March 9, 2026 • 17 mins
Kerry Brown, CEO & Co-Founder, Eat G.A.N.G.S.T.E.R.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
iHeartMedia presents CEOs You Should Know. CEOs You Should Know
Charleston is brought to you by SC two fifty Charleston
Www dot SC two fifty Charleston dot org.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
It's Michael Blaze. Welcome to another edition of CEOs You
Should Know Today. Joining us is Carrie Brown. She's co
founder of Eat Gangster. Welcome Carrie, thank you for having me. Now,
Gangster is an acronym, right.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
You got it?
Speaker 4 (00:25):
Yeh, So Gangster basically shares what our baking mixes are
all about. They're free of the top fourteen allergens, so,
grain free, artificial, additive free, night shade free, gluten free.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Et cetera.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
So you have you want people to eat healthy. Also,
people with restrictive diets can benefit from using your product,
and it's a way that they can enjoy sweets, desserts, cookies, cakes,
things like that.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Right you got it.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
You know, when you are suddenly diagnosed or you're placed
on a restrictive diet for whatever reason, whether it's an
allergy or a cancer protocol or what have you, it
can feel so restrictive. And so we wed Eat Gangster
baking mixes. So that just to kind of help open
up people's world again and help them feel we'll call
it in quotes normal again and be able to enjoy
(01:09):
those foods that they once loved.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Now, what motivated you to create eat Gangster.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Well, the genesis of eat Gangster actually comes from a
pretty dark place. Both I and my co founder went
through some challenging health problems that led us down the
path of food as medicine and avoiding certain foods. But
the worst part about it was you take those foods
out and it just becomes incredibly restrictive and isolating, both socially,
(01:36):
mentally and what have you. So we came to learn
that when we began to eat a certain way, we
felt great, but then we wanted to open up the
world for other people to be able to just feel
great about what they're doing, but and not feel isolated
at the same time.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Now, how long ago did you start the company?
Speaker 4 (01:56):
So we actually launched eat Gangster in twenty twenty, right
as covid was hitting, and in fact, it probably served
us a bit well because people were at home baking.
So we started then and just have been working to
grow since.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
What did you find the hardest about the process. I
find this interesting because when I talked to entrepreneurs and
business owners, you know, everybody has a different path. What
did you find to be the most difficult thing to overcome?
Speaker 4 (02:23):
So my co founder and I both have great experience
in different things, but never in consumer packaged goods. So
just figuring out all the little details for one recipe development,
but then getting these products launched, figuring out whether it
was retail or Amazon or there are so many different
(02:45):
options for growing a brand and so figuring out what
could work best for us has been has been a challenge,
but certainly what every company goes through.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
I mean there's so many things, you know, some people
don't even consider, from you know, the legal side of
it and creating your trademark and your logo and your packaging.
And it's just overwhelming, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
It can be, But you know, we really operate on that,
just one step at a time and figure it out.
I think, you know, as I think through it. One
of the hardest things is figuring out recipes that work
that are also they work properly, but they're also delicious
for even what we call normal people. So we always
(03:29):
test our products on our husbands, who can seem to
eat whatever they want, and also our children, who are
incredibly honest people. So that's tough when you're trying to bake,
say a muffin or a cake and you're not using flour, eggs, milk,
et cetera.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
That's tricky, absolutely, and you're right. The kids will always
tell you right. They don't hold back.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
You are correct.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Now, where do you manufacture your product?
Speaker 4 (03:57):
We actually manufacture our products in Washington State at a
gluten free certified manufacturer. One of the biggest challenges with
our business is because we are top fourteen free, we
cannot make our products onlines that process dairy, nuts and
other allergens. So we were able to find a specific
(04:18):
allergy friendly line that can make baking mixes. So that
was pretty tricky too.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Yeah, it's cool that you were able to find that
because we see it in the news all the time.
