Source: DrinkTru.com

Step 1: Commit

‘I have more respect for the fellow with a single idea who gets there than for the fellow with a thousand ideas who does nothing.’ – Thomas Edison

Everyone has had an idea, but an idea alone is not worth a damn. I cannot begin to tell you how many times that someone has come up to me with their ‘Million Dollar’ or ‘Shark Tank’ idea. Some of the ideas have actually been pretty awesome; however, the real issue is that most people stop pursuing them because there was always something that got in the way; family, friends, social life, work etc. If you are serious about starting a company, make the commitment, and learn to push everything else to the sidelines. This means luxuries will end up taking a back seat to your new baby. Even after the sacrifice, people need to understand that there is no true guarantee in the world of startups.

There is always real risk with starting a from scratch. It is a gamble and if you can’t commit 100% then stay away from the table because you will lose.

Companies like AirBnb were not over night successes and endured many early struggles taking years of tinkering. Many successful companies started with an original vision that changed multiple times due to constant refinement and their end product was much different than what they had anticipated. In other words, just start and see where the journey takes you.

Step 2: Grind

‘Entrepreneurs are willing to work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week.’ – Laurie Greiner

Despite the popular opinion that entrepreneurs are unorganized sweat pants wearing drop outs, most successful entrepreneurs have a very regimented schedule. It is important to grind, but more importantly, it is important to grind smart. When wearing multiple hats throughout the day, it is imperative to stay organized. In order to do this efficiently, this means working insane hours, while also eating a balanced diet and getting enough sleep.

Starting up causes a lot of wear and tear and you need to keep your engine fueled properly. Many entrepreneurs also use exercise as a key tool to keep their body healthy and their mind sharp. Infamous Youtuber and entrepreneur, Casey Neistat, has exercise gadgets scattered throughout the office to stay fit in between hours of filming and editing.

Exercise may sound like a crazy key to success but many entrepreneurs and super successful business magnates swear by it.

Keeping your priorities straight and setting aside the things less important in life are also required for efficiency. Starting up is a marathon, so be prepared to grind smart for the long haul.

Step 3: Network

‘The currency of real networking is not greed but generosity.’ – Keith Ferrazzi

After you have committed and ironed out a basic plan, you have to get out there. At first, there is always a fear that people will steal your idea; but in the end, it’s all about execution. There are an infinite number of ideas, but only a select group that have the will to carry out the mission. The last thing an entrepreneur wants to do is work 5 years on a product that no one wants, so get out there and find out if there’s a place for your product.

Pitch your idea to everyone!

You will make mistakes and you will look like an idiot at the beginning. My brother brought me to my first event when I first had the idea for Truenergy, and I literally could not hold a conversation. I lacked confidence and downplayed my vision. No one will invest in a product if you can’t convince yourself first. I have seen and heard people raise lots of capital with some of the worst ideas because they can walk the walk and talk the talk. On the other hand, I have seen antisocial introverts raise money because they have a track record of execution. The key is being able to do both; pitch and execute, but it all starts by getting out there. Get some business cards and join the hustle.

Step 4: Build a team

‘Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.’ – Michael Jordan

I applied to at least 100 accelerators. I ignorantly could not understand why someone would not want to accept a former pro hockey player with zero experience into its programs. After multiple interviews, it became clear that I needed someone to join me in the journey. No investor or accelerator wants to hedge its bet on just one person. In fact, accelerators and VC’s thrive on spreading the board with bets like a high stakes game of Roulette. They want to hedge their bets on multiple teams, with multiple team members in multiple industries. It’s a rule of thumb that VCs will invest in 10 companies with the hope that 1 out of 10 will make 30x while 3 will return their investment and they fully expect that 6 will fail.

With this in mind, think of innovative ways to get qualified people involved whether it is through a brand ambassador program or by attracting college interns.

Also, attend all the events in your industry. You really never know who you will bump into at the We Work bar. Find people who truly believe in your mission and are passionate about moving forward alongside you.

