a lot more control over when you run production. Like, you don't have a co man saying, well, you need to hit your moq. And so we're going to have to schedule you for five more days or whatever it might be. At the same time, you're kind of always running production and sometimes that agility can hurt you where you keep too many raw materials on hand because you're like, well, we want to be able to always be making something and we want to have throughput in the factory. Whereas with the coman, you kind of know, all right, we've got our, however many production days coming up next month. Order all the materials to land right before production starts. You've got your, then you have your finished good inventory that you're then selling through. And so it creates a lot more simplicity I would say when you're co packing in that like your, your working capital is really just like materials going in, they're running production.

[Mike Alb]

This episode is brought to you by Glimpse. Glimpse is an AI powered end to end deductions management service that's focused on recovering revenue from Cahi, Unfi and Amazon and Target. For consumer brands they centralize deductions with backups. They fully handle disputing on your behalf, the brand's behalf and streamline the accounting process. For more information check out try glimpse.com and let them know that Mike sent

[Alec Ja]

you got the finished goods. It's like very straightforward. You don't have to do with any like accounting around the manufacturing costs and all of that. So in some ways that simplicity really helps but then in other ways you lose control. So like with anything there's the trade offs of it.

[Podcast Narrator]

No.

[Mike Alb]

Yeah, that makes, that makes sense. I'd imagine. It's also when you obviously have your own plant then you also have as well. You're, it's, it's, you're, you're. Then of course it's, it's, it's salaries as well that you're managing too. Right. And it's, and it's a lot more kind of intensive intensive there from that standpoint instead of paying one set sum out to Conan. So that, that also can be probably a lot more challenging because you're obviously dealing and working with those people day to day.

[Alec Ja]

Yeah. And especially as you're scaling the brand and so it can force you as a brand to make certain choices that maybe you wouldn't make if you're co packing because you need to just fill volume in your, in your factory and then yeah you have those ongoing costs. You have your labor force that you're paying on a daily basis. You have or you know when they're come and then you have repairs, maintenance, all these things that like something's always breaking at a factory and you need to have people coming in and fixing it. You're ordering spare parts. All these things that you don't think about or have to deal with when you're just putting a PO into a coman.

[Mike Alb]

Now as you mentioned you're working with local pasture raised family farms as you scale and you're scaling and you're scaling the business how I'd imagine it's partnering with more farms that is the answer in terms of, in terms of that. But how much Runway do you have when it comes to on, on the Actual, I'd say like raw ingredient side of things.

[Alec Ja]

Yeah, I mean dairy is going through a really unique market right now. I guess it's just, it's an interesting, it's an interesting, in an interesting place right now because demand for dairy has shot up like crazy. We've seen more growth in the dairy market for consume from people buying dairy products just like fluid milk.

[Mike Alb]

Why do you think that is?

[Alec Ja]

I think that people are reverting back to more animal based diets. I mean you have everything from like the carnivore diet to people just wanting to get more protein. And dairy is a great nutrient rich source of protein. And so you're seeing people turn back to dairy and I think there's a lot of cultural things going on that are, that are leading to that. And so when all of a sudden you have this huge spike in demand and something like dairy where you can't just like easily turn on more supply, you can't just all of a sudden create more cows, it just, it's, it's something that takes the, the supply chain some time to catch up. So we're doing a lot of work to make sure that we're prepared and able to keep growing, which, which we are. But it's definitely a unique supply chain compared to a lot of other materials that, that people are using.

[Mike Alb]

So do you think. So with demand, I guess urging with, with dairy, how will supply react? Do you think that we're just not, do you think that we're not gonna be able to, to fulfill the demand for that that we're seeing in terms of surgeons of, of for dairy?

[Alec Ja]

No, no, I, I think it like with anything when there's demand, the supply will catch up to it, but it just, you know, it takes a little bit of time for that adjustment to happen.

[Mike Alb]

Are you also seeing more like local pasture family farms, like just the number. Is that, is that at all increasing as well? Or is that so, or is that pretty consistent to this point?

