Hi all!

In today's brief episode, I evaluate the success of the past 50 guests on the show and synthesize it into 3 steps.

"Back the jockey, not the horse."

At early revenue stages, the founder is crucial when deciding whether or not to invest.

Out of every 100 or so food startups Accel Foods invests in just 1.

What makes them say yes to this small handful of companies? Cofounder Jordan Gaspar and I dive into her perspective of food startups and how they can prosper:

• How Jordan left the legal space and ended up with an investment fund
• The size of the companies and the investments they make
• Common mistakes food startups make that affect their long term success
• Advice for companies in "launch mode"
• Mentoring: is this a value-added service that Accel offers all brands?
• Legal guidelines to keep in mind for your company
• How long it takes from meeting a founder to making an investment

Reza Mirza has an exciting job: CEO of Icelandic Glacial. A premium brand, they control the sole commercial rights to bottle and sell water from the legendary Ölfus Spring.

In 21 countries with only 40 total employees, they are organized, efficient, and growing.  Their U.S. distribution is handled by Anheuser-Busch, which took a 20% ownership stake in the company in July 2007.

Reza recently served as President of Activate Drinks where he grew the company in key markets through increased distribution while driving double digit same store sales and increased brand awareness. We go behind the scenes of their fascinating company and, of course, water:

• The vision of Icelandic Glacial
• Keys to leadership
• Let's talk water...
• Global distribution strategies into new countries
• What it means to be carbon neutral
• Marketing in the United States compared to China?
• Logistics, sending product to various countries around the world
• How he grew Activate same-store sales numbers
• Think global; act global
• Only 40-50 employees.Just for export. Becoming a distributor.
• What type of marketing, what message are you trying to send to people?
• As the CEO of a large food company (many are smaller in nature) what is your day-to-day like?
• Expanding to other countries you brought Blaupunkt audio into India, what’s the plan here?
• Unique selling positions between different brands of water

When I asked Alex how they came up with the idea for an energy shot. It was simple: Our customers told us.

Before the interview, I thought: "Why would anyone start a cold-brew coffee company? There are so many on the market already."

I quickly learned the unique value proposition of Bizzy Coffee from a product and brand perspective.

The co-founder, Alex French sat down to talk with me on the final leg of their East Coast #vanlife tour.

And it was quite the success: they were able to sell into 200 new stores with 500 prospects in the pipeline. There is a lot we can learn from Bizzy Coffee:

• Ranking #1 in amazon for cold brew coffee
• Finding product opportunities using internet metrics
• A/B testing and online customer feedback
• How to run a successful promotion tour
• Door-to-door retail sales tips
• Navigate the chicken and egg problem with distributors and retail
• The National Coop Grocers association
• Key metrics that many founders overlook
• Buying and equipping a van for your brand
• Why you need company "gear"
• Understanding why customers use your product