Latest / The Keri Croft Show / Why Most Entrepreneurs Never Actually Start with Nick Braun

Transcript

Why Most Entrepreneurs Never Actually Start with Nick Braun · The Keri Croft Show

• 0:00
  Keri Croft: Avena Women's Care is a collective of 40 plus providers that have been serving central Ohio communities with comprehensive women's health care for decades.
• 0:08
  Keri Croft: They meet women where they are in every phase of life.
• 0:11
  Keri Croft: From fertility services to menopause care, annual checkups to 3D mammography, Avena provides robust services for all.
• 0:20
  Keri Croft: So for the highest level of individualized women's health care, there's one name to remember: Avena Women's Care.
• 0:27
  Keri Croft: Go to www.avenawomen's care.com to request an appointment.
• 0:32
  Keri Croft: Be sure to tell them Carrie sent you.
• 0:34
  Keri Croft: If you're ready for a true reset, inside and out, Donaldson is here to help you become the very best version of you.
• 0:41
  Keri Croft: They combine cosmetic surgery and functional medicine to support how you look, how you feel, and how you move through the world with care that's personalized, thoughtful, and never one size fits all.
• 0:52
  Keri Croft: This isn't about changing who you are.
• 0:55
  Keri Croft: This is about feeling refreshed, balanced, and confident again.
• 1:00
  Keri Croft: So if you've been craving a real pick-me-up, Donaldson is ready when you are.
• 1:05
  Keri Croft: Okay, if you know Donato's pizza, you know their thing is edge-to-edge toppings.
• 1:10
  Keri Croft: Now, when I say it's their thing, I mean it's their thing.
• 1:14
  Keri Croft: They actually own edge-to-edge.
• 1:16
  Keri Croft: It's a registered trademark, y'all.
• 1:18
  Keri Croft: They absolutely load up their pizzas with toppings and they go from one edge of the pizza all the way to the other.
• 1:25
  Keri Croft: Lots of toppings, no crust uncovered.
• 1:28
  Keri Croft: If you want the true original edge-to-edge pizza, you want Donados.
• 1:32
  Keri Croft: That's how they've done it since 1963.
• 1:36
  Keri Croft: Hey there, you beautiful badass.
• 1:39
  Keri Croft: Badass.
• 1:39
  Keri Croft: Welcome to the Carrie Croft Show.
• 1:47
  Nick Braun: I'm I'm excited to talk to you.
• 1:49
  Nick Braun: I'm excited to catch up with you.
• 1:50
  Keri Croft: Nick Braun.
• 1:51
  Nick Braun: Yes.
• 1:52
  Keri Croft: Welcome.
• 1:53
  Nick Braun: Thank you for having me.
• 1:54
  Keri Croft: I actually am still in mourning that you guys left Brandon Road.
• 1:57
  Nick Braun: You know what?
• 1:57
  Nick Braun: I that's the only place I've ever lived that I kinda miss it the most.
• 2:04
  Nick Braun: We had a good group in San Diego, but what a great group we had.
• 2:09
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 2:09
  Nick Braun: And at that time in our lives, it was like pre-kids to like starting to have kids, but it was fun.
• 2:16
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 2:16
  Keri Croft: And you moved over to Onondaga.
• 2:18
  Keri Croft: Over there.
• 2:20
  Nick Braun: That sounds so bad.
• 2:21
  Keri Croft: It's it's like the street.
• 2:24
  Nick Braun: To everyone but me.
• 2:26
  Nick Braun: I mean, it's you know, it's fine.
• 2:28
  Nick Braun: It's fine.
• 2:29
  Nick Braun: It's honestly like, and we've met some great people there.
• 2:33
  Nick Braun: Um, Bobby, for example.
• 2:35
  Keri Croft: Does Bobby live on onondaga?
• 2:36
  Nick Braun: He does.
• 2:37
  Nick Braun: He lives on onondaga.
• 2:38
  Keri Croft: Bobby's so proper.
• 2:39
  Nick Braun: I actually don't like saying where I, you know, it's like, where do you live?
• 2:42
  Keri Croft: I'm like, oh, over by the And it's like four syllables, so it takes a while to say, like, I live on Onondaga.
• 2:48
  Nick Braun: Or imagine, like, I have to spell it.
• 2:49
  Nick Braun: Like, how do you spell that?
• 2:51
  Keri Croft: Am I even saying it right?
• 2:52
  Keri Croft: Because us us.
• 2:53
  Nick Braun: I say Onondaga.
• 2:54
  Keri Croft: See?
• 2:55
  Keri Croft: Over here on Brandon Road where I live, we don't know.
• 2:58
  Keri Croft: We don't know how to, we don't even know the pronunciation of those, those roads over there.
• 3:01
  Nick Braun: Brandon Road, though, the best times, the best people.
• 3:04
  Nick Braun: And then you guys can walk to Oh, it's the best.
• 3:08
  Nick Braun: Carsoni's and Whole Foods.
• 3:10
  Nick Braun: And now it's like it's just blowing up.
• 3:12
  Keri Croft: So yeah, so we've we've act- I mean, I always have my eye on the market.
• 3:15
  Keri Croft: It's so hard in UA.
• 3:17
  Keri Croft: It's so hard.
• 3:18
  Keri Croft: I'm like, there's no, I mean, unless I want to move north or whatever.
• 3:21
  Keri Croft: I mean, you have to just like be Johnny on the spot.
• 3:24
  Keri Croft: Although I'd love to like be neighbors with you and Bobby Carpenter.
• 3:28
  Nick Braun: It'd be sweet.
• 3:29
  Nick Braun: I would love to have you and Brady back in.
• 3:31
  Keri Croft: I might be a little too like, I don't know, for that road.
• 3:35
  Nick Braun: I don't know if this is appropriate to say.
• 3:37
  Nick Braun: It's not.
• 3:37
  Nick Braun: So go ahead and say it.
• 3:38
  Nick Braun: So there's there's um there's it's getting younger.
• 3:42
  Nick Braun: It's still a little older.
• 3:43
  Nick Braun: Ah, so maybe there's gonna be a little bit of turnovers.
• 3:46
  Nick Braun: Oh, turnover.
• 3:47
  Keri Croft: Okay, all right.
• 3:48
  Keri Croft: Can you keep your eye on the keep your eye on the prize for me?
• 3:50
  Nick Braun: I will, for sure.
• 3:51
  Keri Croft: Okay, let's, I want to start with this because I am so curious about you.
• 3:55
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 3:55
  Keri Croft: And this fucking pet insurance thing.
• 3:57
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 3:58
  Keri Croft: Like you it from where I sit, I had no idea what you did, right?
• 4:04
  Keri Croft: I just knew you were a nice guy, you liked Miller Light, you were fucking fun to be around.
• 4:09
  Keri Croft: I had no idea what you did.
• 4:11
  Keri Croft: And then all of a sudden, you're moving to California because you sold a pet insurance guy.
• 4:16
  Keri Croft: I'm like, wait a minute.
• 4:17
  Keri Croft: And for coming from an entrepreneur, you know, I understand like what it takes.
• 4:21
  Keri Croft: And like, I was so first of all, happy for you, but I was like, wait, somebody catch me up here.
• 4:26
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 4:27
  Nick Braun: You did that within three years, right?
• 4:29
  Nick Braun: Uh, it was like five.
• 4:31
  Nick Braun: I mean, it was, it was so I was it was a slow burn, but I always like I always try to explain to people.
• 4:40
  Nick Braun: Um, pet insurance was something I had invested in.
• 4:44
  Nick Braun: I was at NCT Ventures before this, and I like to say we were the first venture venture fund in Columbus.
• 4:51
  Nick Braun: Um, we invested in embrace pet insurance in Cleveland, and that went really well, it was a good outcome for the fund.
• 4:58
  Nick Braun: And um, talking to the founders, they're like, there's no good like shopping comparison site.
• 5:03
  Nick Braun: You know, it's kind of people were kind of used to that.
• 5:06
  Nick Braun: Um, so I was like on the on the side, I was like, I'll just spin one up.
• 5:11
  Nick Braun: Thinking like people will just compare pet insurance plans.
• 5:14
  Nick Braun: I believed in the market, yeah, right.
• 5:16
  Nick Braun: Um, and then it just I didn't really worry about it.
• 5:20
  Nick Braun: And then that's probably a powerful thing to like tell young entrepreneurs like if you're doing something you like believe in and you don't care about the money, you can do it right.
• 5:29
  Nick Braun: So over time it kind of like get more traffic, I'd get more traffic, I'd get another like insurance, like healthy pause was new.
• 5:37
  Nick Braun: And these companies are like billion-dollar companies now, but they're like, hey, can we be on your site?
• 5:42
  Nick Braun: I'm like, sure, let's, you know, pay me 50 bucks a lead or whatever.
• 5:46
  Nick Braun: Um, so it kind of kept growing organically over time.
• 5:49
  Nick Braun: And at some point, I was like, I should probably focus on this.
• 5:53
  Nick Braun: Like, there's something here.
• 5:54
  Nick Braun: Um, so I feel like it's a lot of what happens is like as an entrepreneur, it's like osmosis.
• 6:01
  Nick Braun: You see an opportunity, you listen to smart people, you're like, I'll try it at this small level.
• 6:06
  Nick Braun: And then, you know, I there was a guy that used to say, like, some things get the the juice, and that thing just kind of kept growing.
• 6:15
  Nick Braun: So I was like, I can go into it and then like really help guide it up.
• 6:19
  Nick Braun: And uh, so it was probably three years of like full time.
• 6:22
  Keri Croft: When you say you you I'll spin one up, so what that easy, but no, which I get like what you're saying, because you it was a digital platform and it probably wasn't super robust or complicated.
• 6:32
  Keri Croft: No, so what did you spin up?
• 6:34
  Nick Braun: All right, in all fairness, I hired a firm called Q Start Labs locally, great guys, bunch of just they're just they're nerds, and that's like a really nice, you know, they prefer to be called that.
• 6:45
  Nick Braun: And they were like, Well, there's no one company that has like a specific quote engine that's the same, but we can do APIs and do, you know, connect.
• 6:54
  Nick Braun: Um, so in a weird way, because these pet insurance companies were so early in their they were kind of tech savvy, um, these guys connected us so somebody could go through, put the put in their information for their pet, and then get quotes from you know six different companies.
• 7:10
  Nick Braun: So spinning up is like yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 7:14
  Nick Braun: No, I had to hire a firm to do it and pay them, but they were great partners.
• 7:19
  Keri Croft: But how complicated was the infrastructure initially?
• 7:21
  Keri Croft: So, like how many you like you had to take APIs from how many platforms and like how expensive was that for you initially?
• 7:28
  Nick Braun: 50 grand a month?
• 7:30
  Nick Braun: No, or total to do the whole thing.
• 7:32
  Keri Croft: Okay, so then 50 grand to spin it up and then well for some people that's not, you know.
• 7:38
  Keri Croft: I mean, it's like some people out there are like, well, shit, that's a lot of money.
• 7:41
  Nick Braun: Yeah, that's true.
• 7:42
  Nick Braun: That's it.
• 7:42
  Nick Braun: You're right, but but no, because And I didn't have like it's not like I had like 50 grand laying around, but I was like You it's not 250 grand, basically.
• 7:50
  Nick Braun: Uh yeah, and it's not half a million.
• 7:52
  Nick Braun: So it I knew it could be something, but I was like, that's money, that's a good bet to make.
• 7:58
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 7:58
  Keri Croft: And so did you have what was the monthly then?
• 8:00
  Keri Croft: So it was upfront 50.
• 8:02
  Nick Braun: Um, you paid like a thousand in hosting.
• 8:06
  Keri Croft: That's it.
• 8:06
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 8:07
  Keri Croft: And then when you were doing this, your wife, Melissa, who is Angel.
