Advice Line with Tariq Farid of Edible Arrangements

Summary

How I Built This: Advice Line with Tariq Farid of Edible Arrangements

Host: Guy Raz | Guest: Tariq Farid, Founder of Edible Arrangements
Date: November 6, 2025
Episode Focus: Calling in legendary entrepreneurs to advise early-stage and growing founders, with a spotlight on adapting legacy brands, category creation, and staying true to company values while scaling.

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Episode Overview

Guy Raz welcomes Tariq Farid back to the Advice Line for a live Q&A with entrepreneurs. Farid shares updates on Edible Arrangements, insights on brand evolution and category education, and answers pressing questions from founders in food, eco-tourism, and B2B apparel. The episode dives into how to modernize a “granny” brand, navigate unfamiliar product categories, name positioning, and sustain high-touch customer service at scale.

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Tariq Farid: Edible Arrangements & Brand Evolution

[03:26–08:18]

• Family and Company Update:

  • Moved the company’s base from Connecticut to Atlanta pre-pandemic.
  • His daughter, Somia, now CEO, focuses on modernizing the brand.
  • Expansion with acquisition of Roti (modern Mediterranean food) and new ventures into health/wellness “edibles,” leveraging their trademark and domain (edibles.com) to explore CBD/THC markets.

• Adapting to the “Granny Brand” Perception:

  • Guy observes that Edible Arrangements is sometimes viewed as “outdated” or a “granny brand.”
  • Farid affirms the need for evolving relevance, not chasing trends:

    “It’s not that the next generation won’t accept that product. You have to kind of make it relevant for the next generation. And that's what the next generation is doing… She [Somia] takes a totally different approach.” (07:26)

  • Brand evolution is natural, mirroring personal growth and generational change.

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Caller #1: Filipino Food Brand Fila Manila – Founder Jake De Leon

[08:23–22:37]

Business Context:
Fila Manila offers Filipino-inspired products like banana ketchup and ube yam spread. Jake asks how to educate the American market about a largely unfamiliar cuisine.

Key Discussion Points

• Industry Position:

  • Fila Manila is one of the only Filipino-American food brands made and branded for US consumers.
  • Available at Walmart, Whole Foods, Kroger, Meijer, Amazon, DTC; appeared on Shark Tank.
  • 80% of customers are non-Filipino; Filipino-Americans serve as excited brand advocates.

• Challenges & Goals:

  • Creating a category while building a brand.
  • Want Fila Manila to become the “default” Filipino food brand in Americans’ minds.

Advice and Insights

• Brand Ownership & Margins:

  • Tariq:

    “The only thing I would be careful on that I've seen other brands do is they'll spend a lot of money… You're going to spend a lot of energy introducing the product, but then you're not making the margins because of cost.” (16:37)

  • Protect intellectual property and production processes to avoid commoditization by imports.

• Product Focus:

  • Guy & Tariq agree: focus on the most distinguishing product (“banana ketchup is your sriracha”).

    “That's your hot sauce. That's the one.” (Guy, 21:54, Tariq echoes it)

• Sampling, Channel, & Storytelling:

  • Get products into the hands of curious customers (e.g., Costco, food service, online influencer sampling).
  • Storytelling is crucial; connect the product to its cultural history (“write a story behind this, man”).

• Community as Ambassadors:

  • Leverage Filipino-American pride and advocacy as “cheerleaders,” even if they aren’t the primary buyers.

Notable Quotes

• Jake (on community amplification):

  “It’s that 20% [Filipino-American customers] that tend to be our cheerleaders.” (15:14)

• Tariq (on opportunity vs. risk):

  “Opportunities [are] what you go after, risk is what you mitigate. A lot of people...are so hung up on risk that they've totally missed the opportunity.” (06:09)

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Caller #2: Minimal Impact Cruises – Founder Heather Thorkelson

[28:32–40:41]

Business Context:
Premium, eco-focused polar expedition cruises (36-passenger, wind and solar powered, launches 2026). Heather questions whether “Cruises” should be in the name due to negative connotations in the adventure travel space.

Key Discussion Points

• Unique Selling Proposition:

  • 90% more carbon neutral than traditional ships; luxury pricing (€18k–€42k per person).

• Industry Context:

  • The word “cruise” is “cringe” among expedition travelers, evoking large, sedentary ships (Heather, 33:05).
  • “Cruise” retained for SEO and memorability.

Advice and Insights

• Test Naming (A/B Testing):

  • Guy suggests running parallel campaigns (“cruise” vs. “expedition”/“voyage”/“adventure”) to see what resonates/clicks (35:51–36:04).

• Story-Driven Branding:

  • Tariq recounts how “Edible Arrangements” evolved from a tagline; narrative sells premium.

    “Write a story... Because the experience from the time you step on this boat is going to be very different.” (38:01)

• Mission Authenticity:

  • Don’t worry about wearing your mission on your sleeve; customers in your price range are buying the experience.

• Partnerships & Education:

  • Guy: Link up with conservation groups, bring science and education into the offering.

Notable Quotes

• Tariq (on focus):

  “I think with all the things that you have, I don't think you're going to have any difficulty filling that.” (40:08)

• Guy (on the power of experience):

  “People will be attracted to the low minimal impact, but I’m not convinced that most people will. I think most people are going to be interested in the luxury and in the other people going on the boat and the experience.” (38:27)

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Caller #3: Kong Screen Printing – Founder Ryan Burkhardt

[42:35–54:01]

Business Context:
Austin-based, 15-year-old, $3M/year custom apparel company, never advertised, wants to scale to $5M without losing high-touch service.

Key Discussion Points

• Growth Plateau:

  • Stagnated at ~$3M, survived pandemic, all growth from reputation and referrals.

• Sales Strategy Q:

  • How to find new customers and grow without losing “soul”?

Advice and Insights

• Double Down on Current Clients:

  • Tariq:

    “I think the easiest way to go without diluting all of [your values] is by going back to your customers... Maybe, you're more of a solution provider. How do you re-engage with your customer?” (47:57–48:24)

• Build Systems & Case Studies:

  • Guy:

    “Build case studies, target companies that do the same thing that are, you know, lookalike companies... Here's what we did for so-and-so BBQ in Austin and how we helped them come up with this awesome shirt and design and this is what we can do for you.” (49:40)

• Recruit Student Biz Dev:

  • Tariq suggests incentivizing college students to expand outbound and bring new creative energy (50:47).

• Codify Culture ("Brand Bible"):

  • Guy: Protect the culture as you scale with a clear onboarding process and a documented brand ethos.

