April 1, 2025 • 63 mins
In this episode of the Black Bridge Mindset Podcast, hosts CJ from Columbus, Ken from Atlanta and Mike from Chicago introduce their inspiring guest, David Mollema.
Known for his vibrant personality and entrepreneurial prowess, David is the CEO of Epic Photography and Events, Destination Dream Makers, and Number 8 Tea + Co.
The discussion delves into his ventures, his innovative use of AI and tech, and the invaluable lessons he has learned from early business mistakes. They explore his approach to addressing market needs, specifically in destination weddings, and his success in the premium tea market. David shares insights on maintaining motivation, navigating intellectual property issues, and overcoming challenges, such as hacking incidents.
The hosts also share personal anecdotes, and the episode ends with a fun segment called the 'Wakanda Peace Pause.'
Thank you for listening!
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- Email: blackbridgemindset@gmail.com
Hosts:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
CJ (00:00):
Hello, and welcome to the Blackbridge Mindset Podcast,
where culture, entrepreneurship,and business intersect to fuel
inspiration.
This podcast celebrates thepower of diverse voices shaping
the future of business.
So whether you're building abusiness, breaking barriers, or
just looking for some seriousinspiration, you're in the right
(00:20):
place.
The Blackbridge Mindset, whereculture and entrepreneurship
collide.
Mike (00:55):
So we give you the um, uh, The one to six.
The one to, I don't know, It'slike, Who wrote this?
Who wrote this?
Um, I wrote this, I wrote this,I wrote this, So I wrote this.
And you got a little bit of aAnd uh, And this is This is This
(01:15):
is You got it.
I put in a little bit of
Ken (01:19):
Hey, everybody.
Welcome to the BlackbridgeMindset podcast.
I'm Ken.
I'm checking in today fromAtlanta uh, originally from
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
So I bleed all things black andgold, excited to be here today.
Excited for our guests.
And I am looking forward to theweekend.
(01:40):
Not that I have any plans.
It's just been a very long workweek.
So I'm excited.
I'm looking forward to today.
Mike, over to you.
Mike (01:48):
Yeah um, today is going to be amazing.
Um, It's one of my favoritepeople.
Um, well, First off, I shouldintroduce myself before I
introduce him.
My name is Mike Lovett.
I am in Chicago, Illinois.
um, Yeah, I, my backgrounds,there's a lot, there's lots of
things we don't have to get intothem all right now.
I am super excited about theBlack Bridge Mindset podcast
(02:11):
that we put together.
It's like this time next year,I'm going to be Like, I just
can't wait.
It's gonna be amazing.
So continue to tune in.
um, As far as this weekend, it'sSt.
Paddy's weekend.
And you're not doing anything?
It
Ken (02:25):
Who me?
Mike (02:25):
Paddy's weekend.
Yeah, you said you're not doinganything this
Ken (02:28):
We don't celebrate that in Atlanta.
We don't do that here.
Mike (02:34):
we're gonna die at green.
I don't know if I'm going.
I mean, It's actually, yeah one,we have a show that we're
recording Saturday morning.
So we're gonna be up bright andearly
Ken (02:45):
That is true.
Mike (02:46):
show.
Third show.
Yup.
And then um, after that um,maybe a trolley uh, catching up
with some friends on a trolley,it's supposed to be like 70
degrees here on Saturday.
So, you
Ken (03:01):
Oh.
Mike (03:01):
these folks,
Ken (03:01):
Watch your right.
Watch out.
Mike (03:04):
you know, you know, Certain folks are going to be
out and about acting crazy.
Ken (03:08):
I don't want to see you twerking on the boat with Lori
Lightfoot.
Mike (03:17):
Hey, we go way back.
Me and Lori, we used to havedrinks over at sidetrack.
Ken (03:20):
I know.
Y'all used to go suit shoppingtogether.
Mike (03:25):
We got our hair cut at the same place too.
Yeah.
Don't be, Don't be making fun ofLori.
Uh Huh.
Uh Huh.
What are you doing, CJ?
I'm assuming you're doingsomething.
Oh,
Ken (03:50):
Okay.
Okay.
Mike (04:08):
mean, The obvious, right?
Orange is just causing havoc.
I don't know if y'all saw theother day that he, he brought
Elon and a bunch of Teslas tothe White House to, you know,
try to tell people.
I saw that and I was like, what?
I mean, I know our country'sgone to shit, but like, who
(04:29):
does, who, as a president,brings on a company And says
Ken (04:38):
You answered your own question,
Mike (04:43):
a hundred percent, A hundred percent.
He wears
Ken (04:46):
but it's okay though, cause you know what, we're all still
learning.
Um, What is it?
Boots on the ground.
It's all you need to worryabout, right?
We're all learning the linedance.
We can go out and drink and havea good time.
Let it burn down around us.
Mike (05:07):
It is slowly, unfortunately, anyway,
Ken (05:10):
Let's get started.
