Interview Replay: Kara on What the Parent?

Kara Goldin 0:00
I am unwilling to give up that I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be I want to be you just want to make sure you will get knocked down but just make sure you don’t get knocked down knocked out. So your only choice should be go focus on what you can control control control. Hi, everyone and welcome to the Kara Goldin show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world’s greatest leaders. We’ll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can’t wait to get started. Let’s go. Let’s go. Today’s episode is a bonus episode. I hope you enjoy it. And please make sure to tune in Monday for a brand new episode of Kara Goldin show. Enjoy

Cara 0:51
Hi, I’m Cara.

PJ 1:02
And I’m PJ.

Cara 1:03
And this is what the parent what the parents

Brought to you by creators Oh, creators they make the world go round they cre ate the do they create and we have an amazing creator on the show today. We do we do she founded

PJ 1:21
she’s not going to be told what to do. She’s not going to be said someone says no to her. She’s not going to be like okay and then go back to wherever she came from. No, she’s gonna keep pushing on. You know why she’s undaunted.

Cara 1:34
She is undoubted. That is the name of her book. She created hint water, which in our household is a lifesaver.

PJ 1:40
We sponsor hint.

Cara 1:41
I know. It doesn’t sponsor us. We sponsor head we have crates event delivered here we do every month but it’s also blackberries. My favorite delicious followed up by watermelon.

PJ 1:53
Well, we just heard in this interview about Clementine Clementine I haven’t infinitely interested in Clementine. Even though I love pineapple. That’s right.

Cara 2:01
We have we have Kara Goldin on the show today. And she has an amazing story. I mean, oh

PJ 2:07
yeah, she’s she’s the founder of hen Inc. Best known for its award winning hint water, the leading unsweetened flavored water. She has received numerous accolades including being named the IE why, I believe that’s Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017, in Northern California, and one of InStyle magazine’s 2019 badass 50. Now that’s a designation. Yeah, I want that. There. That’s awesome. Previously, she was also the VP of shopping partnerships at America Online. And she hosts a podcast called The Kara Goldin show and her first book undaunted, overcoming doubts and doubters was released, released in October of 2020. And is now a Wall Street Journal and Amazon Best Seller and she lives in the Bay Area with her beautiful family and three Labradors.

Cara 2:59
Two of which are puppies. I mean, that’s, that’s a $250 billion company. I mean, yeah, you got puppies at home, though? I mean, that’s a handful.

PJ 3:07
Yes. Yes, it is. But I mean, just so open and just a wonderful conversation. We really can’t wait for you guys to hear it. So without further ado, here is Miss Kara Goldin. Don’t, don’t confuse it with Kara, Mike Kara. But Kara Goldin. Yes, of headwater. But before we get to that, a real quick word about our actual new sponsor, our dad love. Hey, honey. Hey, you know, I love you. Oh,

I love you.

Cara 3:41
That’s awesome.

PJ 3:42
You know what the world needs more of tacos? No, love. Love. That’s true, actually.

Cara 3:48
Right? A lot of couples, they struggle. They, you know, they maybe they’re having trouble communicating.

PJ 3:53
They make the connection, but it doesn’t last as long or it doesn’t keep that fire going like they want.

Cara 3:58
That’s why they need the our dot love app

PJ 4:01
found on Apple and on Google, where they can download it today. Our dot love is for those who are ready to love more. But more importantly, love better. Yes. Download it today. Our dot love. Make your own relationship, a couple verse. Download it today. And today, we are so lucky. And so excited to have Kara Goldin on I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of her, but you probably have actually she’s all over social media. She’s the founder of hitting water. Our head ink actually puts out this wonderful hidden water that we’ve all fallen in love with, especially in this household.

Cara 4:37
Oh, yes. Oh, yes.

PJ 4:38
We’re welcome.

Cara 4:39
Thank you very excited to be here.

PJ 4:42
I’m just happy to be a part of the care and Cara show. The sea it’s all good. It’s good to be kind of that. So like I mentioned, you are over everywhere. It’s so cool. You have a book that’s out called undaunted, that’s doing remarkably well. You’re so inspirational. So many levels. And and in this book undaunted, overcoming doubts and doubters, what you know, you’re inspiring to us. What inspired you to write such a book?