You know, all of these recalls and everything, because these
factories are producing you know, different types of foods and
sometimes you know, peanuts mighte whatever it may be, ends
up in the mix by accident. So it's great that
you could find somebody that could partition you know that off.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Yes, it's actually been amazing. I mean they We've visited
their facility a number of times our co packer, and
they have a completely complete, separate, designated building. They have
different clothes, they have washers, dryer, You cannot walk into
the facility without changing clothes, wearing a specific cap, a
(05:05):
specific robe, and all this stuff. They are really hardcore about.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
It's great.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
That's fantastic. Now, explain to me your business model for sales.
Mostly it's online, but you also sell to bulk food
service companies, right, you got it.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
So to this point, we dabbled in retail a bit,
but we found retail is difficult and very expensive for
a tiny brand like Hours that's not well known, so
we've really focused on DTC, that is direct to consumer sales.
We sell on our website and on Amazon, and then recently,
about a little over a year ago, we parlayed into
(05:41):
food service, offering our products in bulk to universities, healthcare organizations,
restaurants who all need to have products like ours to
offer to specific consumers. So that's been really exciting. We're
now available through Cisco, US Foods, Gordon Foods, Cheney Brothers,
so that's been a really exciting kind of pivot for
(06:02):
our business.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Now that's great. Now let's find out a little bit
more about you personally. Now, you have an interesting past
with now you operated a luxury hotel for dogs in
New York, Is that right?
Speaker 4 (06:15):
That's always someone Yeah, that's always the funniest question, right man.
Do I have stories on that one, But yes, my
husband and I owned a dog hotel right in Manhattan
in Chelsea for about eight years. It was ten thousand
square feet. We had converted the space into a dog hotel.
We had over fifty suites. Dogs wouldn't dare stay in
(06:36):
a kennel in our place. Rather, they would have their
own little suite with a bed and a flat screen.
In fact, our uber suite, which was over two hundred
dollars a night, had a forty two inch flat screen TV,
full sized bed, and private chef services. So you might
even want to stay there.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
It sounds really nice. Yeah, it sounds like nicer than
some of the hotels I've stated in the past.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
You're right now.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
You also worked for Lululemon Athletico.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
I did, and it was such a joy to work
with that company. I started with them in two thousand
and two, and that was with our first door in
the United States. It was in Santa Monica I started.
I take a lot of pride in this, and this
is a lot of advice that I give to growing
entrepreneurs is if you find a brand or a company
(07:25):
that you want to work with, don't be afraid to
go in at a lower level. I had my graduate
degree from Northwestern, my master's in marketing. I was working
for a brand consulting firm. I left that to join
Lulu Lemon for eight dollars an hour, and my job
was to fold pants and clean bathrooms. But why I
did that is I had played basketball for at Davidson
(07:48):
College as a Division one athlete, and when I tried
on Lululemon clothing, I had never tried on anything like it,
and I knew it was something special. So I dropped
everything and went to work there and just worked for
the next eight years, grew with the company and ultimately
oversaw our US marketing, and it was an incredible ride.
(08:10):
In the end, I left because it had grown to
a point where they didn't need a person like me
who's as much who's as entrepreneurial. They needed people who
were very specifically trained in specific tasks, and so they
were kind of at that point, and so I got
to the point where I just opted to leave and
go try something new well.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
And I think that's great advice because you know, you
see so many people that want to start at the top,
and how could you possibly know the not only the
ins and outs of the business, but also you know,
the places where the business is exposed, where it can
be improved, where they're doing well. How could you have
a handle on that without knowing the whole process and
(08:54):
without being familiar with you know, every step of the
way in the business.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
Sure, and you know what, some people maybe that's small
and can do it, But for me, it helps to
really work with my hands understand all the elements. So
I often thought back on those times at Lululemon when
I was cleaning the bathrooms and I was truly doing
it with joy because I was so excited about the company.
And that's just the way that I learn is with
(09:19):
my hands on the ground, and then you learn every aspect.
You learn exactly how to fold a pant, how to
educate a customer on products. And you know, I was
able to carry that through with our Dog Hotel and
now with Eat Gangster on knowing every facet of the business,
so that then you can best serve your customers, you
can best grow within a company, or what have you.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yeah, and it sounds like we may have touched on
this already, and you know we're going down that path anyway.
What's the philosophy that drives you each day?