Step 5: Get to an MVP

‘It is a mistake to think that you are the typical target user.’ – Cameron Moll

Ever since we joined our first two accelerators, Startup 52 and Food-X, they harped on us to get to a MVP or minimal viable product as soon as possible. It’s’ all about testing your theories and making quick alterations to get to a product that the consumer will love. A product that you love, may not be a product that the end consumer loves. Originally, I was sold on going to market with a double-ended bottle for our beverage because I thought it would really stand out. I ended up spending over a year tweaking the design until I thought I had an awesome product. Because of my fear for disapproval, I ended up showing my prototypes to a limited audience of family and friends arriving at a final design spending over $6k (and my life savings) on production. Ignorantly, I also rushed into production with the wrong manufacturer and even filed for patents! The bottle ended up receiving weak reviews when I finally opened it up to the public. Thankfully, I learned one major lesson.

Get as much feedback as possible from everyone without taking it personal.

You will hear contradicting opinions. Some people will be right, while some people will be wrong, but you have to realize that most of the opinions are coming from a good place. Make mistakes early with prototyping and don’t wait for the final product to seek others’ opinions. By then, it will be too late. Now, I prototype a ton and receive feedback every step of the way. We ended up dropping the double-ended functionality and now random people love our bottle design. It’s the random person’s opinion that matters most. To date, we have sampled over 15 iterations of our formula and created over 100 prototypes of the bottle. We are definitely a little psychotic and obsessive over the design; however, it is better to make hundreds of dollars in mistakes now versus making ten of thousands of dollars in mistakes later.

Step 6: Outsource

‘Fair play doesn’t pertain in bargaining. What matters there is leverage.’ – Alan Rosenberg

This may seem somewhat unpatriotic; however, it is the honest truth in today’s economic landscape. If we tried to produce TruEnergy purely in the United States, we would have ended up spending over $100,000 in bottle molds and over $.75 per bottle. In China, the molds cost us around $5,000 and $.15 per bottle. In the same breath, I have also attempted to outsource design work to Asia. That was an epic failure as it is very hard to explain abstract thoughts and communicate a vision with the language barrier. It wasn’t as simple as sending some bottle dimensions. While China is taking the global lead in manufacturing, the United States continues to be the creative capital of the world in my opinion. We outsource all major design work to the USA, and all manufacturing work to Asia. The combination of the two is what allows for true capitalism. Without China, our margins would be non-existant, and without amazing and passionate designers, like Drew Stanley, from the USA, our labels would be typical.

Step 7: Traction Traction Traction

“Vision without traction is merely hallucination.” – Gino Wickman

Every investor asks the same question: how many units have you sold? In the food and beverage industry, this becomes a major headache for the entrepreneurs. How the hell can I get traction without investment? Getting a product to market costs thousands of dollars, so you have to find innovative ways of raising capital. For us, it was two things: acceleration and crowdfunding. Both options work great. Our goal of the Kickstarter campaign was to prove the concept with some initial traction for future investors. We ended up selling over 2,500 units of TruEnergy thanks to generous pledges from family, friends, and other backers. We also got invaluable feedback, which led to the final tweaks of the product before going into final production. This gave us an opportunity to presell product before we had even paid for the molds let alone the final product.

Raising money is hard enough with traction, let alone without traction.

Whether you want to start a beverage company or the next Snap Chat, get an MVP and find some early adopters who will love your product. Once you have that, you have a chance.

Step 8: Raise Capital

‘It always seems impossible, until it’s done.’ – Nelson Mandela.

Once you have a product, traction, and a strategy, meet with every investor or high net worth individual in your rolodex. Many veteran entrepreneurs and even some investors have advised me that, “If I ask for money, I will receive advice. If I ask for advice, I will receive money.” I think there is some truth to this. No one wants to give money to a desperate company. If you ask someone for advice, it shows that you are dedicated to making your company happen with or without investment and that you are willing to meet with people to put the business in the best position to succeed.

If you have a great foundation, then people will invest if you get out there.

After establishing a relationship, it is never a bad idea to put out ‘the ask’. It is important to get to ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as soon as possible as time is money for both you and the investor. They will respect it. On the other hand, there are major opportunity costs associated with meeting with people all day as you can’t be working on the business at the same time. Balance and timing is key. The two most important things that I have learned in sales are that it is a game of numbers and that you have to be human. Your chances increase with every new person you meet and don’t act like a robot. Most people want to do business with people that they want to grab a drink with on the weekend.