Cara 5:12
Well, it’s interesting, I started the book about, gosh, it was probably five years ago now. And I was doing a ton of interviews and, and public speaking for the company, as you mentioned, that I found at hand. And people would ask me, they thought it was a little different that I had left tack, and I had moved into beverage, and Why’d I do that? And did I hate tak or, you know, what, what was sort of the reason behind it? And what I realized is that people would ask me these questions, but then often, they were actually speaking or, or sort of questioning their own kind of abilities, or, or maybe their own fears that they had, and that they would never have the courage to go and start a company or move from one industry to another or, you know, all of these different questions that would come up. So I started doodling a little bit, and, and also Googling around a little bit to actually see if there was a book that kind of covered this, I never really thought of myself as an author, I call myself an accidental entrepreneur, but I’m an accidental author, too. Because, for me, it was just, it was just kind of getting my answers out on paper. But then I thought, How do I get these answers out to more people? Sure. And I started writing some of it on social and people would say, you should, you know, write a book, this, you know, this amazing, or more of these stories. And so that’s, you know, how it came about. It was after the journal was about 600 pages, I thought, Okay, now it’s time to edit this down and, and really put it into something. And, you know, I, I think I always thought that it would help people to go and launch a company, maybe get over their fears, but I think probably the most surprising thing about it is there are, you know, incredible, you know, people who have been super successful in their own careers who have really, you know, shared with me some of how they’ve just decided, gosh, maybe I should go learn a new industry. Maybe that’s exactly what I am kind of missing in my life. So that’s pretty exciting to know that I could actually inspire people who, you know, didn’t know that they could do it. But by hearing my story, they realized that they could. Yeah,

and one of the things I love this book, I love how it’s organized. I love you know, all of the stories you tell about, you know, growing up, I think the the title is perfect, because I think so much of your success was just going for it just not being daunted by doubters, or, I mean, when you first began, you had this idea for headwater basically, Coca Cola executives were like, You’re crazy, like, nobody’s gonna want a not sweet drink. Like what are you doing? And, you know, the beverage industry is flooded with everything, like we don’t need anything else. And you’re crazy, you know? So the fact that you just kept at at it with that tenacity is so amazing.

Thank you. Well, you know, again, I didn’t walk into that meeting with with the soda Coca Cola executive thinking that I was going to be called sweetie

for sure. There was so much sexism and

yeah, but I but I really what I realized I went to him actually for help, and a friend connected me and I was looking for somebody who could give me some guidance as to how to produce an an unsweetened flavored water that didn’t have preservatives in it. And I didn’t have experience in the industry. And so I thought, well, you know, maybe this is somebody with a lot of experience that can actually help me and I realized in talking to him, was that, you know, understanding who my customer was, and he had a different consumer aggress Schumer that was actually not kind of reading labels yet or paying attention. So he thought, and even though I had shared with him that I was a huge Diet Coke consumer. I love it. Oh, yeah, back to diet. Coca Cola executives, call me a for the amount of Diet Cokes that I was drinking every day I was drinking, you know, around 10 to 12 and said Sounds sounds like a lot and it was a lot, but there are others like me out there. And I was a, a was I was a altra consumer that was that that was drinking the diet soda. And so when I decided that I was just going to, you know, give it up and and try and find something else, what I realized is that the key problem that I had was the plain water was super boring. So I was sharing now. Yes, yeah. And, you know, he shared with me that the key thing is really that people want less calories. And what I realized is that my issue wasn’t really the calories. That’s I didn’t even care so much about the calories I guess, I guess maybe I cared because I was drinking diet, but it wasn’t, you know, a matter of 10 calories or zero calories, it was really the fact that it had less calories. And when I shared this with him, yeah, I mean, he totally disagreed. And basically, you know, discounting the fact that, that I was, you know, knew what I was talking about at all. And, and he just went on to say, sweetie, don’t have any idea what you’re doing. But that is a story of how, you know, people will have doubts, people will cut you down, people will tell you that you aren’t going to be able to do something. And you have a choice. I had a choice that day, I could quit. Not not produce hint. Or I could keep going, Yeah, use his words as fuel, to show him show others that I was actually capable of doing a lot more. And that was what I decided to do and live undaunted. Yeah. And so yeah, so that was that was really the, you know, the big story. I mean, it’s, it’s interesting, I Muhtar Kent recently left Coca Cola and retired and last summer I got a message from him. And he was interested and having a conversation with me. Interesting. And this is not new Tara that actually called me sweetie, by the way, right. But I had met him super briefly at a speaking engagement. I don’t know it was probably 10 years ago. And it was interesting, because he reminded me that in the early days, they’d actually approached us and talk to us about acquiring the company. And I Yeah, and, you know, it’s interesting, because we were, we were tiny, and we were Yeah, probably not even a million dollars in sales. And, you know, my response to back to really his m&a group, not so much him was that I just really believed that they, as a company didn’t really understand the strategy that I was going after, to really help drink water and enjoy water. And it’s funny, because he said to me, you know, again, he’s retired, he’s hanging out on a boat somewhere. And and he said, I think that was smart. You know, he said, I don’t think that we would have been able to kind of grow your brand. And that’s, you know, sort of another thing that I think a lot of people have realized, when they’re reading the stories in the book is oftentimes large companies, not just food and beverage companies, but large companies, you know, have this idea of their capabilities based on the size of their company, how many years they’ve been around, but they aren’t necessarily the companies that are going to be, you know, disrupting growing companies from concept to much larger, even if they have innovation inside of companies. And so, I think that that’s a really key point for anybody to realize.