• 8:11
  Keri Croft: Yes, she is.
• 8:12
  Keri Croft: Angel on earth.
• 8:12
  Keri Croft: Hello, Melissa.
• 8:13
  Keri Croft: Um yeah, we should all take a page out of your book.
• 8:16
  Keri Croft: Should have invited it.
• 8:17
  Keri Croft: Such a pristine, proper you should have invited her.
• 8:20
  Keri Croft: I'm doing that now.
• 8:20
  Keri Croft: I'm doing the the wives.
• 8:22
  Nick Braun: We could do a a two-point.
• 8:23
  Keri Croft: I could I absolutely I would love to have her.
• 8:24
  Keri Croft: All right.
• 8:24
  Keri Croft: Was she just kind of like, oh, this is funny?
• 8:26
  Nick Braun: Like, was she always used to was she always used to you doing like random things?
• 8:30
  Nick Braun: Yeah, great question.
• 8:32
  Nick Braun: Um, so when we first met, she was at Abercrombie and she was their head of visual merchandising for the female side.
• 8:40
  Nick Braun: So she had like a big kid job and uh was traveling all over the world.
• 8:45
  Nick Braun: So, like me, we went when we met, I was at NCT Ventures.
• 8:48
  Nick Braun: So I had like kind of a normal job as an investor, but she was supportive.
• 8:52
  Nick Braun: We had a dog at the time named Bo.
• 8:54
  Nick Braun: It was her, I adopted Bo from her, you know, and uh so she understood the whole veterin thing and pet thing.
• 9:01
  Nick Braun: I think, yeah, I think to this day, she's like, I don't, I trust he knows what he's doing, but she's like, you know, she grew up with her dad was a you know big wig insurance executive.
• 9:13
  Nick Braun: And so I grew up with entrepreneurial parents, so it's like that paradigm.
• 9:17
  Nick Braun: But I think at this point she's pretty comfortable with but she was totally supportive.
• 9:22
  Keri Croft: Oh yeah.
• 9:22
  Nick Braun: But as she would I think as she would be like, okay, have fun with your little your little pet project.
• 9:29
  Keri Croft: What did you do, if anything, before like did you are you an idea guy?
• 9:33
  Keri Croft: Are you always looking for problems?
• 9:34
  Keri Croft: And like, or was like what's your Yeah.
• 9:38
  Nick Braun: I I actually had a buddy ask me that.
• 9:40
  Nick Braun: I never thought of that before, but I have a little bit of an answer.
• 9:43
  Nick Braun: I'm not a great idea guy.
• 9:45
  Nick Braun: So like the when people come up with, you know, like Airbnb or fate, you know, I'm like, that's crazy to me.
• 9:52
  Nick Braun: Um, but I can see an opportunity.
• 9:54
  Keri Croft: Yeah, you see a need or uh you fill a gap.
• 9:57
  Nick Braun: That's right.
• 9:58
  Nick Braun: So, like for example, with pet insurance.
• 10:00
  Nick Braun: Um, so we had Bo and he had some health issues, and I I realized like, wow, that's expensive to go to like MedVet, right?
• 10:09
  Nick Braun: And you realize you're like, there's no, you just write a check.
• 10:12
  Nick Braun: And if you don't, or credit card, and if you don't, they won't treat your pet.
• 10:17
  Nick Braun: So I saw that side of it as a as a pet parent/slash pet owner.
• 10:22
  Nick Braun: Um and then I saw the data point that I saw.
• 10:25
  Nick Braun: I'm kind of a data-driven person.
• 10:27
  Nick Braun: So in the UK, about 25% of pets were insured.
• 10:32
  Nick Braun: This is like 2012.
• 10:34
  Nick Braun: And here it was like less than a quarter of a percent.
• 10:38
  Nick Braun: So in my mind, it was like, I don't know if it'll get to 25% penetration here, but if it gets to 5%, it's a $10 billion industry.
• 10:49
  Nick Braun: So I just I guess I have my ears and eyes open and I talk to people, but then I'll see something like that and think, okay, worst case scenario, this is probably gonna be a big thing.
• 10:57
  Nick Braun: And if I'm in early, I can kind of meet the right people and help grow it.
• 11:02
  Nick Braun: So that's what is that?
• 11:04
  Nick Braun: Is that idea driven?
• 11:05
  Keri Croft: Well, everything's I think idea is such a broad idea.
• 11:08
  Keri Croft: I mean, we all have ideas.
• 11:09
  Keri Croft: I feel like when I was researching it and really just digging into it and reading about what you had done, then with reading about the water, I'm like, oh, it's I mean, that's what you're you're literally, you're very agile and you're smart enough that you can see a gap, but then you're probably you are audacious enough and bold enough to be decisive.
• 11:31
  Keri Croft: Yeah, because a lot of people can sit around and go, oh, there's a you know, I wonder if there's a gap in that in 99% of people aren't gonna execute and then be consistent.
• 11:42
  Keri Croft: So you're a modern day genius, is what you are.
• 11:45
  Keri Croft: We have just we have just diagnosed you as an MDG.
• 11:49
  Nick Braun: I am far from a genius.
• 11:51
  Keri Croft: Modern day entrepreneur.
• 11:54
  Nick Braun: But I will say you you hit on something interesting, like you building this whole thing, you know, it's in your head, and you see an opportunity, you see a trend, you see like it'd be great for people to to hear from people.
• 12:07
  Nick Braun: Um, like, oh wow, she went through that too, or oh, I that guy, like Nick doesn't seem very smart.
• 12:14
  Nick Braun: I could probably start a company, but I think the key is you nailed it.
• 12:19
  Nick Braun: It's like if you see an opportunity, the difference between an entrepreneur and people that talk about it are the is the person who writes the check for 50 grand.
• 12:26
  Keri Croft: Yep.
• 12:26
  Nick Braun: And it might not be comfortable at the time, or it is, it doesn't matter, but like you're it's so true.
• 12:32
  Nick Braun: Like so many people, like, oh well, they should do this, or they should there should be a pizza place over by Brandon Road.
• 12:36
  Nick Braun: It's like nothing's stopping you.
• 12:39
  Keri Croft: No, I know.
• 12:39
  Keri Croft: You know what's funny?
• 12:40
  Keri Croft: Speaking of that, you know, like that whole like let's talk for what?
• 12:44
  Keri Croft: Let's let's take a little let's go on an entrepreneurial tangent together.
• 12:47
  Keri Croft: So um, Lane Avenue, uh-huh, Bed Bath and Beyond.
• 12:51
  Nick Braun: Oh, yeah.
• 12:52
  Keri Croft: How many times have you hypothesized, or if ever, uh-huh, what could what's happening, what could be there, what's happening with pickleball, what's happening with like every single child that that is transported outside of UA when the weather is not nice to either the trampoline parks uh on Mill Run.
• 13:11
  Keri Croft: Um, like I'm like, okay, is what's happening here?
• 13:14
  Keri Croft: Like, yeah, you know, it's like you see stuff and you're like, this is then you also know the rent has to be astronomical.
• 13:23
  Keri Croft: Arlington is, you know, Arlington.
• 13:25
  Keri Croft: I say that lovingly, but you know, I get it.
• 13:29
  Keri Croft: Have you thought about that?
• 13:30
  Keri Croft: Because it's Halloween spirit, which again, an incredibly insane business model.
• 13:35
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 13:36
  Keri Croft: Are you kidding me?
• 13:37
  Nick Braun: I know.
• 13:38
  Nick Braun: It's like when you're when you're uh one of your stores turns into a Halloween store, something's wrong.
• 13:44
  Keri Croft: No, but think about them though.
• 13:45
  Keri Croft: Wouldn't you love to get underneath like Yeah.
• 13:48
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 13:48
  Nick Braun: I mean, to your point, so we go to we go to pins in Dublin.
• 13:54
  Nick Braun: We go to the trampoline places in Hilliard.
• 13:56
  Nick Braun: And yeah, I mean, having four young kids in the winters, it's it's hell, right?
• 14:01
  Nick Braun: It all we're doing every weekend is like being creative and figuring out how can we entertain them.
• 14:06
  Nick Braun: Um you know it would slay, right?
• 14:09
  Keri Croft: Like it would slay, it would be a cash fucking cow.
• 14:12
  Nick Braun: Like a pins?
• 14:13
  Keri Croft: Not necessarily a pins, but like you, and I don't know the exact um thing.
• 14:19
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 14:20
  Keri Croft: But like if someone takes that space, yeah, and like I've I've started a certain like I've started a fitness brand.
• 14:27
  Keri Croft: I know the fucking margins.
• 14:29
  Keri Croft: I know like it's insane.
• 14:32
  Keri Croft: I mean Why is no one doing it?
• 14:35
  Keri Croft: Is this our is this our chance?
• 14:37
  Nick Braun: Oh, it's a great question.
• 14:38
  Nick Braun: I think uh it's a it's it's I'm almost called to be like, what's happening here?
• 14:43
  Nick Braun: Is someone I mean my two cents would be A, I'm like a noob when it comes to real estate.
• 14:51
  Nick Braun: I'm sure I could figure it out.
• 14:52
  Keri Croft: It's not that complicated.
• 14:53
  Keri Croft: I can help you right now.
• 14:55
  Nick Braun: I think you nailed it though, the rent's probably too high there, or whatever they would want.
• 14:58
  Keri Croft: I think it's the mixture of that.
• 15:00
  Keri Croft: The space is so large that it's um the the barrier of entry mentally, I think for someone is probably pretty high.
• 15:08
  Keri Croft: Um, and then also I know there's got to be some kind of UA.
• 15:12
  Keri Croft: I know there is, you know, because I've talked to people who are in the know about what that all the taxes and the there's like certain because I always joke around and I was joking around with the mayor, like, what what the fuck's going on with all the banks?
• 15:27
  Keri Croft: Like, can someone help me here?
• 15:30
  Nick Braun: No, you mean like on the corner?
• 15:32
  Keri Croft: Nick, do you want to sit name the banks in UA?
• 15:34
  Keri Croft: Like, I mean, how how long do you have?
• 15:36
  Nick Braun: Like, that's my favorite.
• 15:37
  Nick Braun: That intersection is I think it's six, right?
• 15:41
  Nick Braun: It's they're like stacked inside of each other.
• 15:44
  Nick Braun: There's not just a corner bank, it's a bank behind the corner bank.
• 15:48
  Keri Croft: Nothing, it it doesn't cease to amaze me.
• 15:50
  Keri Croft: It's like, okay, where's the beer barrel?
• 15:51
  Nick Braun: The last time you went to a bank.
• 15:53
  Keri Croft: Where and where's the beer barrel?
• 15:54
  Keri Croft: Like where, where, where, and so again, and there are reasons behind it, but I I don't know.
• 16:00
  Keri Croft: If somebody wants to like talk to me about this, because I am that bed bath and beyond haunts me.
• 16:08
  Nick Braun: Did you uh like I would say I I would say it's like, all right, what's the monthly rent?
• 16:14
  Nick Braun: And then what would be the build out, right?
• 16:16
  Nick Braun: And then staff, I guess, depending on what you do.
• 16:18
  Nick Braun: I will say, like, um, I we noticed that, I mean, you know, it works really well in San Diego is like brewery slash pizza place.
• 16:27
  Nick Braun: Uh-huh.
• 16:28
  Nick Braun: And like what's funny to me is like there's certain things popping up here, but like if you just did decent pizza and had decent beer and like decent service, I think it would be busy all the time.
• 16:40
  Keri Croft: I mean, what about pickleball courts?
• 16:41
  Keri Croft: Everyone's insane with pickleball, not just pickleball courts, but like your friend again, I in I wouldn't like it sounds like a clusterfuck too.
• 16:48
  Keri Croft: It's like too many things all melded together.
