meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

458: Break One Rule and Break It Hard: David Lester of OLIPOP PBC

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan

Marketing, Business, Entrepreneurship

4.8 • 662 Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2023

⏱️ 51 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

David Lester learned a lot from his first venture. After spending a decade in the beverage marketing industry, he teamed up with his co-founder Ben Goodwin to work on formulating a soda that’s good for you. After three years, they sold their first business but didn’t feel they’d gotten the product correct. So, they returned to their research for two years and discovered the right product market fit. In 2016, Lester and Goodwin launched OLIPOP PBC–a new kind of soda with the benefits of plant-based fiber and prebiotics. OLIPOP started in 24 independent stores in Northern California and now is stocked in 20,000 stores nationally and endorsed by celebrities like Camilla Cabello, Gweynth Paltrow, Nick Jonas, and Priyanka Chopra. Listen to Nathan and David discuss:  What he learned from his first venture Obi Probiotic Soda Starting over to make a better product in OLIPOP How humility can give you confidence as a founder Spending two years perfecting the formula with academic research The manufacturing process for beverage startups  Why you should start with independent retailers first The break one rule and break it hard method  Authentic connection with celebrity partnerships   Why product market fit is more important than marketing And much more beverage startup advice… Who do you want to see next on the podcast? Comment and let us know! And don't forget to leave us a 5-star review if you loved this episode. Wait, there's more… If you enjoy the Foundr podcast, check out our free trainings. Get exclusive, actionable advice from some of the world's best entrepreneurs.  Speak with our friendly course experts to get clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hey Founder, fan, before we dive into another incredible conversation, I want to share something

0:05.3

really special with you. Whether you're just joining us or you've been following us since the

0:09.6

beginning, you've been a critical part of our community working to change entrepreneurial

0:14.0

education. I started Founder almost a decade ago with the mission to provide entrepreneurs

0:19.8

access to the world's greatest business

0:22.2

leaders. Our goal was to break down barriers to entrepreneurial education and that's taking

0:27.4

us on a journey from Founder magazine to this podcast and beyond and today marks the next step

0:33.5

in that journey, Founder Plus. I'm proud to introduce you to Founder Plus, which is an all-access

0:39.7

pass to each of our online courses and programs and their proven frameworks for success.

0:45.9

It puts every strategy we've compiled from world-class instructors at your fingertips while connecting

0:51.9

you to a global network of like-minded entrepreneurs.

0:55.9

Founder Plus will take your business to the next level for today and tomorrow.

1:00.5

So whether you've just joined our family or you've watched us grow from humble beginnings,

1:05.3

we're really thrilled to have you join us in this exciting new phase of making the founder brand

1:10.8

and this company

1:11.6

the world's best entrepreneurial community to launch and grow your business.

1:16.1

So finally, before we get into today's episode, I'm inviting you to come back,

1:21.2

check out Founder Plus and go to founder.com forward slash membership.

1:26.8

I'm really excited, guys. This is an incredible new

1:29.8

evolution of entrepreneurial education and our mission is really to get as many of these founders

1:36.1

that we interview to teach and also give back on the founder plus platform and really go more

1:42.0

in depth with the knowledge and the experiences and the lessons

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Nathan Chan, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Nathan Chan and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.