Step 9: Go To Market

‘Creativity is intelligence having fun.’ – Albert Einstein

After spending years on a product, you will eventually have to launch for real. In the beverage industry, you really only have one chance as it is super expensive to bring a product to market and your brand only has one first impression. There is a saying in the industry that reads ‘it’s easy to get into retail, but it’s tough to stay.’ When you eventually get your product on the shelves of a Whole Foods for example, you have to make sure that it sells. If not, you likely will not get a second chance.

Most companies that succeed have a well-defined strategy that specifically outlines who their end consumer is and where they will attract them.

If you go in blind hoping for the best, you will swing and miss. Do your research before launch and specifically target the right person in the right way through the right medium. As a startup, you can’t go after the main stream with limited capital. You have to find your niche using organic ways of attracting their attention. Consumers are smarter than ever, so it is imperative that you differentiate in brand positioning.

Step 10: Capitalize

‘The key to making money in angel investing is saying no. You meet with 100 companies and say no to 99 of them.’ – Kevin Rose

Every VC wants to see a return on their investment. They are not in the business of pouring capital into a small unscalable business. They want huge returns on their high risk investments and the time frame that they typically expect to see this return is 5 to 7 years. In order to get to that point, entrepreneurs need to increase their revenues year after year.

Profitablity is great, but it is more important to show growth. Some of the greatest companies in the world, like Amazon, didn’t reach profitability until much later in their life cycle; however, they kept showing more and more growth. It is also paramount that the numbers make sense.

Your pricing needs to be spot on where the demand of the product is high; yet, the margins are profitable. In the beverage industry, you have to account for things like your COGS, shipping, marketing, sales and distribution.

With many brick and mortars going out of business, more and more businesses are selling a majority of their product online. Stores, like City Sports, would have been perfect for us; however, with chains like this going bankrupt, companies like us are looking at alternative online solutions, like Amazon. After finding the innovators and early adopters, which make up the initial portion of your sales, you have to find ways to attract the early majority followed by the late majority. At this point, you should have a thriving business. The last piece of the puzzle is getting the laggards. Getting all of these people to fall in love with your product is all about true passion and perseverance. Good luck!

‘I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.’ – Steve Jobs

Original article was published in TruEnergy Blog.

Pursuit of Happiness

Except for maybe the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, this in my opinion is Will Smith’s greatest work of art. Based on a true story, Will plays Christopher Gardner, a single father and medical equipment salesman struggling to make ends meet. This is one of the most inspirational business movies I have ever seen, and the son is actually played by Will’s son.

Wolf on Wall Street

Based on a true story, the extravagant, hectic, and insane life of Jordan Belfort seems so far fetched that it seems unrealistic. Played by Leonardo Decaprio, Jordan sells better than anyone and has uncanny method for passing his skills to others with a natural knack for motivation. He fuels his life with drugs, parties, and an addiction to money.

Money Ball

Mentioned in a previous blog, Billie Beane, played by Brad Pitt, gets fed up with losing as the GM of the Oakland A’s so decides to look at the game of baseball from a different perspective. He takes a chance using a different type of statistics to gain an edge, over the competition. It shows us how thinking different can lead to great success.

The Big Short

Brad Pitt makes an appearance once again on the list as part of an all-star cast featuring, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, and Steve Carell. Michael Burry, played by Christian Bale, is one of the first notable people to predict the Mortgage Crisis making huge bets shorting the market. Only a select few made millions taking advantage of the flaw in the market, while the rest lost billions.

Wall Street

Charlie Sheene has played many iconic roles; however, my favorite has got to be Bud Fox. Young Bud Fox enters the scene fully motivated and hungry for money hoping to gain mentorship from the infamous Gordan Gekko played by Michael Douglass. After getting his wish, the story consists of boatloads of money, insider trading, and backstabbing.

Honorable Mention

Boiler Room – This would have definitely been in my top five if it wasn’t so unknown to the mainstream. 2000 was a big year for Giovanni Ribisi starring in both Boiler Room and Gone and Sixty Seconds. It was also before Vin Diesel started playing roles like the Pacifier. This is the story of a screw up who left a thriving home built casino to become a highly compensated stock broker who sold questionable stock.