Speaker 4 (09:50):
So about probably two or three times a week we
get an email from let's call it a grandmother or
a dad who says, thank you so much for creating
these products because my grandson now is able to enjoy
cake for the first time. And really, truly that philosophy
(10:12):
goes across Lululem and the Dog Hotel, any gangster. I
want to be a part of something that's making a
difference for people, that's making a difference in the world
and making people's lives better. And I think that's I've
been fortunate to be able to kind of follow my gut,
follow my heart in each of these ventures and work
(10:32):
to figure out how can I make the world a
better place.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
That's great? So who was the This is kind of
a loaded question, I'll warn you, because everybody, of course,
parents have a huge influence on you. You know, there's
been I'm sure teachers throughout your life. But who do
you think was the biggest influence on your leadership.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
Surely my parents have had a huge impact. But more
than anything, I have an identical twin sister, and she
is my very best friend and my rock and I
for her hopefully, and I think you know, we support
each other, but we also compete with each other, and
we're always working together. We talk almost every day just
(11:13):
working together, trying to figure out how can I help her,
how can she help me, and just kind of growing
together and getting better and better. So she's one of
the greatest gifts in my life and has certainly has
so much influence on my leadership.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Now, sometimes you hear this about twins, do you find
that you have like a sixth sense where you're both
thinking the same thing at the same time or almost
reading each other's minds?
Speaker 4 (11:37):
For sure, probably like three or four times a week
when we FaceTime, we get on there and start to
giggle because we're wearing the exact same outfit. So yes,
we seem to kind of be aligned with our thoughts
for sure.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Now, what do you do when you're not working?
Speaker 4 (11:53):
Oh, well, so I have a seven year old daughter
and we live downtown Charleston and also out at Fowley
Beach where we have an airbnb. And I have a
wonderful husband, so we spent a lot of time together
and work out lots, and certainly do a lot of
baking too.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
With the gangster on the plate.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Did you grow up here in the little country?
Speaker 4 (12:16):
In fact, I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, then lived
in Chicago, LA, and then New York City for about
seventeen years. When COVID hit, My daughter was two and
our neighborhood on the Upper West Side had changed so
much during that time that we decided we needed to move,
and so we landed in Charleston, and I just can't
(12:38):
believe what a soft landing it's been. We're so grateful
to be here, and we've really loved it. There's an
incredible support around businesses here. The people are wonderful. Obviously,
there's a lot of balance between beaches and amazing restaurants
and such.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
So we've loved it.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
That's fantastic. Now you said the support of the businesses.
Were you a part of Bemock?
Speaker 4 (13:00):
We were, Yes, that was this past fall and that
was just incredible.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Now, well, we should explain to the listeners that don't
know what beemoc is. It's not exactly the same as
Shark Tank, but it's kind of that model, right.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
You got it.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
So Bemock is an investment group run by Ben Navarro,
who's a wonderful businessman here and who's working to make
Charleston a more business friendly place. And one thing that
he wanted to do was to help Charleston area businesses
grow and so with that they created a really exciting
(13:37):
opportunity for businesses called Catalyst by Bemock. And yes, it
was like Shark Tank, but in front of four hundred people.
It was an incredible event, like they just did it beautifully.
And my twin sister actually came along with me and
we pitched Eat Gangster to this panel of five very
(14:00):
smart people on on in the group, and we pitched
to them as well as the other four hundred people
in there, and we won investment with them. So at
present we are going through due diligence to figure out
you know, all the all the the details of it,
but an incredible opportunity. I know they're doing it again
next year, so for entrepreneurs out there in Charleston look
(14:22):
it up because it's very it's it's a really exciting
opportunity and just a great way to create visibility for
your brand.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
That's fantastic, and congratulations.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Thank you so much. We're excited to see what it brings.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Yeah, and we don't want to scare anybody off. It's
not when I said it's, you know, different than Shark Tank,
it's it's not as they don't get as mean or critical, right.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
They were not mean.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
In fact, they were I was ready for some tough questions.