Mike (05:12):
Because I do want to get to Mr.
David Malema.
Give me a thumbs up if I saidthat right.
malema?
David Mollema.
All right, David Mollema.
Here we go.
I'm about to introduce you.
So this week I am super excitedto introduce one of my favorite
(05:33):
people.
When you see him on screen, forthose of you who are watching
YouTube, you're going to seethat he is just a ball of
energy.
He is.
Just a ray of sunshine when hewalks into any room, his smile
just lights up everything.
You'll see that here in asecond.
Today we're sitting down withDavid Malema, the visionary
behind Epic Photography andEvents, Destination Dream
(05:55):
Makers, and Number 8 Tea Co..
He's a master at craftingexperiences, whether through
stunning events, immersivestorytelling, or redefining tea
culture.
We'll talk about his vision forthe future, how AI and tech help
him juggle multiple businesses,the power of storytelling and
branding, and what brides andgrooms really want in 2025.
(06:18):
you're into innovation,creativity, and turning ideas
into reality, then this one isfor you.
Let's get into it.
Ken (06:28):
Very good, how are you?
Good.
Mike (06:40):
It is.
It is.
Yeah.
Yeah.
100%.
So just, just so you guys knowum, I've known David, has it
been like 10, 12 years for along time?
(07:07):
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
And so we met through a mutualfriend here in Chicagoland.
And then for some reason, youknow, we met our separate ways,
living our lives, always kept upwith him on social media, of
course.
I always have seen the greatthings that he's doing.
um, Back in the day, peoplealways said that we, we looked
(07:29):
similar.
I think it's because I guesswe're both light skinned, who
knows.
And they would call him mylittle brother.
And I was like, oh, that's yourlittle brother.
And so we just stuck with it.
I'm his big brother, he's mylittle brother.
So that's what he was talkingabout.
Ken (07:42):
He said much older.
He said much older brother.
Mike (2) (07:49):
Who said much older?
It's okay.
It's allowed.
And just in case people didn'tcatch it, I mentioned that this
young man has founded and ownsnot one, not two, but three
businesses.
And how old are you?
32?
(08:13):
That's crazy.
I'm old and I'm trying to get myfirst business off the ground.
Well let's get into it.
Let's ask you some questions.
So David, what was the firstbusiness that you started and
how did you get into it?
Ken (09:30):
Thank you.
Mike (09:35):
Nice, I love it.
And I know CJ, he's a big musicguy too.
So he may have a couple ofthings to talk to you about.
Ken (10:04):
Okay.
Mike (10:09):
there are some lessons that you learned with that
business early on.
Do you want to touch on that?
(10:59):
Right.
Oh.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so for young entrepreneurswho are out there and they're
thinking about starting theirown business, can you give I
(11:21):
don't know how much you need toprotect, but can you give one
thing that you learned fromthat, that they can avoid when
it comes to investors gettinginto situations like that?
Because people are going tothrow money at you every once in
a while, right?
And they're like, Ooh, thissounds like a good idea.
Let me give you some money forit.
(12:21):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(13:01):
Yeah.
(13:32):
Awesome.
thank you.
Hmm.
Ken (14:04):
Okay.
You
Mike (14:49):
You are spicy.
No, I love it.
I think it's great.
And so that's one of yourbusinesses.
Epic.
Let's talk about the other twothat you have.
It could give a brief overviewof those and then we could dive
(15:10):
into one of them.
No, you know, we have them here.
Mm hmm.
He got so
Ken (15:26):
Okay.
Mike (16:28):
Yeah.
Mm-hmm Yes.
(17:27):
That's awesome.
Right?
(19:20):
Yeah, right.
Yeah.
While you're talking about this,I took two notes.
One of the biggest ones is that,you know, a CEO in a well run
(19:41):
business, they go out and they,they see a need for something.
And then they create a businessto fill that need, right?
I think it's awesome that youguys went to this show, not
expecting to find a certainniche that wasn't getting the
attention that it needed.
so you're like, oh, there's allthese people who are looking for
(20:02):
destination weddings.
Who else is doing this?
I don't know how many people arein your field, but you guys had
the wherewithal to say, think weshould cater to these people
because I think there's abusiness here.
And here you are, and it soundslike you didn't waste a lot of
time, right?
You just took action, let's doit, which is awesome.
(20:27):
Mm hmm.
Right, I love it.
I use that imperfect action allthe time, and it sounds weird,
it doesn't anymore.
(20:48):
It used to sound weird sayingit, because you're like, it's
cliché, but now I just say it,and it's just a part of my
normal vocabulary.
Right.
Yeah, and it's great.
It
Ken (21:00):
Do you have any can tell us about the destination weddings?
Thanks.
(21:26):
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
(21:48):
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
(22:34):
Was it, Was it like anintellectual property type
issue?
(22:59):
Yeah.
That's right.
Right, right.
Mike (23:19):
Abide by the rules.
Ken (23:21):
Did your clients notice anything crazy?