PJ 14:21
That’s, that’s awesome. A very quick question to the to the executive that had called you sweetie, have you since sent an entire truckload of

Cara 14:33
definitely, had definitely tried hands. But, you know, I think part of the advantage that I had was actually growing up in tech. And it sounds ironic, but you know, in tech, if you’re, I mean, there’s constantly new concepts starting right. And I think it’s new categories are getting started all the time and In so new categories, it’s not just about, you know, software, it’s about connectivity. And, you know, companies like Facebook companies like Uber cars, you know, whatever it is, there’s constantly innovation and disruption happening. And what I saw going into the beverage industry was that disruption was a lot less common. It was more, everybody at the time, when I was starting hint, wanted to do a knock off vitamin water, right, they started putting vitamins and water and they want to be the next day, vitamin water. And that’s one way to do it. That’s one way to start a company, but but for me, the more interesting and the more relevant, you know, challenge to take on probably the harder challenge to take on is to actually go create something entirely new that isn’t out there. And that’s, that’s another concept that I share in the book, too. That really was a realization for me that when you don’t have any competition at all, yeah, it’s really hard. And it takes longer, and you have to educate the consumer. You know, you’re you’re constantly, you know, out there sharing, and in my case that I would say it’s an unsweetened flavored water, and they’d say, Oh, what’s sweetened with them? And I mean, it’s an ensuite water. And, and, you know, it’s just, it’s interesting, because when we finally did get competition, Coke went and knocked off our product and yeah, Sani unsweetened flavored water. And that was a really bad day, I thought, because I thought they have a lot more money than I do, and more distribution, and they’ll be able to advertise and do all of these things. And when they launched, I mean, they were on the market with that product for about six months. And then they discontinued it. Yeah. Because compared the success to some of their other products, and so having competition is a something that ends up to be a good thing, because all you have to do is really focus on yourself and, and being the best you can be, and, and staying alive, having enough money in the bank while you’ve got disruption going on. But I think that that’s a big lesson that entrepreneurs don’t really think about. I certainly did.

Well, you know, I because I was a huge hit fan, like from from the jump, I, you know, I absolutely love this idea of, you know, low sugar and healthy and, you know, I tried some of that Dasani water, it was not as good and, and part of me didn’t trust it in like, like, I felt like, okay, hence accompany their health company, they really believe in this. Coca Cola is just trying to make some bucks. But they’re really selling all the sugary drinks that, you know, I was a diet coke addict too. And, you know, I just don’t feel like it was it was good for me. And one of the things I love about your story, too, is that it is it is rooted in your authentic search for a healthier life in your own life. Like, you know, that in, in trying to break free of a lot of the chemicals and preservatives in food and, you know, live a healthier lifestyle.