• Modernize the Brand:

  • Tariq: Consider a brand refresh after 15 years; bottle and share the high-touch magic.

Notable Quotes

• Tariq (on sustaining service values):

  “You’re not a screen printing company... you’re kind of like a solution provider. If anything, you’re more of a promotion company.” (47:56)

• Guy (on company culture):

  “Help them understand why you guys are different and why you aren't just a T-shirt printing company, but you are about helping businesses express their ideas.” (52:14)

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Final Reflections & Tariq’s Career Wisdom

[54:03–55:38]

• Guy asks: What advice would you give your younger self, starting Edible Arrangements?
• Tariq:
  • Wouldn’t change much—no access to capital or belief, but customers validated the idea:

    “I never really had any money and anybody I brought the idea to pretty much walked me out and said, it's not gonna work. ... But the customers told a different story.” (54:41)

  • Importance of respecting time; gives daughter the advice to view entrepreneurship as a 10-year journey and then pass the torch.

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Memorable Moments & Quotes (with Timestamps)

• Tariq (On Focus Groups and his mother’s approval):

  “I did do a focus group. I took it home and I put it on the dining room table. My mother looked at it and said, oh my God, honey, this is gonna be big. I said, yeah, so if mom says it, I think it's gonna be cool.” (55:51)

• On Rebranding and Moving Forward:

  "You go through it in personal life and the same way a brand goes through, and that's what's been happening." (Tariq, 07:26)

• Guy on How Category Creation Evolves:

  “Where Filipino cuisine is today is exactly where Korean food and Vietnamese food was maybe five years ago... Back then, no one really knew what gochujang was or bubble tea.” (14:26)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |---------|-----------| | Tariq Farid Interview & Edible Arrangements update | 03:26–08:18 | | Caller 1: Fila Manila/Jake De Leon | 08:23–22:37 | | Caller 2: Minimal Impact Cruises/Heather Thorkelson | 28:32–40:41 | | Caller 3: Kong Screen Printing/Ryan Burkhardt | 42:35–54:01 | | Tariq’s Reflections & Legacy Advice | 54:03–55:38 |

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This episode is packed with wisdom for founders on generational adaptation, the risks of introducing new categories, clarity in branding, and upholding company values. Farid’s experienced perspective reminds listeners to keep customers at the center, systematize what makes you unique, and not get stuck on the "small things" that won't move the business forward.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Oh, it's so great to be back. Thanks for having me, Guy.

[A]

Awesome to have you. You were first on the show back in 2017, and of course, if you haven't heard it, we will put a link to it in the show notes. It's an awesome episode. In that episode, you told us about how your family emigrated from Pakistan. You were 12. As a teenager, you worked in a flower shop at a McDonald's and to help bring in money for the family. And then eventually you guys would go, wanted to open a flower shop of your own. And then in the late 90s, you decided that you wanted to get into a different kind of flower arranging business. Not flowers per se, but fruit. Why don't we make fruit into bouquets? And I've told this story so many times to people about how an idea like that would have been laughed at or people said, this is not a who's going to want that? But you understood so clearly that this was gonna be a hit. And of course it did. It became Edible Arrangements, and I think today it has over 1300 locations worldwide. It's done hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Before we get to our colors, Tariq, I wanted to ask you a few questions.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

First of all, give us an update of what you've been up to. We haven't been on the show in a couple years, and we'd love to hear what's been going on.

[B]

Yeah. So, you know, kind of grew up in Connecticut, started everything in Connecticut, and about six months before the pandemic, everybody moved on to Atlanta.

[A]

You move the whole business to Atlanta, business and everything.

[B]

You know, my whole plan from the beginning was for the next generation to take over. And now we're facing the other side that everybody's facing. You almost have to reinvent. And after 25 years, you pretty much got to take everything together, take everything apart and, you know, put it together again, which is what Somia, my daughter, took over as CEO as of last year, and that's what she's doing. And the brand is much broader. We bought in a concept called Roti, which is a modern Mediterranean. And out of Chicago. Right out of Chicago. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then Edible Arrangements, you know, it's that, you know, it became more of an e Commerce Company, 100% E Commerce in the pandemic, you know, and now we're trying to figure out the store and also the e commerce part. And then, of course, this phenomenon of edibles that kind of hit us out of nowhere, which we're trying to just figure out how to do that, which.

[A]

Is that, like CBD, well, we own.

[B]

The trademark edibles and we own edibles.com so we're trying to figure out, like, you know, where is this going? And that's been quite a journey. And we'll figure it out. I think there's a whole health and wellness side of that that. That we'll do. And we're opening our. One of our first units here, like CBD and THC and. But more in the health and wellness space.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

So, you know, I've always said that, you know, opportunities, what you go after, risk is what you mitigate. So a lot of people that will be getting advice, they're so hung risk that they've totally missed the opportunity. They're afraid because they want to figure everything out. And, you know, it's been quite an interesting journey. And we're making an online marketplace with an app. And, you know, people are taking this product, and as they take it, how can we have a trusted brand that you can shop from?

[A]

Interesting. I want to ask you about Edible Arrangements for a moment because, you know, I'm curious because, as you know, in recent years, among a certain kind of chattering class of people, Edible Arrangements has a reputation for being a little outdated or corny, let's say, like a granny brand. And I think sort of culture and tastemakers assume that that is a bad thing. But in actual fact, there's a massive market for products and services that might not be, quote, unquote, cool, but that still have a huge audience. How do you respond when in some eyes, the brand image is like, oh, it's a granny brand, or it's corny or outdated? Do you ignore it? Do you go with it? Do you try and change it?

[B]

Yeah, no. I think it's not that the next generation won't accept that product. You have to kind of make it relevant for the next generation. And that's what the next generation is doing. So Somia is doing that, and she's going to do a much better job. She takes a totally different approach. She's 32 years old. So I started edible when I was 31, so it was so nice to see her kind of take the reins early. And our family is evolving a brand that we're defined by. And everybody's excited. You know, some of our other younger kids are looking forward to coming in, and they have very unique ideas, but it's just a natural progression. You go through it in personal life and the same way a brand goes through, and that's what's been happening. And, you know, she's really excited. She's built a great team, and I love the approach. And it's a lot easier going from 60 to 90 instead of starting from scratch again.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. What do you say, Tariq? Are you ready to take our first call?

[B]

Yeah, let's do it.

[A]

All right, let's bring in our first call. Welcome to the Advice line. You're on with Tariq Farid, founder of Edible Arrangements. Please tell us your name, where you're calling from, and just one line about your business, please.

