WEBVTT - Innovation is Stuck Inside a Cube 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.880 I'm off my game today, You're not. People are going 0:00:03.920 --> 0:00:05.760 to have to start making better content. I think we're 0:00:05.760 --> 0:00:07.400 gonna be talking about this for a long time. When 0:00:07.440 --> 0:00:10.280 you program for everyone, you program for no one. I 0:00:10.280 --> 0:00:12.560 think it's that we're purpose driven platform, like we're trying 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:15.960 to get to substance. How was that? Are you happy 0:00:16.000 --> 0:00:19.880 with that? This is marketing therapy right now? It really is? 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:29.720 What's up? I'm Laura Currency and I'm Alexa Kristen. Welcome 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:32.919 back to at Landia. The only thing separating me from 0:00:32.960 --> 0:00:35.640 the Jersey Shore right now, and it's the only thing 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:37.559 I would have came to Brooklyn for UM. We have 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:40.920 Cody Levine and Mike Tongue coming into the studio to 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:44.880 ex agency young guns who have broken out to turn 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:47.600 their passion and to purpose their side hustle into the 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:49.519 main hustle. And I think we have a thing or 0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:52.720 two that they can really teach the agency about where 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:58.840 we're missing the mark on creativity agency brands. I think leadership. Seriously, 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:02.160 these guys have a anything one liners. So with that, 0:01:02.240 --> 0:01:17.640 we'll be right back. Welcome back, everybody. We're here with 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:23.560 Cody Levine, Hi, co founder of toothpaste brand twice and 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:28.680 the total Brooklyn artiste Mike Tongue is in the building. 0:01:28.800 --> 0:01:31.400 Mike Tongue is a marketing manager over at the Brooklyn 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:34.679 Museum and also the founder of the Culture LP. Hello. Hello, 0:01:35.760 --> 0:01:38.600 both of you ex agency people that Alex and I 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:41.600 have had the fortunate opportunity to have worked with in 0:01:41.680 --> 0:01:45.080 some capacity in our careers and as young guns. If 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:47.480 I may say this under the age of thirty, how 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:53.520 old are you? Just call it out? Yeah, And something 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:55.800 happened for the both of you where you decided in 0:01:55.840 --> 0:01:59.360 the not too distant past that you were going to 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:04.160 take your path actions and turn them into your everyday work. Tom, 0:02:04.240 --> 0:02:06.440 talk about what that was like for you, kind of 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:08.960 stepping away from the traditional agency world where you had 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:11.840 been somebody who's hot in the art scene out in Brooklyn, 0:02:12.280 --> 0:02:16.079 and talk about your kind of diversion back into that 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:19.200 via the Brooklyn Museum. Yeah. I mean it's been I 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:21.919 guess it's been gradual the whole time. The two worlds 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:23.920 have been colliding. They collide in the work to right, 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:26.000 you see it in the agency space, like let's do 0:02:26.040 --> 0:02:28.600 this art activation, let's do this sort of street art 0:02:28.720 --> 0:02:30.920 um kind of integration or whatever. It may have you, 0:02:30.960 --> 0:02:33.840 but for me, I had never stopped doing the cultural work. 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:36.480 It was always a five to nine thing. But it 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:38.639 just got to the point where five to nine am 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:42.840 the next day just to clarify. But it just got 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:44.720 to the point where it just made too much sense. 0:02:44.720 --> 0:02:46.600 And on a personal tip, you know, my father was 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:48.639 an artist, and it just was like, this is when 0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:50.919 I have to go full go and and really lean 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:53.960 in on you know, the culture right. And it's something 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:56.560 that I think institutions like the Brookn Museum and other 0:02:56.639 --> 0:03:00.320 cultural institutions need, right. They their new fundering stores and 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:02.120 things of that nature. Are these tech companies and these 0:03:02.160 --> 0:03:05.160 media platforms and everybody wants to show up cross screen 0:03:05.240 --> 0:03:06.760 and things of that nature, but they can't do it 0:03:06.800 --> 0:03:09.320 without actually understand how these companies work. So it was 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:10.800 kind of a perfect fit for me. They brought their 0:03:10.840 --> 0:03:14.680 agency