7. Justin Mares | Kettle & Fire (bone broth)

Justin Mares is the Co-Founder and CEO of Kettle & Fire.
After getting his start launching Roommate Fit, an eharmony type service that matched college roommates based on personality to prevent the classic “crazy random roommate” problem, Justin spent a few years in growth and marketing roles before launching Kettle & Fire in 2015. Along the way he wrote a book called Traction, launched a couple of online courses on growth hacking, acquired a couple of Shopify app based businesses and co-founded a second company, Perfect Keto, in 2017.
At Kettle & Fire, Justin and his team are building and scaling the fastest growing bone broth brand in the US. Today, they have over 30 employees and sell a range of products across bone broths and soups. At Perfect Keto, he and his team have built a collection of food and supplements to serve as a launch pad for people going keto. The mission across both companies is simple, to produce and sell products that make people healthier.
This was an inspiring interview that got me excited about changing the narrative around healthy consumption and food trends in the US.
Tune in to hear Justin's story!
Use code "TheFounder" at checkout to get 15% off! 
EPISODE TOPICS: 

• (2:31) What do Kettle & Fire and Perfect Keto look like today (mission, vision, products, size)? 
• (4:09) What is your background and what were you working on before starting Kettle & Fire? 
• (11:34) Where did the spark for the idea for Kettle & Fire come from? 
• (19:37) How did you make the first prototype for Kettle & Fire? 
• (22:19) What is bone broth and how do you make it?
• (25:07) What marketing tactics have worked for you?
• (29:29) How do you think about competition?
• (32:49) What is your approach to fundraising for both businesses?
• (38:08) What characteristics do you look for when hiring?
• (43:58) What do you think Kettle & Fire looks like in 5-10 years?
• (45:19) What's the best piece of advice you got from a mentor?
• (47:14) What has been your most frustrating moment as a founder?
• (50:03) What emerging trends excite you?
• (57:27) What resources would recommend to others? 
• (1:00:22) Justin's startup manifesto 
• (1:04:03) Justin's founder nomination 

Kettle & Fire - www.kettleandfire.com [Use code "TheFounder" at checkout to get 15% off]
Perfect Keto - www.perfectketo.com

• Follow Kettle & Fire (@kettleandfire) on Instagram // Twitter 
• Follow Perfect Keto (@perfectketo) on Instagram // Twitter 
• Follow Justin on Twitter // Website // LinkedIn 
• Justin's learning and resource recommendations 

The Founder - www.thefounderpod.com 

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