The Story of a Brand

What happens when two beauty insiders who helped launch 600 SKUs in a single year decide to build a brand around just one? In this episode of The Story of a Brand, host Rose Hamilton chats with Daniel Kiyoi, Co-Founder & CCO of Nocturnal Skincare. Daniel breaks down why knowing the beauty playbook made him and co-founder Katey Hassan willing to reject it, building Nocturnal around one hero product, the Polar Night Renewal Serum, and a Japanese and Scandinavian heritage they call Japandi. Key highlights from the episode include: * One Hero, On Purpose: What choosing a single product forced Nocturnal to say no to, including retailers who wanted an assortment first, and why that focus is what built a loyal audience. * The Mind and the Heart: Why the circadian science was supposed to lead, and why the Japandi heritage story is what actually grew the audience. * The Knot Bag That Went Viral: How a gift-with-purchase bag drew over 6 million views, trained their Meta ads to sell bags instead of serum, and forced a pivot back to skincare. * Retention Over Attention: Why 20 to 25 percent of the business is now subscription, how a refill designed to be easy drove repeat purchases of 30 and 40 times, and why "if you confuse, you lose." * Saying Not Now: Why they turned down a significant retailer, and how they are approaching strategic capital without giving up a slow, deliberate pace. Join us for this podcast as we explore what it takes to build a brand that endures, and why the hardest test of focus is an opportunity that looks too good to refuse. For more on Nocturnal Skincare: https://www.nocturnalskin.com If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating and review. Plus, don't forget to follow us on Apple and Spotify. Your support helps us bring you more content like this!

Why is finding the right in-network therapist still so frustratingly broken?  In this episode of The Story of a Brand Show, host Ramon Vela chats with Sandeep Acharya, Founder & CEO of Octave and creator of WiseMatch. Sandeep breaks down his mission-driven journey to reform healthcare access, explaining how Octave provides a vetted, insurance-covered care network while WiseMatch directly integrates real-time therapist availability into major health plan directories. Key highlights from the episode include: * The Root of Care Abandonment: Why traditional insurance directories leave patients stuck with out-of-date lists and dead ends, and how Octave cuts failure rates in half. * Building WiseMatch: How partnering with industry competitors created a unified tech platform powering real-time booking for over 100,000 therapists. * Mission-First Leadership: Lessons from navigating 40 startup rejections, managing founder anxiety, and building an aligned company culture around long-term patient success. Join us for this podcast as we explore how technology and clinical oversight are reshaping mental health access for consumers nationwide! For more on Octave: https://www.findoctave.com/ For more on Wisematch: https://www.wisematch.com/ If you enjoyed this episode, please leave The Story of a Brand Show a rating and review.  Plus, don't forget to follow us on Apple and Spotify.  Your support helps us bring you more content like this!

What happens to a founder's identity when the business ends, the title changes, or the exit doesn't bring expected fulfillment? In this episode, host Ramon Vela sits down with Julie Harrelson, CEO of Harrelson Global, strategist, speaker, and former venture capitalist. Drawing from her background as a founder, executive, and managing director who made over 100 investments, Julie reframes how leaders view setbacks, transitions, and daily grief.  Together, they explore: * The concept of daily grief and how acknowledging minor, routine losses builds the resilience needed for major life challenges. * Dual processing, holding space for both grief and joy simultaneously rather than treating them as separate experiences. * Navigating identity shifts during career step-downs, role changes, board removals, and post-exit transitions. * The importance of emotional awareness, seeking help, and integrating humanity into competitive leadership. Join us for this podcast as Julie and Ramon dive into what it truly takes to develop self-awareness, practice compassionate leadership, and cultivate genuine joy through life's continuous changes. For more on Harrelson Global: https://www.harrelsonglobal.com/ If you enjoyed this episode, please leave The Story of a Brand Show a rating and review.  Plus, don't forget to follow us on Apple and Spotify.  Your support helps us bring you more content like this!

Most consumer brands focus on removing friction, but Bite has built its business around embracing it.  Instead of squeezing toothpaste from a tube, you chew it. Instead of treating the packaging as disposable, you refill it. Bite's approach challenges customers to shift their long-held habits and learn to integrate this new way of oral care into their daily lives. Host Rose Hamilton, CEO of Compass Rose Ventures, sits down with Lindsay McCormick, Founder and CEO of Bite, to unpack how she turned an eco-friendly toothpaste tablet into a thriving, highly profitable business on her own terms. * Acquisition vs. Adoption: Why getting a customer through checkout is only half the battle, and how focusing on long-term behavior change drives real retention. * The Power of Disciplined Growth: How saying no to big-box retail and cutting back on unnecessary product launches protected the company's margins and core focus. * Evolving as a Founder: Moving past early people-pleasing habits to build real accountability, front-load the first 90 days for new hires, and scale a high-performing remote culture. * Navigating Brand Identity: How to maintain a strong core narrative and stand out as marketing channels fragment and control shifts to affiliates and creators. Join us for this podcast episode as Rose and Lindsay dive into the commercial choices, customer economics, and strategic trade-offs that build a truly sustainable, valuable brand. For more on Bite visit: http://trybite.com If you enjoyed this episode, please leave The Story of a Brand Show a rating and review.  Plus, don't forget to follow us on Apple and Spotify.  Your support helps us bring you more content like this!

What if the fastest way to grow was walking away from $15 million in sales?  In this episode of The Story of a Brand Show, host Rose Hamilton sits down with Jason Burke, Founder and CEO of New Primal. Jason shares his incredible evolution from Googling "how to make beef jerky" without any food manufacturing background to building a CPG powerhouse.  Together, they deliver a masterclass on commercial discipline, detailing how New Primal cut 36 products down to a focused core, shifted from an impulse snack to a high-velocity lunchbox staple, and learned that revenue without healthy margins is just noise. In this episode, we cover: * The $15 Million Cut: How eliminating profitable yet complex SKUs and categories actually unlocked faster overall growth. * The Hidden Tax of Complexity: Why adding "one more SKU" taxes management bandwidth, operations, and capital far more than founders realize. * Top-Line Vanity vs. Enterprise Value: Shifting away from chasing rapid top-line revenue to building a sustainable, margin-accretive business model. * Listening to Consumer Behavior: How feedback from parents led to pivoting into mini meat sticks and capturing the expanding kids' lunchbox market. * The Retailer Reality Check: What a brand truly owes the shelf after getting authorized, and why distribution without demand is a dangerous trap. * Founder Discipline: Why the hardest part of scaling is learning to stop inventing new products and start mastering the core. Join us in listening to this episode! For more on New Primal visit: https://newprimal.com/ If you enjoyed this episode, please leave The Story of a Brand Show a rating and review.  Plus, don't forget to follow us on Apple and Spotify.  Your support helps us bring you more content like this!