services in the house, so it was just you know, yeah, 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:16.400 it was so funny because I was talking to a 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:18.920 group of cmos and I said, do you are you 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:20.959 actually looking at your teams instead of when we've talked 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:22.480 about this on the show, like you're looking at your 0:03:22.480 --> 0:03:25.560 teams instead of resources. Actually his talent and I used 0:03:25.600 --> 0:03:28.720 you as an example. I was like, because if I 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:31.919 need someone to think with me, really think with me, 0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:34.480 and think about how people are going to show up, 0:03:34.480 --> 0:03:36.920 how they're going to interact and not showing up as 0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:40.680 a brand that's tone deaf. You need people like Tong 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:44.520 and Cody. Yeah, and coincidentally, both of you have been 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:47.640 inspired by your dad, so do. Your father is a 0:03:47.680 --> 0:03:51.640 well known dentist in New York City, and he inspired 0:03:51.680 --> 0:03:54.800 you and your brother to walk away from UM your 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:57.840 nine to five's and chase down the opportunity to build 0:03:57.880 --> 0:04:02.280 your own DTC brand. Can you talk about twice? Yeah? Absolutely? UM, 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:04.280 for me, it was interesting. I always knew I wanted 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:05.920 to start my own brand, but I didn't know what 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:09.480 exactly would be. And through some work we have been 0:04:09.520 --> 0:04:12.160 doing as a family, dad being a dentist, mom and 0:04:12.200 --> 0:04:15.200 dad building brands together in the space of oral care, 0:04:15.240 --> 0:04:17.719 they started a nonprofit which was really set up to 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:21.599 provide full service dentistry to underserved communities. And Um, what 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:23.880 happened was I go down with my brother and a 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:26.839 group of dentists. We team up with a patient of 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:29.880 my dad' who's Lenny Kravitz, and we end up we 0:04:29.960 --> 0:04:32.080 end up in the beautiful mouth. He's got a great, 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:37.200 beautiful mouth. Yeah, smiles important for him. And we go 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:39.000 down there where he spends, you know, most of the 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:41.280 year recording his music and he calls at home, and 0:04:41.400 --> 0:04:44.240 we set up a full service shop, and um we 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:49.279 treated everyone from cleanings and whitenings to full extractions and reconstruction. 0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:51.719 And I think, right then and there, in that moment, 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:54.480 my brother and I we saw what the power of 0:04:54.520 --> 0:04:58.039 a smile was. And it opened my eyes and it 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:00.320 gave me purpose to what I ultimately want to do, 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:03.359 which is start a brand, but one that has purpose 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:06.040 behind it and and meaning and true depth and could 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:10.080 get back. So we, you know, after formulating over a year, 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:13.000 two years, we go back down to Luther and we 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:15.480 we decide to each other. We say, let's do something 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:17.960 about this. We pink got to do more. We I 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:19.560 don't think I can go back to my day job. 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:23.000 I can't go back to the desk. I UM, let's 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:25.520 go build. So we looked at the oral care space 0:05:25.600 --> 0:05:28.080 and and we ultimately ended up with Twice, which I 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:30.440 could tell you a lot more about, but um, it's 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:33.440 a direct consumer brand in oral care. We're starting with toothpaste. 0:05:33.480 --> 0:05:35.920 We want to make the products that you use every 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:38.479 single day, twice a day to be um as beautiful 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:40.520 as a smile is. So you know, it's something that 0:05:40.800 --> 0:05:43.599 I took the jump on back in September, uh to 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:45.120 leave my job and say, you know, this is what 0:05:45.160 --> 0:05:47.120 I'm going to do. And I talked to a ton 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:49.800 of friends that are entrepreneurs and they said, you know, well, 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:51.960 before I did it, I had milestones I wanted to hit, 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:56.279 UM things I wanted to accomplish. For me, it was UM. 0:05:56.320 --> 0:05:59.159 I was still you know, I was working and and 0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:01.960 proud of work I was doing, but ultimately knew if 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:04.279 I really wanted to do this, I had to dedicate 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:08.240 everything UM. And it was a it was an incredible 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:11.200 moment in time when I did that. UM is scary 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:15.680 in a yeah, it was scary, but the adrenaline was 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:19.960 just beyond I actually, yeah, I quit on a Wednesday. 