What was cool, though, is they prior to the event,
about a month and a half prior, they set each
of us entrepreneurs up with three different mentors from all
different walks of I had someone from who teaches business
at college with Charleston. I had someone from the Charleston
(15:06):
Angels network, and then I had someone who has his
own coaching business. All three of them I had like
full access to to, you know, talk through my pitch,
to get feedback on, to learn from, to prepare me
for that day. And so that was just awesome that
they would bother to set us up for such success
(15:27):
like that.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
It's just a fantastic program and I think it's such
a great idea to help young entrepreneur or not young
or old entrepreneurs.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Yes, or middle aged like myself.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
You know, so you already touched on the advice that
you would give somebody of taking, you know, maybe a
lower position in the company or any position in the
company to get your foot in the door and start
learning the process. What is the single most important piece
of advice that you could give to an aspiring entrepreneur
(15:56):
business owner? You know?
Speaker 3 (15:57):
I think it's to follow your gut.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
I don't believe that so many people just start a
business because they think they can make money, and that's exciting,
and sometimes that's just the route people can go. But
I think that following intuition and really following after what
would you actually want to do every day, all day long,
Because when you're an entrepreneur, you're gonna be doing that
(16:21):
even though it might look pretty at first, it's not
like day to day you're doing this stuff. So just
following your gut and making sure that you would be
passionate about about growing this business, I think is the
number one most important thing because if you're not in it,
no one else is going to be in it either.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Yeah. Absolutely, I mean, you live it every day and
you have to go out and sell it to other people.
And if you don't truly have that deep held belief
in it, how are you going to convey that to
somebody else? Right?
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Exactly?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Well, Kerrie, I appreciate you time today. If somebody wants
to take a look at your products or even order
your products, where can they go?
Speaker 4 (16:58):
Sure, we would so appreciate people checking it out. So
we're available on our website, which is eatgangster dot com. Also,
if you go on Amazon, you will find us there
if you type in eat Gangster or even allergy friendly
Mixes or what have you. So those are probably the
two easiest places to find us.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Carrie Brown, co founder of Eat Gangster, thank you so
much for your time today.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
You've been listening to iHeartRadio CEOs you should know heard
every Tuesday and Saturday morning right here on this iHeartRadio station.
iHeartMedia presents CEOs You Should Know. CEOs You Should Know
Charleston is brought to you by SC two fifty Charleston
Www dot SC two fifty Charleston dot org.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
It's Michael Blaze. Welcome to another edition of CEOs You
Should Know Today. Joining us is Carrie Brown. She's co
founder of Eat Gangster. Welcome Carrie, thank you for having me. Now,
Gangster is an acronym, right.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
You got it?
Speaker 4 (00:25):
Yeh, So Gangster basically shares what our baking mixes are
all about. They're free of the top fourteen allergens, so,
grain free, artificial, additive free, night shade free, gluten free.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Et cetera.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
So you have you want people to eat healthy. Also,
people with restrictive diets can benefit from using your product,
and it's a way that they can enjoy sweets, desserts, cookies, cakes,
things like that.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Right you got it.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
You know, when you are suddenly diagnosed or you're placed
on a restrictive diet for whatever reason, whether it's an
allergy or a cancer protocol or what have you, it
can feel so restrictive. And so we wed Eat Gangster
baking mixes. So that just to kind of help open
up people's world again and help them feel we'll call
it in quotes normal again and be able to enjoy
(01:09):
those foods that they once loved.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Now, what motivated you to create eat Gangster.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Well, the genesis of eat Gangster actually comes from a
pretty dark place. Both I and my co founder went
through some challenging health problems that led us down the
path of food as medicine and avoiding certain foods. But
the worst part about it was you take those foods
out and it just becomes incredibly restrictive and isolating, both socially,
(01:36):
mentally and what have you. So we came to learn
that when we began to eat a certain way, we
felt great, but then we wanted to open up the
world for other people to be able to just feel
great about what they're doing, but and not feel isolated
at the same time.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Now, how long ago did you start the company?
Speaker 4 (01:56):
So we actually launched eat Gangster in twenty twenty, right
as covid was hitting, and in fact, it probably served
us a bit well because people were at home baking.