[C]

Hey, guy and Tariq, it's such a pleasure to be here and chat with you. My name is Jake De Leon and I'm calling from Arlington, Virginia. So I'm the founder of Filamenila. We make food products inspired by iconic Filipino flavors. This includes our award winning banana ketchup and UBE purple yam spread.

[A]

Welcome to the show, Jake. Thanks for calling in. So Fila Manila. Manala Manila. Manila, Like Manila, like the town, like the capital of Philadelphia.

[C]

Filamenila, like a rhyming unit?

[A]

Yes, correct. And so get. Tell us about, first of all, banana ketchup. I've seen this before.

[B]

Yeah, no, I've been searching for that. I haven't found it.

[A]

So this is. I mean, it's like ketchup. You would dip french fries or put on burgers. And it's made from bananas, not tomatoes.

[C]

Yeah, it's a tomato less ketchup made from bananas. It's a fascinating story and history connected to the Philippines. So it's very kind of iconic to Filipino cuisine.

[B]

And is the taste identical?

[C]

So it tastes tangy and sweet, just like tomato ketchup. But because we're using bananas, it has a nice tropical vibe to it. It's very delicious.

[A]

All right, I'm seeing on your website you've got an UBE yam kind of spread for sandwiches or bread or whatever. And you've got a couple of other cool things here, like peanut sauce. Tell me a little bit about the business. How did you start this?

[C]

Yeah, I'll start just to explain who I am and how I came about the business. So I'm a first generation Filipino American immigrant, but with most, I guess, immigrant families, food is always a center of our household. And the inspiration actually came during COVID I did some data and research, and I found out that Filipinos are one of the largest Asian American groups in the U.S. the largest in 11 states, including California. And our cuisine is the fastest growing as well. Yet there's almost zero representation of our cuisine in mass grocery. And that was the inspiration of Vilma to finally add representation in a delicious way.

[A]

All right, so you start this brand, and now where is it being sold? Obviously online. Where else are the other products sold?

[C]

Yeah, we're available nationwide in select stores with Walmart, Whole Foods, Kroger Meijer, and some other independents as well. And as you mentioned, Guy, we're available online on Amazon and our own direct to consumer site.

[A]

Okay, and I'm looking at your website and I'm just gonna say, clearly you were on Shark Tank because that's the COVID of your website picture of you on Shark Tank. How did that go?

[C]

Oh, I've been a huge fan of the show. So it's in a strange way, it felt like I was meeting some my common friends for the first time. Incredible experience.

[A]

Yeah. And tell me, how are your sales doing? What are you projecting for this year?

[C]

Yeah, I mean, we did about 1.5 million lifetime sales this year. We'll probably be doing around 600,000 or 700. And essentially, we're the only brand representing Filipino cuisine on the shelves right now. So we have a really interesting position.

[A]

So there's not a single brand out there that does that is Filipino for Filipino cuisine. Like there is obviously for Italian foods or Japanese foods or Indian foods. There's no national brand.

[C]

There are national brands, but they're mostly the exports from the Philippines. So think the heritage Filipino brands that come from abroad. I think with Filamenilla, we're probably, if not the only, the first nationwide available Filipino American brand, which we make our products here in the US and you could see from the branding and from the ingredients, it's positioned for the. I guess the US customer got it.

[A]

Okay, before we dive in further, what is your question?

[C]

Oh, yeah. So, you know, I started Filmanilla to introduce delicious Filipino flavors in the US market. But since many Americans haven't yet experienced Filipino cuisine, it seems like we're essentially creating a category while building an emerging brand. And so my question is, what have you seen work for brands that need to educate people about something Unfamiliar before it can go mainstream.

[A]

All right, cool. Tariq, Farid, I want to bring you in here. Thoughts, questions, ideas for Jake?

[B]

Hey, my first question always is, what's the end game? Like, you know, five years from four years from now? Are you trying to, you know, is there a brand that you're trying to mimic in the US that you would like to become that, or what's the objective?

[C]

Yeah, great question. Thank you, Tariq. So at least for us, the. The vision is to represent the next generation of Filipino American flavors. We don't really compare ourselves to what. What brand we want to be. What we do say is that, you know, we believe in five years, Filipino cuisine will be pretty mainstream. And our goal is that if you ask any random person in the US what brand do you think about when you think about Filipino food? The first brand comes to mind will be Filamenola.

[B]

And is there a brand that, you know, kind of other ethnicities that you, you know, you. You know, you admire or you think they've done a great job?

[C]

Oh, yeah, There's a lot of brands in industry. For example, Siete Foods. They did a phenomenal job.

[A]

We had them on the show many years ago.

[C]

Yes. Yeah. Great family. They did a great job of almost reintroducing, I guess, Mexican American cuisine into the US with clean labels, modern branding, and we hope to do the same with Filipino food.

[B]

And is the focus. Your focus isn't just to go after Filipino American, Filipinos or Filipino Americans, it's to go after Americans.

[C]

Oh, correct, Tariq. Yeah. You know, through our own research, we found that actually 80% of our customers are not Filipino.

[A]

I think you're right, Jake. That there is. We're at a moment now, and I think we've been there for a while, where Filipino cuisine is really, like, just, you know, sort of exploding, I think, because, you know, you think about, like, even Vietnamese and Thai cuisine, even 10 years ago, 15, certainly 20 years ago, it wasn't what it is now. I mean, Thai food, Vietnamese food is as ubiquitous as Chinese takeout now. Right. And Chinese takeout has been a thing in the United States for at least 50 years.

[C]

Exactly. Yeah. We usually explain to potential investors and also category managers at the stores exactly what guy mentioned. So where Filipino cuisine is today is exactly where Korean food and Vietnamese food was maybe five years ago. So back then, no one really knew what gochujang was or bubble tea.

[A]

But now, yeah, bubble tea and bubble. This is interesting, because bubble tea really started as a cultural kind of touchstone for particularly Taiwanese And Chinese American kids. Now, bubble tea is totally universal, ubiquitous everywhere. Right. And I wonder whether there's a parallel to be made with Filipino Americans as your ambassadors. Right. How much are you tapping into young, young sort of Filipino Americans?

[C]

Yeah, for sure. You know, I gave you that stat. About 80% of our customers are non Filipin, you know, but it's that 20% that tend to be our cheerleaders. You're exactly right, guy who are Filipinos. So they may not buy our products, but they're so excited about this modern representation of what they grew up with. They tend to tell a lot of their social circles or friends, co workers about our brand and we see it on social media. We do a lot of social media with TikTok on our accounts and we see a lot of people that share and comment happen to be Filipino Americans usually.

