What We Learned From Jake Karls & Mackenzie Connolly

Jake Karls is the co-founder of Mid-Day Squares, a healthy & delicious chocolate company. Karls (and Mid-Day Squares ...MDS for short) have risen to CPG / entrepreneurial fame for their approach: being unapologetically themselves. Behind Karl's eccentric outfits and quirky dance moves lies a marketing & sales genius who defies stereotypes. He gave up being CMO because he realized it wasn't for him and disliked managing people. He proudly refers to himself as a "Chief Rainmaker" and has been mission critical in helping MDS sell 25 million chocolate bars.

Mackenzie Connolly is on the Talent Ventures team at Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company. Connolly connects talent & brands in "non-traditional" partnerships. Endeavor's Talent Ventures team is responsible for the Bella Hadid x Kin Europhics, Gal Gadot x Goodles, Maude x Dakota Johnson, and more.

We were lucky enough to get Karls & Connolly on Driving Performance and we learned a ton. Here are three nuggets of wisdom!

Authenticity is Key. For Jake Karls, being constantly present and performing can be challenging, but it's a part of our identities as energetic people. Personal issues may affect their public image, but authenticity is key. They've learned to embrace having cameras in their homes and staying true to themselves.

Alignment Matters. When Connolly is exploring a celebrity x brand partnership there are three key forms of alignment that have to be there:

No.1 Mission Alignment - Are the brand founder and celebrity aligned on the mission and vision of the brand?

No.2 Personality Alignment - Do these people enjoy working together as true partners?

No.3 Economic Alignment - Are economic incentives aligned? Is there skin in the game for both the brand founder and celebrity for the long-term?

And most importantly, plopping a celebrity into a brand won't guarantee success for the brand. The brand should be able to stand on its own two feet without the celebrity being there!

Step Back to Take a Step Forward Karls learned that management wasn't his strong suit, so he stepped back and focused on his strengths instead. He became a "delivery boy" and built relationships with retailers, hand-delivering products and visiting retailers It made all the difference. Sometimes, stepping back leads to greater growth.

Click Below to listen to the full episode https://drivingperformance.transistor.fm/episodes/episode-7-mid-day-squares-x-endeavor