• 16:51
  Nick Braun: Like it's then you got I uh for me, it I I I mean um my my peeps, we call it wiffle tennis.
• 16:59
  Nick Braun: I'm not really into it.
• 16:59
  Nick Braun: I'm not either, but I think um I think something um family-oriented.
• 17:06
  Nick Braun: I will say this, like I I would say that space in particular, I don't know the economics of it, but there needs to be like an indoor turf field or a place where kids can go in the winter and just like play pickup soccer.
• 17:20
  Nick Braun: And I would love like Northam Park, one of the parks to just I know it's probably cost prohibitive, but you know, there's places in Hillary like Bo Jackson.
• 17:28
  Keri Croft: There we go.
• 17:28
  Nick Braun: Something like that, like something like that off Kenny.
• 17:30
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 17:31
  Nick Braun: Or over off uh Trebu.
• 17:34
  Nick Braun: I mean, it would talk about being booked forever.
• 17:37
  Keri Croft: Booked and busy.
• 17:38
  Nick Braun: Booked busy.
• 17:40
  Keri Croft: But I digress.
• 17:40
  Keri Croft: That was my that was my tangent on that.
• 17:42
  Keri Croft: I mean, it is, it's gotta be the rent.
• 17:44
  Keri Croft: Okay, let's go back to you.
• 17:45
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 17:46
  Keri Croft: So when, okay, when you finally figured out you're getting the traffic to your, you know, your investment.
• 17:52
  Keri Croft: Yes.
• 17:52
  Keri Croft: And then you're like, okay, wait, this thing has legs, and you bring in two other investors, and you say we need more capital to make this robust enough to like what hap what happened then?
• 18:02
  Nick Braun: Yeah, yeah.
• 18:03
  Nick Braun: So I actually brought in three investors.
• 18:05
  Nick Braun: One was my brother, very street.
• 18:07
  Nick Braun: Lou.
• 18:07
  Nick Braun: Lou.
• 18:08
  Keri Croft: We got to talk about Lou because some of the ladies in UA, I will tell you that I told them that you were coming in, and they said we just need you to to know that his brother Lou was a heartthrob.
• 18:19
  Nick Braun: Yes.
• 18:19
  Nick Braun: He I need to see some photos.
• 18:21
  Nick Braun: He I can I can give you some photos.
• 18:23
  Nick Braun: Um, yes, he was very sought after by the ladies back in high school.
• 18:29
  Keri Croft: Interesting.
• 18:30
  Nick Braun: And and the funny thing is, he's just never, he was just unfazed by it.
• 18:33
  Keri Croft: Like that makes it even better.
• 18:35
  Nick Braun: Yeah, right.
• 18:35
  Nick Braun: I think it made him feel probably more like, oh, he's but um he's a dog, and he uh so he invested, he kind of understood it, and we're really close, so he kind of was like, Well, if he's seeing something, then it's probably um the other two were more strategic.
• 18:53
  Nick Braun: One was a guy named John Gagliardi, and John, Lou met John through he was at John started Maverick Lacrosse, which was like uh still around sticks, helmets, elbow pads, company.
• 19:08
  Nick Braun: Lou is like their, I think head of like West Coast sales.
• 19:12
  Nick Braun: John went to Johns Hopkins, Lou went to Johns Hopkins to play lacrosse.
• 19:17
  Nick Braun: John's probably 10 years older.
• 19:19
  Nick Braun: Um so but John was one of the early guys at Blue Buffalo Dog Food.
• 19:26
  Nick Braun: So I was like, I needed not just money, but I needed a couple of guys that like understood the space and maybe had I was thinking like, if I need more, there's a bigger opportunity, like they have networks.
• 19:38
  Nick Braun: And then the third guy was Brock Weather up, and he had just sold, I think, Pet 360 to Pet Smart for a really good outcome.
• 19:47
  Nick Braun: So I felt like I had you know Lou involved, and then I had these two guys that were like could help open doors and help me see the potential of it.
• 19:56
  Nick Braun: Um and so that was the idea was just in case it starts to take off, I don't have to go to a whole new group of people, right?
• 20:04
  Nick Braun: Um, and that worked out great, and I never raised other money.
• 20:07
  Nick Braun: We would meet like once a year and have like a meeting, it wasn't very formal, but they were super helpful strategically.
• 20:16
  Keri Croft: And then you guys just sold that puppy, dude.
• 20:17
  Nick Braun: Well, yeah.
• 20:18
  Nick Braun: So Barack ended up selling his next pet business to Petco.
• 20:22
  Nick Braun: Um and he was their head of uh, I think it was e-commerce and digital innovation or something.
• 20:30
  Nick Braun: But he was like he was a it was like I wouldn't have probably sold to Petco or gone that route if it had not been for him.
• 20:39
  Nick Braun: For A, I wouldn't have been on their radar, but B, I don't think I would have done it because I was like, I don't want to work for like you know the VP of finance at Petco, like that would be terrible, right?
• 20:50
  Nick Braun: But he was there and I was gonna report to him, so that ended up working out, and that's when we ended up moving from Brandon to because you had to go there for three years and work for them.
• 21:02
  Nick Braun: Yeah, so we had a I had an earnout for all the kids out there.
• 21:06
  Nick Braun: That means they give you some of the money up front, and then you gotta hit some milestones to get the rest of it.
• 21:12
  Nick Braun: Uh it's pretty common, but it was a great experience.
• 21:15
  Nick Braun: I mean, we you know, we dragged my wife dragged uh what three-year-old and two twin newborns out there.
• 21:23
  Nick Braun: God bless her.
• 21:24
  Nick Braun: But again, yeah, I know queen.
• 21:28
  Nick Braun: She is, and she's yes, I and by the way, like that's impossible without her.
• 21:34
  Nick Braun: Right.
• 21:35
  Nick Braun: You know, impossible.
• 21:36
  Nick Braun: And I I think about that a lot.
• 21:38
  Nick Braun: Like her and I went out there to visit with Brock and his wife.
• 21:41
  Nick Braun: We had a nice dinner, and she was like, Hey, I'm a young mom, and like, you know, and Mary is Brock's wife, she's lovely, and was like, What do you think?
• 21:51
  Nick Braun: Like, as a as a woman, as a mom, as a, you know, and she was very like supportive and like, here's the good and here's the bad, you know.
• 21:58
  Nick Braun: But we decided.
• 21:59
  Nick Braun: Was like, let's try it.
• 22:01
  Nick Braun: Worst case scenario, you don't love it, you move back.
• 22:04
  Keri Croft: So, yeah, but you guys, it was okay, right?
• 22:07
  Nick Braun: It was awesome, it was great.
• 22:08
  Nick Braun: It it just got hard because we had three kids, and I'm driving an hour away to a corporate job, and yeah, so it was nice to get back home.
• 22:16
  Nick Braun: She felt honestly, all right.
• 22:17
  Nick Braun: So she started feeling rightfully so, like kind of isolated.
• 22:23
  Nick Braun: So, like I would go to work and have people I met at work and go to work happy hours, and she like at home with the kids.
• 22:32
  Keri Croft: So it's I could see it.
• 22:34
  Keri Croft: Of course.
• 22:35
  Keri Croft: I mean, she's pulled out of a tight-knit community, yeah.
• 22:38
  Keri Croft: And then any mom who's a new mom, it's something you don't even really understand until you're in it.
• 22:43
  Keri Croft: It is a very lonely, isolating experience.
• 22:46
  Keri Croft: Like because you're you love these kids so much, but they're not giving back the way adults do, and you love them so much, and you're kind of like, it's a weird alternate universe.
• 22:55
  Keri Croft: Oh, yeah.
• 22:56
  Keri Croft: And so to be out in California, you know, while you're out doing your thing, right?
• 23:01
  Nick Braun: Slinging pet insurance.
• 23:02
  Nick Braun: You know what I mean?
• 23:03
  Keri Croft: Yeah, do getting your urn out.
• 23:05
  Nick Braun: God bless her.
• 23:06
  Nick Braun: You know, uh the nice thing was we did have uh the Lopez family, so that would be like, you know, our tight friends out there, they were two houses away, had young kids as well.
• 23:18
  Nick Braun: They were both busy with work, and so Anna was like really a good confidant for Melissa.
• 23:24
  Nick Braun: She she had an anchor, but yeah, it was like day to day.
• 23:27
  Nick Braun: She's pushing that double stroller.
• 23:31
  Nick Braun: Like, you remember those?
• 23:32
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 23:33
  Nick Braun: Oh, it's just awful memories.
• 23:34
  Nick Braun: But like with another kid, like on a scooter around a neighborhood where she knew nobody, like every day.
• 23:41
  Nick Braun: Now, granted, it wasn't we weren't roughing it.
• 23:44
  Keri Croft: No, no, no.
• 23:45
  Keri Croft: But it's but the thing is, I mean, anyone, yeah, anyone who hears that, and especially parents, you can you can know, like you're not complaining, you you understand the privilege, but you also understand like that's a lot.
• 23:56
  Keri Croft: Yes, that's a lot to ask, and um, it's a huge sacrifice for her to have made on behalf of your family, albeit the right decision, right?
• 24:06
  Nick Braun: Ultimately, yes.
• 24:07
  Nick Braun: I think, you know, and um now, so the the cherry on the top of that that move was so we go out there and we have this young family, and she's starting to kind of feel like I'm gonna like get surf lessons.
• 24:20
  Nick Braun: I'm gonna start, I'm starting to meet people, right?
• 24:22
  Nick Braun: Like, okay, now this could actually work out.
• 24:25
  Nick Braun: Um, we never were like, we're gonna move back.
• 24:28
  Nick Braun: We were just like, we're here for now until it changes.
• 24:31
  Nick Braun: Um, and we both have that mindset.
• 24:33
  Nick Braun: But and then one day I come home from work, I swear to God, Carrie, it was like, I can remember this, and I'm sure she can even, she's like crying, and I'm like, what's the matter?
• 24:43
  Nick Braun: You know, and I'm like, I'm like thinking, you know, somebody's got cancer or some right.
• 24:49
  Nick Braun: She's like, I'm pregnant.
• 24:51
  Nick Braun: And I was like, there's no way.
• 24:52
  Nick Braun: Because we had been told by doctors, like, uh, it's you don't have to worry about that at this point.
• 24:57
  Nick Braun: And she was, and so our, you know, the best thing that came out of San Diego is Toby, yeah, our fourth.
• 25:03
  Nick Braun: But that kind of then solidified, like, there's no way we can you gotta go back on, yeah.
• 25:09
  Nick Braun: But then we need we need help.
• 25:11
  Keri Croft: But then, true to form, yeah.
• 25:13
  Keri Croft: You okay, you discover there's arsenic in the water.
• 25:16
  Keri Croft: Oh, yeah.
• 25:17
  Keri Croft: And then instead of just so that again, back to you like seeing the gap or seeing the opportunity, you have your neighbors who then had, you know, and you're you know what, you know what else you do?
• 25:29
  Keri Croft: Yeah, you surround yourself with really smart people.
• 25:32
  Nick Braun: I tried to.
• 25:33
  Keri Croft: Well, that's I mean, that's a part of it, right?
• 25:35
  Keri Croft: So, like you're no dummy when it comes to how you're it is how you're you just talked about how you strategically put your investment group together for the pet thing.
• 25:42
  Keri Croft: And now let's talk about the couple who had the experience with the reverse osmosis bullshit.
• 25:48
  Nick Braun: Uh-huh.
• 25:49
  Keri Croft: And then next thing you know, here you are the fucking water purifying guru.
• 25:53
  Nick Braun: Cloud water filters.
• 25:54
  Keri Croft: You know?
• 25:54
  Nick Braun: Yeah, the best water in the world.
• 25:56
  Nick Braun: So it's a good, it's a there's a nice little like uh segue.
• 26:00
  Nick Braun: So we have four young kids, and like this is probably gonna you you you can recall all this, I'm sure.