[B]

So look, I think you know, one you're doing. You're right. It all depends on, you know, what's the mission. Is it is the mission to flip the brand? Is it mission to kind of get bought out or you want to scale it to be the Goya of the Filipino food? The only thing I would be careful on that I've seen other brands do is they'll spend a lot of money in the mar. You know, in cpg, the margins are really, really tough, especially if you're producing the product. That's the only thing I saw that was a bit of a concern right now that I think you should try to import if you can, just from a cost benefit point of view. Unless you're making a new product that is just not available and that's where a lot of people will. You're going to spend a lot of energy introducing the product, but then you're not making the margins because of cost. So you've introduced the product but then built it for someone else. So I think you got to keep an eye on both that not only do you want to introduce the product and your question had the answer in it, which is like, hey, how do I educate? That's the thing. You got to educate. You're going to go out and sample and educate and teach people about it, but just make sure you own the source of it and everything and the brand that you. What you don't want to do is that that somebody from gets a banana ketchup that tastes just as good, is branded well and then just brings it to the US and you did the introduction and they're the ones who took benefit. I think just keep that connection and ketchup is a commodity. People are going to look at price. You may have a price advantage getting it out of Philippines that you may not have by producing it in the.

[A]

U.S. yeah, I agree. I think you have an opportunity. You're right that you are in a great position to educate consumers. But at the same time, you want consumers to associate Fila Manila with Filipino food. Right. As the brand, the go to brand. Sort of like, you know, you think of Sriracha, right. And there is that one brand that everyone thinks of with the roosters. You know, there are other Sriracha brands, but they really kind of introduced the product. It was around, had been around. They introduced it to American consumers. And now that's the one that kind of dominates. So you have this interesting opportunity. The other thing, I think. Have you had any contact or communication with Trader Joe's about collaborating, maybe seeing if there's a product that you're selling that they would be willing to try?

[C]

Yeah. To answer the first point, Guy, I think you and Tariq had a really good point about focusing on single products. I think it was one of the big lessons we learned as a business. Early on, believe it or not, we had up to eight SKUs, eight products. Oh, wow. But due to getting our butt kicked in the market, we're focusing it now to two SKUs, the UBE and the banana ketchup. And we're doing exactly what you're saying, trying to connect those wider commodities to the Philip Manila brand for Trader Joe's. No, we have not reached out. I know. I hear from my. My other founder, founder friends that it's one of the most difficult retailers to. To get into just because they're very selective with their own brands as well. But Guy, if you know anyone at.

[A]

Trader Joe's, well, I'm sure you can get. I mean, given. Given your track record so far and where you are, I don't think it's going to be too, too much of a leap to try and get in front of them. Because something like banana ketchup is just so unusual. And I think it's a product people would have to try. Right. There's a reason why it's the number one condiment in the Philippines. Probably because it's delicious. Right. But it's like even the concept of eating mayonnaise and French fries for many Americans is weird, even though that's how most Europeans eat French fries with mayonnaise and it's delicious. Banana ketchup, to me, seems like actually an easier sell because it's already A ketchup, it's already has that sweet, savory, tangy element, that vinegary element that ketchup has. Tomato ketchup has. And so are you doing everything you can to get that on social media, to put videos out, to have people using it? Incentivize your existing customer base to post about it?

[C]

Great question, guy. And good point. Actually, in the last few months, as a business, we're actually skewing more towards our online sales.

[A]

Right.

[C]

And we're doing a lot of that through the support of content marketing and affiliates. So now we're kind of engaging influencers, you know, affiliates, and also people who just love food just to try our banana ketchup and just maybe make content about it. Another idea we've been exploring is partnering with food service. So perhaps food trucks, maybe fast casual restaurants that want to provide this condiment the same way that Chipotle has the Tabasco products. Maybe they can have the banana ketchup with their fries or wings just to taste it, just to see what it's like. And if they like it, that could be a great opportunity for a repeats buyer who can find the market.

[B]

Yeah. Have you done any sampling at like Whole Foods or Costco or talk to them or even, I know, not Trader Joe's, but that's like Costco is a great way to kind of go present. Especially it's a new product.

[C]

Oh, yeah, we. So when we sell on whole foods, we do our demos and then we could do our sampling. And when I sample it to people, their. Their minds are blown because it tastes like a ketchup, but it's delicious. We usually serve it with nice freshly cooked french fries. And everyone seems to enjoy it because everyone loves fries and ketchup. Costco is definitely on our radar. We want to work with Costco because a lot of Asian Americans shop at Costco and they're familiar with the concept of banana ketchup and ube. And so I think it's a great kind of condiment to reinvigorate and add some energy back into the sleepy ketchup category.

[B]

Yeah, look, I think you've done great. And you know, time is, it's going to take time, you know, especially when you're doing. You got to, you know, do one outlet at a time, one customer at a time, and then it just clicks. I'd say look at the Costco part. I can send some stuff. I can get you in contact with some people just to at least get an introduction. And if your samples have gone great, they like Supporting new brands. I've done a lot of brands that have launched from there.

[C]

Absolutely.

[A]

There you go. That's an amazing opportunity. Jake. I think we, Tariq and I agree. Banana ketchup. That's the product to really push out there, even though you've got the other ones.

[B]

That's your hot sauce.

[A]

That's your hot sauce. That's the one.

[C]

I hope so too. We want to get more people to try it. Maybe at Costco, maybe at Roti, who knows? But hopefully both of you get to try it.

[A]

Maybe.

[B]

But hey, yeah, look, I'm going to get you in contact with the Roti people. I think if it's clean ingredients, people will go for that and you got a story behind it. I'd say write a story behind this, man. Write a story behind the ketchup. Why the ketchup? What's unique about it? And if you can, I would take that one product. So it's probably easy to execute and everybody knows what ketchup is.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

So with that, I think it's just more of it just sounds cool and I think you'll get a lot of trial out of it.

[A]

Jake Tilleon, the brand is called Fila Manila. Good luck, man. Thanks for calling in.

[C]

No, thank you, Guy and Tariq for inspiring the entrepreneurial community and, you know, bringing new people into the fold and just helping us grow and learn more.

[A]

Awesome.

[B]

Good luck. And we'll get you some context as well.

[A]

So yeah, thank you so much. Good luck.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Good luck. Yeah, I mean I, I have not, I gotta admit, I have not tried Banana Catch. I've seen it, I've seen it, but I haven't tried it. I've got to try it.

