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Julie Letizia — full transcript

Granola recording · 2026-07-02 · 54 turns
Julie 00:00
Hi Joshua.
Joshua 00:03
Hello.
Julie 00:04
Hi. How are you?
Joshua 00:05
Good. Thanks. How you doing? Can you hear me okay?
Julie 00:08
Yeah you're all good great to meet you.
Joshua 00:09
Cool. Nice to meet you as well. Happy Thursday.
Julie 00:14
Yeah we're based in Canada so we had like a day yesterday but I know you guys have the forthcoming up.
Joshua 00:16
Oh, cool. Nice. We. We do. Yep.
Julie 00:22
Which. So much more fun Canada. Is like Canada days not like a huge deal.
Joshua 00:29
Yeah.
Julie 00:30
But.
Joshua 00:30
Where. Where in Canada are you? We're in Canada, are you?
Julie 00:33
I'm in Vancouver so I'm west coast as well.
Joshua 00:33
Okay. Okay, cool. So your West Coast as well. My. My mom, when she immigrated to America, first she went to Montreal, so I've got a lot of family there. We're a big. I come from a big Moroccan family. And this on the fourth, Morocco is playing Canada in the World Cup round of 16 match.
Julie 00:43
Cool.
Joshua 00:55
Yeah. So it's a. So it's a. It's a big one, and there's going to be a lot of people conflicted about who to root for for that one.
Julie 01:02
Very cool I am the worst with keeping up I've actually not been following the world cup super closely but I'm getting like the cliff notes.
Joshua 01:09
Good. I feel like as long as you got the cliff notes, you can keep. Yeah, you're a busy founder. You got. You got bigger fish to fry.
Julie 01:10
So.
Joshua 01:15
You know? Yeah, well, it's super, super great to connect. Have you. Have you met Mark before? Have you connected with Ark before?
Julie 01:21
Yes we've we've met a few times and we actually were originally exploring things with ground force we are too small for ground force right now but the team is so lovely so I think we got listed on the Forbes 30 under 30 list for 202.
Joshua 01:22
Okay. Oh, cool.
Julie 01:40
0 I don't know if it's 2025 or 2026 but it came out in and then connected thank you because summer reached out to us from that.
Joshua 01:42
Okay. Congratulations. Makes sense. I'm also a fellow lister, I guess you would say, from my last company, which was back in 2023. I think I was on the list then. So a couple. Cup. Couple years. Couple years ago. But it was cool. I haven't really gone done too much within that community itself. Like, I went to the kind of welcome event type of thing, which was cool, but I haven't been to one of the other, like, conferences or events or stuff like that yet. I don't know if you've been to one anything like that yet.
Julie 01:50
Hurt. Nice. Yeah. We just went to like the dinner in new york.
Joshua 02:20
Yeah. Yeah, that's what I did, too. Yeah. Yeah.
Julie 02:22
Yeah which was fun but yeah what you had a business are you still working on your business or you're a full time with.
Joshua 02:24
Yeah. No, that business shut down, unfortunately. But I. I have my own kind of Consulting practice, and I've partnered up with mark on a few of these.
Julie 02:31
Okay.
Joshua 02:38
Well, a few. Mark and I are working on a bunch of different things together, but one of them is this. I just a quick background. I want to get to yours, but my last business I built was in the health and wellness space and cold water immersion. We built an ice bath company and, like, took off and grew super quickly, was on the list and all that. That fun thing. And then. And then ran into some. Some tough manufacturing challenges that forced us to have to and ran out of capital and had to shut down. But all, you know, par for the course of the game we play. But since then, I've been doing just a range of Consulting. And before that, I was deep into the online education space coaching online coaching programs, things like that. And. And so Mark and I had connected, and he had launched his book, and entrepreneur's guide to Freedom coming up on a year ago. That's when him and I connected, and he basically brought me on to help him figure out how to really package a lot of the amazing stuff that he's able to do with Founders, which is mind-blowing watching him how he works with Founders and watching him how he's, like, truly, he, like, he could be a full-time like, therapist slash coach and have an amazing business doing that. But then he happens to be just like an insanely next level Stellar at actual business operations and with the private equity firm and all those things. And so I've worked with him to help him really build out these tools and so he can make an ultimate impact for Founders because that's, that's the next Arc of his career and really what he's want to, what he's here to do and what he's focusing on is, is working with Founders like yourself and helping them get to that point where they can be institutional backed. Like, there's a real sweet spot there where what you do in that sweet spot can totally dictate the path of success. And so he's identified that as, like, a, here's a really high leverage, you know, moment where I can help Founders make some of the most outsized shifts. So, so that's, that's just kind of my Mark's relationship within this and, and helping him lead that cohort. We did a beta cohort before. Now we're launching the first founding cohort, which I'll get into all that if I think it makes sense and would be something genuinely valuable for you. But that's a bit of the backstory, and I definitely want to hear a little bit more. I was just checking out your Instagram and your website, and Benny looks awesome, and it seems like you guys are building a really cool brand and community and love the marketing. And so definitely excited to hear more about you and your business and where you're at in this, in this grand scheme of things.