Yeah, you know, and, and that’s really is so much the case. I mean, thank you for saying that. Because it I never thought about hands. I mean, of course I knew it was a beverage but for me, the the hook was really to help people get healthy and realize what I have realized just by giving people a product that that was tasted great and was better for them. And that was you know, the concept of even a mission based company was not even nobody was talking about that 17 years ago and then when people would interview me and and I’d say you know I did it because I was super curious why these industries were a allowed to sort of push this concept of diet when there were a lot of people who were not really as healthy as they thought they were when they were you know swapping out regular soda for diet soda and in my case, and I recognized how big you know not only the diet soda industry was but also the diet industry and how much people were paying and willing to pay. But they weren’t seeing results right? It just it it kind of sickened me and and A way that I just thought, you know, I know how to do this, I had lost close to 60 pounds in a year, just by getting off of diet soda. And for me, it was just a, you know, a realization and sort of a focus on how my body reacted to diet sweeteners and how I was actually, you know, producing insulin. And, you know, just really wreaking havoc on my system that again, I never focused on for years, I thought I was doing better by drinking diet. And it wasn’t until I actually got off of these diet sweeteners that I started paying attention and doing the research and getting to talk to a lot of incredibly smart doctors, who were, you know, seeing lots of health issues. And people that were kind of in the same boat that I was in that they were, you know, thinking that these diets, sweeteners were better for them. And, you know, the type two diabetes was barely being talked about 17 years ago, it was a very small percentage of the population. And I remember one of the first emails that we received from the consumer, we had put our email on the bottle, which really was not being done 17 years ago, in most beverages, and I got an email. And, of course, they thought they were talking to a big customer service team, they’re sharing ideas, the founder, and he wrote and said, I’m super excited that you’ve got this incredible product that tastes great and helps me drink water and doesn’t have any of these diet sweeteners in it. And he shared that he had this thing called type two diabetes, so it was the first time I’d ever heard of it. And, and, you know, I asked if I could, you know, call him up and talk to him a little bit more about it. And that’s when I realized that, you know, hint was not just great for people who wanted to enjoy water, that just didn’t love the taste of plain water, but also for people who were fighting chronic health issues. And we’ve seen that over and over again, not just with diabetes, but also with things like going things like cancer patients who are going through chemotherapy, and wanting to mask the metallic taste that they get in their mouth when they’re having to drink a lot of water because they get really dehydrated. But that, you know, if you actually have a sweetener, when you’re going through chemo, then it just enhances the metallic taste, right, just so interesting. And a lot of people, again, it’s not really described, and, and so people would write to us and share these stories on how, you know, hand has helped them to get through incredibly challenging times has helped them to solve health issues or, or really just get through life with these health issues as well. And to be able to launch a product and and, you know, run a product like that. That really helps people you know, whether that’s a beverage company or, you know, nonprofit or whatever it is, I think it’s it’s a special thing. Yeah,

it really is.

Kara Goldin 23:33
Hey, Kara, here we are thrilled you’re listening with us. And I hope you’re enjoying this episode. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing so many amazing guests over the past few years, and there are so many more to come. I cannot wait. And my focus is on entrepreneurs and CEOs, real innovators and leaders who are making a difference. That’s what I’m looking forward to bringing you. One of the reasons I enjoy interviewing many of my guests is that I get to learn. We all need to hear stories that teach us to be better, inspire us and help us get through those challenging moments. I can’t remember the last time I had a guess that didn’t leave me feeling like a major hurdle had been overcome. We just don’t hear these stories enough. And when we do, we learn to be smarter and stronger. Don’t you agree? Episodes are concise, but packed with amazing info that you will surely be inspired by. Do me a favor and send me a DM and tell me what you think about each interview that you get a chance to be inspired by. And if you are so inclined, please leave one of those five star reviews for the Kara Goldin show on one of your favorite podcast platforms as well. Reviews really, really help. Now let’s get back to this episode.

PJ 24:56
First of all, I wanted to put your your heart at ease In that you lost 60 pounds, I found it. So I got it for you holding it. There you go. But one of the things that was actually amazing is that even in the early days when you started out hint, you have four kids at home. And you know, we’re we have, we’re blended families, we have five kids. But all of our kids are teens and tweens and older, you one of your kids was a baby at the time. And you talk about how growing your company during that time was better for you and your family than working in a big company. How did you manage all that? And what advice would you give to other parents who want to launch their own businesses?

Cara 25:44
It’s so funny, my that son, so I was pregnant with my son, Justin, when I launched hints, and he just went off to his first job this morning. Oh, my goodness. I was a camp counselor. And so I know it was really sweet. So but yeah, I mean, you know, it’s interesting, because my, I took a couple of years off from I was at America Online before and was running their direct to consumer partnerships. And that’s when I decided I want to take a break and really enjoy my young kids, I have three kids under the age of four. And then I decided, Okay, I’m gonna go spend some time with them and stop traveling and knowing all of the pilots on the plane, got ridiculous. And I mean, they were nice and everything, but I just thought, you know, it’s really time to enjoy San Francisco, where I live and, and that’s when I, you know, was really paying attention to what they were putting in their body. And I again, I didn’t take a couple of years off to go figure out how to launch a business, it just sort of came to me as I was living. And as I was, you know, really focusing on what I was most interested in, which was my family. And I wouldn’t say that I was necessarily a, a, you know, nutrition focused, reading labels kind of person, but during this time, I guess, you know, I didn’t have a job. So now, that’s what I’m doing. And if that was, you know, during that time, I think the combination of being able to think about, you know, this, this category, this within an industry that wasn’t actually no one was doing anything about, I always was really business minded. And I think I missed the business side of it, too. But I think what, what I realized, too, was that I didn’t really have to hurry because I didn’t have all of the answers. I didn’t have the pressures that maybe you have inside of a large company with deadlines. I just thought it’s just me, and which is good and bad, frankly. But you know, it’s funny, I mean, I think about even running the company during, you know, the pandemic over the last couple of years. I mean, half of the team was, it has always been remote, because they’re salespeople all over the country. And that was what I was doing with America Online. I mean, I was running a huge remote sales force. And it just seemed super normal to be able to do that. So I think I had the experience of being able to kind of figure out like, how to pick up the phone, how to write emails that get responses, and then also roll up my sleeves and just go get stuff done. And and I think probably the hardest thing about starting a business, especially if you’ve been inside of accompanies, you know, it’s just you directing you, right? I mean, it’s kind of I know, you’re you’re an author to Kara it’s like the same thing. I mean, you’ve got to set your own sort of, yes, deadlines. And and actually, when you get frustrated, you got to look back at your progress. And, you know, give yourself a pat on the back and, and all of those kinds of things. So but if you don’t, if you’re not used to that it really kind of takes some getting used to.