[Alec Ja]

More farms have been closing and that's kind of a trend just generally throughout the US and so hopefully with this spike in demand that'll create more market opportunities where farms can have better, you know, better opportunities and stay afloat and, or maybe people get into it, but yeah, that's also the challenge as well. Just like people wanting to go into farming and like dairy farming is a hard, it's a lot of work. So it's not something that I'm saying that lightly, but that's a dynamic as well. You have demand increasing, you have Age of farmers increasing and them wanting to retire and do kids want to take over the family farm? And that's something that's happening throughout the agricultural system. And so, yeah, it's all these big supply chain things that we're quickly having to figure out and navigate.

[Mike Alb]

When did your passion for regenerative agriculture begin?

[Alec Ja]

So I grew up going to my aunt and uncle's. Let's call it a, we called it a ranch, but it was, you know, like a small vineyard in the Central Valley of California, kind of. It's in the Cuyama Valley, which is like the, on the other side of the mountains behind Santa Barbara for anyone familiar with, with that area. And so they have a organic dry farm vineyard. They're very small production. And I, we grew up going there every year for Thanksgiving and just like being on the farmland, learning about agriculture, my uncle is a, was a professor of agroecology at UC Santa Cruz. And so, like, being around these people who are super passionate about sustainable farming and agriculture and agricultural systems was really my first exposure to it. And then as we got into this, more and more, seeing that, well, we have an opportunity to make an impact through our supply chain was something that got me really excited. And so being able to work with farmers to create market opportunities for them, bring something unique to the market from a product standpoint, and then work with farms to actually make an impact on our environment was something that was really exciting to me.

[Mike Alb]

What can you also just tell us? Because I feel like it's just a term that gets thrown out there a lot, but sure. And that's kind of, and I'm sure that I'm guilty of this, but when you think about regenerative agriculture, how do you think about it? What is it? How do you think about it in terms of if, if a farm or, or, or if a farm is actually subscribing to it?

[Alec Ja]

Yeah. So I think this is one of the, this is a pretty like, hot button issue within the regenerative community on what is regenerative? How do you define it? Does it have to be organic? Can regenerative be not organic? Is it practices based? Is it outcomes based? Is it like, does it need to be certified? Should that be a government certification? Or are these private certifications? Okay, like, there's so many things around just like, how do we define regenerative? And candidly, I think that's one of the biggest challenges and limitations of the regenerative movement really growing and gaining consumer traction is if we can't define it internally as A group. How are we supposed to expect shoppers to define it in their minds when they need to make decisions in seconds? And the way I think about it is I prescribe to more of an outcomes based approach of are you doing things that are actively regenerating the earth, creating more organic matter, carbon matter in the soil and then creating healthier ecosystems on your farmland? And that's like a pretty broad stroke. But I mean I don't, we don't need to get into like every little specific of it because it's also different for every, every farm. But I think that's ultimately the way I look at it is like are you actively repairing the planet and the soil that is on your land or not is ultimately what I, how I think about it. And then that's going to look different for a dairy farm versus a, someone who's farming almonds or you know, peaches or whatever. Like it's, it's all going to be a little different and nuanced based on even, even a dairy farm in California versus a dairy farm in, in Texas. Like it's just going to look a little different.

[Mike Alb]

How do you think about since it's going to be looking a little different in terms of the base level that you need from a farm in order to, to partner with them in order to produce. Alec?

[Alec Ja]

Yeah.

[Mike Alb]

Ice cream?

