When Maya French and Dustin Baker turned neighbors again in 2013, they’d no concept they’d at some point be co-founders, not to mention construct two beverage manufacturers collectively.
However a shared curiosity in well being, entrepreneurship, and the meals house rapidly sparked one thing larger. After tossing round concepts—like juice bars and pure drinks—they finally landed on Koia, one of many first plant-based protein drinks you might really discover in shops. That success would result in their latest enterprise: HappyPop, a fizzy, mood-boosting power drink made with elements designed to assist individuals really feel good with out the crash.
They’ve been named to Forbes 30 Underneath 30, earned cabinets in retailers like Complete Meals and Walmart, and launched HappyPop at Expo West final yr—the place it received Finest New Product. Secure to say, they’ve discovered a factor or two alongside the best way.
We have been fortunate sufficient to host Maya and Dustin as our visitor audio system for April’s No one Cares occasion—our month-to-month speaker sequence that includes unfiltered conversations about work, life, and what success actually seems like. This time, we took issues off-site to The Publish clubhouse (brown leather-based couches included) and dove into all the things from giving suggestions to trusting your intestine.
Right here’s what caught with us.
1. “It wasn’t an excellent cultural match” = “My boss didn’t like me”
Let’s be actual: quite a lot of office language could be obscure, coded, or simply plain unhelpful. Maya and Dustin spoke actually about how phrases like “not a tradition match” are sometimes used to masks an absence of directness.
The takeaway? Honesty issues, particularly in a startup or small workforce. If one thing isn’t working, be clear. Sugarcoating suggestions—or worse, avoiding it altogether—solely results in confusion. Making a tradition of transparency units the tone for all the things else (which leads us to our subsequent takeaway).
2. Be particular with suggestions—it helps individuals develop
Whether or not you’re managing a workforce or collaborating with a associate, suggestions isn’t about pointing fingers. It’s about constructing higher outcomes collectively.
Maya and Dustin emphasised that the perfect suggestions is particular and actionable. As an alternative of obscure feedback like “this wants work,” level out precisely what may very well be improved and the way. This not solely offers somebody one thing to work with, it additionally reveals that you just’re invested of their progress—not simply stating flaws.
3. Good power is magnetic
This one’s easy, however highly effective: individuals need to work with good power.
While you present up with authenticity, ardour, and confidence in what you do, individuals discover. Maya and Dustin talked concerning the significance of placing out the power you need to get again—as a result of whether or not it’s traders, teammates, or prospects, individuals are drawn to positivity and drive.
Of their phrases: When somebody sees one thing they admire in you, it sticks. And it typically results in alternatives you by no means deliberate for.
4. Keep open to likelihood encounters
The HappyPop story is an ideal instance of this. Maya and Dustin met by likelihood as neighbors—nevertheless it was their openness to connecting, dreaming massive, and saying sure to concepts that led to all the things that adopted.
From potential collaborators to once-in-a-lifetime alternatives, their recommendation is obvious: keep open to the sudden. You by no means know when an off-the-cuff dialog may flip into your subsequent massive concept—or your subsequent enterprise associate.
It’s additionally a reminder to remain adaptable. Not each concept works the primary time, and that’s okay. Koia didn’t occur in a single day—it took a willingness to evolve, pivot, and hold constructing.
5. Imagine in what you’re promoting
This brings us to our closing takeaway: You may’t pretend conviction. The duo confused how necessary it’s to stand behind your product, not simply with advertising and marketing or branding, however in the way you speak about it, pitch it, and hold displaying up for it—even when issues get powerful (adaptability is all the things on this business).
Their philosophy with each Koia and HappyPop has all the time been rooted in fixing actual issues and providing actual worth. From ingredient sourcing to shelf placement, they’re concerned in each a part of the method—and that perception in what they’re constructing comes by means of loud and clear.
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