Oh, yeah. And you have to have so much self discipline. You have to be all the members of the team that say,

Yeah, I mean, I was fortunate enough to have a nanny who came and my kids were starting to go off to preschool and so I was not my little little baby, but I was able to have somebody who was able to watch and while I sort of, you know, went in a room and shut the door and started to make those phone calls, but I had, you know, small lists that I was trying to get to stuff accomplished. And some days, you know, I felt like I was just going backwards. I wasn’t going forward. But I kept saying to myself, look, you know, I hope I can get this done. But I think part of the interesting thing that, again, it’s always easier to look back on these things and think about it. But I always felt like if this didn’t work, I could always go back to tech. Yeah, many people who I talked to felt like I was, you know, jumping off the tech train, and I had just ruined my career. And I was like, really? Yeah, no, really? I mean,

I don’t think the doors shut. Yeah.

Yeah, like, who hears I mean, if I tried to start a company, and it didn’t work, I mean, there’s lots of people who have failed. And, I mean, I could, I don’t know, I could go back and, and tell people, I was taken a couple of years off and get the story. Like, I thought people would still invite me to dinner parties, wouldn’t be a pariah share this really funny story of how I tried to get a product into Whole Foods and didn’t work. And here, here was a problem. And people would be like, really? And you know, that still happens today. There’s parts of it that some of them I share in the book of Yeah, crazy stories that people just can’t believe it, especially ones that are not in this industry. So

yeah, yeah. So I thought about it. That’s right. That’s right. Well, you know, it’s interesting, because you’ve, you did include the kids, too, in the I believe they were taste testers for your early products, which are still, I love that. I love that.

Yeah, they still are, in fact, my son and I were at Trader Joe’s last night, and he sigh flavor of a of a product and, and said, Hey, let’s get that I want to I want to taste it. I mean, they’re constantly thinking about that. And it’s awesome. Yeah. And in fact, we were in Morocco, we were in the market. And it was, it was interesting, because he said, he was constantly looking around at different fruits. And you know, it’s, it’s, now it’s in their blood. So definitely, they’re constantly like thinking outside of the box and thinking about new flavors and how things are innovative, innovative ideas that other people are doing. It’s great.

Well watching you are any of them. Do they any of them have the entrepreneur bug? Are they like, we’re going to go go go forth and make something new?

No, you know what they’d have grabbed. So I have my kids are now 2321 20 and 17. And the 17 year old is still it’s still early, for sure. But the others are really following their passion, and figuring out what they really enjoy doing every single day, which I think is something that when I’m speaking on college campuses, as well, I’m constantly, you know, sharing the fact that most people I know, might have gotten a degree in one thing, but they’re not doing that today. Yeah, I mean, it’s just, you know, and, and that you have to figure out what you enjoy doing every single day, because that’s where you stay curious. That’s where you stay, you know, motivated. And so my, my son, Keenan that I talked about in the book, a lot of people who follow me on social know that he’s really interested in cars, and he’s not interested in kind of the design, the outside design of cars, he’s most interested in kind of the sustainability aspect of our Yeah. And, you know, what are we doing with the batteries that are sitting in, you know, garbage dumpsters that no longer work? Or, and aren’t getting properly recycled? Or, you know, how do you outfit the inside of a car to be? You know, just just better? And yeah, why do we need certain components? So, you know, he’s probably an engineer, but he actually doesn’t want to put the effort into go to engineering school right now. Really? I said, you know, that’s fine. I mean, he’s getting a business degree and he’s, but I think he’ll probably end up wanting to get into engineering and doing something just the way that his mind is working. But again, like the fact that he’s just so interested in like, every day is getting up. He’s not a morning person, and he’s actually working at a automobile high end automobile repair shop this summer, which just not what any of his friends are doing. But he super interested in it. And he’s, you know, working on Ferraris, and BMW. Oh, that’s really cool. Yeah, and he’s just really interested in understanding how all these different cars are similar and how they’re different. And so I don’t know what he’ll do with all of it. But I think it’s, it’s, you know, great, I certainly had age, you know, 20 was not sitting here thinking about, you know, figuring out what I like to do every day. Instead, I was focusing on getting a degree and following my major. And so I think that the passion side of it, it has definitely worn off. And then also just the idea of just taking steps every day. And, you know, don’t stay complacent, you know, just go out and do something. And that’s the key thing to figuring out. Whether that’s what you enjoy doing, or, you know, what you’re really curious about, and how you can make progress on something just by going out and doing. Yeah,