[B]

You can have a lot of fun with that. Yeah, if he gets with the right and exciting agency. So I think just a few changes and I kind of see a fun looking bottle that may be unique that he can kind of pretty much own a trademark on to launch this product and really stand out for sure.

[A]

And by the way, do you know, apparently ketchup did not. It started like as a mushroom con. It was made from mushrooms, it was not made from tomatoes. So like we, we think of tomato ketchup as ketchup, but actually that came a lot later. So there you go.

[B]

Excellent.

[A]

Stay with us because after the break we'll talk to another founder working to take their business to the next level. That's after the break. I'm Guy Raz and you're listening to the advice line right here on how I built this Lab this show is presented to you by American Express. Building a business is never a straight line. It's full of unexpected turns, and the right tools can make all the difference along the way. That's why when I talk to entrepreneurs about how they keep growing, American Express often comes up the new enhancements to the Amex Business Platinum Card are designed for how business owners actually work today, offering them more value, flexibility and rewards than ever before. With two Times Membership Rewards points on select business purchases, those everyday choices can fuel even more growth. And when it's time to hit the road or the skies, Business Platinum Card members have access to the largest global airport lounge network of any credit card. It's a way to stay productive even while traveling. Plus, the flexible spending limit changes as your business does, adapting to where you are and where you're headed next. Because when it comes to growing your business, there's truly nothing like Business Platinum. Not all purchases will be approved. Terms and points cap apply. Learn more at Go Amex bplat. You know, as someone who's built an entire career around curiosity, I find myself asking questions even in the quietest moments of my day. Whether I'm walking my dog in the morning or just reading a good book, my mind is always wondering about the why behind things. Which is exactly how Claude has become such an incredible collaborator in my daily life. Claude is the AI for minds that don't stop at good enough, the thinking partner that works with you to explore the things that fascinate you. Take last night while making dinner, I found myself wondering about the science behind making the perfect crispy roast chicken. And this all led to an enlightening conversation with Claude that went far beyond basic cooking science. We explored the Maillard reaction, moisture management, salting and brining, and even the history of how humans discovered the cooking process. It was really cool stuff, and I love how Claude matches my natural curiosity rather than trying to shut it down with quick answers. Like when I recently noticed all the different layers in a cliff face during a hike, Claude transported me back in time. It helped me explore how these rocks formed under ancient seas and all the forces that transformed them over millions of years. Whether you're researching outdoor curiosity spirals or working through complex creative challenges, Claude extends your thinking to tackle the problems together. And it helps me see connections I never would have made on my own, turning casual observations into moments of genuine discovery. Ready to explore what's possible? Try Claude for free at Claude AI hibt. That's Claude AI Hibt to start thinking deeper Today, the holidays are upon us. And businesses are hiring for seasonal roles, everything from haunted corn maze workers to snowplow drivers. This means that people with certain skills, experience, or even a special license are in high demand and not easy to find. Whether you're hiring for one of these roles or any other role, the best way to find the perfect match for your role is on ZipRecruiter. And right now you can try it for [e-mail] Build ZipRecruiter's matching technology works fast to find top talent so you don't waste time or money. You can find out right away how many job seekers in your area are qualified for your role. Let ZipRecruiter find the right people for your roles, seasonal or otherwise. Four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. And right now, you can try it for [e-mail] Bilt Again, that's ziprecruiter.com Bilt ZipRecruiter the smartest way to hire foreign welcome back to the Device Line on How I Built this Lab. I'm Guy Raz, and today I'm taking your calls with Tariq Farid, the founder of Edible Arrangements. Tariq, you ready for next caller?

[B]

Let's do it. Sounds great.

[A]

All right, let's bring in our next caller. Hello. Welcome to the Device line. You are on with Tarik Fareed. Tell us your name, where you're calling from, and just a little bit about your business.

[D]

Hi, Guy. Hi, Tariq. It's such a pleasure to be speaking with you both today. My name is Heather Thorkelson. I'm calling from Gothenburg, Sweden, and I am the founder of Minimal Impact Cruises. Minimal Impact Cruises is a polar voyage company that offers an entirely new style of polar travel on a sustainable 36 passenger expedition cruise vessel.

[A]

Wow. Well, thanks for calling in, Heather. So you're calling in from Gothenburg, Sweden, and your company is you arrange trips like tours of the Arctic.

[D]

It's the Arctic, but it's specifically on a vessel that's currently being built that is the most sustainable luxury vessel that will be on the market.

[A]

I got it.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay, before we talk about that, so you have a business that is not yet. Has not yet started, or you or you are working on a. Help me understand what you're. What you do.

[D]

Sure, absolutely. So I have a mother company, Polar Tracks Expeditions, which is a polar tour agency. Minimal Impact Cruises is a division of that and it is. The whole reason that it exists is to represent, to operate expeditions for the English market. On this new vessel that's coming out, the vessel is about 60% built. The trips are already for sale. So we are on the market. And I have 10 years in the industry as a business owner for Polar Tracks Expeditions. But this is sort of a new arm, a new vertical in the company, and we're sort of pushing the envelope of what's possible for sustainable travel in the Arctic.

[A]

Got it. Okay. So just understand Polar Tracks Expeditions is a travel agency that is separate. And then you've started this new kind of vertical called Minimal Impact Cruises. And this is a boat that you are being, that is being built. It's a ship. Tell me about this ship. What makes it unique?

[D]

Yeah, this ship is so cool. Nothing exists like it. It's only 36 passengers, which is a real advantage when you're going out into nature and trying to minimize impact. Of course, it's entirely fueled by wind and solar energy. So it has solar sails, 35 meter high solar sails that are covered in solar panels. It has clean electric propulsion, it has autonomous water production, it has an organic heating system, and it has, we put it, zero waste at sea. So it is 90% more carbon neutral than any other vessel out there besides straight up sailboats, which are obviously relatively small.

[A]

And the boat is designed to do like to, to go, you know, through like ice floes and around the fjords and stuff like that.

[D]

Yeah, it's, it's purpose built for the polar regions. And that's partially because the person who's building it, who's a friend and colleague of mine, she's an ice captain and she's the one who came up with the idea because we had both been, you know, working and living on these ships, for lack of a better term, up in the Arctic and in the Antarctic for many years. And seeing that ultimately, you know, like many forms of transport, cruise ships or expedition ships, they. They have a carbon footprint.

[A]

Right.

[D]

We can't get away from that. And so her whole idea was, what if we actually just built something from the ground up that was as carbon neutral as possible. And so there's lots of ways that this ship is engineered for the polar regions to be safe, to be effective, and to just provide a completely different way of experiencing this region.