Like, I'm assuming you don'tpanic in these situations, but,
you know, sometimes people caninherently pick up on things.
Hm.
(23:54):
Yeah.
Um, And then I'm going to uh,I'm going to do a uh, A uh, A
(24:16):
uh, Right.
Yeah.
Okay.
Mike (25:16):
That's awesome.
Love it.
Well, I don't want to keep yourexcitement bottled up for too
long.
I know there's another companyout there you're super excited
to tell people about.
We're over here sipping on ourour little teas as well.
We, we do, We do have brandedcups.
(25:38):
Little Yeti.
I got you.
I got you.
Ken (25:50):
I think we all have the same thing.
Mike (25:53):
no, no, no, No.
Not Not in my
Ken (25:54):
We don't.
Mike (25:55):
So at the moment I have the chai, the Chaga Chai number
14.
Yeah.
But no, it's good.
It's good.
I think we all have the samefavorite though.
My
Ken (26:07):
Yeah.
Mike (26:07):
eight, the Bellini.
Ken (26:10):
That's what I have.
That's what I have in my cup andit's delicious.
Silence.
Silence.
Mike (26:45):
And before you get to all your flavors, let's tell the
people what we're even talkingabout.
Ken (26:48):
Right.
Mike (26:50):
people, at like, I'll let you start talking, but I gotta
say it before I forget.
This came in the mail.
Ken (26:59):
Yeah.
Mike (26:59):
And I was like, what kind of bougie ass tea is this?
Cause I was expecting whenyou're like, yeah, I'm going to
send you guys some teas to try,I'm expecting like a box.
Ken (27:10):
He was expecting Lipton.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mike (27:21):
yeah, exactly.
But then like your packaging isso cute.
Okay, I'll stop talking.
Tell the people what we'retalking about.
Ken (27:34):
Okay.
Um, Um, Okay.
(28:48):
Okay.
Yeah.
Mike (28:54):
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, Wait, timeout.
We can't just let you skip overthat.
You went to go help themrebrand.
They asked you,
Ken (29:03):
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Mike (29:22):
Don't go in there being fake.
You always say fake it till youmake it, you are honest, you are
yourself, and they couldprobably feel that and see that,
and they're like, yeah, this isthe guy we want to work with.
(29:55):
Six hours.
Mm hmm.
Ken (30:36):
That's awesome.
Mike (30:37):
Yeah.
Ken (30:42):
Okay.
Mike (31:15):
I'm applauding you even more.
That's awesome.
Again, like you, you're just oneof those
Ken (31:18):
Right.
(34:32):
I want to talk about that.
I want to talk about the dessertcollection.
Like what made you think, whatmade you come up with that?
Okay.
Mike (35:20):
you and me can no longer be siblings.
Ken (35:27):
Um, You
Mike (35:57):
It's okay.
We could.
Yeah, we can have opinions.
Oh, yeah.
Ken (36:11):
Yeah, Do you have a favorite flavor?
Mike (36:20):
No, it's okay.
Ken (36:21):
I don't think so.
Mike (36:23):
Don't you worry, there will be,
Ken (36:27):
Yeah.
Mike (36:28):
oh yeah, I was gonna say, I'm gonna order some, oh yeah,
you did, we got number 17 topaint well, I did.
I haven't had this.
You, the steeper you gave
Ken (36:39):
You sent us, yeah.
Mike (36:49):
This is a real steeper, but a fancier,
Ken (36:52):
The proper one.
Okay.
(37:15):
Um,
Mike (37:45):
Mm hmm.
Mm hmm.
All right.
Mm hmm.
You.
(38:05):
Yeah.
(39:11):
Nice.
Ken (39:15):
That's okay.
Mike (39:16):
Yeah, I was
Ken (39:16):
Can you,
Mike (39:16):
you freeze?
Ken (39:29):
and referral program?
Okay.
I'm gonna go ahead and get thisguy out of here.
(39:55):
I'm going to get a little bit ofgray in here.
Mike (40:08):
And did you learn most of this just through trial and
error?
Or did you have a mentor orsomebody who helped you out?
Yeah.
Ken (40:31):
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
(40:53):
Okay.
You Okay.
Mike (41:43):
Right.
Right.
That's awesome.
(42:06):
Well, Yeah, I could definitely,oh, go ahead.
(42:53):
Silence.
Right.
Silence.
(43:35):
Right.
Ken (45:09):
Do realize he has an ulterior motive, right?
Yeah.
Mike (45:22):
I love it.
Well, You could definitely tellthat you have a passion for
this.
So you're going to do reallywell.
You're going to do big thingswith it.
I love it.
I really wasn't a big teaperson.
But then when you sent these andthe first one I had was the
number eight, the Bellini.
And I was like, damn, this isgood.
then, of course, I startedworking through the other ones.
It's just the one I haven't hadyet.
(45:44):
yeah, they are really good.
And then of course you postedyour lovely dessert teas online.