As with my previous top 5, feel free to roast my picks in the comment section or support our team and TruEnergy by signing up for our launch at www.drinktru.com. After all, we are all grinding trying to make it big.

As I am a beverage entrepreneur by day, and a self proclaimed movie buff by night, I wanted to give everyone out in the world of startups the top 5 greatest movies to watch. Although my opinion may not be worth a damn and you’d prefer Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB, I am going to tell you anyways. For the record, I have seen Glengarry Glen Ross, which is famous for its ‘ABC-Always Be Closing’ line and it is on practically every movie list associated with business. I consciously left this off the list as I would rather watch paint dry. As another disclaimer, I refuse to watch ‘Citizen Kane’ as I am a millennial and I prefer to watch movies in color and I am too busy to sit down and watch an 8-hour movie like ‘There Will Be Blood’. So here it is…

 1. Social Network

I didn’t really go out on a limb with this one, as the release of this movie likely resulted in many wannabe entrepreneurs quitting their jobs to chase their dream. That being said, it certainly deserves to be here. The story of Mark Zuckerberg and his quick rise to internet stardom is a must see.

2. Jerry McGuire

What’s a movie list without something from the 90’s starring Tom Cruise? Maybe this is viewed more of a sports movie; however, Jerry McGuire, a famous sports agent, quit his job like many of us crazy entrepreneurs to pursue a passion and a vision not accepted by the mainstream. Cuba Gooding Jr.’s character, Rod Tidwell infamously yells the phrase ‘show me the money.’ We are all hoping for the same thing.

 3. Layer Cake

Daniel Craig plays a hard working entrepreneur looking to make enough money to step away from the game…. the cocaine game. He shows us how to climb the ladder in the industry; hence the name , Layer Cake. I am also a big fan of Sienna Miller, who can also be found in another entrepreneurial movie, Burnt, starring Bradley Cooper.

4. The Aviator

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the obsessive business tycoon, Howard Hughes. He literally put it all on the line gambling millions in the filmmaking and aviation business while constantly battling his own demons. At times tough to watch, this movie shows the exaggerated rollercoaster ride of an entrepreneur, depicting what it’s like to hit rock bottom and stand on top of the world.

5. Steve Jobs

We are talking about the Michael Fassbender, and not the Ashton Kutcher variety. This movie gives a very realist view of the life of Steve Jobs as he navigates life as an entrepreneur, innovator, leader, and father. One of the greatest visionaries of our time, Jobs was by no means perfect, but he expected perfection from everyone around him.

*As a side note, I must say that Ashton Kutcher is killing it in the ‘real life’ world of startups having investing in companies like Uber, AirBnB and Spotify early on.

Honorable Mention:

Silicon Valley

Despite being hilarious, you can actually learn a lot from this over exagereated portrait of a startup. I left it off the list solely because it is a show on HBO and not actually a movie. The third season, just started on Sunday and I strongly recommend it. There are not many great shows dedicated to the entrepreneur, and the few others that have tried, have failed. I tried watching the show, Betas… don’t.

The Men Who Built America

A four part series and the greatest mini series you will ever watch as an entrepreneur. It is the story of the pillars of today’s America; Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbuilt, and JP Morgan. It took me numerous references before I gave it a chance. Don’t wait.

Crazy entrepreneurs are a whole different type of animal then the Type A tycoons that dominate corporate America. These guys deserve a list of their own. Next Tuesday, I will dramatically unveil my very disputable top 5 movies for business motivation. As my name is not Robert Ebert, feel free to point out any movies that I left out. If you interested in checking out what our own crazy team of entrepreneurs is stirring up, sign up for our launch at www.drinktru.com and give us a shot. Cheers.

In this blog, I will outline the 5 biggest similarities between sports and startups.

1. Team

I would be willing to bet that the only people who actually thought the 1980 USAMen’s hockey team could beat the soviets… were themselves. With Herb Brooks at the helm, this team worked together with one common goal. They played for each other with a goal to defy reason. After all, the soviets were the greatest team in the world having dominating the NHL All Stars. So how in the hell did a bunch of college kids win the Gold in Lake Placid? They were a family, believed in the impossible and were willing to work for it.