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:22.599 On Wednesday night, I actually was on a flight to 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:26.359 go pitch the brand to a potential partner and and 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:30.440 a co founder of ours. So um, the rush was 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:33.880 everything nervous, Sure, every day you're you're nervous, energy you 0:06:33.920 --> 0:06:36.360 turned into excitement. I think there's a whole thing going 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:38.160 on in the marketplace, which I know both of you 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:41.719 know well having worked with you, that your generation, our generation, 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:46.240 the millennial generation, is one that is compelled to associate 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:49.760 or align themselves with brands that identify with purpose. I 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:53.039 would say, respectively, both of the places you work for 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:57.280 with our building, UM resonate with that. Can you talk about, 0:06:57.320 --> 0:07:00.720 both as consumers and as entrepreneurs in your own right, 0:07:01.520 --> 0:07:04.640 what purpose means to you and how you see the 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:08.119 intersection of those things, translating from how you think about 0:07:08.160 --> 0:07:13.240 brands versus how you're creating them. Yeah, I think. I've 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:15.400 always thought that people don't buy what you do, they 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:19.320 buy why you do it, and behind every product, you 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:22.920 need to help consumers understand, you know, how you relate 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:26.080 to them on a personal level. And UM, I think today, 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:28.680 more than ever, consumers are I don't want to say 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:31.440 they're skeptical, but you know me and my friends, they 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:32.880 need to know more, they need to see more the 0:07:32.880 --> 0:07:35.840 world of transparency. UM. A brand like r X bar 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:38.400 are completely shaking it up by saying like there's two 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:41.720 eggs in almond and a dayton Yeah, no bs, And 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:44.560 I think UM, in the world of brands that have 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:48.040 social at the core or or are driven by purpose, 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:51.120 they that's part of their DNA and it's no longer 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:53.640 just like attack on UM and you have to prove 0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:55.520 that day in and day out, and people have to 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:59.040 really feel it. Yeah. I mean for me, it's interesting 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:02.240 because the the idea of culture is like super lucid, right, 0:08:02.280 --> 0:08:05.000 like it's everything that we do UM. So I ended 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:07.280 up building a business model kind of around just in 0:08:07.320 --> 0:08:09.320 my lifestyle. I would like to go to art shows. 0:08:09.520 --> 0:08:11.800 I like supporting my friends they needed help with mail, 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:14.320 chip and social media and ship like that, and it 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:17.160 just ended up turning into a service offering, which is like, 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:19.000 looking back at it, now I can't go to an 0:08:19.080 --> 0:08:20.960 art show and not think about work. So it's kind 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:23.000 of something I was talking about last night, is like 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:25.520 this blurred line between the two. But the idea of 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:27.880 UM purpose is just something that's been at the core 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:30.480 of on both sides. Right. The museum is a place 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:33.280 that you know, it likes to think about the community 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:35.520 and put the community first, whether it's through for free 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:38.880 events are just bringing in different speakers to talk about things, 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:42.000 whether it's the election, whether it's you know, UM, immigration rights, 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:44.000 things of that nature. UM. So to be able to 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:48.360 work at us space like that is super refreshing and rewarding. Um. 0:08:48.440 --> 0:08:50.760 And then for me purposefully, I like to stay in Brooklyn. 