TBPN: How I Built and Sold SALT & STONE

Guests: Nima Jalali (Founder & CEO, SALT & STONE)
Hosts: John Coogan & Jordi Hays
Date: March 27, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, TBPN hosts John Coogan and Jordi Hays sit down with Nima Jalali, the founder and CEO of the skincare brand SALT & STONE, for an in-depth conversation about his journey from professional snowboarder to building one of the fastest-growing personal care companies in the world. Fresh off a partial exit and partnership with a global investment firm, Nima shares how he built a profitable, product-focused brand with minimal outside capital, defied the typical DTC struggle narrative, and scaled up to become the best-selling deodorant on Amazon—all with a lean, remote team. The discussion dives into Nima’s mindset, product philosophy, lessons from action sports, scaling challenges, and his surprisingly smooth journey through the CPG landscape.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Nima’s Background: From Pro Snowboarder to Entrepreneur

• Early Life and Snowboarding Career

  • Grew up in La Cañada, CA; became obsessed with skateboarding, then snowboarding local mountains (00:25–01:00)
  • Turned professional, focused on “lifestyle/movies/magazines” side rather than competitions (01:20–01:50)
  • Spent 10 years as a pro (age 20–30). “That was like my college.” — Nima [01:59]
  • Lessons learned: persistence, failing repeatedly, and the solo nature of the sport instilled entrepreneurial grit (02:30–03:30)

• Parallels to Entrepreneurship

  • Crafting “parts” for snowboard movies resembles the founder’s iterative, failure-prone process of product development (03:18)
  • “A lot of successful entrepreneurs ... failed miserably for years. And then they have that breakthrough ... in snowboarding, it’s happening on a day-to-day basis.” — Interviewer 2 [03:18]

2. The Genesis of SALT & STONE

• Began with smaller ventures in surf/skate/snow but “there’s just such a ceiling” unless you build a category-defining brand like Quiksilver or Burton (06:07–06:30)
• Wanted to go 100% solo—no more co-founders, complete ownership and accountability
  • “Just going so hard ... I could justify that if it’s just all me and I’m just like going for it.” — Nima [06:40]

3. Product Development Philosophy

• First Products

  • Launched with sunscreen (even though deodorant was his real focus) because “searching for the perfect chemist, contract manufacturer and all that ... sunscreen came out faster.” [07:19]
  • Unlike most, was profitable from day one by lining up 40–50 retail partners for initial distribution (08:04)
  • Directly funded out of pocket and paid himself back quickly

• Breakout Deodorant

  • The “game changer” came with his deodorant: emphasis on sophisticated scents, clean formula, product experience, and design
  • “Why shouldn’t it smell as good as your perfume or cologne?” — Nima [11:04]
  • Relentless focus on launching only when truly perfect: “I was really making it for myself ... and it turns out what I wanted was what everybody else wanted.” [11:16]

4. Growth, Team, and Operations

• Atypical CPG Story: Always Profitable, No Near-Death Moments

  • “No. This story, it’s been a ... a dream come true. Right.” — Nima on almost dying as a company [11:24]
  • “Just one shot, entrepreneurship.” — Interviewer 2 [11:33]

• Funding Strategy

  • Consistent profitability removed pressure to raise VC; any capital raises were “secondary ... me taking chips off the table.” [14:04]
  • “Venture capital, not really my cup of tea.” — Nima [14:23]

• Building the Team

  • First three years: solo, working closely with manufacturers and chemists, using friends and family for product feedback (14:44–15:20)
  • “Myself, you know, my wife, like, constantly, we’re smelling each other’s underarms, you know. Is it working in the lab?” — Nima (15:21)
  • Three years in: hired an ops-focused teammate, then gradually expanded to 50–55 remote staff with a “high bar” for hires (16:45)

• Sales and Retail Approach

  • Never used sales reps; focused on creating a brand retailers wanted to stock (17:29)
  • “You got to create a brand that the retailer wants ... create a brand that the retailers needed to have.” — Nima [17:36]
  • Became an “advertising expert” by necessity, running all branding, product photography, copy, and digital presence hands-on for extended periods (18:12–19:33)