So we started then and just have been working to
grow since.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
What did you find the hardest about the process. I
find this interesting because when I talked to entrepreneurs and
business owners, you know, everybody has a different path. What
did you find to be the most difficult thing to overcome?
Speaker 4 (02:23):
So my co founder and I both have great experience
in different things, but never in consumer packaged goods. So
just figuring out all the little details for one recipe development,
but then getting these products launched, figuring out whether it
was retail or Amazon or there are so many different
(02:45):
options for growing a brand and so figuring out what
could work best for us has been has been a challenge,
but certainly what every company goes through.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
I mean there's so many things, you know, some people
don't even consider, from you know, the legal side of
it and creating your trademark and your logo and your packaging.
And it's just overwhelming, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
It can be, But you know, we really operate on that,
just one step at a time and figure it out.
I think, you know, as I think through it. One
of the hardest things is figuring out recipes that work
that are also they work properly, but they're also delicious
for even what we call normal people. So we always
(03:29):
test our products on our husbands, who can seem to
eat whatever they want, and also our children, who are
incredibly honest people. So that's tough when you're trying to bake,
say a muffin or a cake and you're not using flour, eggs, milk,
et cetera.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
That's tricky, absolutely, and you're right. The kids will always
tell you right. They don't hold back.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
You are correct.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Now, where do you manufacture your product?
Speaker 4 (03:57):
We actually manufacture our products in Washington State at a
gluten free certified manufacturer. One of the biggest challenges with
our business is because we are top fourteen free, we
cannot make our products onlines that process dairy, nuts and
other allergens. So we were able to find a specific
(04:18):
allergy friendly line that can make baking mixes. So that
was pretty tricky too.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Yeah, it's cool that you were able to find that
because we see it in the news all the time.
You know, all of these recalls and everything, because these
factories are producing you know, different types of foods and
sometimes you know, peanuts mighte whatever it may be, ends
up in the mix by accident. So it's great that
you could find somebody that could partition you know that off.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Yes, it's actually been amazing. I mean they We've visited
their facility a number of times our co packer, and
they have a completely complete, separate, designated building. They have
different clothes, they have washers, dryer, You cannot walk into
the facility without changing clothes, wearing a specific cap, a
(05:05):
specific robe, and all this stuff. They are really hardcore about.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
It's great.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
That's fantastic. Now, explain to me your business model for sales.
Mostly it's online, but you also sell to bulk food
service companies, right, you got it.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
So to this point, we dabbled in retail a bit,
but we found retail is difficult and very expensive for
a tiny brand like Hours that's not well known, so
we've really focused on DTC, that is direct to consumer sales.
We sell on our website and on Amazon, and then recently,
about a little over a year ago, we parlayed into
(05:41):
food service, offering our products in bulk to universities, healthcare organizations,
restaurants who all need to have products like ours to
offer to specific consumers. So that's been really exciting. We're
now available through Cisco, US Foods, Gordon Foods, Cheney Brothers,
so that's been a really exciting kind of pivot for
(06:02):
our business.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Now that's great. Now let's find out a little bit
more about you personally. Now, you have an interesting past
with now you operated a luxury hotel for dogs in
New York, Is that right?
Speaker 4 (06:15):
That's always someone Yeah, that's always the funniest question, right man.
Do I have stories on that one, But yes, my
husband and I owned a dog hotel right in Manhattan
in Chelsea for about eight years. It was ten thousand
square feet. We had converted the space into a dog hotel.
We had over fifty suites. Dogs wouldn't dare stay in
(06:36):
a kennel in our place. Rather, they would have their
own little suite with a bed and a flat screen.
In fact, our uber suite, which was over two hundred
dollars a night, had a forty two inch flat screen TV,
full sized bed, and private chef services. So you might
even want to stay there.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
It sounds really nice. Yeah, it sounds like nicer than
some of the hotels I've stated in the past.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
You're right now.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
You also worked for Lululemon Athletico.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
I did, and it was such a joy to work
with that company. I started with them in two thousand
and two, and that was with our first door in
the United States. It was in Santa Monica I started.