PJ 36:10
yeah, I think it’s, I think it’s really cool. Basically, you’ve given them a gift of broader horizons, because a lot of times, you know, children emulate their parents, they, they see what they’re doing. And, you know, I’ve known a lot of people who have been like, well, you know, my, my father and my mom are in this industry, or they did this and, and either that was a motivation of, hey, I’m just going to do that. Right, that’s, that’s, that’s my horizon. It’s four walls in a corporation. And you know, what if I, if I hate the job, I just gotta suck it up, because they sucked it up. Or it’s, you know, I see, my mom’s working 1212 hours a day, she’s got three different jobs, Dad’s doing two different jobs, he’s working 80 hours a week, whatever. And, you know, I don’t want to live like that. But what you’ve given your kids is the, the knowledge that there are things beyond the horizons that they see. And so if, you know, just like your son, if he’s so interested in cars, and, and he’s able to think outside the box, he’s not going to be just a regular engineer, or just a person who works in an auto shop, he’s going to be someone who’s going to say, you know, what, this can be done better. And, you know, mom didn’t show me about high end cars. But she showed me that, you know, what, if you believe in something, and you see that something that where there could be a systemic change in something? Maybe I can do that. And I think that’s awesome.

Cara 37:35
Yeah. And, you know, it’s, it’s interesting, because I think the other piece that he’s learned is, I mean, a bunch of people have said, Oh, you know, you guys live in the Bay Area. I mean, Tesla has a factory here, he should go over there. And, you know, for him, he felt like, a lot of these internships at large companies, there are more, you know, you hear the executive team speak, you don’t, it’s not hands on. So you’re not really thinking, you’re not in a space where you’re sort of given a project to show when you’re out and you’re kind of hearing from people who are more of the hands on people. So I think, you know, for him, he, he understands that sometimes, you know, the small area where people, if you can actually be doing something, that’s what he, that’s where he really ends up excelling when he is able to, you know, call it a, he’s a visual learner, right? And so he walks into something, and he’s just sitting here being lectured to, for him, that’s just, you know, you can do that, but he’s just not that psyched about it. So I think he’s, he’s feeling like, as he’s doing the work, he’s able to think, as well. And and he’s sort of using this internship in particular to figure out is this kind of what I want to do and, and what I want to do, then maybe I can start to look inside of these large companies. And, you know, like, maybe there’s a job inside of these large companies that I go for it, maybe I figure out what the goal is, but also, maybe I start to think about, you know, coming up with a job that here’s what I ultimately want to be focusing on, and he’s not afraid to. You know, that’s the visionary entrepreneur. And, you know, I said, just, like, make it up. If you can actually figure out how a company’s going to make money doing something then and you’re going to solve problems that they’ve been trying to figure out then you don’t need a lot of experience. And that’s another thing that I said I said, if you go create a company and go do something that Tesla wants to buy, then you’ve just bypass going to engineering So you’re gonna do that. But that’s, I mean, I’m not saying you can’t I’m not going to be your doubter. But you know, the odds are lower that you’re going to be able to go get something, a trademarked and all of that. But you never know. So,

PJ 40:15
you know, ironically enough, 17 years ago, I launched a company as well. I just can’t believe a 17 years ago. But yeah, so I had launched a company that was a custom made Blue Gene company online. And, yeah, and it didn’t sell before it’s doing well. And it did phenomenally well. But it was kind of the same thing where I didn’t know anything about jeans. You know, I just knew how they didn’t. I looked. And in I just thought about, well, well, what if? How can we can’t get jeans to look the way you want them to look? And how come they don’t fit the way they should fit. And that started three years of me trying to figure this out until I launched it in 2005. And so it was, it was just very cool. The nice thing with for you, though, is that your kids like water, my kids hated jeans at the time. And I’m like them, why am I doing? My kid past that isn’t the legacy. Right?