[Alec Ja]

I mean, I think with, with dairy, rotational grazing is the big one. Getting cows out on pasture and sort of acting as the natural maintenance crew for that land, fertilizing it, maintaining healthy grass levels without eating it down to the roots, making sure that that soil is covered by healthy grasses. And, and that's really like the big thing that I'm looking for. And then, you know, there are other, other things that go along with it, but that, that's the biggest thing. And then we work with land to market as our third party certifier and they're going out to those farms and actually measuring the soil and doing annual testing and testing. Are we creating the outcomes that we're looking for to regenerate the soil? And that's not something, I think one thing that's challenging with this is environmental change. And these big changes, they don't happen in 90 days. You know, this isn't something where you start like, okay, we're rotational grazing, like planet is healed. Like it doesn't work that way. It takes time, it takes years. And it's, it's making sure that there's consistent effort and management and measurement of those outcomes to ensure that we're working towards what we're wanting to achieve.

[Mike Alb]

That's that, that's really helpful how. And I also appreciate. Thanks so much for kind of telling us in terms of the overall consumer appetite when it comes to dairy and how that's really uptick the last few years.

[Alec Ja]

Talk to me a little bit about

[Mike Alb]

like the frozen section too, and the freezer section because that's a very competitive space to play. There's only so many, there's only so many products that can obviously go in a freezer. It's. It's really tough. At the same time, it seems like retailers have been wanting more innovation in that space. When you look at even, you know, other categories besides ice cream. What was it like trying to sell Alex, from the beginning into, into the freezer space? And just overall, how do you think about your category? And then freezer in general?

[Alec Ja]

Frozen is really hard because it's kind

[Mike Alb]

of frozen supply chain.

[Alec Ja]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, one, just getting the product to the store is hard, like, let alone, let alone selling it, getting it on shelf. But even just getting the product to their, the stores, like back freezer, that's hard enough. And then after that you have like, you have a limited set of shelf space. They can't, if you know, if they want to extend or create space for you for a shelf, stable product, they want, if they want to do it bad enough, they likely can find some square footage to put you do in their store, but they're not going to build another freezer. So you're working with this finite set of space and then there's a ton of innovation happening there. There's a ton of products, a ton of brands. I mean, you start with ice cream alone. There's just, you have your national players, then you have all your regional players. It's something that I think is more unique to ice cream than just about any other category in the store. Where anywhere you, you sell like I, I can, we're a national brand, but anywhere you go, there's going to be these regional players that have really strong footholds in their home turf. They likely have their own shops that are, you know, almost like a marketing channel of getting people to try the product and fall in love with their products. And so you're going into someone's home court basically and saying, no, buy us instead. And so that's happening in all these different regions around the country. On top of competing with the national players, both, you know, major established brands like the Haagen Dazs, Ben and Jerry's to you know, the like awesome brands that have maybe come a few years, a handful of years before us that are the other like emerging brands and newer brands in the space. And then every day there's new brands that are coming out as well. And so it's, it's a very competitive category with a lot of innovation and then you're seeing that across the freezer where you're seeing like frozen meals and other types of things really getting interesting. And I mean I think there's probably a lot of, there's a lot of different reasons for. Why is, why is the freezer particularly having so much innovation right now? Maybe it's because people like want to bulk buy and store stuff in the freezer more or maybe it's just convenience. So if you just reheat something, if it's like more of a meal type product.

[Mike Alb]

This episode is brought to you by Glimpse. Glimpse is an AI powered end to end deductions management service that's focused on recovering revenue from Khe, Unfi, Amazon and Target. For consumer brands they centralize deductions with backups.

[Podcast Narrator]

They fully handle disputing on your behalf,

[Mike Alb]

the brand's behalf and streamline the accounting process. For more information, check out try glimpse.com and let them know that Mike sent you.

[Alec Ja]

But yeah, there's a lot of innovation happening there. It's cool to see. But yeah, ice cream is. Everyone probably thinks they're their categories extremely hard. I think ice cream is probably has to be one of the hardest categories in the store to compete in.

[Mike Alb]

Well think about, I mean, yeah, thanks for that. Thinking about ice cream and thinking about maybe some of the newer, newer brands that are on the block. What's your, what's your opinion or thoughts on protein ice cream?

[Alec Ja]

Yeah.

[Mike Alb]

And if you want to be the fifth, I, yeah I totally get it.