[A]

And when are you planning on having the first cruise?

[D]

In fall of 2026. So just over a year from now. It's coming up quick.

[A]

And you're selling, you're selling packages for, for the, for that trip.

[D]

Exactly. We also have private charters I mean, this is an ideal vessel for private charters because of its size, so.

[A]

Yeah, Right. And how much does it cost to go?

[D]

Depends on the location. In Northern Norway, it's about all of our pricing is in euros, so it's around €18,000 per person. In Svalbard, you're looking at 40 or €42,000 per person, depending on the length of the departure.

[A]

It's a luxury trip. It is.

[D]

In Greenland, we're around 35,000.

[A]

So you're going after a very particular clientele. I mean, this is a narrow clientele. Okay, before we dive in more, what is your question for us?

[D]

Okay, so the question is really a gut check on the name of the company. Actually. We haven't had any kind of negative reaction to it. It's just something we've been talking about internally. The minimal impact part we really like because it explains exactly what we're doing. But the word cruise is kind of cringe in the expedition travel community because when people think of cruises, they think of large ships, they think of a more sedentary vibe, you know, entertainment. But we put cruise in the name for the sake of SEO and because it's easy to remember. Minimal impact cruises kind of rolls off the tongue. So my question is, from a gut check perspective, do you feel like that's a positive, negative or neutral having cruise in our name?

[A]

Got it. All right. Lots to think about. This is something that only, you know, relatively narrow slice of the world can do, but still amazing opportunity if you can do it. What do you think, Tariq?

[B]

Yeah. And you know, one question, Heather, is do you think that this will become mainstream? I think because the way you're asking the question is that, is this where people are headed? You think even the bigger cruise ships can do this? Minimum impact? Are you kind of the Mercedes Benz on the BMW of it, or are we thinking there's some merging happening, that everyone else will be moving this way as well?

[D]

I think that's an excellent question. And it's something that we're really kind of keeping our eye on and talking a lot about in the industry. It's a relatively small industry, as you can imagine. My firm belief is that and hope is that this is something that will become much more mainstream. I think with every new technology, with every more sustainable, sustainable option that you bring into the market, it's always going to start with something that's very exclusive and very high end, like electric cars. There was a time when only a few people had electric cars and now everybody has them.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

So we are pushing the envelope. We're introducing a different way of doing things. We're proving that it's possible. And our hope is that more and more people who are building ships in the future will take on some of this technology when they see that it is. That it's something that's totally doable and then change things for the better.

[B]

And would you, I mean, would the cost come down?

[D]

That would be the hope.

[A]

It makes sense to me that the word cruise is used because as you mentioned the SEO part. Right. People are still going to search for that word and I wonder whether you can split the difference. Right. So first of all, have you tried any AB testing? Have you tried to advertise as a cruise versus expedition?

[D]

We have not. We use the language sort of together a lot. You know, minimal impact cruises, we take people on polar expeditions. So it's often within the same language. But we haven't a B tested like a name difference.

[A]

Why don't you try that? Why don't you run small ad campaigns? One you do, you have it called like Minimal Impact Cruises. One you call it Minimal Impact Expeditions or Voyages or Adventures or something like that and see what gets better. Click through.

[D]

Yeah, that's a really good idea. Yep, that's a low stakes option. That would definitely be worth testing.

[B]

Hey, so look, I'm going to share a little story with you. When we started, we were putting fruit in baskets and our cost was of course much higher than flowers. And so when we were originally looking at the name, we were going by the design, not necessarily as much the experience or what's going to happen. So the original name was Delicious Designs, but we struggled with that because that could be anything. And there were a lot of names out there that people were using that were similar. Delicious this Delicious, if you're going to try to get a trademark. So we started work on the tagline is how do we describe it? And that's when, you know, one of, one of the people in the room said, oh, we could call it the Edible Arrangement. Then that our tagline became the name because, you know, so I think, I think you have a name for your company. From my point of view, I think this name that you had of the new polar expedition company and because you're such a niche market, I think there's a new way of exploring the polar. And then what I had come up with the same thing like adventure travel, eco tourism or expedition travel or experience, because experience travel is really big, right. With what you're doing is you're giving an Experience. So I think the name wise, I think you're struggling with something because you're trying to deliver on a mission and you want your company to be named that mission. So I think you gotta, you're already doing it. I don't think you need to wear that on your sleeve. I mean, you know, I was thinking Blue Planet Voyages or you know, Blue Planet Journey, but you already have it. It was in that brief. Tell it. I think you need to write a story and that story is what's going to get some of your customers to pay the, the premium. Because the experience from the time you step on this boat is going to be very different than any other boat that you stepped on.

[D]

Absolutely, absolutely not. Not the least of which as well, given how it's powered, it's silent and it's vibration free. So unlike being on a ship or even a 12 passenger boat, you know, it's. It's really like very immersive. You know, it's a very, very special thing. And then there is another boat being built. So this is not the only one. This isn't a once and done like the, the ship builder is building a second one. Eventually we're hoping for a fleet. So yeah, we're trying to really change the game.

[A]

No, it looks absolutely amazing. I mean, and I think, look, a couple things. I definitely think that some people will be attracted to the low minimal impact, but I'm not convinced that most people will. I think most people are going to be interested in the luxury and in the other people going on the boat and the experience. One of the things that I. And this, you know, just the name aside, the cruise or non cruise aside. I think that an expedition like this I think would do. You would do you'd benefit from having either a direct or even indirect connection to some kind of environmental group or a group that does conservation with polar bears. I don't know what I'm assuming. Maybe you'll have lecturers on the boat who will come and give talks at night and if you're not, if you don't have that plan, it's something you might want to consider doing.

[D]

Yes, we've thought of all of that. Actually. We will have affiliations. We will have special guests and also expedition cruises. They always have a guide team. And these are people who have science backgrounds, have spent years working in the polar regions. There is an educational element. There's definitely going to be some affiliations with some key conservation organizations. To answer your question or address that. It's absolutely on our mind and it's something that's going to be a key feature of what we offer.

[A]

Yeah. My take focus on the words expedition, voyage, adventure. I think you should try the ab thing and see if the cruise, the word cruise may ultimately have zero impact on how people may not have a huge impact on whether or not people are interested.

[B]

And especially with the type of customers that are going to come to you, it doesn't matter if it's called cruise or not. They're going after a certain experience. Right. And they know and they're paying for it. And the other thing is, like, I think you're struggling a little bit with trying to be authentic. I think your actions make you authentic. You're trying to do this. So I wouldn't struggle with that. I mean, I think with all the things that you have, I don't think you're going to have any difficulty filling that.