0:08:50.800 --> 0:08:53.120 I like Brooklyn. We didn't get into culture lp We 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:56.040 didn't get into the side hustle main hustle. Yeah. So 0:08:56.360 --> 0:08:58.640 um So the culture lp um started as a blog 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:00.800 about maybe six years ago. I was still in school. 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:03.400 I really had some friends, like kind of similar to 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:05.520 what we're talking about this age of transparency, but I 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:07.079 feel like Twitter was a place where people were just 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:09.480 talking a lot of ship, having fun, getting attention for 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:12.840 being funny, not really like anything of substance at that point. Um. 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:14.320 I feel like I was one of them, and I 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:15.960 was like, well, I have some friends doing some really 0:09:15.960 --> 0:09:18.840 creative things. I want to highlight them. I grabbed SLR 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:22.000 from you know, the Bucknell Library, and I videotaped a 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:24.400 couple of my friends who had done some poetry on 0:09:24.520 --> 0:09:26.600 you know, microaggressions and things that we were going through 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:29.400 at Bucknell University, just being really white space in the 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:32.120 middle of Pennsylvania where all kids from different cities Boston, 0:09:32.240 --> 0:09:33.839 d C, New York, UM, and I kind of just 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:36.240 left them freestyle and you know, did a spoken word video, 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:37.800 put it on Vimeo. I was like, this is cool, 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:39.760 made some T shirts. I was like, this is cool. 0:09:40.040 --> 0:09:42.160 You know. I just kept going with that, you know, 0:09:42.280 --> 0:09:44.439 fast forward. UM. I now worked closely with a few 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:47.079 visual artists who have done you know, street murals for 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:50.040 a city bike in South Africa. Patrick ey Jean just 0:09:50.040 --> 0:09:52.679 did a live art installation up in Massachusetts at the 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:54.880 Met Museum. Um. These are all folks. You know. Ronald 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:58.320 Draper just got the awarded uh Urban Public League, you know, 0:09:58.679 --> 0:10:01.200 a c P. He's the curator at Harlem Hospital. And 0:10:01.240 --> 0:10:03.800 these are guys that like we rented his first studio 0:10:03.840 --> 0:10:06.280 in Harlem for eight hundred bucks to do a show, 0:10:06.360 --> 0:10:08.520 and we had like seventy r s v p s. 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:09.839 And now we put out a show. We had like 0:10:09.880 --> 0:10:12.240 fives in the first four days, had a closing link, 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:14.000 you know. And it's like, but by just believing in 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:16.719 these creators and being a partner to them, someone who 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:19.480 understands like marketing frameworks and how brands think we're able 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:22.920 to you know, secure sponsorship with Essential Water or you know, 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:24.880 any other partners that we've worked with. Pad did a 0:10:24.880 --> 0:10:27.800 commission for Nike like things of that nature. Um. But 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:30.640 the two worlds are just so parallel from the museum 0:10:30.720 --> 0:10:32.920 is dying to play in that space. So it's really interesting. Well, 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:34.360 I want to talk about that, but I want to 0:10:34.400 --> 0:10:36.440 first say the other day we were having lunch and 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:38.880 you said to me, and it was so simple. You 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:41.160 were like, you know that friend that you had, or 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:44.200 maybe you were this person that you would call and say, 0:10:44.240 --> 0:10:47.560 what's going on this weekend? I haven't talked about that, right. 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:51.400 So the other thing, because you have like a million things, um, 0:10:51.600 --> 0:10:53.840 is this new service that you put together. And I 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:56.199 thought it was so smart because everyone has that friend 0:10:56.320 --> 0:10:59.480 or you're that friend, which sometimes becomes a burden. Are 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:01.880 that friend? Um? Yeah, I feel like there was a 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:04.120 there was a tipping point where somebody had text me. 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:06.360 I asked me, I have some my families in town. 