[Alec Ja]

No one, it feels weird to not be one of the newer brands now. Like it feels like I'm like grown up up which is, which is very, a very odd feeling. We Protein ice cream, I think it's something that people definitely really want. It's maybe not for me but I totally get like the appeal behind it and there are some brands that are doing it that are, that are doing really well and so like that's, that's awesome. But so far to this point we've decided not to, not to get involved in that, that space. I think people are. The fun thing about ice cream is you can do it in so many different ways. There's so many different. Everyone eats ice cream. Like it's wild the size of the category and how many people are buying ice cream on a regular basis. And so there's, you know, there's plenty of room for everyone to do their unique thing within the category. Um, so, like, yeah, you know, why not?

[Mike Alb]

That's fair. That, that's totally fair. How also do you think you know a two and I know that obviously you use a two dairy in your, in your ice cream and that's maybe a big reason why after one eats your ice cream that it doesn't you. They might actually not feel as bad. But how much do you think in the zeitgeist? Just a 2. Understanding a 2 really is.

[Alec Ja]

I think it's still very early. It's definitely seen a big uptick over the past year or so. I've noticed when I explain what I'm doing, there's way more of feeling. Oh, a 2. Yeah, I started drinking a 2 milk or, you know, someone in my family started drinking a 2 milk, whereas before it was a lot of me explaining what A2 is and the benefits of it and what, like how it all works. And it's definitely still very early. But I think it's, it's what we were talking about earlier, like that crossing that chasm, like, it's, it's moving through that stage where more and more people are becoming aware of it and I think it's only going to keep growing. And yeah, it's, I mean for us, it's a big reason why people are able to enjoy our ice cream and feel great afterwards.

[Mike Alb]

What's your creative process when it comes to developing flavors?

[Alec Ja]

So with developing flavors, it's really a collaborative process of. We're looking at a couple different things we're looking at as a brand. What type of flavors do we want to put out into the world? Because within such a flavor driven category like ice cream, your flavor is kind of everything in a way. And so we're really thinking about, okay, well what does an Alex ice cream flavor look like, tastes like and sound like? And then we're looking at our, like, I guess our list of flavors that we have and where are the gaps where flavors that, you know, territories that we have missing? Like, do, do we, we have a strawberry flavor? But for example, like, oh, we don't have a strawberry flavor. We should really do something with that. Like, what are some ideas that we could do that fit within the kind of niche that we're trying to fill from a flavor standpoint within the category and bring something unique to the strawberry set? Of flavors that are available. So that's a big part of it and that's a very collaborative process. We do all of our flavor development in house. So myself, marketing team, our R and D lead is involved with it and you know, just really trying to create these really amazing, delicious flavors that stick to the brand and kind of the, the positioning that we're trying to take in the category

[Mike Alb]

that makes, that makes sense when you, and if it's too early to answer this question, I totally understand. But when you bring on a VC on your, on your cap table, when you think about, you know, value add, what do investors typically, typically add value in like your, your scenario, besides capital? Because a lot of investors say hey, you know, we add so much value. XYZ what I heard through the great binds is sometimes that's not always the case. What's kind of your take when it came to choosing the right partner and, and everything.

[Alec Ja]

