How Liquid Death built a $1.4 BILLION brand around water (founder Mike Cessario) | Masters of Scale

Video Description

Can drinking water look cool? That was the driving question behind Liquid Death founder Mike Cessario’s big business idea. Since launching its first tallboy cans of water in 2019, Liquid Death has used humor, design and smirk-worthy marketing to grow into a beverage company valued at $1.4 billion. Mike talks with host Jeff Berman about how he built the irreverent brand to help him escape his professional boredom. Chapters: 00:00:00 Finding inspiration at Warped Tour 00:02:36 Punk & entrepreneurial roots 00:05:00 Creating disruptive advertisements for corporate clients 00:13:35 "I need to create my own product" 00:17:01 Mike Cessario's first entrepreneurial endeavor 00:30:32 Creating brands for the organic industry 00:34:43 Landing on the idea to sell water 00:38:07 Uncovering the logistics of canned water 00:44:55 Coming up with the name Liquid Death 00:47:35 Landing on the Liquid Death logo 00:50:29 Raising $150K 00:56:27 Scaling Liquid Death with humor 01:01:01 Inside Liquid Death's early distribution strategy 01:04:59 Diversifying the Liquid Death product line 01:11:13 Marketing for people who hate marketing 01:15:37 The best and worst parts of running Liquid Death 01:19:31 Advice for the reluctant entrepreneur working a dead-end job 01:21:03 Advice for the entrepreneur who can't find product market fit 01:22:55 How Masters of Scale helped Mike Cessario build Liquid Death 📫 THE MASTERS OF SCALE NEWSLETTER 35,000+ read our free weekly newsletter packed with insights from the world’s most iconic business leaders. Sign up: https://hubs.la/Q01RPQH-0 🎧 LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts: https://mastersofscale.com/ApplePodcasts Spotify: https://mastersofscale.com/Spotify 💻 LEARN MORE Our website: https://mastersofscale.com 🚀 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/showcase/11096326 Facebook: https://facebook.com/mastersofscale Instagram: https://instagram.com/mastersofscale X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/mastersofscale TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@mastersofscale 💡ABOUT US On Masters of Scale, iconic business leaders share lessons and strategies that have helped them grow the world's most fascinating companies. Founders, CEOs, and dynamic innovators (from companies like Uber, Airbnb, Apple, and Disney) join candid conversations about their triumphs and challenges with a set of luminary hosts, including founding host Reid Hoffman — LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock partner. From navigating early prototypes to expanding brands globally, Masters of Scale provides priceless insights to help anyone grow their dream enterprise. #tech #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #businesslessons #business #businessleadership #mastersofscale #technology #innovation #innovative #disruption #disruptiveinnovation #branding #brandstrategy #brandbuilding #marketingbranding #marketingstrategy #marketing #marketing2024 #advertising #advertisingindustry #liquiddeath