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:07.880 What's going on? Is there an art show I should 0:11:07.920 --> 0:11:10.080 take them to? Is there a museum opening? This before 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:12.680 I started working museum, probably before I started working, uh 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:14.800 in any agency role. And I was like, I can't 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:17.600 keep doing this every weekend, every day, somebody's asking me 0:11:17.640 --> 0:11:20.360 this question. And Ryan Leslie has a service called super 0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:23.440 Phone that's really made for musicians to like directly connect 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:25.720 with their consumers. You know, off of social media you 0:11:25.720 --> 0:11:28.840 can track shopify integrations and who's spending the most money, 0:11:28.920 --> 0:11:31.160 what zip codes are supporting you. So we were using 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:34.480 that right now, just texting people on like twice to 0:11:34.600 --> 0:11:38.079 three times a week telling them art, food, music related 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:40.559 events that are happening locally in New York. Um, it's 0:11:40.600 --> 0:11:42.319 great for us because for the past five years we've 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:45.160 been building these cultural experiences with people who you know, 0:11:45.240 --> 0:11:48.880 are poets, are our event producers, so they're sending us events. 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:51.880 We're finding events in the wild, but using that filter 0:11:52.040 --> 0:11:55.000 to disseminate through Slack and and you know, group think 0:11:55.480 --> 0:11:57.280 what we should send out. And um, it's been a 0:11:57.360 --> 0:11:59.360 it's been an interesting test around. I'm definitely excited to 0:11:59.360 --> 0:12:00.959 see where we where we take it over the next 0:12:01.000 --> 0:12:03.240 few months, especially this summer coming up. And it's called 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:05.680 what are you calling it? The Cultural Hotline? How do 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:10.160 you sign up Culture Hotline dot coorn text number. You know, 0:12:10.240 --> 0:12:12.920 it's interesting both of you watching your socials. Other than 0:12:13.040 --> 0:12:16.200 it making me completely exhausted, I feel like you just said, 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:20.640 watching your social watching socials. I saw this week and 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:26.959 it was crazy Um, I thought I was busy. So 0:12:27.080 --> 0:12:30.760 both of you obviously have super magnetic personalities. You're building 0:12:30.800 --> 0:12:34.040 these insane communities and your respective circles. How do you 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:36.160 go out and seek the people that you're adding to 0:12:36.280 --> 0:12:40.120 your circles? And then how can brands infiltrate that? What 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:44.120 is the value exchange that your circles are looking for? Yeah, 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:47.599 it's interesting because you know when you're when you're on 0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:50.040 the agency side and you're you're building other brands, you 0:12:50.120 --> 0:12:51.560 can go out and talk about it and you're proud 0:12:51.600 --> 0:12:53.439 of it, and um, you see the work that you 0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:56.320 you put out. But when it's your brand, it's your 0:12:56.960 --> 0:13:00.800 d n A, it's your life, your blood, sweat and tears. Um. 0:13:01.000 --> 0:13:03.520 You know, I'm out there and I'm just naturally talking 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:06.439 about what I'm doing. And and you know when I 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:08.360 when I can speak to a friend or someone I 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:10.439 just met, and their eyes light up and they say, wow, 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:13.360 this is really interesting, like how can I help? I think, UM, 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:17.199 when it comes from a real place of authenticity and 0:13:17.600 --> 0:13:21.840 genuine like I think they can see the passion behind 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:25.079 the entrepreneur and they say, wow, like this could be 0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:27.600 really cool. How can I help? Um? I was out 0:13:27.640 --> 0:13:29.319 in l A. And I was, UM. I was with 0:13:29.440 --> 0:13:31.839 a friend who has an ice cream popsicle company, and 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:33.440 he was doing a pop up an outdoor voices. They 0:13:33.480 --> 0:13:36.599 were doing a running club and UM, I come like 0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:38.640 the runners come in and we're handing out popsicles and 0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:40.400 I'm just there kind of hanging out. And I start 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:42.600 talking to a guy and he's got a branding agency, 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:46.199 and UM, he he loved everything we're doing. Is I 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:47.679 got to connect you to this guy and this guy 0:13:47.720 --> 0:13:49.719 and this person and this woman. And next thing I know, 0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:51.240 I'm