And I was like well, damn,
Ken (45:52):
Okay.
Mike (46:05):
so people can find you and come check you out.
We have a couple minutes left.
just to you work, you obviouslywork hard, but I'm assuming you
play hard as well.
So what is the Daily life orweek David?
What does a week look like foryou?
(46:57):
Okay uh, what else we got foryou?
(47:54):
Yeah.
Ken (47:55):
You had mentioned earlier in the conversation about
keeping the fire and stayingmotivated.
How do you do that and also keepyour non employees motivated and
keep their fire stoked as well?
(48:35):
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
(48:57):
Silence.
(49:28):
Hello.
very much.
And again.
Mike (49:57):
there was, man, there, I know we're like keeping you so
long, but there's two things Iwant to touch on.
One of them is you told me astory when we first spoke on the
phone about your businessgetting hacked and what you did
after you got everything fixed.
(50:17):
Can you briefly tell people?
A little bit about what happenedto the business and you know
what your mindset was at thattime and what got you to where
you are now.
to have a great week.
(50:42):
Yeah.
(52:48):
Right.
Didn't you Didn't you takehacking classes or something
like that or programming?
(53:23):
That is crazy, but I think it'sawesome that you're like, you
know what, I'm going to learnhow to, the hacks.
I know how to protect myself.
That's what it's people.
Okay.
I know you.
It's that YouTube university! Ithas.
(53:47):
Okay.
(54:15):
Thanks.
Right.
Yeah.
Ken (54:30):
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
(54:51):
Okay.
Mike (55:03):
Mm hmm.
(55:40):
Yeah.
Mm.
(56:01):
Nice.
Okay.
Well, Cool.
I appreciate you talking aboutall of these things today,
talking about your businesses.
Thanks A.
I.
The T.
Like I'm telling you, you haveme sold on the T's and I'm
definitely gonna I still have myscreen up.
I'm going to click on a coupleof things and put them in my
basket before we're done.
Oh,
Ken (56:26):
Okay.
Mike (56:27):
Is this a discount code for us or for us to share on the
site?
Ken (56:32):
Hello.
Oh.
We're done.
Yeah.
Mike (56:55):
machine.
Discount code All right.
That brings us to closing, andwhat we are going to do with all
of our guests is that we'regoing to have a little lightning
round, today, that's going to beheaded by CJ.
So CJ, if you want to go aheadand take it and let them know
what you're going to do.
(57:40):
That is a good movie.
Ken (57:53):
Silence.
Mike (2) (58:20):
No.
Um, Okay.
No, I don't think I had.
Was it here seven years ago?
I have to look it up.
been places and I don't evenremember.
I'll check it.
Okay.
(58:59):
Listen, that's a real fear.
I think about it every once in awhile.
Mike (59:03):
That's
Mike (2) (59:03):
That's real.
Ken (59:12):
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Mike (01:00:05):
okay.
That sounds like a, that soundslike a journey number, like 70,
72, Blackbridge mindsets
Ken (01:00:22):
That'd be awesome.
Mike (01:00:24):
That'd be awesome.
I love it.
Yeah,
Ken (01:00:30):
Yeah.
Mike (01:00:31):
yeah, I have to say I need it some and perfect.
I love it.
Ken (01:00:42):
Wow.
Mike (01:00:43):
Okay.
Ken (01:00:45):
Wow.
Mike (01:00:46):
Yeah, it's actually a pre workout tea.
(01:01:13):
Nice.
All right.
Thank you so much for taking thetime to meet with us.
Tell us Your story, your journeyit's, crazy that you're only 32
because everything you've toldus, I would think that you're
Ken's age.
So, Thank you.
Ken (01:01:33):
But I'm not the much, much older brother.
I will say that
Mike (01:01:43):
And, And so one of the things, since you haven't seen a
podcast yet, since, we'regetting them all together and
March 25th is the drop date forour first one.
At the end of the.
There it is.
There it is.
We're gonna get that soundmachine.
Actually, we'll just do our ownsound effects.
We don't need a sound machine.
(01:02:04):
But one of the things I'm askingall of our guests to do at the
end of the show, I call it theWakanda Peace Pause.
Don't ask questions.
You're just gonna do it.
I'm gonna count to three you'rejust gonna do this pause and
smile at the camera for a fewseconds.
Wakanda, peace, and then you'regoing to pause, there you are.
(01:02:27):
then we're just going to holdthat pose for a few seconds and
then I'll let us know when tostop.
And I'm just going to use thisat the end at some point to take
a picture, use it on Instagram,all those fun things.
Oh, let's see.
Our last guest told me I neededto rename it.
She was like, the Wakanda,peace, pause.
She's like, WPP.
(01:02:51):
Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
This is from a This is from amarketer, guys.
He loves it.
Ken (01:03:04):
He's making you feel good about it, that's all.
Mike (01:03:08):
does make me feel good.
It does make me feel good.