• 26:07
  Nick Braun: It's like we were when you have four young kids, it's it's like formula and water and formula all over the place, bottles.
• 26:15
  Nick Braun: And so Melissa's very conscious of like what kind of water we would mix in.
• 26:20
  Nick Braun: I mean, I'm I'm a guy, I'm like, oh, just pull it out of the tap.
• 26:23
  Nick Braun: And she's like, that's insane.
• 26:25
  Nick Braun: So she would get, we would get pallets of like smart water and right to mix in with the kids' formula.
• 26:32
  Nick Braun: And um, she ended up getting a reverse osmosis system in our house in San Diego because she had heard from Anna that the water was bad.
• 26:42
  Nick Braun: There was arsenic in the water, and that's actually true, which is insane.
• 26:46
  Nick Braun: It's crazy.
• 26:47
  Nick Braun: We can go down that rabbit hole.
• 26:49
  Nick Braun: But so we have this system, and that's a lot easier.
• 26:53
  Nick Braun: I don't think carry in pallets of water, it's cheaper, it's better for the environment.
• 26:56
  Nick Braun: And I'm like, this is great.
• 26:58
  Nick Braun: It's probably a year goes by, and so during my earnout, I had met Ben and Ariel Zweifler.
• 27:05
  Nick Braun: They're my partners in cloud, and Ariel had a background in uh like high-end aquariums.
• 27:11
  Nick Braun: So she's like the guru with water and water filtration, and like this is all new to me.
• 27:17
  Nick Braun: I'm like, some like this is some Southern California hocus pocus.
• 27:21
  Nick Braun: Right.
• 27:22
  Nick Braun: But um, so I'm learning from them, like on the side.
• 27:26
  Keri Croft: Southern California hocus.
• 27:27
  Keri Croft: That just hit me late.
• 27:28
  Keri Croft: That was funny, you know what I mean?
• 27:30
  Nick Braun: But it's like, wow, like I I'm I my whole life I've been poisoning myself, apparently.
• 27:35
  Nick Braun: But you know, you're like the old the old Midwestern guy, and you're just like, ah, it's you know, I'm fine, I've been drinking out of a hose.
• 27:42
  Nick Braun: And but anyway, so I'm learning from them.
• 27:44
  Nick Braun: And one day I'm at home and I'm like, hey Melissa, like when do we change the filters in this thing?
• 27:50
  Nick Braun: Like, how do we know when the filters need change?
• 27:53
  Nick Braun: She's like, I don't know.
• 27:54
  Nick Braun: That's probably been a year and a half, and we have four kids, so we're using it a lot.
• 27:58
  Nick Braun: I was like, How does this indicator light work?
• 28:01
  Nick Braun: And she's like, There's a battery.
• 28:03
  Nick Braun: Like, so when the battery dies, that's when we know we can change the filters.
• 28:08
  Nick Braun: And then I'm like looking under it, I'm like, well, I'll go get new filters.
• 28:12
  Nick Braun: Like, that's smart, right?
• 28:13
  Nick Braun: And there's no way to figure out how to get them out.
• 28:16
  Nick Braun: It's like a plumber installed the whole thing.
• 28:18
  Nick Braun: So in the meantime, in parallel, I'm talking to Ben and Ariel, and like they're like, What are you gonna do after this?
• 28:24
  Nick Braun: You know, I'm like, I don't know.
• 28:25
  Nick Braun: And we talked about all kinds of different me doing things on my own, them doing things, and the water thing just kept converging their passion and experience in it.
• 28:35
  Nick Braun: I mean, she was installing systems for friends just for fun.
• 28:40
  Nick Braun: She was so passionate about it, and then Melissa's like, yeah, that would be awesome.
• 28:45
  Nick Braun: And so we're like, let's kick it around.
• 28:48
  Nick Braun: And the idea was as simple as over like lunch, the three of us, you know, what if we made a really user-friendly, like nest thermostat for water filtration?
• 28:58
  Nick Braun: Like, that was the idea.
• 29:01
  Nick Braun: And then it's like, sure.
• 29:02
  Nick Braun: And again, going back to your premise, like most people, it dies there.
• 29:07
  Nick Braun: Like, that would be cool, that might work.
• 29:10
  Nick Braun: We realize the water is a problem.
• 29:12
  Nick Braun: The more you dig into it, you realize like water quality out of the tap is terrible.
• 29:18
  Nick Braun: It's not the utilities issue, it comes through like copper pipes and there's runoff from farms.
• 29:23
  Nick Braun: So we decided in 2021, um, like, let's again throw, I know it's a lot of money, but like 50 grand, you know, at a couple engineers in Boston who John Gagley already introduced me to, who did all their engineering for Maverick.
• 29:42
  Nick Braun: And they were like, they did work with Keurig, and they're like, we love this concept.
• 29:47
  Nick Braun: And so you have to buy you, they have to buy in too.
• 29:49
  Nick Braun: It's not like just take the money and do it.
• 29:52
  Nick Braun: So the um this they're called 11 in Boston, they're great guys, and they helped us engineer like what do you want?
• 29:59
  Nick Braun: We want it to like be connected to the phone, we want it to be easy to change the filters, and so that started it.
• 30:05
  Nick Braun: It just kind of it's like the pet and it just kind of kept building.
• 30:09
  Nick Braun: Like, would you buy this?
• 30:10
  Nick Braun: And people are like, Of course I would.
• 30:12
  Nick Braun: You know, so next thing you know, we're raising money from friends and family, and and here I am now, you know.
• 30:18
  Nick Braun: Five years later, it's five years later.
• 30:22
  Keri Croft: So, where is it right now?
• 30:24
  Nick Braun: Yeah, it's in a great spot.
• 30:25
  Nick Braun: So we um it's capital intensive to do a hardware business.
• 30:30
  Nick Braun: So we raised friends and family money.
• 30:33
  Nick Braun: We got an institutional investor last January, um, Skylark out of LA.
• 30:40
  Nick Braun: He was actually a customer, and that's the coolest stuff is like when he's like, I have this and I love this thing.
• 30:46
  Nick Braun: And um so we got a deal together and we're doing you know over a million a month in sales.
• 30:54
  Nick Braun: I've got I think almost 20,000 installed.
• 30:57
  Nick Braun: So it's a recurring revenue business because of the filters, so millions top line, million top line.
• 31:03
  Keri Croft: It's a good profit margin, not bottom line.
• 31:04
  Keri Croft: Is it a good profit margin?
• 31:06
  Nick Braun: It it's like 50%.
• 31:07
  Nick Braun: It's good.
• 31:08
  Nick Braun: And the filters are healthy, like I you know, I'd say 75-80%.
• 31:13
  Nick Braun: So it's a lifetime value place.
• 31:15
  Nick Braun: So we get it installed, and then you know, we hope that people will keep it and continue to buy filters.
• 31:21
  Nick Braun: So it's a great business.
• 31:23
  Nick Braun: Not easy to, I mean, it's we've had to go through some of the COVID supply chain shocks.
• 31:29
  Nick Braun: Um, navigated through that, and then last year with the tariff stuff, we had to navigate through that, but we're in a good spot now.
• 31:38
  Keri Croft: I love that.
• 31:38
  Keri Croft: Maybe I'll buy one.
• 31:40
  Nick Braun: Yeah, I can get you a discount.
• 31:41
  Nick Braun: You can?
• 31:41
  Nick Braun: I'll get you one.
• 31:42
  Nick Braun: You got a code?
• 31:42
  Nick Braun: You got a code?
• 31:43
  Nick Braun: You know the hardest part about friends get buying your product?
• 31:46
  Nick Braun: This is an aside.
• 31:48
  Keri Croft: What?
• 31:49
  Nick Braun: They call you when something goes wrong.
• 31:51
  Keri Croft: Oh, I can assure you I wouldn't do that.
• 31:52
  Nick Braun: No, no, no.
• 31:53
  Nick Braun: It's fine.
• 31:53
  Nick Braun: It's it doesn't bother me.
• 31:54
  Nick Braun: Yeah, but why would they call you?
• 31:56
  Nick Braun: Uh you know, I it's I think it's just like, oh well, Nick, right?
• 32:00
  Nick Braun: Hey Nick, you big ass.
• 32:01
  Nick Braun: So I like I've gotten better at like usually like I used to like, you know, like install them, help people out, and now I'm like, I can't, you know, I got t ball practice or whatever.
• 32:14
  Nick Braun: So now I actually So now you say no.
• 32:16
  Nick Braun: I just send them to the customer service team and they fix it.
• 32:19
  Keri Croft: I just bump their ass to voicemail.
• 32:21
  Nick Braun: I know.
• 32:22
  Nick Braun: I it's but that's one of those things where it's like somebody will buy it and be like, well, how do I install it?
• 32:26
  Nick Braun: Figure it out.
• 32:28
  Nick Braun: I hire hire a handyman or a plumber.
• 32:31
  Keri Croft: Do you are you an easy guy to say no to people?
• 32:33
  Nick Braun: I know it's awful for me.
• 32:35
  Keri Croft: Are you people pleaser?
• 32:36
  Nick Braun: Oh yeah.
• 32:36
  Nick Braun: Big time.
• 32:37
  Nick Braun: Big time.
• 32:38
  Nick Braun: But it's that's that why you brought it like three shirts and we're like, I I don't like I I mean, it's like I can only do the best I can, but it's like I don't want to disappoint, you know, be like boring as shit.
• 32:48
  Keri Croft: You're just such a nice guy.
• 32:49
  Nick Braun: But I definitely am terrible at that.
• 32:51
  Nick Braun: Like I couldn't fire somebody.
• 32:52
  Nick Braun: I couldn't, I can't do any of that stuff.
• 32:55
  Nick Braun: Really?
• 32:56
  Nick Braun: Oh yeah, it's terrible.
• 32:57
  Keri Croft: So you were like Mr.
• 32:58
  Keri Croft: Congeniality then, Gross.
• 32:59
  Nick Braun: I wouldn't say that either.
• 33:00
  Nick Braun: I mean, I think um I have I'm opinionated and direct, but I uh definitely a people like don't like to say no, don't like to like disappoint people.
• 33:12
  Keri Croft: How's that work with Melissa?
• 33:14
  Nick Braun: She's even more of a people pleaser.
• 33:16
  Nick Braun: Is she?
• 33:16
  Nick Braun: Yeah, yeah.
• 33:17
  Nick Braun: She like turns nothing down.
• 33:19
  Nick Braun: She's on parish council.
• 33:20
  Nick Braun: You know, it's like there's a that's a line I probably will never cross, but like she says yes to everything.
• 33:27
  Nick Braun: Um, and so we're it's probably not good.
• 33:32
  Nick Braun: We probably need one of us to be more.
• 33:34
  Nick Braun: I'm probably more of like of a no person than she is.
• 33:39
  Nick Braun: Oh yeah.
• 33:40
  Keri Croft: So is that like a for sure.
• 33:43
  Keri Croft: I feel like you should come hang out with me for like one day.
• 33:46
  Nick Braun: You say no a lot.
• 33:47
  Nick Braun: Oh see, I honest to God though, like that, like having she has some friends who I think are more like just say no or say, you know, I don't have time for that shit.
• 33:58
  Nick Braun: And it's good for her because she's like, all right, but yeah, I mean you gotta be surrounded by carries who are stress and inflammation take a toll on your body and your wellness.
• 34:10
  Keri Croft: Relax, restore, and rejuvenate at Panacea Luxury Spa Boutique.
• 34:15
  Keri Croft: Book any service of $100 or more and enjoy two hours in our luxury amenities, unwind in our Himalayan salt saunas, recharge in our wet retreat space with a eucalyptus steam room, hot hydrotherapy pool, and cold plunge.
• 34:30
  Keri Croft: Then drift into deep relaxation with our hanging loungers.