in l A for three days and I'm meeting 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:54.520 a ton of people that that UM, I had never known, 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:58.240 I never even known existed. But by the fact of UM, 0:13:58.760 --> 0:14:02.400 you know, having conversation and not being nervous or or 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:05.520 scared to talk about what you're doing, UM, it opened 0:14:05.559 --> 0:14:08.960 up all these doors at My community is slowly building 0:14:09.000 --> 0:14:10.679 and building and building, And I don't know what it's 0:14:10.679 --> 0:14:12.920 gonna look like in in six months or a year, 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:15.640 but I know that if I keep surrounding myself with 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:17.920 the right people who believe in the mission and and 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:21.080 can see like, hey this, you know what what is 0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:23.560 being built here is a little different or UM I 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:25.880 know someone who can help. I think if we all 0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:28.840 just rally around that idea of helping each other and 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:31.080 but being a part of something that a lot of 0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:35.080 shared value. Um, I think the community, it just becomes 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:38.560 incredibly powerful. So you're talking about people who are helping 0:14:38.600 --> 0:14:40.840 you build your business. But do you think everything you 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:44.320 just said actually goes over to consumers and how you're 0:14:44.360 --> 0:14:48.120 going to interact with customers of twice? Yeah? I think so. Um, 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:51.920 maybe I'm a naive entrepreneur, but I I think when 0:14:51.960 --> 0:14:54.800 you can build a brand that stands for something bigger 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:57.480 than the product you make, um, they can see it. 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:00.320 And I think, um, you know you and talk to 0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:03.560 ten people, and and if only five of them believe 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:06.480 in you, that's great. Go with the five, yeah, and 0:15:06.640 --> 0:15:09.240 and leave the other five. It's interesting. We had the 0:15:09.440 --> 0:15:13.240 founder of Away Suitcases on a couple episodes ago, and 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:16.920 we were talking about founders living the brand out loud, 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:22.200 and I think you just gave wearing a twice hat. 0:15:22.280 --> 0:15:26.680 But can I just say you have a twice What 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:30.120 are these things? I didn't know what they were called, 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:31.760 and now I can't believe you didn't bring us any merch. 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:34.960 Think about community for me was like the first event 0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:37.920 that we did that was formal was literally called Connected Dots, 0:15:38.120 --> 0:15:40.160 and I was like, I realized, like people that are 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:43.400 musicians and people that are like trying to do events 0:15:43.400 --> 0:15:46.400 for nonprofit they need something like there's something missing, right. 0:15:46.400 --> 0:15:48.720 So I literally invited people that were not I myself 0:15:48.800 --> 0:15:51.400 and my co founders. We invited people that were working 0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:55.000 in the starting nonprofits are did like pr marketing, r 0:15:55.360 --> 0:15:57.720 musicians because they always needed performers. They always need a promotion. 0:15:57.760 --> 0:15:59.800 It's very interesting. There's a small brunch MABE like forty 0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:02.560 um and at that brunch with some people that I 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:04.440 still keep in touch with that our movies and shakers, 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:07.080 but that was one of our first organized events, and 0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:10.160 that that essence of like minded individuals of like, this 0:16:10.280 --> 0:16:13.560 idea of community something you can't replicate. You can't go 0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:15.160 to a you can't go to an agency, can't go 0:16:15.200 --> 0:16:16.400 to a brand. Partners say like, hey, we want to 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:18.320 do this event and we need like people that work 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:21.520 with each other to be there. That's so like being 0:16:21.600 --> 0:16:24.200 able to overtime, you know, put people in the same 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:26.600 room that can have similar issues but have solutions and 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:29.640 have different perspectives on those on those problems. It's something 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:31.880 that you can't really quantify. And that's I think what's 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:34.280 been difficult and why I've kept it as a let's say, 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:36.200 a five to nine