It does make me feel good.
Because when I thought of it Idied laughing.
I was like, no one's going to gofor this.
This is so stupid.
Oh, thank you.
I feel it.
All right.
So you ready?
All right.
Everybody, the Wakanda peacepause in three.
(01:03:30):
Done.
Done.
number two.
Done.
Ken (01:03:34):
In the books.
Mike (01:03:35):
guest number two, David.
Ken (01:03:37):
Thank you.
Fantastic conversation.
Hello, and welcome to the Blackbridge Mindset Podcast,
where culture, entrepreneurship,and business intersect to fuel
inspiration.
This podcast celebrates thepower of diverse voices shaping
the future of business.
So whether you're building abusiness, breaking barriers, or
just looking for some seriousinspiration, you're in the right
(00:20):
place.
The Blackbridge Mindset, whereculture and entrepreneurship
collide.
Mike (00:55):
So we give you the um, uh, The one to six.
The one to, I don't know, It'slike, Who wrote this?
Who wrote this?
Um, I wrote this, I wrote this,I wrote this, So I wrote this.
And you got a little bit of aAnd uh, And this is This is This
(01:15):
is You got it.
I put in a little bit of
Ken (01:19):
Hey, everybody.
Welcome to the BlackbridgeMindset podcast.
I'm Ken.
I'm checking in today fromAtlanta uh, originally from
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
So I bleed all things black andgold, excited to be here today.
Excited for our guests.
And I am looking forward to theweekend.
(01:40):
Not that I have any plans.
It's just been a very long workweek.
So I'm excited.
I'm looking forward to today.
Mike, over to you.
Mike (01:48):
Yeah um, today is going to be amazing.
Um, It's one of my favoritepeople.
Um, well, First off, I shouldintroduce myself before I
introduce him.
My name is Mike Lovett.
I am in Chicago, Illinois.
um, Yeah, I, my backgrounds,there's a lot, there's lots of
things we don't have to get intothem all right now.
I am super excited about theBlack Bridge Mindset podcast
(02:11):
that we put together.
It's like this time next year,I'm going to be Like, I just
can't wait.
It's gonna be amazing.
So continue to tune in.
um, As far as this weekend, it'sSt.
Paddy's weekend.
And you're not doing anything?
It
Ken (02:25):
Who me?
Mike (02:25):
Paddy's weekend.
Yeah, you said you're not doinganything this
Ken (02:28):
We don't celebrate that in Atlanta.
We don't do that here.
Mike (02:34):
we're gonna die at green.
I don't know if I'm going.
I mean, It's actually, yeah one,we have a show that we're
recording Saturday morning.
So we're gonna be up bright andearly
Ken (02:45):
That is true.
Mike (02:46):
show.
Third show.
Yup.
And then um, after that um,maybe a trolley uh, catching up
with some friends on a trolley,it's supposed to be like 70
degrees here on Saturday.
So, you
Ken (03:01):
Oh.
Mike (03:01):
these folks,
Ken (03:01):
Watch your right.
Watch out.
Mike (03:04):
you know, you know, Certain folks are going to be
out and about acting crazy.
Ken (03:08):
I don't want to see you twerking on the boat with Lori
Lightfoot.
Mike (03:17):
Hey, we go way back.
Me and Lori, we used to havedrinks over at sidetrack.
Ken (03:20):
I know.
Y'all used to go suit shoppingtogether.
Mike (03:25):
We got our hair cut at the same place too.
Yeah.
Don't be, Don't be making fun ofLori.
Uh Huh.
Uh Huh.
What are you doing, CJ?
I'm assuming you're doingsomething.
Oh,
Ken (03:50):
Okay.
Okay.
Mike (04:08):
mean, The obvious, right?
Orange is just causing havoc.
I don't know if y'all saw theother day that he, he brought
Elon and a bunch of Teslas tothe White House to, you know,
try to tell people.
I saw that and I was like, what?
I mean, I know our country'sgone to shit, but like, who
(04:29):
does, who, as a president,brings on a company And says
Ken (04:38):
You answered your own question,
Mike (04:43):
a hundred percent, A hundred percent.
He wears
Ken (04:46):
but it's okay though, cause you know what, we're all still
learning.
Um, What is it?
Boots on the ground.
It's all you need to worryabout, right?
We're all learning the linedance.
We can go out and drink and havea good time.
Let it burn down around us.
Mike (05:07):
It is slowly, unfortunately, anyway,
Ken (05:10):
Let's get started.
Mike (05:12):
Because I do want to get to Mr.
David Malema.
Give me a thumbs up if I saidthat right.
malema?
David Mollema.
All right, David Mollema.
Here we go.
I'm about to introduce you.
So this week I am super excitedto introduce one of my favorite
(05:33):
people.
When you see him on screen, forthose of you who are watching
YouTube, you're going to seethat he is just a ball of
energy.
He is.
Just a ray of sunshine when hewalks into any room, his smile
just lights up everything.