So I, I think it's really important to make sure that the VC or investor that you go with really is aligned with what you're looking for out of that investor. I think a lot of investors say that they provide a lot of value and you know, it's, you know, you see on how much value you actually get. But I would say for us working with the team at Imaginary, they've been awesome and you know, we just started working with them recently but they've been really great and helping us think through how do we grow our brand and grow what we're doing to reach more people, get more awareness, drive velocities. And I think they've been a really great thought partner of how do we keep ramping the business and doing really cool things on the marketing front while also solidifying the fundamentals of the business. So they've been awesome with their network and helping make introductions and connecting us with great people. I think ultimately like, you know, there's a lot the way. I think it's been helpful for me to think about bringing a VC on board and someone on the board of our company. And you know, there's a lot of, I guess like concern from people in my position around bringing somebody on. Especially as an earlier stage business. You're like are they just going to tell me what to do and all this stuff. And I think it's how I'm viewing it is you have this person that's on, on your team, they want you to succeed and obviously they have their, their motivations and like what success looks like for them and how do you use them as A thought partner and a resource to maybe challenge your thinking or push you a little bit in a different direction. And maybe you thought you wanted to go. And that push can be a good push. Like, it's not always a bad push from the vc. Like, it can be a good push of, oh, you know, we weren't, like, thinking about this as thoroughly as we should be, or we didn't see this opportunity just because we're too close to the situation and you have someone on the outside being able to provide a different perspective. So I think it's really about, like, how do you create a healthy dialogue, healthy conversation, and use that conversation to get the company and the business to, like, the best place? And that can be, you know, there can be tension at times of, like, well, I think this and you think that, and then, like, how do you take everyone's ideas and through. Through that, like, conversation land in a place where it moves everything forward? And then I think just being open communicators as well, like, it's better if something is not going well within the business. It's better to share that immediately enough, be upfront about it so you can address it versus, like, try to hide it and, you know, cover it up or whatever. Because that's. That won't go well.

[Mike Alb]

4. No, that's. That's really helpful. Just in the back of your mind, in terms of raising the Series A, again, dumb questions. Probably all my questions are, are dumb. But why raise a Series a? Why raise 11 million? I mean, Culture Cup. I'd imagine Culture cup is doing so well that you want to put even. Even the gas further on, on Culture Cup. But what. How does it actually translate into where to actually spend those funds and what. And what kind of success looks like?

[Alec Ja]

Yeah, I mean, I think it's. For us, it was, how do we excel? Like you said, how do we accelerate what we're doing and being able to build out the team. We've been running super lean as a team to this point. And how do we bring in some leaders to help, you know, run different functions within the business, take things off of my plate? And then also how do we now support the distribution that we've won and really give it the proper marketing support, the proper trade support that it needs, and also keep opening up new distribution? I think it's like, okay, we found the thing that works. We found the product that people are super excited about now. How do we build the resources around it to grow that and make it a big success? And so for me, it's like, okay, we've solved that, like, product equation. And so now it's like, okay, there's a lot of other things that we need to solve for and bringing that capital and the partner to help us go do that.

[Mike Alb]

Love that. That's. That's really helpful. Do you throw the product side? Do you see more product expansions, or do you feel like we're set with these? Let's. Let's scale with culture cup and pints?

[Alec Ja]

I'd say a little bit of both. I think we're always thinking about innovation, and we've got some ideas that we're playing around with and experimenting with, but also staying focused on what we have. And we've got these products that are working, so how do we just keep growing those and staying focused on that?

[Mike Alb]

Is there a person or a company that you feel like you're pretty inspired by when it comes to how you're building your company?

[Alec Ja]

There are a few. I guess. There are. Like, I don't know if I have, like, a. I want to be exactly like this person or like, like this company. I think there's. There's. There's different things that I think about or, like, different examples that I bring in as I try to make decisions or that I look to for. For inspiration. I mean, there's. When I. When I think about the product standpoint, I mean, looking at even. Even within our own category, looking at, like, a Ben and Jerry's and them just really defining for a generation, like, what does ice cream flavor look like? And what does a product experience look like and feel like and taste like? And when you think about their brand, like, you can. You can. If you hear a flavor, like, it just sounds. Oh, like that sounds like a flavor they would make kind of thing. And so I do get a lot of inspiration from them on the product side. And then, you know, also looking at, like, on the. The business side, you know, I don't know if I have. I don't know if I have one that's like a great example, but it's more like just little quotes here and there of, you know, one. One quote that I really liked from a book that I read recently. It was on. It was from Barry Diller's autobiography. And he's talking about how he was figuring things out, how he always figures them out, like, taking one stumbling step, one, one after the other, and, like, eventually getting to the destination. That's paraphrasing. That's not the exact quote, but it's just, like, something that I get Inspired by is hearing about these really successful people who, when you see their end result, you're like, oh, wow, they're so smart and they had it all figured out and they just like, you know, knew exactly what they're doing. And really, it's a lot of working really hard, making mistakes, figuring out what's wrong, fixing it, and then also getting lucky along the way and creating great products that people get really excited about. And, you know, I just kind of like take that to heart and try to implement that in what we're doing.