for so long. It's just it 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:38.200 takes a while to show and prove what that what 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:40.600 that value is. But um, now with the idea of 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:43.440 like micro influencers, people are seeing that that those are 0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:45.440 the those are the folks, these people in Brooklyn and 0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:47.920 New York and Uptown and Washington Heights, in the Bronx, 0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:50.320 these pockets of community that have been around forever. But 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:52.400 now with social media you're able to have a voice 0:16:52.440 --> 0:16:54.600 in a platform. It's given a whole new value to 0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:57.560 like these underground communities. What you just said tongue and 0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:01.560 something Alex and I have brainstormed about for a very 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:04.399 long time in terms of building community is you can't 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:09.320 go and buy it overnight. It's something that a long Yeah. 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:11.520 I mean that's why red Bull has been so successful, Right, 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:13.560 they get in at the grassroots and they but they 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:16.360 built and they fund these communities and they stick with them. 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:22.560 What should brands be doing for your very cool hip 0:17:22.840 --> 0:17:27.359 like culture driven communities that you would find to be 0:17:27.480 --> 0:17:30.399 a tangible value exchange. I mean, really, they need to 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:33.240 get out of the office, right, Like I felt like 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:36.280 a lot of times, Uh, we're ideating and we're all 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:38.440 white boards and we're doing things, and it's like, go 0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:41.640 talk to the people you want to talk to. There's 0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:44.320 so many people that already doing these things. You need 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:47.679 influencers to help you aggregate influence, right if it's like, hey, 0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:49.840 I want to you know, I want to talk to um, 0:17:50.200 --> 0:17:52.359 I want to talk to black women about hair. I 0:17:52.400 --> 0:17:55.360 can give you five communities that have blogs and instagrams 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:58.000 with double digit thousand followers, and the women that run 0:17:58.040 --> 0:18:00.280 them probably work in corporate America. Like, it's not it's 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:02.239 not this thing that's so far removed. You can sit 0:18:02.280 --> 0:18:04.080 down and have a conversation with people who are moving 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:06.880 and shaking these communities. I think we've treated like it's 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:09.480 this far fetched thing, you know. And I think just 0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:11.600 going out and touching people something that it's hard to 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:13.840 do when you have that kind of corporate structure role 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:16.320 or that brand role. I met this woman named sam 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:18.480 Hi Sam shout out. I told you I'd shout you 0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:21.600 out at the I A B say Hi Cody Hi 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:27.000 sam Um at the I A b Women visionary Summach. 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:28.359 She came up to me and she was like, I 0:18:28.440 --> 0:18:31.600 love the show. It means a lot. She started talking 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:34.240 about like just how do you break because she's like, 0:18:34.280 --> 0:18:37.280 I'm not leaving right this world. I love this world. 0:18:37.320 --> 0:18:39.720 I love the advertising marketing media world. I'm not going 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:42.720 to leave it, But like, how do you start breaking 0:18:43.119 --> 0:18:45.520 through with some of these ideas and some of the 0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:49.080 thinking that I have coming from the outside on the inside, 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:51.520 How have you done that? Even in my early days 0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:54.960 of B Video where I met Laura UM, the brands 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:58.200 that broke through became part of culture UM in a 0:18:58.320 --> 0:19:00.920 unique way. Not probably trying to force themselves in saying 0:19:01.000 --> 0:19:03.720 like hey I want to be in music, UM, but 0:19:03.880 --> 0:19:08.040 on a ground level, trying to help build something new. UM. 0:19:08.160 --> 0:19:10.640 And when you're not the elephant in the room saying 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:12.480 like yeah, I'm here with the cool kids, it's it's 0:19:12.520 --> 0:19:14.520 more of like, hey, how do we how do we 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:18.840