In the world of startups, there have been countless examples of a company stacked up against the odds. In 2007, two roommates couldn’t find an affordable place to rent, so they did the only logical thing and launched a company renting out mattresses in apartments. After bringing on a third co-founder who blindly believed in their vision, they finally received funding (not from a VC), but by selling Obama O’s cereal on the side securing $20k. They never stopped believing even when getting turned down by famous investors like Chris Sacca and Fred Wilson, who thought that this couldn’t compete with the traditional way of thinking. Today, AirBnb is worth roughly $24 billion dollars. This team defied the odds because they saw a need that no one else saw and were willing to spend the time to prove it. They

2. Play Your Role

Whether in business or in sport, I think most people don’t appreciate the role players. After all, who can name three centers in the NFL? These guys are the glue that hold the offensive line together, and are the first line of defense protecting the star QB; yet, no one wears their jersey. These guys are the unsung heroes that deserve more accolades. The teams that appreciate these kinds of guys are the ones that win. As I am from Boston, I do appreciate a guy like Tom Brady. When he won a car for being the MVP in the 2015 Superbowl, he gave it to Malcolm Butler, a rookie cornerback who saved the game in the closing seconds. Whether you love him or hate him, I think all fans appreciate gestures like this from all-stars.

In business, this might be the guy behind the scenes. Thanks to Apple’s success Steve Wozniak has finally reached a level of fame; however, in the early days of Apple, Steve Jobs was the star QB and he couldn’t even code. Without the ‘Woz’, I don’t think there would be an Apple, and I think startups should appreciate every level of the business even if it’s the janitor. He is the one creating the perfect work place behind the scenes so that the company can succeed. Most failed startups and sports team underappreciate their role guys, when they should praise them.

3. Take Chances

The Oakland A’s are the perfect example of ‘think different’. When other teams were winning based on overpaid all stars and insane payrolls over $100 million dollars; the A’s chose a new game plan. They decided to rethink baseball and use simple statistics to gain an edge. Billy Beane wasn’t picking the ‘best’ players; he was choosing the right ones, the ones that got on base. He didn’t care if you got hit by a pitch, took a glamorous walk or hit a ground ball single. He just wanted his guys on base.

On the other hand, you have guys like Richard Branson. Most people would not have bet on this young kid with Dyslexia from Blackheath, London becoming the success he is today. He took a chance taking a loan from his aunt in order to build one of his first businesses, a record store. He has since become the mastermind and engine behind the global brand, Virgin Group.

4. Sacrifice

Some athletes have sacrificed small things like the occasional party or not going to their prom, but this guy is the definition of sacrifice as an athlete. If you haven’t heard of Lee Trivino, you should. The grandson of a gravedigger and brought up by asingle mother, he grew up working at a very young age and didn’t hit the links until his teenage years. Serving in the military for four years, he also sacrificed for his country. Following his commitment, he joined the PGA tour. Barely making enough to survive, Lee would play fellow golfers in high stakes match play. He is quoted as saying; “Pressure is playing for ten dollars when you don’t have a dime in your pocket.” Throughout his career, he has brought in around $40 million dollars.

If anyone has ever seen the inspiring movie, Joy, based on the life of Joy Mangano, they understand what I mean by sacrifice. This woman put literally everything on the line. Divorced with three kids and living paycheck to paycheck in a two-bedroom home in New York, she was an inventor at heart with a knack for the camera. Her product’s first appearance on HSN was an absolute failure, but after convincing the network to put her as the face of the product, her invention, the Miracle Mop, became an overnight success. Less than ten years later, she was bringing in $10 million a year in revenue, when she could have easily continued being a waitress and airline attendant. Instead, she decided it was time to take a chance and follow her dream. Today, she has over 100 patents.

5. Overcome hurdles

Most athletes want to be the next Michael Jordan, which is a great goal to have, but most people aren’t willing to actually pay the price and fight through adversity. Michael Jordan infamously got cut from his high school team as a sophomore and could have easily given up, but he kept driving forward and the rest is history.