I take a lot of pride in this, and this
is a lot of advice that I give to growing
entrepreneurs is if you find a brand or a company
(07:25):
that you want to work with, don't be afraid to
go in at a lower level. I had my graduate
degree from Northwestern, my master's in marketing. I was working
for a brand consulting firm. I left that to join
Lulu Lemon for eight dollars an hour, and my job
was to fold pants and clean bathrooms. But why I
did that is I had played basketball for at Davidson
(07:48):
College as a Division one athlete, and when I tried
on Lululemon clothing, I had never tried on anything like it,
and I knew it was something special. So I dropped
everything and went to work there and just worked for
the next eight years, grew with the company and ultimately
oversaw our US marketing, and it was an incredible ride.
(08:10):
In the end, I left because it had grown to
a point where they didn't need a person like me
who's as much who's as entrepreneurial. They needed people who
were very specifically trained in specific tasks, and so they
were kind of at that point, and so I got
to the point where I just opted to leave and
go try something new well.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
And I think that's great advice because you know, you
see so many people that want to start at the top,
and how could you possibly know the not only the
ins and outs of the business, but also you know,
the places where the business is exposed, where it can
be improved, where they're doing well. How could you have
a handle on that without knowing the whole process and
(08:54):
without being familiar with you know, every step of the
way in the business.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
Sure, and you know what, some people maybe that's small
and can do it, But for me, it helps to
really work with my hands understand all the elements. So
I often thought back on those times at Lululemon when
I was cleaning the bathrooms and I was truly doing
it with joy because I was so excited about the company.
And that's just the way that I learn is with
(09:19):
my hands on the ground, and then you learn every aspect.
You learn exactly how to fold a pant, how to
educate a customer on products. And you know, I was
able to carry that through with our Dog Hotel and
now with Eat Gangster on knowing every facet of the business,
so that then you can best serve your customers, you
can best grow within a company, or what have you.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yeah, and it sounds like we may have touched on
this already, and you know we're going down that path anyway.
What's the philosophy that drives you each day?
Speaker 4 (09:50):
So about probably two or three times a week we
get an email from let's call it a grandmother or
a dad who says, thank you so much for creating
these products because my grandson now is able to enjoy
cake for the first time. And really, truly that philosophy
(10:12):
goes across Lululem and the Dog Hotel, any gangster. I
want to be a part of something that's making a
difference for people, that's making a difference in the world
and making people's lives better. And I think that's I've
been fortunate to be able to kind of follow my gut,
follow my heart in each of these ventures and work
(10:32):
to figure out how can I make the world a
better place.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
That's great? So who was the This is kind of
a loaded question, I'll warn you, because everybody, of course,
parents have a huge influence on you. You know, there's
been I'm sure teachers throughout your life. But who do
you think was the biggest influence on your leadership.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
Surely my parents have had a huge impact. But more
than anything, I have an identical twin sister, and she
is my very best friend and my rock and I
for her hopefully, and I think you know, we support
each other, but we also compete with each other, and
we're always working together. We talk almost every day just
(11:13):
working together, trying to figure out how can I help her,
how can she help me, and just kind of growing
together and getting better and better. So she's one of
the greatest gifts in my life and has certainly has
so much influence on my leadership.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Now, sometimes you hear this about twins, do you find
that you have like a sixth sense where you're both
thinking the same thing at the same time or almost
reading each other's minds?
Speaker 4 (11:37):
For sure, probably like three or four times a week
when we FaceTime, we get on there and start to
giggle because we're wearing the exact same outfit. So yes,
we seem to kind of be aligned with our thoughts
for sure.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Now, what do you do when you're not working?
Speaker 4 (11:53):
Oh, well, so I have a seven year old daughter
and we live downtown Charleston and also out at Fowley
Beach where we have an airbnb. And I have a
wonderful husband, so we spent a lot of time together
and work out lots, and certainly do a lot of
baking too.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
With the gangster on the plate.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Did you grow up here in the little country?