Julie 04:28
Yeah. Cool no love that all definitely my co founder and I have resonated a lot with Mark's journey obviously being a beverage founder too. But I think we met for the first time at. Bevnet like a beverage conference in December sorry oh my God I'm like I was eating smart sweets before this and they're very sticky yeah yeah we met there and then his energy overall is like so infectious like we were so captured because you talked to him and he is like locked in and we.
Joshua 05:10
Okay. Yeah. Right.
Julie 05:28
That yeah we met him there right after we launched our brand at tart oh my god at target and he was super helpful and complimentary and all the things so yeah.
Joshua 05:35
Cool. Amazing.
Julie 05:38
Yeah.
Joshua 05:39
I love it. So tell me a little bit more. And by the way, am I coming through? Okay. Or no, you're a little grainy, but is my, can you still hear me and see me fine?
Julie 05:50
You're all good.
Joshua 05:50
Okay, cool. All right. Just wanted to make sure that I'll still come through. Okay. Okay, cool. So tell me a little bit more. So, so you, your co-founder give me a little, give me, like, the kind of the high level of where you're at right now and where you're shifting gears into.
Julie 06:02
Yeah. So we launched him about three years ago now obviously launched primarily in Canada so well distributed nationwide here and then we had obviously a major opportunity with targets we launched in all target stores our buyer has been like incredibly leaned in and took a big big bet on Benny. So we launched in all target stores in November and that's been super incredible like a major point of inflection for the brand overall too. So we tried to raise money like lightly before that.
Joshua 06:15
Yeah.
Julie 06:35
But obviously I feel like it's kind of hard coming from Canada to like u. S. Investors but a lot of the feedback at the time was just like great. Well, we want to see how target goes and then even like post now launching a few months at target. It's been a lot of like, okay, we want more data. We're like, okay, well, we. We need to fundraise and able to, like, make this go well. So it's so much for the egg, which I don't know if that's like high level what you're looking here. But overall, yeah. So we just finished our actually our third fiscal year. Just wrapped it up. We finished at 3.5 million, which jumped from 300,000 last year, which has been really exciting to see. And then, yeah, we're launching in costco later this year. Walmart.
Joshua 07:05
Amazing.
Julie 07:15
A bunch of great things, but happy to tell you a bit more about, like, the brand and the business, too, if that's what.
Joshua 07:20
Yeah. No fantastic. That's a great, great background. And I know I remember from raising capital as well, it's like always, they're like, oh, we just want to wait to see this happen. And then that happens. You do great. And it's like, oh, we just want to wait. This is like, you can't.
Julie 07:21
You're. Always moving. And, like, I. Yeah, I know, like, we've obviously built a lot of great relationships and all the things, but I think it's gotten to a point where we're like, what are we doing? Like, are we doing something wrong?
Joshua 07:42
Yeah. Right. Yeah.
Julie 07:44
Because the. Yeah, the business has great numbers, great velocity. Really good traction. But I worry that if we don't, like, raise money or figure that out soon, I'm like, we're just kind of, like, ruin this opportunity, which we cannot do.
Joshua 07:58
Right, right. I hear you. Have you raised money to date?
Julie 08:02
A tiny bit. So we've got some great advisors, like the founder smart suites, actually, is one of our advisors. So, like, she's put in not a ton, but, like, some money and some of our other advisors. But we've only raised about 250, 000.