You'll see that here in asecond.
Today we're sitting down withDavid Malema, the visionary
behind Epic Photography andEvents, Destination Dream
(05:55):
Makers, and Number 8 Tea Co..
He's a master at craftingexperiences, whether through
stunning events, immersivestorytelling, or redefining tea
culture.
We'll talk about his vision forthe future, how AI and tech help
him juggle multiple businesses,the power of storytelling and
branding, and what brides andgrooms really want in 2025.
(06:18):
you're into innovation,creativity, and turning ideas
into reality, then this one isfor you.
Let's get into it.
Ken (06:28):
Very good, how are you?
Good.
Mike (06:40):
It is.
It is.
Yeah.
Yeah.
100%.
So just, just so you guys knowum, I've known David, has it
been like 10, 12 years for along time?
(07:07):
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
And so we met through a mutualfriend here in Chicagoland.
And then for some reason, youknow, we met our separate ways,
living our lives, always kept upwith him on social media, of
course.
I always have seen the greatthings that he's doing.
um, Back in the day, peoplealways said that we, we looked
(07:29):
similar.
I think it's because I guesswe're both light skinned, who
knows.
And they would call him mylittle brother.
And I was like, oh, that's yourlittle brother.
And so we just stuck with it.
I'm his big brother, he's mylittle brother.
So that's what he was talkingabout.
Ken (07:42):
He said much older.
He said much older brother.
Mike (2) (07:49):
Who said much older?
It's okay.
It's allowed.
And just in case people didn'tcatch it, I mentioned that this
young man has founded and ownsnot one, not two, but three
businesses.
And how old are you?
32?
(08:13):
That's crazy.
I'm old and I'm trying to get myfirst business off the ground.
Well let's get into it.
Let's ask you some questions.
So David, what was the firstbusiness that you started and
how did you get into it?
Ken (09:30):
Thank you.
Mike (09:35):
Nice, I love it.
And I know CJ, he's a big musicguy too.
So he may have a couple ofthings to talk to you about.
Ken (10:04):
Okay.
Mike (10:09):
there are some lessons that you learned with that
business early on.
Do you want to touch on that?
(10:59):
Right.
Oh.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so for young entrepreneurswho are out there and they're
thinking about starting theirown business, can you give I
(11:21):
don't know how much you need toprotect, but can you give one
thing that you learned fromthat, that they can avoid when
it comes to investors gettinginto situations like that?
Because people are going tothrow money at you every once in
a while, right?
And they're like, Ooh, thissounds like a good idea.
Let me give you some money forit.
(12:21):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(13:01):
Yeah.
(13:32):
Awesome.
thank you.
Hmm.
Ken (14:04):
Okay.
You
Mike (14:49):
You are spicy.
No, I love it.
I think it's great.
And so that's one of yourbusinesses.
Epic.
Let's talk about the other twothat you have.
It could give a brief overviewof those and then we could dive
(15:10):
into one of them.
No, you know, we have them here.
Mm hmm.
He got so
Ken (15:26):
Okay.
Mike (16:28):
Yeah.
Mm-hmm Yes.
(17:27):
That's awesome.
Right?
(19:20):
Yeah, right.
Yeah.
While you're talking about this,I took two notes.
One of the biggest ones is that,you know, a CEO in a well run
(19:41):
business, they go out and they,they see a need for something.
And then they create a businessto fill that need, right?
I think it's awesome that youguys went to this show, not
expecting to find a certainniche that wasn't getting the
attention that it needed.
so you're like, oh, there's allthese people who are looking for
(20:02):
destination weddings.
Who else is doing this?
I don't know how many people arein your field, but you guys had
the wherewithal to say, think weshould cater to these people
because I think there's abusiness here.
And here you are, and it soundslike you didn't waste a lot of
time, right?
You just took action, let's doit, which is awesome.
(20:27):
Mm hmm.
Right, I love it.
I use that imperfect action allthe time, and it sounds weird,
it doesn't anymore.
(20:48):
It used to sound weird sayingit, because you're like, it's
cliché, but now I just say it,and it's just a part of my
normal vocabulary.
Right.
Yeah, and it's great.
It
Ken (21:00):
Do you have any can tell us about the destination weddings?
Thanks.
(21:26):
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
(21:48):
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
(22:34):
Was it, Was it like anintellectual property type
issue?
(22:59):
Yeah.
That's right.
Right, right.
Mike (23:19):
Abide by the rules.
Ken (23:21):
Did your clients notice anything crazy?
Like, I'm assuming you don'tpanic in these situations, but,
you know, sometimes people caninherently pick up on things.
Hm.
(23:54):
Yeah.
Um, And then I'm going to uh,I'm going to do a uh, A uh, A
(24:16):
uh, Right.
Yeah.
Okay.
Mike (25:16):
That's awesome.
Love it.
Well, I don't want to keep yourexcitement bottled up for too
long.