Cara 41:14
That’s hysterical. I love it.

Well, so So you, you have, you know, created hint, just just a small thing to small little 250 million on your beverage company,

PJ 41:25
I got my pants.

Cara 41:27
But what what’s next? Do you are you do you feel like well, I’ve done it, you know, I’m gonna retire and sit on one of those boats or what’s next for you?

So I, you know, I think I’m, I’m a creator. So I’m constantly looking at, you know, problems to solve that are out there. And, you know, I think that when you have that kind of head where I’m, I’m inserting myself into processes constantly, I still sort of not officially mentor people, but I, I’m, I have a hard time saying no to many people who reach out to me and I start thinking about, you know, their projects, and, and some of the things that they’re trying to do is try and be as helpful as possible. Because I also feel like, when you’ve been through it, you know, you both have done incredible things, launch companies written books, right? You you sort of have opinions, I always tell people that, you know, it’s one person’s opinion, I might be completely wrong. But if I can help people not make the mistakes that I’ve made along the way that I feel like, you know, that’s that’s a good place to be. And but yeah, and, you know, also, hopefully inspiring, sort of the next generation to go out and create I, you know, member somebody reaching out to me about a lot of you the whole great resignation topic of so many people leaving. And, you know, it’s interesting, because I think we’ll probably see a lot of really big companies starting in the next couple of years, I believe that I don’t know what they are. But I think that, you know, it’s, this is the time when people are thinking about, you know, what, there’s never a good time, I should just go do it. And then I don’t really feel like I’m, you know, contributing to society in the way that I want to. And I think that, you know, Gen Z definitely wants to contribute in a bigger way. And I think so many millennials do as well. And so I think, and of course, Gen Xers, that’s what I am. I mean, I think that austere people that are, you know, feeling like if it’s not now when you know, that I might as well just go do it. But again, you have to take some chances and take some risks and, and go out and start small, and they may or may not work, but at least you tried. And I think that that is that’s what I want my legacy to be. And I think there’s a lot of people that would probably benefit from from going out and seeing what they’ve learned throughout their life and how they can actually go out and do something that excites them and that they’re curious about and that nobody else has decided to do or no one else has thought about it. I mean, why not? Yeah.

PJ 44:36
You know, and I’ve always kind of looked at it as, you know, obviously, things like launching your own company, whatever it takes takes risk. But I’m never afraid of mistakes, because I figure, even if it’s a mistake, I’m always making the story. Right. And so it’s some whether it’s a cautionary tale or it’s or it’s a success story or whatever it is. I’m making a story and by looking at it that way, it’s always kind of helped me take that next step to move forward because it feels like I’m accomplishing something. Right? And so I don’t get daunted.

Cara 45:10
That’s right, your

full circle. Right.

PJ 45:19
So last question. And it’s a fun question. And so this season, I’ve been asking the same question of every person. And just to give a little context, I believe that everyone has a spot in the world. And it could be, it could be a room, it could be a geographic location, it could be whatever whatever it is a place where you feel the most at peace and safe and for me, I went to high school in Hawaii. And so there’s a there’s a beach called sandy beach and I used to go body surfing every day after school. And it was that was just me. That was my time. That was that was my activity. I went there alone. And always felt just connected and at peace. And even though I sucked at body surfing and I was almost dying every day. i It was it was my my really connectedness time. Where is your spot?

Cara 46:11
Well, I would say it’s my people, my family, my little movie of my party of six as I love it. I don’t care where we are. So it’s, it’s really nice. The last few weeks, we’ve had everybody home, which is wonderful and nice. But I also I hike every day and I live just outside of a state park. So I don’t even have someone drive. I have literally like 200 miles of trails. And so I’m in there every morning. I’ve already hiked four and a half miles this morning. So yeah, so I’m about as my happy place amongst the redwoods. I have three Labradors have two, seven and a half month old puppies.

Oh my gosh. That’s a handful.

Fun. And so yeah, just exploring. And you know, there’s always different vegetation and wildlife and all kinds of things along the way. That is just really wonderful. That’s my mind. Yeah. And I think it’s, it’s definitely it’s my happy place. And I’m sort of off when I don’t have that when I have to get on early tomorrow to go to Chicago. I’m not going to have that. And I’ll have to go figure it out in Chicago when I get there. Because I, I need that space for sure.

Yeah. That’s wonderful. I love that.

PJ 47:40
That’s awesome. Well, Carol, thank you so much. I mean, wonderful. You’re, you’re so impressive. And yeah, I really love all the stories and your book is just chock full of them. And, and it’s it’s actually kind of eye opening to think that you didn’t even put all your stories in the book or maybe there needs to be an Andante to.