Elon Musk probably could not hit a buzzer beater; however, this self made man overcame lots of the same hurdles. Elon Musk had to sleep in the office to increase efficiency and increase his chances of success. If you are not willing to pay the piper, role with punches, and deal with the heartbreak, then throw on a tie because pro sports and entrepreneurship are not for the faint of heart.

With a love of sports and a passion for training and nutrition, I decided it was time to undertake a new goal, perhaps a more difficult one than the NHL. Our team is going to change the game in sports nutrition. Today, I am the CEO of TRU, Inc., a young up and coming startup dedicated to creating products that athletes can trust in their quest of performance. Fusing the best attributes of a sports gel and energy shot, our team created TruEnergy.

Original article was published in Food-X website..

After participating in an incubator, two accelerators, incorporating twice, pivoting numerous times, moving multiple times, building a team, living in the office, sleeping on couches, launching a successful Kickstarter and finally receiving investment for our beverage, TruEnergy, I can honestly say that I am no expert. However, I would like to share my five biggest tips to starting a beverage business and getting funding.

Tip #1 Prepare For the grind

I think movies like the Social Network and The Wolf on Wall Street do entrepreneurship a disservice. I used to believe that being an entrepreneur was kind of like being a rock star, but after 3 years, I can confidently say that it is just not true. Most entrepreneurs aren’t walking into investment meetings with sweatpants and walking out with million dollar checks. Instead, entrepreneurs essentially have to take a short-term vow of poverty to ensure their business has the best likelihood of success. Life consists of insane hours, little exercise, and poor dieting. Outsiders think it is great that entrepreneurs don’t have a 9-5, but they forget to mention that they work 18 hours a day instead. Soon you will realize that your life, your time, your friendships as well as your bank account belong to your startup.

Tip #2 Work Smart

The startup guru, Tim Ferris, is always harping on working smart being vital to the success of your business. He is 100% right. We all grow up learning that working hard is all you have to do to be successful, but it’s truly not enough. As an athlete, I learned this later in my career. I always thought that if I worked harder than the guy next to me, than I deserved it more, and therefore would be more successful. I finally realized that guys were surpassing me because I was over training and putting more emphasis on quantity than quality. Entrepreneurship is no different. I always went with the old fashioned way of brute force and repetition. Eventually, I realized that things could be done quicker if I evolve and adapt with new technology. For example, don’t write 100 cookie cutter emails with copy and paste. Wake up and use an email merge.

Tip #3 Outsource

When time is on your side, you can pretty much learn anything online, whether it’s 3D design or web development; however, when time is of the essence, always outsource to people who are better suited for the task. When I was playing pro hockey abroad, I spent time to learn skills like these because I had the time. Once, I started the business that time disappeared and I realized I had to do a better job of delegating to people who are better and more equipped than me for certain tasks. Make sure that when you delegate, the instructions and requirements are more than crystal clear. If they are not, then the one thing that you figured was obvious, will be done incorrectly. Stay on people and keep them accountable, but also do your best to keep them inspired. If you don’t delegate, you will fail.

Tip #4 Network

You are only as strong as your network. If you have the greatest idea in the world; yet, fear the thought of people rejecting you and your concept, then quit now. When I first started out, my older brother would drag me to events to get me used to pitching my idea. I am grateful to him because he showed me the importance of repetition, thick skin and not taking things personally. Just because someone criticizes your idea does not mean they dislike you as a human being. It means that they want you to make certain adjustments so that you do succeed. The only time you should worry is if no one criticizes your idea and everyone gives you a BS pat on the back. Then, you should worry. Through networking, you can gain vital people to your business, whether its investors and strategic advisors or new hires and early adopters.

Tip #5 Enjoy the Journey

If you are starting a business because you think it will make a lot of money, but you have zero passion for it, than I would be willing to bet a lot of money that it will fail. The reason for this is simple. Starting a business is easy; yet, pushing threw walls and climbing up mountains when things are not going your way and the bank account is reading zero is tough. You need to enjoy building a business so much that you would be happy if you did it for the next 20 years. I love what I do and I enjoy the good days as well as the bad days because the bad days make the good days all the more sweeter. There is no greater feeling than reaching a milestone when you thought it was unreachable.

Keep dreaming and keep grinding,