5. The Scaling Playbook: Product, Brand, Relentlessness

• “The power of a founder who’s ... relentless and goes up against the big guys. ... You can’t compete with that ... I don’t care how much money you have or what incubator you’re in.” — Nima [13:12]
• Focused on inspiration from legacy brands (Nike, etc.) rather than DTC competitors or beauty brands
  • “I want this brand to be a legacy brand that’s here long after I’m gone.” [18:27]
• All-remote, lean team, no office—obsession and hands-on work trumped headcount or glitzy HQ (16:55)

6. Expansion & Exit: Doing It The Right Way

• International Expansion

  • Already in Sephora Canada, UK, Europe, Middle East, Southeast Asia (20:13)
  • Partnered with Advent for international expertise; Nima emphasized desire for a “legacy” and values-aligned partnership, not a quick exit (20:13–20:56)

• Exit Process

  • Received multiple PE offers; ran structured process, decided “when it was time” with trusted advisors (Raymond James) (21:15)
  • “Choosing good people to work with ... integrity ... vision wise on what the brand is going to be in the future.” — Nima [22:11]

7. Reflecting on the Modern CPG Landscape

• Atypical, nearly frictionless experience compared to the usual CPG “war stories.”
• Emphasized the high bar and hit rate (1% or less) for anyone thinking of replicating his path (22:52)

8. Founder Advice & Mindset

• “My advice would be to go all in ... Forget the work-life balance stuff. You just got to go hard. ... It’s something you got to love to do, and it’s got to be your passion. ... Be competitive and go after the big guys and don’t be afraid.” — Nima [23:33–24:27]
• Study incumbents, not just DTC peers; be original; draw inspiration from cross-category giants for lasting impact (24:27–24:46)
• Skepticism about early IRL/lifestyle marketing or flagship stores—focused on proven ROI before brand-building activations (26:02–26:56)

9. Inspiration and Motivation

• Only recently began listening to founder-focused content (David Senra’s Founders podcast), but found it affirming of his “all in, relentless” natural style (27:21–28:31)
• “You’re not crazy. You’re not the only person doing this on earth.” — Interviewer 1 [28:26]
• “Brand-wise though, we are just getting started.” — Nima [28:38]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Product Relentlessness:
  “I was really making it for myself. ... What do I want? And it turns out what I wanted was what everybody else wanted.” — Nima Jalali [11:16]

• On Profitable Growth:
  “The business has just been so profitable that we didn’t really need to inject it with money. And so it’s a healthy business. Man, I’m blessed.” — Nima Jalali [14:04]

• On Beating the Odds:
  “If you have a founder who’s just going to be relentless and ... go up against the big guys ... you can’t compete with that.” — Nima Jalali [13:12]

• Advice on Startup Life:
  “Go all in. ... Forget the work-life balance stuff. You just got to go hard.” — Nima Jalali [23:33]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Nima Introduces Background / Pro Snowboarder: 00:25–02:03
• Parallels between Sports & Entrepreneurship: 02:03–04:35
• Transition to Entrepreneurship / Why Go Solo: 06:07–06:40
• First Products: Sunscreen, Deodorant, D2C/Retail Mix: 07:12–08:35
• On CPG Differentiation, Product Development: 09:57–11:16
• On Smooth Growth, Funding, and Relentlessness: 11:20–14:23
• Early Team Building, Lean Remote Operations: 14:44–16:45
• Advertising, Brand-Building, Retailer Pull: 17:29–19:33
• International Expansion and Choice of Acquirer: 20:13–21:55
• The (Un)Hero’s Journey in CPG: 22:06–22:11
• Advice for Founders, Mindset, and Risk: 23:33–24:27
• Take on Brand Marketing, IRL Events, Flagships: 25:19–26:56
• On Finding Motivation, Founder Podcasts, What’s Next: 27:21–28:44

Final Thoughts

This episode offers a rare founder interview that breaks the “startup trauma” mold—Nima Jalali’s story is one of clarity, high standards, single-minded focus, and nearly uninterrupted success. SALT & STONE’s rise underscores:

• Relentless founder involvement
• Deep belief in product supremacy
• Reluctance to “raise and burn” in favor of sustainable, profitable growth
• Choosing quality over headcount or hype The story is both inspiring and, as the hosts note, almost mythic in contrast to the typical hard-knocks CPG trajectory—a testament to the outsized results that can be achieved with obsession, taste, and grit.