My brands are an extension of me. They're close to me. It's not like running GM, where there's no emotional attachment.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
There's definitely an obstacle in developing a brand for yourself that people can rely on when you're so eclectic.
Brands are in your face 24/7; I'm sure you've consumed a couple brands today. So it's fun working with them. People recognize brands, and people are starting to recognize my brand.
We always talk about how you have to build a brand from the inside out, not the outside in. Brands are not wrappers. Brands are based on the values of the founders, and then they spread to the people who work for the company, and then that psychological contract is spread to the customer.
I think there are very few brands with a person's point of view behind them.
It is important for me that I represent a brand that reflects my personality.
Great companies that build an enduring brand have an emotional relationship with customers that has no barrier. And that emotional relationship is on the most important characteristic, which is trust.
As I said, I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about partner brands.
You can totally work with brands. People love seeing that, but you have to build stories. You have to build credibility, and those brands have to really be the perfect fit for yourself.
If you can work a brand successfully into the narrative of your product, then it's really cool. Then people actually take the brand up and say, 'My positive experience in your product is directly connected and influenced by this brand and that worked great.'
I don't think of myself as a brand. Branding to me feels like a position or identity that's frozen in time. I'm more interested in transitions.