[A]

Yeah, probably not. I agree. Heather Thorkelson, minimal impact cruises. Good luck. Thanks for calling in.

[D]

Thank you so much.

[B]

Congrats. Best of luck.

[A]

Yep. I'd take that cruise. I go on there.

[B]

Yeah, same here. You know, like a lot of times in the beginning, even when I started, I'm sure you were the same way. We got sometimes stuck on the little thing. Like, you would spend hours on it. And then I always was lucky enough that I had mentors that were way ahead of me. And they're like, you know, no one's going to notice that. I'm like, what do you mean? But I wanted it to be blue. He says, no one's going to notice if it's light blue or this blue. Stop.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

They're going to taste the product. And if they go, wow, by tasting your product, you got a customer for life. And focus on that. Stop worrying about the blue. And because you're surrounded by people that are constantly talking about that. Right? Like, oh, is it cruise? You want to be associated with Cruise? And then you kind of get stuck. Yeah, but great idea, great idea.

[A]

We're going to take a quick break, but when we come back, another caller, another question, and another round of advice. I'm Guy Raz. Stick around. You're listening to the advice line on how I built this Lab.

[D]

Derry is a beautiful place, but things do happen from time to time.

[B]

A new HBO original series. Folks are getting funny ideas. Keep the people you love close your lies lives depend on begins here.

[D]

There's something here.

[B]

Something bad it. Welcome to Dairy streaming Sundays at 9pm exclusively on HBO Max.

[A]

Welcome back to the advice line on how I built this Lab. I'm Guy Raz. All right, let's bring in our final caller. Welcome to the Advice Line. You're on with Zariq Farida, founder of Edible Arrangements. Tell us your name, where you're calling from, and just a little bit about your business.

[E]

Hi, Guy. Hi, Tariq. My name is Ryan Burkhardt. I'm calling from Austin, Texas. I'm the founder of Kong's Green Printing and we're a customer service focused based business that manufactures custom apparel and promotional items.

[A]

Awesome. Okay, so tell me more. Tell me what apparel? T shirts, sweatpants, everything, you name it.

[E]

We do a lot of work for various types of businesses. Some are international brands like Coke or Sprite. Topo Chico is one of our customers. But we also work with a lot of regional clients here in Texas. And what we do for them is help create branding apparel that makes their business memorable to their customers, their audience.

[A]

And so tell me a little bit about. So T shirts, hats, those kinds of things basically. Right?

[E]

Yeah. If it's a textile that you can wear, we can print on it.

[A]

How long have you been in business?

[E]

Kong will turn 15 years old in January.

[A]

What makes you guys different from other T shirt brands or makers?

[E]

Basically, we have really focused on customer service. So what we do is really work more like a concierge or a Sherpa, I guess you could say, trying to guide the customer through that experience without using jargon that is really very common in our industry and without short circuiting them with too many choices.

[A]

What are you guys doing in revenue right now?

[E]

Right now we're at 3 million annually.

[A]

Okay. And tell us this is pretty awesome. Congrats. That's really great. It's a solid business. How many employees do you have?

[E]

We have 13 employees right now.

[A]

And what's your question for us?

[E]

Well, we are after more than a decade, we're at a pivotal moment. We've proven that our model works and that we're able to really give attention to customers. But our growth has really been powered by just our great reputation. We've never done any marketing, we've never done any advertising. It's just been word of mouth and people who want to work with us because we treat them well. So we're really looking to scale from 3 to 5 million in revenue in the next 18 to 24 months. But we'd like to do that and find new customers without losing our soul and our hands on approach.

[B]

So, I mean, how long has it.

[E]

Hovered around 3 for about the past five years. So we've sort of plateaued. It has been irregular with the pandemic.

[B]

Were you ever higher? Were you ever higher than three?

[E]

Not consistently, no. No.

[B]

Okay. All right. Yeah. So what would the extra 2 million do for you?

[E]

Well, it allow us to do a lot more for our employees. It would allow us to do a lot more in terms of acquiring equipment and helping our customers, as well as possibly to expand into other types of services. Because printing is a very fractured industry. You go to one person to print apparel, another person to print pamphlets, so on and so forth, and we really want to be able to offer all of those kinds of things to our customers. So it allow us to grow and expand.

[A]

Have you spent any money so far on advertising?

[E]

No, that's a new development this year. We recently started working with a company here in Austin, Blackhawk Media, and we're putting a significant amount of our resources towards branding the company and raising our profile online, SEO SEM, as well as running advertisements, which is not something that we've done before.

[B]

And you've tried going back to your customers for their needs of trying to see. Because you already have a reputation with your customers, have you gone back to them and see if there's more sales or more products that you can get out of them?

[E]

We do through direct newsletters. We'll make them aware of new products that are on the market, new things that they can do, make suggestions as well as showcasing, like, we call it a customer profile. But basically we'll showcase and highlight our customers who've used their merchandise in a way to create a secondary revenue stream. So St. Elmo's is a brewery here in town, and they don't sell as many T shirts as they do beers by any stretch. But they've really been able to build their reputation as a fine brewery, and their merchandise has become a significant revenue stream for the business. So we'll highlight how we did that, what we did with the brewery, and how it makes the people who support that brewery feel when they buy that T shirt or they buy that hat. But we just haven't really seen a lot of response from it. I mean, lots of pats on the back, but it hasn't really increased sales.

[B]

But from this brewery, did you get more sales from this brewery from what you were doing previously? Was there an increase in sales?

[E]

Absolutely.

[B]

Okay, about.

[E]

About how much they're on any given month, they'll put in between a 2,500 and a $5,000 order.

[B]

Got it. You know, since you've done this re engagement with them, are they placing 20% more orders or 50% more orders?

[E]

Well, they've. They're probably about 10% more.

[B]

Okay, okay.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

This is why you've had this sustained business. For a small business to be at 3 million, that's phenomenal. I think the easiest way to go without diluting all of that is by kind of going back to your customers. And maybe I think, because I don't think you're a screen printing company. I think you're kind of like a solution provider. You're going in and if anything, you're more of a promotion company. How do you re engage with your customer? How do you go and promote your product?