Joshua 08:02
Okay. Oh, nice. Okay. But it's amazing you've been able to do what you've done on just a quarter of a million.
Julie 08:16
Yeah. Thank.
Joshua 08:20
Yeah.
Julie 08:21
You. We finished this year profitable, which is exciting, but also, like, I kind of feel like in beverage you don't want to be profitable so early on because, like, we obviously in energy, too. It's super competitive, so we know that, like, we need to spend more money enabled, like, in order to. To build that awareness and everything.
Joshua 08:23
Wow. Very cutting. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Makes sense. And I remember from reading the application that you, that you sent in for, for this and for our call here that you were focusing on, like, transitioning from this founder does everything mode into, like, building a team that can really scale while navigating fundraising. Can you just tell me a little bit more about, about, about that? Gotcha. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. Definitely. And that makes so much sense. And especially when you have a co-founder dynamic as well, because it's, it's the collective vision between both of you, right, of, of where you're going. But, but this, this time right here, I like the Nalge used of, like, pulling the slingshot back a little bit because, and it's almost kind of like you have this opportunity right now to do that because, like, this foundational work will set the stage for what that next level of growth looks like, including the fundraising and everything like that. And so it really does feel like an opportune time to get, to get a line, to get clarity on that and to get someone in your corner who's been there and done that and navigated that to be able to support with some of those strategic conversations and, and, and really pull out a you, because there's, it's like you can go any way you want, but it's like, what ultimately, where do you want to go? What does that look like? What does that vision of the business look like when you're at $10 million, $20 million? The end, like, result. And, and those are what I found and seeing Mark over with people as well. It's like those are some of the really important questions to be asking and to be pulled out of, because that sets your whole trajectory. So you're building where you actually want to work go towards. Yep. Yep. Makes total sense. Cool. Well, I feel like I'm pretty clear on where you're at right now. And I know Mark could absolutely help you with this 100, and it could be something that would be pretty epic and the timing alignment seems like it could be pretty, pretty, pretty darn perfect for, for where you're at. So I'd love to overview a little bit about what he's launching next month. In this, this backable CEO cohort. And I'm going to go over what that, what that looks like. Awesome. So he's put together kind of, it's like, it's not necessarily a core. It's not a mastermind. It's like, I think the best way to put it is it's like a learning lab, really, together with Mark. And so there's a few different things that happen within this. It's a, it's a 12 week Sprint, essentially. It's a 12 week implementation splint or Sprint. So Mark is really bring everything that he's learned in working with Founders and doing the founder journey and then being on the other side of the table of what are those things, what are the shifts that we need to make. To help a founder make so that, that they can be back, backable by institutional Capital. And, like, because he, this is his world right now. He does it, right? He looks at it every day within ground force capital. And so he's got, like, a unique perspective within that. And so he's built out this series of, of, of, like, implementation tools. And so it's not just like, oh, yeah, watch a video. Press play and watch a video and, like, learn about this concept. It's like, that's so outdated. It's like, it's like there's these real AI powered tools that he's built for, like, so you and your co-founder can have this, like, personalized toolkit of different assessments of Frameworks and operating dashboards that, that allow you to adapt and grow. So everything is very focused on implementation and very focused on ROI as well because Mark knows this very much as a businessman, like, has everything has to be ROI driven. So the way it looks is that it's 12 weeks and every single week, it's a, it's a small group cohort, and we're, like, very strategically picking and choosing who we're bringing into this cohort, and, and it'll be a small intimate group. And every week there's going to be a time where the group gets together, and Mark will overview and teach a one, one concept, one tool and one action. So it's like this week, there's one concept. There's one tool that you have, and then your one action to go do that thing. And over the course of 12 weeks, that creates this cohesive toolkit and these shifts that you're making. So, like, that's kind of the bread and butter of it. In addition to that is also direct access to mark. So on top of the weekly sessions, you'll get one-on-one time with mark throughout that whole period, throughout that whole period as well. So, like, because of how we're shaping this and who we're bringing in, he's going to be able to go deep with each person to make sure that they are getting the actual strategic, you know, personalized results that they need. And, and that, that line of communication is open both through email and through also