Jake Karls is the co-founder of Mid-Day Squares, a functional and better-for-you chocolate snacks CPG company.

As you’ll learn, this “Resident Rainmaker” is full of inspiring energy and wisdom for anyone in the CPG or eCommerce industry.

Blake and Jake discuss customer retention strategies, the importance of authenticity, and the challenges of shipping perishable goods.

Jake emphasizes the importance of storytelling and building emotional connections with customers to drive organic growth and word-of-mouth marketing.

He also shares his motto of "get comfortable being uncomfortable" and advises current and aspiring CPG and DTC founders to invest in innovation and be true to themselves.

The TYCA Podcast is brought to you by Wonderment — the #1 platform loved by eCommerce support, operations, and marketing teams alike to deliver the most holistic post-purchase experience imaginable.

Wonderment is the retention iOS used by over 1000 customer-first shopify brands like Jones Road Beauty, Igloo, The Ridge, Simplehuman, and more. Check out www.wonderment.com today.

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Watch the video format of today's episode here.

Timestamps and Summary

(0:00) - Intro

(1:20) Who is Mid-Day Squares & Jake Karls

(2:39) Blake tries Mid-Day Squares Live

(4:24) Jake's best purchase under $100, his favorite hype song, and more

(5:31) Jake’s #1 message he wants to share with the world

(7:31) Building a Personal Brand and Community - How Mid-Day Squares Approaches It

(9:49) Mid-Day Squares approach to Creating a Reality Show on Entrepreneurship

(12:06) Wonderment, the #1 CX platform for Shopify

(13:58) The Growth Impact of Building a Personal Brand and Community on a CPG or eCommerce Brand

(14:44) How Jake Has Raised Money, Gotten Media Coverage, Attracted Retailers and More Through Building a Brand Story

(16:24) Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable And Why It’s Good For You

(19:38) Growing customer retention at Mid-Day Squares

(22:05) How Authenticity and Boldness Trump Anything Else

(24:58) How Mid-Day Squares Overcomes Shipping Challenges and Transparency with Perishable Goods

(28:11) Advice on Supply Chain and Retail… How to build relationships and save

(28:42) The Evolution of Customer Retention at Mid-Day Squares

(30:22) How to Talk to Customers to Make Business Decisions

(32:13) Jake’s Very Expensive Failures And What He Learned

(36:09) The Most Common Bad Advice Given in the CPG Space

(36:53) How Mid-Day Squares is Investing in Innovation [00:36:53]**

(38:47) Advice for Struggling Entrepreneurs - Being true to yourself

(41:12) Ending

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