[A]

Yeah, I agree with that. I think. So just reading through the lines, you've hired a PR firm here to help you out, and you're trying to figure out how best should they help you. I guess, in a sense. And in a sense, you are kind of a PR firm. I mean, you do campaigns. Right. I mean, you mentioned how you work with brands and small retailers to help them tell their story. As Tariq said, not only going back to your existing customers, but doubling down on those industries where you're already doing that work. Right. So these are, I'm assuming, CPG brands that want to break into retail small businesses or maybe even big companies that are launching new products or doing things at events. Right. And so I would think that you want to build like case studies, even on your website for what we've done. And then you target companies that do the same thing that are, you know, lookalike companies. So you sort of say, here's what we did for Coca Cola or here's what we did for so and so barbecue in Austin and how we helped them come up with this awesome shirt and design and this is what we can do for you kind of thing. Do you guys have an outbound sort of biz dev, outbound salesperson?

[E]

We have never done outbound until about the last year, and we have not had much success with it. It's a weird commodity, though, because you kind of need. And you need something custom printed when you need it and you don't when you don't. And so that's really been. The hard thing is to figure out how to use outbound sales because it's very difficult to call or walk into a place and say, hey, have you been thinking about printing 500 shirts lately?

[B]

Yeah, look, I will tell you at the same times I've go to brands where they've given me the same shirt the third time, so they're not thinking of mixing it up. They're not looking at the seasonal change. So I think having this business development and these days you can build that with college students, incentivize them really well. And you know, like, you almost have to show them a sample, like, hey, we did this shirt for you. Look at the new one. Look at this. And you know, that's when they were like, oh, that looks really cool. And you don't want to say to them, they're giving it to you free. You don't want to say, you know what, this is the same shirt you gave me three times. So but if they could just mix it up or every month you can, because you could do small prints, right?

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Which is small runs, which you're not going to get from others. So I think your easiest way to get to this 5 million are your same customers. Do what you've done so magically up to now, which is take care of the customer and really look out for them first. And this is why you are where you are. And I just add a few college students to the top of this and there are so many of them looking for jobs right now. Go pound on the pavement with a small kit and I think you'll get there a lot faster than if you try to go introduce new customers.

[E]

Okay, that's interesting.

[A]

Yeah. And I think you asked like, how do we do this without losing our soul? And I'm just kind of again, reading between the lines here. You go online, you type in T shirt printing, and there's a million companies that do this. And it sounds like you don't want to become like some of those brands, but you can protect your culture by building systems. Right. By really the way you onboard new hires. And you really help them understand why you guys are different and why you aren't just a T shirt printing company, but you are about helping businesses express their ideas. You really want to spend time and effort in training and even like a brand bible for the company. You know, if you've got some kind of. If you don't have it already, if you don't have even an employee handbook, turn that into a brand bible. Who are you? What do you stand for? Why do you do what you do? Make sure everybody who you hire reads that and understands that.

[B]

And you haven't updated the brand for the last 15 years, right? You haven't really. Did you do rebranding?

[E]

Not really.

[B]

Yeah, you didn't need to.

[E]

No, no, we really haven't. We've just been so focused on helping Other people brand and work with them that we haven't really paid much attention to our own.

[B]

So, look, I'll tell you one thing. I'll share this with you. When we were young, my grandfather would always say, brawn to brain, and we never understood it. And you're like, you know, because he was much older. He was in his 60s at that time, and he's like, you gotta. You gotta take all that you learn physically, and it's gotta. You gotta use your wisdom at one point, because the body's not gonna keep up. You can't keep up with everything. So what Guy is talking about is, how do you bottle what has worked so well for you? Yeah, and I think this whole part of very high touch type of interaction, it's getting back to that. Back in the. You know, I remember the printing companies back in the 80, when I started my business. I was 17 years old. I didn't know anything. You would go to them and say, what do you think I need? And they would tell you everything that's needed. And they would create the logo for you. They will tell you, do it this way. And they would ask you, what's your favorite color? And by the time you did it, they made you look really good. Look, I think you have a lot of experience. I think you can have a lot of fun with rebranding. But, like, I love the part you said that we don't want to go to five and lose our identity, which is what happens to big brands, small brands. Everybody starts to chase the dollar, and then after that point, you know, they just can't keep up with it. So I think you have a good business and just simply going back to your customers, you may be pleasantly surprised how much more orders you get.

[A]

For sure.

[E]

Thank you for that advice. I really appreciate that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Ryan Burkhart, the. The company's called Kong Screen Printing. Good luck. Thanks for calling in.

[E]

All right, thanks so much for having me.

[B]

Take care, and best of luck.

[A]

So, Tariq, here we are, like, right back where you started in some ways, at scale the problems just kind of scale the challenges. Scale. They're still there. Tariq, if you could go back. It's a question I ask every founder comes on the show. If you go back to where you were when you were just coming up with this idea for carving cantaloupe and melon into flowers and selling them to people, and you could give yourself advice like, hey, this is what I know now. You know, 25 years later, 30 years later, what do you. What would. What Would have been helpful for you to know.

[B]

I've thought about that a lot because I have to give that advice to my kids.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I don't think if I went back, I could do anything different because I never really had any money and anybody I bought the idea to pretty much, you know, walked me out and said, it's not gonna work. You know, do something else. But the customers told a different story. Guy. Every time a customer got a product, they wanted to order it, they would always use the word, wow, that was great. It was so unique. I didn't realize 25 years would go by so fast so that. That I would say the respect of time. And that's what I'm trying to do with my daughter now. She's 33. She had 32. She just took over. Like, hey, it's a 10 year journey. Work hard. Really, really 10 years. And at that point, advise someone else. Let the next leader come in and advise them. And, you know, which I didn't know because we went from kind of nothing to building a brand. And you just keep thinking you got to keep working this hard when you actually don't need to.

[A]

Yeah, that's great advice. That's Edible Arrangements founder, Tariq Fareed. Tariq, thanks so much for coming back on the show.

[B]

Thank you, guy. Thank you. It was a pleasure.

[A]

And by the way, if you haven't heard Tariq's original How I Built this episode, please go back and check it out. You can find a link to it in the show notes. And here is one of my favorite, favorite moments from that interview.

[B]

I didn't know what a focus group was, but he asked me to do a focus group and I kind of said something to him that I think he didn't like. I said, I did do a focus group. I took it home and I put it on the dining room table. My mother looked at it and said, oh, my God, honey, this is gonna be big. I said, yeah, so if mom says it, I think it's gonna be cool.

[A]

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 [e-mail] 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 [e-mail] 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 Rommel Wood, with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Andrea Bruce. Our audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez. Our production staff also includes Chris masini, Alex Chung, J.C. howard, Casey Herman, Sam Paulson, Kerry Thompson, Katherine Cipher, Neva Grant, and Elaine Coates. I'm Guy Raz and you've been listening to the advice line on How I Built this Lab. If you like How I Built this, you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] survey.