actual phone calls one-on-one coaching sessions with Mark. And so that's, that's available as needed. So Mark is really here. And this is the first kind of founding we've did it. We did a cohort earlier, and this is going to first, like, founding cohort of this and just between you and I, he's like, he's super motivated to make it a far and away win and make sure everyone has an ROI. There's also a, because it is an investment, of course. And a lot of founders were working with and want to be able to help are also, you know, probably needing to raise or more cash strapped. And so he carries a full 100 money back guarantee with all of this, meaning that you either get to keep working with Mark until you, if at the end of the 12 weeks you've done everything and you're just like, I just don't feel like I've received value from this in a real measurable, concrete way, which we set up ways to actually measure that. If you feel like I did not get the ROI, then you, we either get full money back or Mark will keep working with you until you do. So, which is up to you. So it's, he wants to de-risk this obviously at this point in his career. He's, he's doing this because he genuinely wants to help the founders make these moves happen. So that's the, I know just kind of threw a lot your way, but that's what it, that's what it is. And it's really helped design to help you get that clarity, the strategic vision, the op, the, the Cadence of what a, what, what does building the right team look like? What is the right check ins look like all of those things down to the nitty-gritty and also up higher to the strategic. So I'll pause there because then I just threw out your way. We're just starting to take an application, and right now to choose, we're probably going to end up capping it somewhere around 10 people, 10 different brands and individuals so we can keep it intimate. That's, that's kind of our Target. Might be a few less, might be a few more, but that's how we're targeting that. I would say I would say that we. Yeah, it's a good question. I, for, for you, I was planning on actually offering because it seems like it would be valuable for both of you if you have the, if you to have at least the option to go through it. So, like, I think it would be valuable for both of you to go through it. So I was thinking, and we're going to offer you, like, you both can go through your own kind of. Track within that, because part of it, too, is you may have different, like, I'm sure you've done some of the strategic work as well, but, like, you know, some of these values exercise you go through as well. Like your core values might be different from your co-founders and, like, that's also really good to know and important to, like, surface and bring up for how you're able to learn how to work with each other. Like, one of the coolest tools that we put everyone through that we do is this, it's like this AI powered personality assessment, essentially. So, like, index is like all of the major personality assessments together and, like, brings it so you have, like, your, like, here's how I work best. And with other people, here's how I make decisions. Like, it indexes everything. It's really cool. And that alone is a very helpful tool to be able to share with your co-founder with your key reports and to be able to, like, show and compare, like, here's the guide to, like, working with Julie. Like, you know what I mean? Like, generate stuff like that. So I actually think it would be valuable to have and more impactful for you both to have your own track through there. Definitely. So it's, it's an all-in investment for that three months, which is everything we talked about, the, the group sessions, the tools which you keep forever the operating dashboard. Roi guarantee on that. The time with Mark as well, which, which obviously comes at a premium. The full thing for the three month container is 12k. And that's everything, like I said, within that break broken down into three monthly payments of 4k. That is a price, though, that we can offer inclusive for both of you together. So essentially it would be like, especially for this founding cohort and because I know you've already talked with Mark and I get a sense of your vibe, and I'm just like, I think you, it would be really awesome to have you guys in here where it's like you buy a seat, you get the other seat free kind of thing. Typically would be like four co-founder if you want to have someone else on your team go through it. It would be another like plus 50, essentially. So it would be 18k for the two people to go through it. But I would be happy to just offer an I know Mark would be totally stoked about that, too, of just like both of you can go through. So it would be 12k for the two of you together. Yeah. There's, there's absolutely the opportunity for that. There is, we haven't quite defined what that looks like yet. And part of the, part of the reason is it might look different for other people. And so, like, there's for sure the opportunity of, like, you know, based on how you like working with the market, like, let's say it's like, okay, we want to, you guys want to keep a once a month call with mark on the books? Like, great. We can get something like that set up, or especially now that Mark has up to speed on all your, all your, your business and whatnot. We don't, I don't have a, a gauge on what that investment might look like, but there's opportunity for continued on. And then obviously, like, you're