Today's callers: Bob in Chicago looks to promote his cabbage-based muscle and joint rub beyond the walls of his orthopedic practice. Then Abby in Dallas wonders whether her popular social media livestreams are a sustainable way to market her trendy phone cases. And Henry in Charlotte wants to turn his mouth rinse for coffee drinkers into a mainstream oral care brand.

Plus, Bobbi shares what drove her to found her new company—Jones Road—at the age of 62.

Thank you to the founders of Cabbage Labs, AbbyRose, and Tannin Oral Care for being a part of our show.

If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode—where Guy and former show guests take questions from early-stage founders—leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.

And be sure to listen to Bobbi Brown Cosmetics’ founding story as told by Bobbi on the show in 2018.

This episode was produced by Sam Paulson with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Andrea Bruce. Our audio engineer was Cena Loffredo.

You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy’s free newsletter at guyraz.com or on Substack.

What do you do when the family business you've spent decades building... gets bought out from under you?

That’s what happened to Nima and Salma Fotovat.

Devastated, the family rebuilt a new company from the ground up. This time they set out with a new idea: build an allergen-free, organic snack brand not just for kids, but their parents.

Their new brand: MadeGood.

Today, the Canadian brand’s parent company does hundreds of millions of dollars in sales. But getting there meant rebuilding from scratch, fixing 200,000 mislabeled snack bars by hand, and turning a family of co-packers into branding experts.

What you'll learn:

• How owning manufacturing can be a competitive edge
• How they grew a national brand with almost no marketing.
• Why it can be a winning strategy to say "yes" before you know how
• Introducing new products: the tension between research and emotion
• The mindset that can help you rebuild after a devastating setback

Timestamps:

3:40 - Growing up in Iran during wartime, and emigrating to Canada

09:30 - Their dad’s new business: “Why are North Americans not eating nougat?”

17:00 - Building the family’s first snack bar brand—and losing it overnight

29:40 - The next business: going all in on healthier school snacks

37:50 - Fixing a 200,000-bar production error with alcohol wipes

42:20 - Landing MadeGood’s first retail store

45:00 - The 100-mile radius marketing strategy

51:00 - The lure of new products: from human treats to dog treats

Today’s callers: Tony in Michigan is considering bringing on partners to run different parts of his brew pub and theater business. Then Monica in London is exploring the best way to reach style-conscious parents with her line of children’s clothes. And Sandy in Colorado is seeking the ideal pricing strategy to bring his adaptive test prep platform to schools nationwide.

Thank you to the founders of Hearsay Brewing and Theater, Tres London and Brain Buffs for being a part of our show.

If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode—where Guy and former show guests take questions from early-stage founders—leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.

And be sure to listen to our Advice Line episodes with Jeffrey Hollender of Seventh Generation, Sarah LaFleur of M.M LaFleur and Shazi Visram of Happy Family Organics.

This episode was produced by Kerry Thompson with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Jimmy Keeley.

You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy’s free newsletter at guyraz.com or on Substack.

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