The CPG Strategy that Took Go Brewing from Online to Costco

Joe breaks down his strategic approach to building a CPG brand across multiple sales channels. Learn why the order matters—from your own Shopify storefront to Amazon to retail shelves—and how to build a compelling "data story" that opens doors with retailers. Discover the pros and cons of each platform, from FBA vs FBM on Amazon to native shopping on TikTok Shop and ChatGPT, and why getting product into customers' hands is its own kind of marketing.

For entrepreneurs, marketers and sales leaders seeking to build a powerful “data story,” improve repeat purchase rates, use cross-channel insights, and understand which platforms to prioritize first.

Readiness is a myth. When most people wait, entrepreneurs just start. Is this reckless, or a competitive advantage?

Joe reflects on several pivotal moments when he wasn't ready, but still pushed forward and built the fastest growing brewery in the country. From building a product with no previous experience to developing brand perception and advertising campaigns that are about more than awareness to launching in-store with one of the most esteemed retailers in the world (hint: think about what THEIR goals are), Joe shares lessons for entrepreneurs and business leaders that will help unlock growth potential by changing your mindset to prioritize momentum. Stop waiting and start going.

THC drinks: 1 year till prohibition?

A provision in the legislation that ended the federal government shutdown will close the loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed for hemp-derived THC and CBD products to become a $30 billion industry. This could destroy businesses like Easy Man, one of the very first non-alcoholic beers that is micro-dosed with THC and CBD, and Craftsmith, a contract beverage manufacturer that serves this growing industry. But the threat of prohibition is actually an opportunity for regulation that would supercharge the industry.

Whether you're one of the tens of millions of Americans who use hemp-derived THC-CBD products, or a business operating in the space, this timely episode gives critical perspective to this sudden change from an industry insider, including:

• the health benefits of CBD
• the market differentiation between kinds of cannabis and hemp customers
• the motivations and needs of major businesses within the industry, including distributors who control how alcohol and THC/CBD beverages get to the market
• why alcohol sales are declining and the investor demands to offset those losses
• easy-to-understand benefits of government regulation
• why innovative entrepreneurs have an opportunity to drive change now

Signaling the opposite of what we were known for increased our overall sales, but why?

Would you rather be 1 of 5 businesses in your category, or 1 of 10,000? The answer surprised Joe and revealed a way to hack deep-seated customer psychology that transformed a key segment of his start-up business and expanded our total addressable market. Not only did the change drive sales and enable the business to scale, but it reduced staff anxiety, energized the customer experience, and established a partnership with a would-be competitor.

Key Questions and Take-Aways:

• Is your market differentiator too isolating? Your unique identity, may be too unique for the market you need to grow your business.
• What good is acting inclusive if you're signaling service to only a small customer base? Do more good by being relevant to more people.
• How can solving operational issues to scale your business also mature your brand's identity as the business grows? Treat customer awareness like an inventory resource.
• What happens when you see other businesses in your space like your customers do: not as competitors but as complements? (Hint: growth in new markets.)

Candid Career Advice that Every Business Student Should Hear Right Now

College debt has grown by 43% in the last decade, but another investment metric that young people in the early stages of their careers need to consider is time. How are you spending it to get the education you need to reach your goals? With the fast-paced changes coming from the AI revolution how you get skills, whether in the classroom or through on-the-job experience can make a huge difference to your future marketability as an employee who can bring value to a business. Joe shares his perspective as an entrepreneur, as a C-suite executive in a publicly-traded company and most importantly as someone who has been hiring recent MBAs.

Key Questions and Discussion:

• What has higher ROI: skills or degrees?
• Is specialization enough if AI is coming for your job?
• What does it actually mean to follow your passion?
• What's the real value of an MBA ... to your employer?
• What's the no bullshit difference between a CEO and an entrepreneur?

An Unbelievable Story of Defying Expectations That Is a Lesson for All Entrepreneurs

When a 61-year-old Australian potato farmer showed up to run a 540-mile ultra-marathon in rain boots, everyone laughed. Joe unpacks the unlikely legend of Cliff Young and what his story reveals about innovation, disruption, and the power of not knowing the “right” way to do things. From herding sheep to building startups, this conversation unlocks how not knowing the rules can become your biggest advantage in business.

5 Key Takeaways:

1. Ignorance can be an advantage. Maybe you see the norms and then break them, but what if you never see them at all?

2. Everyone does it the same way until... someone does it differently...and better. And THAT changes EVERYTHING.

3. Disruption is a context race. The biggest innovations often come from those who see how the world is changing and then get their first.

4. Results beat credentials. Cliff’s steady “shuffle” outlasted the pros. A start-up's "attribution" software beats a publicly-traded company.

5. Belief is fuel. Whether it’s a marathon or a new venture, conviction is a mighty propellent. And having a chip on your shoulder doesn't hurt.

With references to Uber, Airbnb, Go Brewing, Easy Man and Dealer Inspire.

A Story About Sales, Service, Generosity and Being Open to the Unfamiliar

Joe shares how a small gesture from a customer early in his career—a box of CDs—shifted his entire mindset about success, leadership, and service. This story traces how a simple act of generosity helped shape the principles behind Go Brewing and the belief that helping others get what they want is the real key to getting ahead.

5 Takeaways:

1. Accept the unexpected. The smallest gifts can hold the biggest lessons—if you’re open to them.

2. Succeed by helping others. Success follows from making others' lives better.

3. Connection beats persuasion. Great sales—and relationships—start with relatability.

4. Ask boldly. Sometimes all it takes is the courage to simply ask for what you want.

5. Pay it forward. When generosity shapes your actions, opportunity has a way of finding you again and again.

Shout-outs to Zig Ziglar, Ford and Alex Banayan.

Pulling a trailer, running a marathon, starting a business: how doing the thing exposes fear for what it really is.

Joe reflects on how fear shows up in both everyday challenges and defining moments—from business risks to personal tests of endurance and everyday fitness routines. He shares how discomfort and uncertainty are often part of the process of learning, not signals to stop. From anecdotes about nearly crashing a trailer while driving on the highway, to feeling like an imposter amongst marathon runners, to intimate observations as a parent watching his kids struggle, Joe shares hard-won stories and subtle realizations about how his relationship to fear guides his actions and motivates his "Go Mindset."

1. Action is the antidote to fear. You can’t think your way past it—you have to do the thing.

2. Don’t give fear a voice. The more you speak your doubts, the more they echo back.

3. Experience teaches what theory can’t. No book or video replaces what you learn by trying.

4. Curiosity beats perfection. Wondering “what if I could?” gets you moving faster than waiting until everything’s right.

5. Fear fades with familiarity. What once felt impossible becomes manageable once you’ve faced it—even if the trailer falls off twice.