Episode 99
March 29, 2022

A Hint of Undaunted

with Kara Goldin, Founder and CEO of Hint

About this episode

Today, Lee is joined by entrepreneur, author, and fellow podcast host Kara Goldin, the Founder and CEO of Hint, the fastest-growing fruit-flavored unsweetened still water in America. In this episode, Kara shares with us her entrepreneurial journey from growing up in Arizona as the youngest of five, to working in a toy store at 14 years old, to attending Arizona State University, to working at TIME Magazine, CNN and AOL, to coming up with the idea for Hint after realizing the negative effects that diet sodas were having on her. She talks with us about the importance of choosing the right investors, why every founder should have their own personal attorney, and why being helpful and kind are the keys to becoming memorable.

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In This Episode You’ll Hear About:

  • What it was like growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona as the youngest of five children, constantly craving a job, and finally landing a job at a toy store at the age of 14
  • The takeaways she learned in her experience at TIME, CNN, and AOL, that its important to do the little things that people will remember
  • Why it's important to be kind and helpful to everyone because you never know where they’re going to end up 
  • How it can sometimes be luck that gets you to where you are, but most of the time its persistence
  • How after drinking 10-12 diet sodas every day, she came to the realization of how bad they were and gave her the idea to look into alternatives
  • The challenges entrepreneurs face in building a business from zero
  • Why she believes every founder should have their own personal attorney
  • The importance of choosing the right investors, and how to filter for the right ones
  • The advice Kara has for inspiring entrepreneurs or those that have an idea but don’t want to be a founder

To Find Out More:

http://www.drinkhint.com/ 

Quotes:

“​​All of a sudden I'm going to these toy fairs and understanding margins and understanding less is more and critical things. I would go back into the classroom and I was so bored in the classroom versus what I was learning in these situations.”

“As you're building, you're really focusing on those things that are a little bit hard for you.”

“Years later, I still tell new recruits at Hint that the number one thing they need to do is make sure their boss and their team are successful. I run into so many people who make the mistake of worrying about how they look and concentrating on their own feelings, to the extent that they don't appreciate what's going on around them, focusing outward on those who depend on you and the rest of the team makes you a valuable person, gets you more responsibility and ultimately gives you a chance to not just look like, but also be a superstar.”

“If you walk into a situation and maybe you feel like ‘this isn't my place like my people aren't here or whatever.’ You rise above it and you be who you are supposed to be. You be yourself.”

“There's going to be luck, but there's also this persistence that plays in”

“I was shocked when I saw that nothing like Hint was on the shelf at the store.”

“I've had a lot of good stuff happen, I've had some not so good. And you know, that's life, right? That's how you learn, that's how you make mistakes, and how you get better.”

“Understand what you really enjoy.”
“Having a different lawyer who is actually looking out for you really key.”

“The key thing is to enjoy what you're doing and do something that you think has purpose.”

“Too many people are focused on making a buck and flipping a company quickly. If you actually lead with a concept, a company that is actually going to solve a problem, that you think will actually change people in some way for the better, then the money will come. And I think just always be thinking that. If that's what your purpose is in starting a company, that's the right purpose.”

Read the transcript

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