• 34:34
  Keri Croft: What's your panacea?
• 34:36
  Keri Croft: We'll help you find it.
• 34:38
  Keri Croft: Ladies, listen up.
• 34:40
  Keri Croft: There's a new treatment in town, and she's about to be your hair's entire summer personality.
• 34:46
  Keri Croft: Hair Botox.
• 34:47
  Keri Croft: Think the cooler, more low maintenance cousin of keratin.
• 34:50
  Keri Croft: She's smooth AF, zero heavy flat vibes, just glossy, soft.
• 34:55
  Keri Croft: Did she wake up like that?
• 34:57
  Keri Croft: Hair.
• 34:57
  Keri Croft: She'll de-frize you like a dream, keep your volume alive, skip the harsh chemicals, and she's perfect for humidity season, aka Ohio, in like five seconds flat.
• 35:08
  Keri Croft: And you know our girl Mia is in high demand.
• 35:11
  Keri Croft: So don't sleep on this.
• 35:12
  Keri Croft: Get in now and thank me later.
• 35:14
  Keri Croft: Book today at miasantiago.glossgenious.com.
• 35:18
  Keri Croft: Yeah, no, I have a big boundary.
• 35:22
  Keri Croft: I'm like, so the mental athleticism thing, uh-huh.
• 35:24
  Keri Croft: Part of it, like so you've got, you know, attached to your big vision, relentless execution of the small stuff.
• 35:30
  Keri Croft: You've got your internal command, which is like your thoughts, the way you see the world.
• 35:34
  Keri Croft: Yes.
• 35:35
  Keri Croft: Then you've got environmental design.
• 35:36
  Keri Croft: Okay.
• 35:37
  Keri Croft: And so it's they're all very important, but environmental design gets me.
• 35:40
  Keri Croft: Well, it's they're just the bigger pillars of like, you know, there's a lot that goes into them.
• 35:45
  Keri Croft: But environmental design gets me real spicy because it's where, like, you know, it's the boundaries, it's who you're hanging out with, it's where you're it's all of that stuff.
• 35:57
  Keri Croft: Um, it's the compound effect of like the time you're spending every single day on like whether it's a spin cycle conversation, whether it's and then you annualize it, right?
• 36:08
  Keri Croft: And you look at that and you go, I could have just spun up an entire pet quote, you know, thing with 52 hours.
• 36:17
  Nick Braun: Pet insurance quotes.
• 36:18
  Nick Braun: Pet insurance quotes.
• 36:21
  Keri Croft: You know, like when you look at it just when you can't say no, yeah, you really betray yourself in a lot of ways.
• 36:30
  Nick Braun: Wow.
• 36:31
  Nick Braun: I mean, you know, I wasn't uh let's go deep.
• 36:33
  Nick Braun: Let's get into the deep rivers.
• 36:35
  Nick Braun: Well, I I wasn't anticipating like that hit home because I think you just like I do like frameworks, like I am a data-driven, I'm a nerd at heart, but like I'm like first, so that's why I said four.
• 36:48
  Nick Braun: You're like, I'm like the first one check, second one check, third one check, and the fourth one, I'm like, that's what I'm terrible at.
• 36:53
  Keri Croft: Uh-huh.
• 36:54
  Nick Braun: Like the environmental piece, communicating my idea where it's like, you don't get it.
• 36:58
  Nick Braun: What it's obvious, but I'm terrible at that.
• 37:01
  Nick Braun: I'm terrible at like, oh well, they might not see it the way I do, or maybe I've a I disagree with how you want to do that, and I just get like either shut off or I'll just do whatever they say.
• 37:13
  Nick Braun: So it's like I'm so bad at that.
• 37:14
  Nick Braun: I'm very bad at that.
• 37:16
  Keri Croft: Well, you know what?
• 37:16
  Keri Croft: We can work on your mental athleticism a little bit.
• 37:18
  Keri Croft: You want to be you want to be a mental athlete.
• 37:21
  Nick Braun: I do.
• 37:21
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 37:22
  Nick Braun: And that I would say that I'm aware of it, and I'm like, that's probably where I am now, where it's like managing partners, managing investors, um, and then trying to keep you know, the focus is build the business, build a great business.
• 37:37
  Nick Braun: But you can't do that if you can't communicate your idea, um, share your vision.
• 37:44
  Nick Braun: And so I think yeah, that's that's where I lack.
• 37:48
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 37:48
  Keri Croft: At least you own it.
• 37:50
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 37:50
  Nick Braun: Oh yeah.
• 37:50
  Keri Croft: I'm I'll give you a couple free, I'll give you a couple free um coaching sessions.
• 37:55
  Nick Braun: That'd be great.
• 37:55
  Keri Croft: I'll fucking whip your ass right into shape.
• 37:58
  Nick Braun: That's that's awesome.
• 37:59
  Nick Braun: For sure.
• 38:00
  Nick Braun: I'll take you up on that.
• 38:01
  Keri Croft: Um, okay, so you're gonna sell this puppy for, you know, low, how did you say it?
• 38:06
  Nick Braun: Low eight figures is I mean, uh, you know, it's like it's so tacky, but it's no, it's not.
• 38:10
  Keri Croft: It's great.
• 38:11
  Nick Braun: It's um why is it tacky?
• 38:13
  Nick Braun: I think it'll be a good outcome.
• 38:14
  Nick Braun: That's what the real nerds say.
• 38:16
  Nick Braun: It'll be a good outcome.
• 38:17
  Keri Croft: I so so have you guys already started.
• 38:19
  Keri Croft: I mean, I'm sure you've thought of it.
• 38:20
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 38:21
  Keri Croft: Like, so do you think it will dwarf?
• 38:24
  Keri Croft: Will it dwarf the pet deal?
• 38:27
  Nick Braun: Yes.
• 38:28
  Nick Braun: Um, now it's funny, yes, and or but, you know, when you own a minority share of a bigger thing versus more a majority share of a smaller thing, there's trade-offs there.
• 38:41
  Nick Braun: But um, I think it'll be a bigger outcome.
• 38:44
  Nick Braun: One thing that Ben and I have talked about a lot is like their first business was called Putt Box.
• 38:49
  Nick Braun: So it was like a puppy subscription box.
• 38:52
  Nick Braun: And um Pets a big space, but it's pretty niche because it's you know, it's it's just it's a fenced in area.
• 39:00
  Nick Braun: When we looked at this space, it was like this is massive.
• 39:03
  Nick Braun: This isn't just water drinking, it's competing against like all the bottled water and then competing against all the Britas and all the so I just think the scale of the market is so much bigger that the outcome, so the people that we're talking to are Moen and Kohler, these mega brands.
• 39:23
  Nick Braun: Um, not that Pekka's not big, but you know, so it's just bigger, you know, I would say bigger market, bigger potential outcome.
• 39:34
  Keri Croft: Do you think you could buy me a house on Anondaga when it comes up?
• 39:40
  Nick Braun: I don't know nowadays.
• 39:42
  Keri Croft: I could be your neighbor.
• 39:43
  Nick Braun: I don't know.
• 39:43
  Nick Braun: Nowadays, it's insane the prices here.
• 39:46
  Keri Croft: No, dude.
• 39:46
  Keri Croft: I I am I am like there I would there's a road that I was interested in, Avalon.
• 39:53
  Nick Braun: Yeah, it's a great road.
• 39:55
  Keri Croft: It's a great road.
• 39:56
  Keri Croft: Very quiet.
• 39:56
  Keri Croft: But you know, like then whoever the guy is, I don't know his name, and it doesn't even matter.
• 40:02
  Keri Croft: But like they decide what like they buy it, and then he's like, oh, it's a three and a three point five million, but then it's like I don't want six and a half bathrooms.
• 40:13
  Keri Croft: Yeah, who needs six, who needs five and a half do you have five and a half bathrooms?
• 40:18
  Nick Braun: No.
• 40:18
  Keri Croft: So I'm like, you know, I don't I don't need necessarily like the Taj Mahal.
• 40:25
  Nick Braun: Right.
• 40:26
  Keri Croft: You know what I mean?
• 40:27
  Nick Braun: I think I you know, it's so I I've my mom is a realtor, has been here forever.
• 40:33
  Nick Braun: And um I feel like I talked to her, I'm like, this seems crazy to me.
• 40:40
  Nick Braun: I mean, just from when we moved back from San Diego, and that was a step down from a cost perspective, but it's like it's still not cheap here.
• 40:47
  Nick Braun: Like people perceive like we moved to Ohio and I was like, oh, you have like 100 acres.
• 40:52
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 40:52
  Nick Braun: No, it's not much of a step down.
• 40:55
  Nick Braun: Um, but it just keeps going up.
• 40:57
  Nick Braun: And to your point, I know like these houses people are building.
• 41:00
  Nick Braun: I'm like, what do these people do for a living?
• 41:02
  Nick Braun: Uh-huh.
• 41:02
  Nick Braun: I really do.
• 41:03
  Nick Braun: I'm like, what how many like Buckeye coaches can there be?
• 41:07
  Nick Braun: And like hockey players are there to afford this stuff.
• 41:10
  Nick Braun: So that's fascinating.
• 41:11
  Nick Braun: But my mom has this idea, which I think is right, Columbus is growing.
• 41:15
  Nick Braun: And a lot of people want to live in Arlington because it's it's so close to everything.
• 41:21
  Nick Braun: And so I think there's like a function of we're in the spot where it's like people that move here from Boston or Chicago are like, oh, I like that place.
• 41:31
  Nick Braun: Oh, I I'm the I'm the new coach at Ohio State.
• 41:34
  Nick Braun: I can drive right down the street to campus.
• 41:36
  Nick Braun: So it's like a function of that, probably.
• 41:39
  Nick Braun: I don't know.
• 41:40
  Keri Croft: It's a sweet spot.
• 41:40
  Nick Braun: Which is like, I'm like, even if we wanted to move, I'm like, how?
• 41:44
  Keri Croft: No, and it's landlocked.
• 41:45
  Keri Croft: I mean, so there's there's crazy.
• 41:47
  Nick Braun: The market here is it's bananas.
• 41:49
  Keri Croft: Yeah, and we have the coolest, I mean, the coolest people.
• 41:52
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 41:52
  Nick Braun: You know, like for the most part.
• 41:54
  Nick Braun: You know, well, you guys, the Hoffers, the Rescue's.
• 41:58
  Keri Croft: They're well, they Hoffers moved on to greener pastures on Leeds.
• 42:02
  Keri Croft: You know, now they're over there too.
• 42:05
  Nick Braun: I I miss everyone from Brandon Road.
• 42:08
  Keri Croft: I mean, so okay.
• 42:09
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 42:10
  Keri Croft: Back to your genius way of connecting, seizing opportunity, surrounding yourself with complimentary, like it is, it's very impressive.
• 42:23
  Keri Croft: And you do it in a very You're a liar, but thank you.
• 42:25
  Keri Croft: No, I am not, I would never lie.
• 42:27
  Keri Croft: I tell only the truth.
• 42:28
  Nick Braun: I actually know that about you.
• 42:29
  Nick Braun: Uh how do you mean?
• 42:30
  Nick Braun: You just every time I ever hung out with you was around you.
• 42:33
  Nick Braun: You're just like, here it is.
• 42:34
  Keri Croft: Oh, yeah, I'm not gonna bullshit.
• 42:35
  Nick Braun: And I love that.
• 42:35
  Keri Croft: I'm not gonna watch what's the point?
• 42:36
  Nick Braun: I how well I agree with you.
• 42:38
  Keri Croft: Like, let's get back to like the environmental design, right?
• 42:40
  Keri Croft: What the fuck's the point of that?
• 42:42
  Keri Croft: Is is blowing smoke.
• 42:44
  Keri Croft: That's another thing people do.