I know there's another companyout there you're super excited
to tell people about.
We're over here sipping on ourour little teas as well.
We, we do, We do have brandedcups.
(25:38):
Little Yeti.
I got you.
I got you.
Ken (25:50):
I think we all have the same thing.
Mike (25:53):
no, no, no, No.
Not Not in my
Ken (25:54):
We don't.
Mike (25:55):
So at the moment I have the chai, the Chaga Chai number
14.
Yeah.
But no, it's good.
It's good.
I think we all have the samefavorite though.
My
Ken (26:07):
Yeah.
Mike (26:07):
eight, the Bellini.
Ken (26:10):
That's what I have.
That's what I have in my cup andit's delicious.
Silence.
Silence.
Mike (26:45):
And before you get to all your flavors, let's tell the
people what we're even talkingabout.
Ken (26:48):
Right.
Mike (26:50):
people, at like, I'll let you start talking, but I gotta
say it before I forget.
This came in the mail.
Ken (26:59):
Yeah.
Mike (26:59):
And I was like, what kind of bougie ass tea is this?
Cause I was expecting whenyou're like, yeah, I'm going to
send you guys some teas to try,I'm expecting like a box.
Ken (27:10):
He was expecting Lipton.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mike (27:21):
yeah, exactly.
But then like your packaging isso cute.
Okay, I'll stop talking.
Tell the people what we'retalking about.
Ken (27:34):
Okay.
Um, Um, Okay.
(28:48):
Okay.
Yeah.
Mike (28:54):
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, Wait, timeout.
We can't just let you skip overthat.
You went to go help themrebrand.
They asked you,
Ken (29:03):
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Mike (29:22):
Don't go in there being fake.
You always say fake it till youmake it, you are honest, you are
yourself, and they couldprobably feel that and see that,
and they're like, yeah, this isthe guy we want to work with.
(29:55):
Six hours.
Mm hmm.
Ken (30:36):
That's awesome.
Mike (30:37):
Yeah.
Ken (30:42):
Okay.
Mike (31:15):
I'm applauding you even more.
That's awesome.
Again, like you, you're just oneof those
Ken (31:18):
Right.
(34:32):
I want to talk about that.
I want to talk about the dessertcollection.
Like what made you think, whatmade you come up with that?
Okay.
Mike (35:20):
you and me can no longer be siblings.
Ken (35:27):
Um, You
Mike (35:57):
It's okay.
We could.
Yeah, we can have opinions.
Oh, yeah.
Ken (36:11):
Yeah, Do you have a favorite flavor?
Mike (36:20):
No, it's okay.
Ken (36:21):
I don't think so.
Mike (36:23):
Don't you worry, there will be,
Ken (36:27):
Yeah.
Mike (36:28):
oh yeah, I was gonna say, I'm gonna order some, oh yeah,
you did, we got number 17 topaint well, I did.
I haven't had this.
You, the steeper you gave
Ken (36:39):
You sent us, yeah.
Mike (36:49):
This is a real steeper, but a fancier,
Ken (36:52):
The proper one.
Okay.
(37:15):
Um,
Mike (37:45):
Mm hmm.
Mm hmm.
All right.
Mm hmm.
You.
(38:05):
Yeah.
(39:11):
Nice.
Ken (39:15):
That's okay.
Mike (39:16):
Yeah, I was
Ken (39:16):
Can you,
Mike (39:16):
you freeze?
Ken (39:29):
and referral program?
Okay.
I'm gonna go ahead and get thisguy out of here.
(39:55):
I'm going to get a little bit ofgray in here.
Mike (40:08):
And did you learn most of this just through trial and
error?
Or did you have a mentor orsomebody who helped you out?
Yeah.
Ken (40:31):
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
(40:53):
Okay.
You Okay.
Mike (41:43):
Right.
Right.
That's awesome.
(42:06):
Well, Yeah, I could definitely,oh, go ahead.
(42:53):
Silence.
Right.
Silence.
(43:35):
Right.
Ken (45:09):
Do realize he has an ulterior motive, right?
Yeah.
Mike (45:22):
I love it.
Well, You could definitely tellthat you have a passion for
this.
So you're going to do reallywell.
You're going to do big thingswith it.
I love it.
I really wasn't a big teaperson.
But then when you sent these andthe first one I had was the
number eight, the Bellini.
And I was like, damn, this isgood.
then, of course, I startedworking through the other ones.
It's just the one I haven't hadyet.
(45:44):
yeah, they are really good.
And then of course you postedyour lovely dessert teas online.
And I was like well, damn,
Ken (45:52):
Okay.
Mike (46:05):
so people can find you and come check you out.
We have a couple minutes left.
just to you work, you obviouslywork hard, but I'm assuming you
play hard as well.
So what is the Daily life orweek David?
What does a week look like foryou?
(46:57):
Okay uh, what else we got foryou?
(47:54):
Yeah.
Ken (47:55):
You had mentioned earlier in the conversation about
keeping the fire and stayingmotivated.