[Mike Alb]

Turing over the course of this journey thus far, what do you feel like you've changed your mind most about?

[Alec Ja]

That's a good question. What do I feel like I've changed my mind most about?

[Mike Alb]

This episode is brought to you by Glimpse. Glimpse is an AI powered end to end deductions management service that's focused on recovering revenue from Khe, Unfi, Amazon and Target. For consumer brands, they centralize deductions with backups.

[Podcast Narrator]

They fully handle disputing on your behalf,

[Mike Alb]

the brand's behalf, and streamline the accounting process. For more information, check out, try glimpse.com and let them know that Mike sent you.

[Alec Ja]

I don't, I don't know if it's, if it's, I've changed my mind about it, but I've learned that things take way longer than you think and they're usually going to cost more than you think and being prepared. And you can't always just will your, will your way through something and, you know, force it to happen on your timeline. So I, I think that's been a big one. Yeah. I don't know if I've had, I don't know if I have something that I've like fundamentally changed how I view the world or something like that.

[Mike Alb]

No, I love that. I love that. No, no, no, that's, that's great. That's great. My final question is, what's one book that you feel like has inspired you personally and one book that's inspired you professionally?

[Alec Ja]

Oh, personally. Personally, I think this might be somewhat cliche, but I think reading Shoe Dog, the Phil Knight Autobiography, I was just like, so it's such a cool story. And just like I really get inspired by people who go on these like big journeys and really, you know, overcome all the, a lot of adversity. I think, I think another one to get out of like a classic business book that probably many people would say this one maybe is a little more different but not super crazy different, is endurance. It's about blanking on the, the guys, the explorer's name. But he was trying to cross through. I think he was trying to cross through the, the South Pole on, on his boat and.

[Mike Alb]

Oh, yes, endurance.

[Alec Ja]

Yes, endurance. So that book for me was just like such an amazing look at literally endurance and people like persevering through, through these insane challenges and these insane circumstances. And that's, that's a value that I really, really believe in and like and hold closely. And then from a business standpoint, being that this is a CPG consumer podcast, like I'm sure people have said ramping your brand, but that to Me by Dr. James Richardson. That book to me was the most clear look at how to think about building a brand in CPG in consumer, how to think about retail, how to think about growth trajectories, and all the things that you need to consider. It's the book that I always recommend when people come to me say, hey, I'm thinking about starting this brand. I always recommend that book because I think it's a very well written and thoughtful book.

[Mike Alb]

I love it. So the most recommended book on this show is Shoe Dog. Surprise, surprise. Endurance.

[Alec Ja]

I gotta give him a better answer than shoe. No, no, no, no, no.

[Mike Alb]

Not at all.

[Alec Ja]

Not at all.

[Mike Alb]

It shows you, it shows you how, how incredible of a story is and everything because there's so many, you know, moments that you're like, wait, this is Nike. And they, and they still make it, you know, so. But that endurance that's been mentioned a couple times and I don't know if ramping your brand has, but I'm very familiar with it and, and love following him on LinkedIn. That's. This is, this is great. Alec, thank you so much for your time. This has been a lot of fun.

[Alec Ja]

Yeah, thank you for having me. This has been a great conversation.

[Podcast Narrator]

And there you have it. Alec, thank you so much for coming on the show. Glimpse. Thanks so much for sponsoring this episode and you all. Thank you so much for listening. I hope this was helpful. I hope you loved it. And if you do love it, then you'll [e-mail] to the newsletter.

[Mike Alb]

Thanks for listening.