• 42:46
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 42:46
  Keri Croft: Where I'm like, just get me out of here.
• 42:48
  Keri Croft: I'm not kicking the can.
• 42:49
  Keri Croft: Or like just just saying what people want to hear.
• 42:52
  Keri Croft: Blowing smoke up somebody's ass.
• 42:54
  Keri Croft: Why the hell would I sit here and waste my precious time on this earth and waste your precious time by blowing smoke?
• 43:00
  Keri Croft: Amen.
• 43:00
  Keri Croft: When I see a when I see a gem, that's something else I do.
• 43:04
  Keri Croft: I call it out.
• 43:05
  Keri Croft: Like I give a compliment when it's due because I feel like people need to hear it.
• 43:09
  Keri Croft: I mean, you don't need to hear it, but it's nice to hear it when like when I genuinely am astute, I pay attention and I look at you and I think that's fucking impressive, this guy.
• 43:18
  Keri Croft: The whole package.
• 43:19
  Keri Croft: Like the the you're you're very unassuming, midwestern charm, really good dude, you know, and fun to be around, all the great stuff, but you are savvy.
• 43:30
  Keri Croft: And you're and you're fucking like you're a ringer.
• 43:33
  Keri Croft: And I think people could learn a lot from you, a lot from you.
• 43:37
  Nick Braun: Well, it's flattering.
• 43:38
  Nick Braun: It's true, half true.
• 43:40
  Nick Braun: Um, you know what?
• 43:41
  Nick Braun: There is a sense of um, you know, you hear the Midwestern thing, and then when you move to a coast, you kind of live it.
• 43:51
  Nick Braun: And there's people that you would love there that like the Lopezes and the Zwiflers you would love, but like it's a different, more classical.
• 43:59
  Nick Braun: Closed off, you know, I need to get mine mentality.
• 44:04
  Nick Braun: Uh it's almost like a zero sum game to people.
• 44:06
  Nick Braun: Like, oh, you're successful than I.
• 44:08
  Nick Braun: It's like, no, you we can all like win.
• 44:11
  Nick Braun: Um, so that Midwestern, like, do the right thing and work hard, and you know, it's like I I I think people that are live in bigger places, it's more of like a there's more haters, right?
• 44:25
  Nick Braun: There's more um so I just like never lost that sense of who I am.
• 44:30
  Nick Braun: It's like why can't everyone do well?
• 44:32
  Nick Braun: Like honestly, like that's so that's never been lost on me.
• 44:37
  Nick Braun: But like, yeah, just have an open mind, meet smart people, like listen.
• 44:42
  Nick Braun: I mean, it's not rocket science, right?
• 44:46
  Nick Braun: Well, listening Am I missing listening might be.
• 44:49
  Nick Braun: Um I have a tendency sometimes to cut people off, which I didn't know until I had a guy tell me that.
• 44:54
  Nick Braun: Really?
• 44:55
  Nick Braun: And I love the guy, like he's the best mentor, but he's like, dude, you cut me off all the time.
• 44:59
  Nick Braun: I don't I didn't realize I was doing it.
• 45:00
  Keri Croft: Well, I think we that's a skill we can all work on.
• 45:03
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 45:04
  Keri Croft: Because you part of it, you're so passionate and engaged in what you're saying with the other person.
• 45:09
  Nick Braun: Right.
• 45:10
  Keri Croft: And so it really is kind of like, okay, wait, is he done yet?
• 45:12
  Keri Croft: Okay, now I'm gonna talk.
• 45:14
  Nick Braun: And it's just like subconscious though.
• 45:15
  Keri Croft: Well, for sure.
• 45:16
  Nick Braun: It's terrible, terrible trait.
• 45:18
  Keri Croft: Well, you've been, but you took it and you've been working on it, right?
• 45:21
  Nick Braun: Yeah, I mean, I that's the thing.
• 45:22
  Nick Braun: I listen and I'm like, especially coming from the right person where he's like, hey, not trying to be an asshole, but you do that.
• 45:28
  Nick Braun: And I'm like, really?
• 45:29
  Nick Braun: And I'm like embarrassed in the moment, but I'm like, I appreciate you telling me that.
• 45:33
  Keri Croft: Well, that's the thing too about can and and cut and being, you know, clear is kind.
• 45:39
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 45:39
  Keri Croft: You know, so like if you notice something, like most people don't, like, let's let's circle back around to the beginning of this conversation with our friend Andy.
• 45:46
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 45:46
  Keri Croft: And the the the ghosting generation, all this shit.
• 45:49
  Keri Croft: It's like could you know, having a I think I think it's the word confrontation that people get, like it's very scary.
• 45:57
  Keri Croft: But I think just having a very direct where where both people feel seen, heard, and understood, yeah, and you can tie a bow on it and close the loop.
• 46:08
  Nick Braun: Right.
• 46:08
  Nick Braun: Yeah, I you know, I I think it's probably like just I mean, there's the cliches, but like treat people how you like to be treated.
• 46:19
  Nick Braun: I think I just operate.
• 46:20
  Nick Braun: That's my operating system.
• 46:21
  Keri Croft: You know?
• 46:22
  Nick Braun: So sometimes it is like, hey, I think it's a bad idea.
• 46:26
  Nick Braun: I mean, I how many times do I get asked, like, hey, what do you think of this investment or whatever?
• 46:30
  Nick Braun: And it's like, uh, sometimes you just want to like, do I tell them the truth?
• 46:34
  Nick Braun: And I always do.
• 46:35
  Nick Braun: You have to.
• 46:36
  Nick Braun: I know, because I feel like if I don't, then well, put the shoe on the other foot.
• 46:41
  Nick Braun: Right.
• 46:41
  Keri Croft: So so if if if you were asking someone, and it's everybody cares deeply about their idea.
• 46:47
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 46:48
  Keri Croft: Everyone cares deeply about themselves, right?
• 46:50
  Keri Croft: Like this is your world, it's everything.
• 46:52
  Keri Croft: So if you don't have that much respect or to to like be honest with me, you're gonna waste my time and send me on a goose chase.
• 47:02
  Keri Croft: Like you're gonna tell me, you're gonna, you're gonna like, like you're you're doing a disservice to any.
• 47:08
  Keri Croft: Think about that.
• 47:08
  Keri Croft: Think about the ripple effects of doing that.
• 47:11
  Keri Croft: So somebody's super pumped, they're tone deaf, they have an idea that's a total clunker, right?
• 47:17
  Keri Croft: Right.
• 47:17
  Keri Croft: But you, being the nice guy you are, you're like, I really don't want to ruin their day, right?
• 47:21
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 47:21
  Keri Croft: So you go ahead and you twist it and turn it, and somehow you send this guy off into the sunset thinking they've got a shot.
• 47:28
  Nick Braun: That's a good point.
• 47:29
  Nick Braun: That's worse, you're right.
• 47:30
  Nick Braun: It's horrible.
• 47:31
  Nick Braun: I try to avoid, I'd try to avoid that.
• 47:33
  Nick Braun: Depends on the relationship.
• 47:34
  Nick Braun: I mean, yeah, I'm always honest for sure.
• 47:37
  Keri Croft: Yes.
• 47:38
  Keri Croft: I you know, I think we should do.
• 47:39
  Keri Croft: I think we should do like once you sell this for like a billion gajillion dollars and you're bored and you're looking for something to do, we should do like a dolphin tank here.
• 47:48
  Keri Croft: Not a not a shark tank.
• 47:49
  Keri Croft: We should just have people come in.
• 47:50
  Nick Braun: I like that a lot.
• 47:51
  Keri Croft: We do a little dolphin tank.
• 47:53
  Nick Braun: You know what?
• 47:53
  Nick Braun: I think I think that is a missing piece still on Columbus.
• 47:59
  Keri Croft: Yes.
• 47:59
  Keri Croft: Um talk to me about that.
• 48:01
  Nick Braun: Well, I mean, so I started out in banking and then went to NCT Ventures, and um there's not a lot of like risk, I'd say like culturally in Columbus, and really the Midwest, but there's not a lot of risk takers and people that risk their money and then that have experienced it.
• 48:20
  Nick Braun: Um there's still not nearly enough.
• 48:22
  Nick Braun: I mean, there's a few, like, you know, Rich Langdale, he was my old partner, he's lived it and breathed it.
• 48:27
  Nick Braun: Um uh his partner, Bill Frank, I think, you know, Mark Kwamey came in and I think did a good job of like flooding the zone with a bunch of money.
• 48:36
  Nick Braun: The Scantland brothers have had a ton of success.
• 48:39
  Nick Braun: So there's just a like it's like Andy, there's a but it's like if everyone just kind of got together, and it could be informal.
• 48:47
  Nick Braun: Like when you start to try to make it like a thing, you know, like at this banquet hall, we're gonna all meet.
• 48:51
  Keri Croft: Oh no.
• 48:52
  Nick Braun: That's nobody wants to do that.
• 48:53
  Nick Braun: But if you're like, hey, we're gonna have a happy hour, yeah, we're gonna invite some young entrepreneurs, and like I love the dolphin.
• 48:59
  Nick Braun: Yeah, do it down in this.
• 49:00
  Nick Braun: No, we'll do an IRL downstairs for entrepreneurs, and just be like, hey, here's some feedback.
• 49:05
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 49:05
  Keri Croft: So I talked to Matt about this.
• 49:06
  Nick Braun: Oh, yeah?
• 49:07
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 49:07
  Nick Braun: I mean, he's way he's in a different stratosphere, but that's good.
• 49:11
  Keri Croft: He's a he's got the B in front of his Ilien, so we're on a different level there.
• 49:15
  Nick Braun: Different playing field.
• 49:16
  Keri Croft: We're on a different fucking level.
• 49:17
  Keri Croft: But um, regardless, I was like talking about doing like an IRL, like an entrepreneur kind of situation.
• 49:25
  Keri Croft: So he's open to it.
• 49:26
  Keri Croft: Like, I was gonna have his wife, his wife's thinking about coming on the show with him.
• 49:29
  Nick Braun: Oh, yeah?
• 49:30
  Nick Braun: That would be awesome.
• 49:31
  Keri Croft: We just had drinks at uh Littleton's the other night.
• 49:33
  Nick Braun: I mean, just by the way, like there you go, like them supporting that, that's been amazing.
• 49:39
  Nick Braun: Uh Rob was in class of 99 up Rollington.
• 49:43
  Keri Croft: Yeah, it's so good.
• 49:43
  Nick Braun: Great guy.
• 49:44
  Nick Braun: But like I just if you and it's gonna happen, but when you're in San Francisco or Boston in New York, you see like there's people that have done it even a generation or two before you.
• 49:56
  Nick Braun: Like, yeah, here's I get it.
• 49:58
  Nick Braun: Here it's like, well, what is this?
• 50:00
  Nick Braun: What are you doing?
• 50:01
  Nick Braun: Like, this is and so it's the more Matt's you have, the more Andy's, the more success you have.
• 50:06
  Nick Braun: I think people start to understand it.
• 50:10
  Nick Braun: And then they also don't want to miss out.
• 50:12
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 50:12
  Nick Braun: It's like if you don't write that guy the check, you might be the guy that, yeah.
• 50:16
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 50:17
  Keri Croft: Do you think Andy will come?
• 50:19
  Nick Braun: 100%.
• 50:20
  Keri Croft: Or do you think he'll I like I wouldn't know?
• 50:21
  Keri Croft: Do you think he'll like RSVP and then not show up?
• 50:24
  Nick Braun: No, he definitely will show.
• 50:25
  Nick Braun: Yeah, he's he it's so funny because like knowing you and him, like it's that's funny that it's so good.
• 50:32
  Nick Braun: I know.
• 50:33
  Nick Braun: He's like, he's you guys are so similar and in a great way.
• 50:37
  Keri Croft: It's like no, it's the absolute best.