How do you do that and also keepyour non employees motivated and
keep their fire stoked as well?
(48:35):
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
(48:57):
Silence.
(49:28):
Hello.
very much.
And again.
Mike (49:57):
there was, man, there, I know we're like keeping you so
long, but there's two things Iwant to touch on.
One of them is you told me astory when we first spoke on the
phone about your businessgetting hacked and what you did
after you got everything fixed.
(50:17):
Can you briefly tell people?
A little bit about what happenedto the business and you know
what your mindset was at thattime and what got you to where
you are now.
to have a great week.
(50:42):
Yeah.
(52:48):
Right.
Didn't you Didn't you takehacking classes or something
like that or programming?
(53:23):
That is crazy, but I think it'sawesome that you're like, you
know what, I'm going to learnhow to, the hacks.
I know how to protect myself.
That's what it's people.
Okay.
I know you.
It's that YouTube university! Ithas.
(53:47):
Okay.
(54:15):
Thanks.
Right.
Yeah.
Ken (54:30):
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
(54:51):
Okay.
Mike (55:03):
Mm hmm.
(55:40):
Yeah.
Mm.
(56:01):
Nice.
Okay.
Well, Cool.
I appreciate you talking aboutall of these things today,
talking about your businesses.
Thanks A.
I.
The T.
Like I'm telling you, you haveme sold on the T's and I'm
definitely gonna I still have myscreen up.
I'm going to click on a coupleof things and put them in my
basket before we're done.
Oh,
Ken (56:26):
Okay.
Mike (56:27):
Is this a discount code for us or for us to share on the
site?
Ken (56:32):
Hello.
Oh.
We're done.
Yeah.
Mike (56:55):
machine.
Discount code All right.
That brings us to closing, andwhat we are going to do with all
of our guests is that we'regoing to have a little lightning
round, today, that's going to beheaded by CJ.
So CJ, if you want to go aheadand take it and let them know
what you're going to do.
(57:40):
That is a good movie.
Ken (57:53):
Silence.
Mike (2) (58:20):
No.
Um, Okay.
No, I don't think I had.
Was it here seven years ago?
I have to look it up.
been places and I don't evenremember.
I'll check it.
Okay.
(58:59):
Listen, that's a real fear.
I think about it every once in awhile.
Mike (59:03):
That's
Mike (2) (59:03):
That's real.
Ken (59:12):
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Mike (01:00:05):
okay.
That sounds like a, that soundslike a journey number, like 70,
72, Blackbridge mindsets
Ken (01:00:22):
That'd be awesome.
Mike (01:00:24):
That'd be awesome.
I love it.
Yeah,
Ken (01:00:30):
Yeah.
Mike (01:00:31):
yeah, I have to say I need it some and perfect.
I love it.
Ken (01:00:42):
Wow.
Mike (01:00:43):
Okay.
Ken (01:00:45):
Wow.
Mike (01:00:46):
Yeah, it's actually a pre workout tea.
(01:01:13):
Nice.
All right.
Thank you so much for taking thetime to meet with us.
Tell us Your story, your journeyit's, crazy that you're only 32
because everything you've toldus, I would think that you're
Ken's age.
So, Thank you.
Ken (01:01:33):
But I'm not the much, much older brother.
I will say that
Mike (01:01:43):
And, And so one of the things, since you haven't seen a
podcast yet, since, we'regetting them all together and
March 25th is the drop date forour first one.
At the end of the.
There it is.
There it is.
We're gonna get that soundmachine.
Actually, we'll just do our ownsound effects.
We don't need a sound machine.
(01:02:04):
But one of the things I'm askingall of our guests to do at the
end of the show, I call it theWakanda Peace Pause.
Don't ask questions.
You're just gonna do it.
I'm gonna count to three you'rejust gonna do this pause and
smile at the camera for a fewseconds.
Wakanda, peace, and then you'regoing to pause, there you are.
(01:02:27):
then we're just going to holdthat pose for a few seconds and
then I'll let us know when tostop.
And I'm just going to use thisat the end at some point to take
a picture, use it on Instagram,all those fun things.
Oh, let's see.
Our last guest told me I neededto rename it.
She was like, the Wakanda,peace, pause.
She's like, WPP.
(01:02:51):
Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
This is from a This is from amarketer, guys.
He loves it.
Ken (01:03:04):
He's making you feel good about it, that's all.
Mike (01:03:08):
does make me feel good.
It does make me feel good.
It does make me feel good.
Because when I thought of it Idied laughing.
I was like, no one's going to gofor this.
This is so stupid.
Oh, thank you.
I feel it.
All right.
So you ready?
All right.
Everybody, the Wakanda peacepause in three.
(01:03:30):
Done.
Done.
number two.
Done.
Ken (01:03:34):
In the books.
Mike (01:03:35):
guest number two, David.
Ken (01:03:37):
Thank you.
Fantastic conversation.
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