Cara 48:01
I love it. I love it. I would love to do that.

PJ 48:07
Oh, that’s great. Well, thank you for your time. And thank you for sharing so much about yourself. It’s it’s really been a pleasure.

Cara 48:13
Thank you so much.

Wasn’t she great? Amazing. I mean, she’s talking about undaunted, she’s just yeah, you’re gonna tell me no, I’m gonna say, I’m gonna keep

PJ 48:22
going. Well, I mean, that’s, it’s a sense of, of like, being true to yourself. And also true to your own beliefs, right? If you really if you see something that can be fixed, or you think that there’s something out there that you can affect change on or make better for either yourself or your family or the world. Don’t take no for an answer, right? I mean, everyone, it’s so easy for people to sit on the couch and castigate and say no, no, wouldn’t do that. That’s a terrible idea, whatever else but they’re the ones sitting on the couch. Yeah, they’re not the ones actually going out and doing it right. And so don’t let other people drag you down. Because at the end of the day, they’re not going to be a part of your calculus. Anyway. You’re going to be moving forward doing whatever you need to do. Yeah, there’s always going to be naysayers. Always. Always if you want some naysayers, go on Facebook.

Cara 49:16
Okay, geez. Teachers have teenagers. Yeah, amazing.

PJ 49:20
Yeah. Walk into a high school and ask ask if this is a good idea.

Cara 49:26
Try out a bunch of eye rolls.

PJ 49:27
Exactly. But check out check out Kara Goldin on all the all the social medias. It’s at Kara Goldin. That’s que ARAGOLDIN Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Tiktok Facebook, who knows what else but she’s on everything hurt a lot of our contents. Just super inspiration. Yes. Yeah. It’s really great.

Cara 49:52
Go get the book. The book is fascinating. There’s so many stories we didn’t even get to. Yeah,

PJ 49:56
no kidding. And the book is actually really good. well written. Yeah. The pay stub really cool. So

Cara 50:02
I mean as a teenager she walked into she lived in Arizona and and walked into John McCain’s office said, oh, yeah, I heard you’re hiring interns. I know did undaunted I would say. She knows no fear. All right.

PJ 50:16
That all being said, it’s a little time for dead jokes.

Cara 50:19
Oh, dad jokes. All right. All right. All right, let’s get it over. Let’s rip that band aid off.

PJ 50:25
This is your favorite thing of all time, boy. So all of these have to do with light bulbs. So, so keep that in your mind. Like an idea. No. Okay, here we go. How many telemarketers does it take to change a light bulb? I don’t know. Really? Only one but they can only do it while you’re eating dinner. Oh, okay. How many narcissists? There goes my list. How many narcissists? Does it take to screw in a light bulb? I don’t know. One. The narcissists hold the light bulb, and then the whole world revolves. Oh,

Cara 51:02
that’s a pretty good one. I’ll take that one.

PJ 51:06
How many paranoids does it take to change a diaper?

Cara 51:09
I don’t know. Wants to know. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no.

PJ 51:14
And then Alright, last one. How many DIY, which is also do it yourself buffs does it take to change a light bulb? No, no one but it takes two weeks and four trips at harbors.

Cara 51:25
Oh, yes, that’s true. It’s true.

PJ 51:29
Easy, easy. Easy and simple. Right? Not to punny, but funny. Ah, all right. All right. Let’s wrap this up. Alright. Well, hey, Greg, thank you for listening. As always, hope you found it entertaining, or at least educational. And you know, if you have if you have anyone that you think would be great to be on the podcast, have any business launches or books that they’re coming out with parental information or parental information that you think parenting advice, maybe you think that kids might like our parents or parents you know, send them our way or parent have write us at podcast at what the parent.com Please go ahead and give us a like, tell all your friends. Subscribe. All that fun stuff. If you wish to be a supporter financially, of course, there’s Patreon Patreon. What the parent check that out for one listen to any of our past episodes, you can go to what the parent.com and you can find them all there. Pretty short answer. Thank you so much for being a part of the show and being a part of our lives. And until the next time, we’ll check out on the flip side. See you next time.

Kara Goldin 52:46
Thanks again for listening to the Kara Goldin show. If you would, please give us a review. And feel free to share this podcast with others who would benefit and of course, feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode of our podcast. Just a reminder that I can be found on all platforms at Kara Goldin. And if you want to hear more about my journey, I hope you will have a listen or pick up a copy of my book undaunted, which I share my journey, including founding and building hint. We are here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And thanks everyone for listening. Have a great rest of the week. And 2023 And goodbye for now.