• 50:38
  Keri Croft: Have we forgotten anything?
• 50:40
  Keri Croft: Is there anything that if we don't bring it up, you're gonna leave here and be like, why the fuck didn't we talk about?
• 50:46
  Nick Braun: You know, I I I so like we've talked, we've definitely talked a lot about Melissa.
• 50:50
  Nick Braun: She deserves her flowers.
• 50:52
  Nick Braun: Yes, rightfully so.
• 50:53
  Nick Braun: I would I would like to give a shout out to my mom and dad.
• 50:58
  Nick Braun: But here's the thing behind the scenes, a lot of like the ability to say, am I gonna actually do that?
• 51:05
  Nick Braun: Whether it's take a risk and like not have income, or like, hey, I need help with funding this because I'm putting this money into that thing or whatever it is, they've always been like kind of like I've been lucky to have a backstop.
• 51:21
  Nick Braun: I mean, never want to bank on it, but a few times I've needed to, and they're like, say no more.
• 51:27
  Nick Braun: So I think they're you I think to for me to cavalierly say, like, well, I just I wrote a $50,000 check and started a pet insurance, you know, without knowing like I'm not gonna miss a mortgage payment because I can go to, you know, yeah, my parents because they were entrepreneurs, and they'll be like, get it.
• 51:44
  Nick Braun: And I get what you're doing.
• 51:45
  Nick Braun: I know you're not, you know.
• 51:47
  Nick Braun: So they um and I think that's again to your point of like saying that thing.
• 51:53
  Nick Braun: I mean, I tell them that, but it's another thing to say it, like, you know, away from them.
• 51:59
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 52:00
  Nick Braun: So but they've been a little bit more.
• 52:03
  Nick Braun: And I just have great friends and family.
• 52:04
  Keri Croft: And what about your hot brother?
• 52:06
  Keri Croft: I mean, yeah, Lou.
• 52:07
  Keri Croft: Lou.
• 52:08
  Nick Braun: He's a dog.
• 52:08
  Nick Braun: I mean, he's a really good business guy.
• 52:10
  Nick Braun: He'd be good on this too.
• 52:12
  Nick Braun: He so his philosophy is he does entrepreneurship through acquisition.
• 52:17
  Nick Braun: So he likes to manage teams, he loves to like do that part of it.
• 52:22
  Nick Braun: Um, I'm more like the zero to 10 get me out.
• 52:26
  Nick Braun: He's more like start at 10, buy it, and then scale it.
• 52:31
  Nick Braun: So he's lives in this world, um, married uh Kim is like the best sister-in-law.
• 52:39
  Nick Braun: They have three great kids, and she was she was a Denver Broncos cheerleader.
• 52:44
  Nick Braun: Oh wow.
• 52:45
  Nick Braun: So he, you know, he went pretty tall cotton there.
• 52:50
  Keri Croft: Oh, for sure.
• 52:50
  Keri Croft: Well, from what I hear, I mean, he was a heartthrob.
• 52:52
  Nick Braun: Yes.
• 52:53
  Nick Braun: He's uh he got all the features like you would want if you were like dark, you know, nice complexion, dark hair, very handsome.
• 53:01
  Keri Croft: I mean, so did you.
• 53:02
  Nick Braun: I'm I'm uh I'm uh I just got I got height.
• 53:07
  Keri Croft: Oh you no, you're handsome too, Nick.
• 53:10
  Nick Braun: Well, I appreciate that guy.
• 53:10
  Keri Croft: Well, I have to say I I'm gonna need to see.
• 53:12
  Nick Braun: Well that is funny, like he and I do think it's a combination of like he's just such a great person, too.
• 53:19
  Keri Croft: You know, it's like Is he he's younger than you?
• 53:22
  Nick Braun: He's two years younger.
• 53:23
  Nick Braun: So he was I was class of 99 UA.
• 53:29
  Nick Braun: He was 01.
• 53:30
  Nick Braun: And that was a great class.
• 53:32
  Nick Braun: And those guys were a great group of guys.
• 53:35
  Nick Braun: We're all still friends to this day.
• 53:37
  Keri Croft: I love it.
• 53:38
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 53:38
  Keri Croft: Well, this has been just lovely.
• 53:42
  Nick Braun: Hey, you know what?
• 53:42
  Nick Braun: My first You crushed it.
• 53:44
  Nick Braun: I mean, I I wouldn't say that, but I will say this, like you do a great job.
• 53:48
  Keri Croft: Well, thank you.
• 53:49
  Nick Braun: I felt very comfortable.
• 53:50
  Keri Croft: It's just me being natural.
• 53:52
  Nick Braun: And I do, but I do I would like to follow up with you on um I love the I love the dolphin thing idea.
• 53:58
  Keri Croft: No, I do too.
• 53:59
  Keri Croft: And I think especially if you can get like I can get them Matt, I'm I'm in, and we can get a couple other and just I and I I I've built really great connections, thankfully, in the community with these just creators and entrepreneurs and people who are doing things.
• 54:16
  Keri Croft: Right.
• 54:16
  Keri Croft: And there's like so many cool different nooks and crannies and people who are just making things happen.
• 54:24
  Keri Croft: Um, you know, but it's so funny.
• 54:26
  Keri Croft: Like, let me give you an example.
• 54:28
  Keri Croft: And you're talking about all this big money, and you know, that that's all fucking awesome, and I love it.
• 54:33
  Keri Croft: And then you've got like an entrepreneur, and I'm I can't help I have to bring her up.
• 54:37
  Keri Croft: Her name's Annie Dixon.
• 54:38
  Keri Croft: She's out, um she has a bakery called Bite This.
• 54:41
  Keri Croft: And she, you have to go.
• 54:43
  Keri Croft: She has a cult.
• 54:43
  Keri Croft: So Annie has a cult following in Clintonville on North High Street.
• 54:48
  Keri Croft: She has a great social media presence.
• 54:50
  Keri Croft: She is a like someone you want to get.
• 54:52
  Keri Croft: It's like a goth bakery, right?
• 54:54
  Keri Croft: Very unique.
• 54:55
  Keri Croft: There's a there's a line out the door every single, like around the it's one of those things, right?
• 55:02
  Nick Braun: Like the soup.
• 55:03
  Keri Croft: Yes.
• 55:03
  Keri Croft: Nazis.
• 55:04
  Nick Braun: Yes.
• 55:05
  Keri Croft: And so she um the other day, we were talking and she, because she needs to, she needs to expand.
• 55:10
  Keri Croft: And where she's at right now, there's potential for it, but like some people have to move.
• 55:14
  Keri Croft: Long story short, it's expensive for her.
• 55:16
  Keri Croft: She doesn't have that kind of capital, right?
• 55:19
  Keri Croft: So we're talking about it the other day, and she's like, Well, I did a GoFundMe and like I got a lot of shit.
• 55:23
  Keri Croft: I'm like, that's the wrong rapper.
• 55:25
  Keri Croft: Yeah, totally.
• 55:26
  Keri Croft: That's the wrong rapper, right?
• 55:27
  Keri Croft: So, like Kickstarter, all these to her, $60,000, like she needs $60,000, right?
• 55:33
  Keri Croft: This this concept and what she's doing is so fabulous.
• 55:36
  Keri Croft: And I was like, do a Kickstarter.
• 55:38
  Keri Croft: I'm not, I can't guarantee you that I can get you $60,000, but I can guarantee you I can get you like on your way.
• 55:45
  Keri Croft: Like you, you told there are so many, and like it's different than like what like what you're selling and the water filter.
• 55:53
  Keri Croft: It's a different animal, but it's all the same sentiments.
• 55:55
  Keri Croft: Like these entrepreneurs who are trying to grow, trying to, you know, improve the atmosphere and and make, you know, do things they're passionate about.
• 56:03
  Keri Croft: They're everywhere.
• 56:05
  Nick Braun: I so like I guess I I kind of missed um, I love that because I I don't think that just because your business is venture investable or scalable, um, that's not the end all beal.
• 56:18
  Nick Braun: I love the boutique.
• 56:20
  Nick Braun: I love I I am probably more fascinated now about the the artisan entrepreneur who like, no, no, no, like I don't want to have a hundred stores.
• 56:29
  Nick Braun: Yep, I want to have one that's excellent.
• 56:31
  Nick Braun: And I think, I mean, there's a place in Encinitas we used to live called Lucadia Donut, and it was this couple, and they made donuts every morning, and we would go in there on the weekends with the kids.
• 56:43
  Nick Braun: They were so friendly to the kids.
• 56:45
  Nick Braun: All the people riding their bikes and going surfing, we go in there, have a cup of coffee, get a donut.
• 56:50
  Nick Braun: And when they ran out, they ran out, and the guy was like, Then I went about my day.
• 56:53
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 56:53
  Nick Braun: And I was like, it was like that's the best life ever.
• 56:56
  Nick Braun: And so, yeah, I and I think funding those people, yes, to your point, like there's a bank's like, ooh, that's sketchy.
• 57:05
  Nick Braun: But venture guys are like, Well, that's not gonna be a 10X.
• 57:08
  Nick Braun: I I think there's a huge, and I've always thought that like a pool of people that are like, You're a local entrepreneur, let's support you.
• 57:14
  Keri Croft: Yes, and that's that's especially if she has a proven concept.
• 57:17
  Keri Croft: She does, and it's in her shit, like so.
• 57:19
  Keri Croft: She was so generous and came in and did a bunch of desserts for the IRL.
• 57:23
  Keri Croft: You should have, I I thought I liked her before, but I had never actually tried anything from her shit.
• 57:28
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 57:29
  Keri Croft: I'm like, there's no wonder that you have.
• 57:32
  Keri Croft: And she does this thing.
• 57:32
  Keri Croft: Oh, it's that obvious.
• 57:33
  Keri Croft: Like you're so fucking good.
• 57:35
  Keri Croft: It's so oh, this this key lime thing she brought here was like, I mean, it was um, she is so like you you really should go visit it because it's it's truly awesome.
• 57:42
  Keri Croft: And then she brought a girl here, her name's Jamie, and um, she makes these leather alligator like purses.
• 57:51
  Keri Croft: Like we're talking like like designer quality.
• 57:54
  Keri Croft: Talk about like artesian.
• 57:56
  Keri Croft: Like she is, so I had a call with her the other day um just to try to like get underneath what she's doing.
• 58:01
  Keri Croft: And she basically won this truck in an auction that was already custom made with like the canopy, the roll out.
• 58:08
  Keri Croft: So she's having Miss Bertie, who do you know who Miss Birdie is?
• 58:11
  Keri Croft: She's a she's an artist and she's like in the Columbus area, super talented.
• 58:16
  Keri Croft: She's wrapping and doing like a mural around this whole truck.
• 58:19
  Keri Croft: So she has like this mobile, like sick.
• 58:22
  Keri Croft: It's so sick.
• 58:23
  Keri Croft: And like that was what I was asking her.
• 58:24
  Keri Croft: She's like, you know, I just love what I'm doing.
• 58:26
  Keri Croft: I love working with leather.
• 58:28
  Keri Croft: I can see myself maybe having four or five other people that have a really like that are very much into the quality of a product.
• 58:36
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 58:36
  Keri Croft: But you are, I mean, a lot of people just lean into like the quality of life and like doing something that they love.
• 58:42
  Keri Croft: There's so many, but they can still generate revenue and have a great, you know, like a great life.
• 58:48
  Nick Braun: I mean it's a lifestyle business.
• 58:49
  Nick Braun: Yeah.
• 58:49
  Nick Braun: And I I just I think I do, I honestly do think, and and I see, you know, I've been lucky to meet people that have had a lot of success.
• 58:56
  Nick Braun: And that doesn't mean trust, and I know you know this, but more money does not mean more happy for sure.
• 59:03
  Keri Croft: You know what they say, more money, more problems.