Speaker 4 (12:16):
In fact, I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, then lived
in Chicago, LA, and then New York City for about
seventeen years. When COVID hit, My daughter was two and
our neighborhood on the Upper West Side had changed so
much during that time that we decided we needed to move,
and so we landed in Charleston, and I just can't
(12:38):
believe what a soft landing it's been. We're so grateful
to be here, and we've really loved it. There's an
incredible support around businesses here. The people are wonderful. Obviously,
there's a lot of balance between beaches and amazing restaurants
and such.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
So we've loved it.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
That's fantastic. Now you said the support of the businesses.
Were you a part of Bemock?
Speaker 4 (13:00):
We were, Yes, that was this past fall and that
was just incredible.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Now, well, we should explain to the listeners that don't
know what beemoc is. It's not exactly the same as
Shark Tank, but it's kind of that model, right.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
You got it.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
So Bemock is an investment group run by Ben Navarro,
who's a wonderful businessman here and who's working to make
Charleston a more business friendly place. And one thing that
he wanted to do was to help Charleston area businesses
grow and so with that they created a really exciting
(13:37):
opportunity for businesses called Catalyst by Bemock. And yes, it
was like Shark Tank, but in front of four hundred people.
It was an incredible event, like they just did it beautifully.
And my twin sister actually came along with me and
we pitched Eat Gangster to this panel of five very
(14:00):
smart people on on in the group, and we pitched
to them as well as the other four hundred people
in there, and we won investment with them. So at
present we are going through due diligence to figure out
you know, all the all the the details of it,
but an incredible opportunity. I know they're doing it again
next year, so for entrepreneurs out there in Charleston look
(14:22):
it up because it's very it's it's a really exciting
opportunity and just a great way to create visibility for
your brand.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
That's fantastic, and congratulations.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Thank you so much. We're excited to see what it brings.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Yeah, and we don't want to scare anybody off. It's
not when I said it's, you know, different than Shark Tank,
it's it's not as they don't get as mean or critical, right.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
They were not mean.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
In fact, they were I was ready for some tough questions.
What was cool, though, is they prior to the event,
about a month and a half prior, they set each
of us entrepreneurs up with three different mentors from all
different walks of I had someone from who teaches business
at college with Charleston. I had someone from the Charleston
(15:06):
Angels network, and then I had someone who has his
own coaching business. All three of them I had like
full access to to, you know, talk through my pitch,
to get feedback on, to learn from, to prepare me
for that day. And so that was just awesome that
they would bother to set us up for such success
(15:27):
like that.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
It's just a fantastic program and I think it's such
a great idea to help young entrepreneur or not young
or old entrepreneurs.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Yes, or middle aged like myself.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
You know, so you already touched on the advice that
you would give somebody of taking, you know, maybe a
lower position in the company or any position in the
company to get your foot in the door and start
learning the process. What is the single most important piece
of advice that you could give to an aspiring entrepreneur
(15:56):
business owner? You know?
Speaker 3 (15:57):
I think it's to follow your gut.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
I don't believe that so many people just start a
business because they think they can make money, and that's exciting,
and sometimes that's just the route people can go. But
I think that following intuition and really following after what
would you actually want to do every day, all day long,
Because when you're an entrepreneur, you're gonna be doing that
(16:21):
even though it might look pretty at first, it's not
like day to day you're doing this stuff. So just
following your gut and making sure that you would be
passionate about about growing this business, I think is the
number one most important thing because if you're not in it,
no one else is going to be in it either.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Yeah. Absolutely, I mean, you live it every day and
you have to go out and sell it to other people.
And if you don't truly have that deep held belief
in it, how are you going to convey that to
somebody else? Right?
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Exactly?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Well, Kerrie, I appreciate you time today. If somebody wants
to take a look at your products or even order
your products, where can they go?
Speaker 4 (16:58):
Sure, we would so appreciate people checking it out. So
we're available on our website, which is eatgangster dot com. Also,
if you go on Amazon, you will find us there
if you type in eat Gangster or even allergy friendly
Mixes or what have you. So those are probably the
two easiest places to find us.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Carrie Brown, co founder of Eat Gangster, thank you so
much for your time today.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
You've been listening to iHeartRadio CEOs you should know heard
every Tuesday and Saturday morning right here on this iHeartRadio station.
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