in Mark's Circle, like, and so, like, of course you can send him an email or get, you know, check in on things here and there. Like, there's, you're going to be in Mark circle and in his, in his orbit. Post that for sure. Yes. Correct. The one-on-ones he's going to be doing monthly for sure just to make sure we have the monthly set up. But he's going to be like, that's the Baseline. So the way we kind of say it is like, as you're going to have Mark support as needed. So, like, if you need to hop on the call with Mark, hop on the call with Mark, like, if we need to schedule, he also does, like, a lot of async back and forth, like WhatsApp is typically a channel we'll use for this. And so, like, you'll have Mark in a WhatsApp channel. So, like, you'll have back in, you know, so you have direct access to market and WhatsApp, which is, which is a big value for this, of course, as well on top of all the other things just to be able to have that is huge as it relates to this work here. And so, yeah, but Mark is going to be willing to hop on a call and to support. That's just the way he works and delivers. It's just like, cool, let's, you know, this thing from this session, like, I want to keep working with Julie on this. Like, let's, let me set up another call. So that's, that, that's the expectation I would have. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. They are largely based around kind of these seven, seven shifts that he talks about in his book and entrepreneurs guide to Freedom and does a lot in the, in the, in his work with people. And so I can kind of send you just like a little blurb on some of these seven shifts. A lot of it is, it's all around self leadership and leadership of others, essentially. It's like, how do you shift your perspective around how you operate and then how do you lead other people within that? And so, like, each week we'll be kind of one focal point on a specific shift, and then there's a bunch of different tools that go with it of, like, you know, fill out this energy audit, for example. Right? Like, to be able to get the gauge of where you're spending time. And now, like, you're going to go cancel one of your, you know, weekly standing calls, and we're going to work through whatever the limiting beliefs come up around that. So it is a very deeply, like, introspective personal development driven course that's tied towards actual business impact, because that's what matters and what he's found is like, you can do all the, you can have the prettiest p l. You can have the greatest cash flow statement. You can have the greatest deck ever. But, like, if your internal resistance around or how you're showing up on a call with an investor is slightly off or you're unclear where you're going, it's like that stuff energetically, subconsciously gets picked up on. So that's what Mark is really, and, and part of what you probably picked up on when you're talking to him. And he's, like, so present. Like, it's like, it's like zen and the art of the startup business is like his marks Vibe. Totally agree. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can, I can send, like, I can send, like, a little recap email link type of thing. That way you can share with your co-founder as well. And I would say, like, totally stoked to have another conversation, too, with your co-founder or set you guys up with Mark as well, you know, if it's something that you both align internally and you're like, and, and obviously she has to want, I get a sense you really want to do this. She has to obviously want to do this in order for it to make sense for her. And if she doesn't, she's just like, cool. Like, Julie, you go through it, then that's great, too. And we can totally do that. But if it's valuable, I'll send over a little something and then totally happy to hop on another call with the two of you and also and or also just set you up for a call with Mark so you can ask some more questions or just get a sense of the vibe of that work together. It's, it's going to start in early August. So we're going to kick things off in early August. So, so, yeah, we've got time. There's no immediate decision and we're not, we're not close to filling it right now where I'm like, we should secure your spot. So, like, there's no, there's no pressure, there's no rush right now. So you're getting in early in the pipeline, which is great. So, yeah, we're going to be starting tbd. It might be August 4th, but TBD, we're going to start at some point in, in August, and then it'll go for, you know, August, September, October. Yeah. Cool. How does that, how does this all, how does this all sounding for you? What, what are your thoughts? Yes. No. Gotcha. Yeah. Cool. Nice. Yeah, you're on that same wavelength. Yeah. Which is great. Cool. Nice. That's great. Yeah, we're, we're working to get his social media presence up and out there. Yeah, totally. That's great. Love that feedback. That's cool. Awesome. All right, well, Julie, you can expect to have an email back for me at some point here, probably tomorrow. I've got the rest of calls this afternoon, so if not later tonight, then tomorrow I'll get back to you an email you can circulate around. And, and, yeah, open loop and however I can support and great to connect with you regardless of any of this. Super awesome. I'm going to make sure I follow you on, you guys on IG as well. And super, super cool what you're doing. Absolutely. Cool. All right, have a great day. Take care. See ya. Bye.