• 59:05
  Nick Braun: It's true.
• 59:06
  Nick Braun: They say it for a reason.
• 59:07
  Nick Braun: They probably get exhausted or always get hit up for money.
• 59:10
  Keri Croft: Well, you know, the more money you make, then all the all you're doing, not all you're doing, yeah, but a lot of your time is spent sheltering your money from the government, and then you're getting mad.
• 59:20
  Keri Croft: So now what we're doing is trying to figure figure out tax shelters.
• 59:23
  Keri Croft: And so then, like people who have a ton of money, that's a lot of the game.
• 59:27
  Keri Croft: And if they're good stewards, with which, you know, if you're that wealthy, you probably are.
• 59:31
  Keri Croft: You you know that.
• 59:32
  Keri Croft: I'm not telling you anything you don't know.
• 59:34
  Keri Croft: It's like now it's like, how do I hide this money?
• 59:36
  Keri Croft: How do I move the money here so that we get a tax break?
• 59:38
  Keri Croft: And how do I keep you know, I mean, good problems to have, right?
• 59:41
  Keri Croft: When but it but but it is true, like more money, more problems.
• 59:45
  Keri Croft: And like, why are people approaching me?
• 59:47
  Keri Croft: Do they really like me for me or do they want the dollar bill, y'all?
• 59:51
  Nick Braun: Yeah, I mean, I've I've never had to uh had that issue, but like I feel I do I have like a I was gonna I I mean I did bring you in here for a reason.
• 1:00:00
  Keri Croft: Yeah, I didn't just bring you in here because I like you.
• 1:00:02
  Keri Croft: Yeah, where's the wallet?
• 1:00:04
  Nick Braun: You're a liar, you know.
• 1:00:05
  Nick Braun: I I ran into you at at uh Dave and Buster's in the middle of winter.
• 1:00:10
  Keri Croft: I know, and I got you like that, didn't I?
• 1:00:12
  Nick Braun: You know, I I had heard Melissa had said you were doing this, and I was like, that's so perfect for Carrie, like her personality, and just and like I'm sure you're just like everyone you talk to, like a different, like, oh, you're an artist, you're in a band, you're you know, a nerd that's in a pet insurance business.
• 1:00:29
  Nick Braun: You know, it's like I think that's perfect for you.
• 1:00:32
  Nick Braun: And then you kind of create this like exposure for the local people, and but I do think that dollar thing, where it's like people that need 60 grand on a proven concept, how do you figure out how to get them that money?
• 1:00:49
  Keri Croft: That's what we're doing.
• 1:00:50
  Nick Braun: Because that helps every one of us.
• 1:00:51
  Nick Braun: You know what we do?
• 1:00:52
  Nick Braun: Uh, do you just like you well?
• 1:00:54
  Keri Croft: I'm gonna tell you what we're gonna do.
• 1:00:55
  Nick Braun: Uh yeah.
• 1:00:56
  Keri Croft: So I have the conversation with her.
• 1:00:57
  Keri Croft: Uh-huh.
• 1:00:58
  Keri Croft: Now I'm having it with you on a hot mic with video.
• 1:01:00
  Nick Braun: Yeah, no, that's fine.
• 1:01:02
  Keri Croft: I and so now we put it out and it's like, or I talk to Annie, it's like that you just it's it's all, you know.
• 1:01:12
  Nick Braun: I I think um it's it's tough.
• 1:01:17
  Nick Braun: It needs I'd have to think about it as far as like not for me, but like, because like one person writing a check is one thing.
• 1:01:26
  Nick Braun: I think having people buy in and go, yeah, like, and I think that by the way, I will say this as an entrepreneur on her side, if she had like 10 people each put in six grand, then she's got kind of a built-in support group, yep, but also like doesn't feel beholden to one person.
• 1:01:46
  Nick Braun: Correct.
• 1:01:47
  Nick Braun: I I really do think that's important too.
• 1:01:49
  Nick Braun: It's like not that I I would be cool, but I'm sure these other people would be cool, but like there's people that will give you 50 grand and they're not cool.
• 1:01:57
  Keri Croft: Well, let's think about this.
• 1:01:58
  Keri Croft: So the So like ta speaking of the tax shelter, like so there are people out there, as you know, who are looking for money, like to give away to certain things.
• 1:02:05
  Keri Croft: Like, and so you create this sort of community, this environment that is very much articulated.
• 1:02:11
  Keri Croft: We are for the you know, this particular entrepreneur, and then there's a way to apply, you know, there's a way to brilliant to make it a thing.
• 1:02:19
  Nick Braun: Like an actual platform for like Central Ohio.
• 1:02:21
  Keri Croft: Correct.
• 1:02:21
  Keri Croft: And so, like what I'm doing right now, I'm Oh, you're doing this shit already.
• 1:02:25
  Keri Croft: I am.
• 1:02:25
  Keri Croft: I'm but I'm but but I'm building, I'm but I'm building, I'm building community.
• 1:02:29
  Keri Croft: Right.
• 1:02:30
  Keri Croft: And I've been doing that for a long time.
• 1:02:32
  Keri Croft: And then after SOS, I was like, let's just build the community, do what feels good, experiment.
• 1:02:37
  Keri Croft: So I've been doing some business consulting, I've been doing this mental athleticism thing, which is so near and dear to my heart.
• 1:02:43
  Keri Croft: Yes.
• 1:02:44
  Keri Croft: Um, and there is there is organically now a community that is evolving.
• 1:02:50
  Keri Croft: And so that I'm allowed, I'm just letting the organic nature of what is taking place take place.
• 1:02:56
  Nick Braun: Gotcha.
• 1:02:56
  Nick Braun: That's the right way to do it.
• 1:02:57
  Keri Croft: Yeah, oh, for sure.
• 1:02:58
  Keri Croft: Like there's the only way to do it.
• 1:02:59
  Keri Croft: No, and like, oh, there's plenty of dumbass, cheesy ways to do it, trust me.
• 1:03:03
  Keri Croft: I mean, I've been invited to some of those.
• 1:03:05
  Keri Croft: I look out and I'm like, you know what?
• 1:03:07
  Keri Croft: I mean, I just made the decision because like you can really get sucked into this vortex of like, oh, the course and the funnel and the workshops, and and it's the cart's gonna close.
• 1:03:16
  Keri Croft: I mean, and again, I no shade.
• 1:03:18
  Keri Croft: Like, if it works for you and it does, and I have people who I know it works.
• 1:03:21
  Keri Croft: But I was like, no, like I have to just literally like do this the way that it's going to be like organically from in here.
• 1:03:31
  Nick Braun: Uh-huh.
• 1:03:32
  Keri Croft: And like that's it.
• 1:03:33
  Keri Croft: Like, it can't.
• 1:03:34
  Nick Braun: You know, I feel like I love that.
• 1:03:38
  Nick Braun: But you know, I I used to think like, is that a bullshit thing to say, right?
• 1:03:42
  Nick Braun: Like organic, like my business organically.
• 1:03:45
  Keri Croft: No.
• 1:03:46
  Nick Braun: But it's really like there is something to be said, like out there in the world, when you put something out in the world and you start connecting the dots, and you don't, you know, not necessarily, you're not strategically like, well, I need a person that's, you know, but all of a sudden you're like, wait, an artist could help maybe wrap her truck, and then all of a sudden it becomes like let it happen.
• 1:04:04
  Nick Braun: And so organic is really just a function of like all those moments you've had and connections kind of like connecting together.
• 1:04:13
  Nick Braun: And it's like, it's not woo-woo, it's real thing.
• 1:04:16
  Nick Braun: Like you put the effort in to connect those dots.
• 1:04:18
  Nick Braun: And then when those people start finding each other, it just built it's it'll compound.
• 1:04:23
  Nick Braun: And I it's genuine.
• 1:04:25
  Keri Croft: I would say it's the opposite of woo-woo.
• 1:04:26
  Keri Croft: It's genuine.
• 1:04:26
  Keri Croft: It's the opposite of woo-woo.
• 1:04:28
  Keri Croft: If you think of it this way, yeah, yeah.
• 1:04:30
  Keri Croft: So we talk about money, you know, is this really it's a very important currency and it's it's something we can, it's a tangible thing, right?
• 1:04:38
  Keri Croft: You can look in your bank account, you know, it's this, it's this whole thing.
• 1:04:41
  Keri Croft: But I would also argue, I mean, the equity in um real connection that you are careful with and that you think about.
• 1:04:49
  Keri Croft: Yes.
• 1:04:50
  Keri Croft: So like that, and that's just, I think for me, I'm just naturally that way.
• 1:04:53
  Keri Croft: Like we all have our own superpower or our own strengths.
• 1:04:57
  Keri Croft: And I think mine is just seeing things in other people and then being able to like, I don't know if it's being thoughtful or intentional, but I'm constantly in my mind, and not in like a, it's in a very like natural way.
• 1:05:12
  Keri Croft: If I meet someone, I jive with them, I get invested with them a little bit emotionally, or I really think it's cool, I will like have a file.
• 1:05:23
  Keri Croft: And like if something else happens in a couple of weeks or a month or a year, and I feel like there's a synergy there, like I I'm a connector.
• 1:05:31
  Keri Croft: Um, and I think the equity in that is you, I mean, it's it's insane.
• 1:05:38
  Nick Braun: Yeah, no doubt about it.
• 1:05:39
  Nick Braun: I mean, I think that's I mean, it's it's it's like you don't have a selfish goal other than curiosity.
• 1:05:45
  Keri Croft: No.
• 1:05:46
  Keri Croft: And helping them.
• 1:05:47
  Nick Braun: Genuine.
• 1:05:48
  Nick Braun: Right.
• 1:05:48
  Nick Braun: Well, that's but then people trust you.
• 1:05:50
  Keri Croft: But then if it's selfish, I mean, I want to build this community.
• 1:05:52
  Nick Braun: I want to build you gotta have some goal.
• 1:05:56
  Keri Croft: So if that's that could be the selfish part of it, but um I love that.
• 1:06:00
  Nick Braun: Like funding, like, oh, it's not like, hey, here's the newest AI rapper startup group out of it's like, hey, this this girl's had a kick-ass bakery for two years and needs two more ovens.
• 1:06:13
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 1:06:13
  Nick Braun: No, that's and it's like, I honest to God, I feel like this town is more aligned to that.
• 1:06:18
  Nick Braun: Like, oh, I get that.
• 1:06:21
  Keri Croft: Yeah.
• 1:06:21
  Nick Braun: I liked her lemon key line, pie, cupcake.
• 1:06:24
  Keri Croft: And no, it's true.
• 1:06:25
  Nick Braun: I mean, it's I love that you're doing that.
• 1:06:26
  Nick Braun: I'm happy to support it anyway.
• 1:06:27
  Keri Croft: Yeah, and it could be a it could totally be aligned with both for sure, because I do love the idea of the other thing too.
• 1:06:33
  Keri Croft: I think it could all um kind of coexist, you know.
• 1:06:39
  Nick Braun: It it will.
• 1:06:39
  Nick Braun: I mean, helping people get better at what they're doing, operating businesses, being in the world, helping them find funding or partners, um, and then yeah, promoting it and communicating it, sharing ideas.
• 1:06:53
  Keri Croft: Well, this has just been an absolute delight.
• 1:06:57
  Nick Braun: Hey, thanks for having me.
• 1:06:59
  Nick Braun: It's so good.
• 1:06:59
  Nick Braun: All the flattering BS that you well, you know, I am really.
• 1:07:04
  Keri Croft: I was like, what do I what do I say about him?
• 1:07:06
  Keri Croft: That's uh let's see here.
• 1:07:08
  Keri Croft: Bullshit.
• 1:07:09
  Keri Croft: You're still out there following your girl, follow me on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcast.
• 1:07:13
  Keri Croft: And until next time, keep moving.