June 9, 2025 • 43 mins
Sasha Pieterse might be best known for her acting career — but behind the scenes, she’s been building a beverage empire.
In this episode, we dive deep into how Sasha's personal health journey led her to launch Hippie Water, a hemp-derived THC beverage brand that’s now in 140+ stores across 9 states. We talk about what it takes to transition from Hollywood to the CPG world, why Gen Z is drinking less alcohol, and how Sasha is redefining what it means to be a “celebrity founder.”
This conversation goes beyond cannabis — it’s about leadership, authenticity, and building brands with staying power.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
So before we jump into the business and howyou're doing, tell me about why exact why are
you so passionate about cannabis infusedbeverages, and why pick this space out of
everything you could have done?
I definitely could have picked an easier space.
(00:20):
I'll tell you that.
But I think that's kind of the point.
So as you know, I I've been an actress for manyyears.
And because of that, a lot of my life is oncamera.
A lot of growing is on camera.
And I've had a lots of health issues over theyears.
I've got PCOS and epilepsy, and it's it'sreally affected my day to day life.
(00:42):
I'm so passionate about cannabis because itreally has changed my life.
I was never a cannabis user.
My parents were like, meth, cannabis, samething, which is so not the case.
And, you know, you get older and you realize,wow, there's a lot more out there.
I was really negatively impacted by alcohol.
I I love it in so many ways, but it's a socialritual that we've all become so accustomed to
(01:08):
that it's normal.
But it was affecting my sleep, which affectedmy seizures.
It was affecting my hormones, which affected myPCOS.
And then I had my son, and it was just, youknow, I I couldn't get up in the middle of the
night and then have a hangover the next daywhen I wanted to work and be functional and be
a mom and all of those things.
And I didn't have a problem with alcohol, butat the same time, I did.
(01:29):
It was one of those things where it wasn't aconsumption issue.
It was the effect that even just two glasses,one glass of wine would have on me.
And then I started mourning what it actuallywas as far as a loss goes, which was the social
aspect.
I missed the connection of let's grab a youknow, some cocktails or or let's open a bottle
(01:50):
of wine and share something together.
And that was the aspect that I was trulymissing.
And some sparkling water wasn't really cuttingit.
Yeah.
And I wanted something different.
And so I created Hippie Water because I wantedsomething different and an option for me.
And that passion has fueled everything thatwe've done with Hippie water.
And I think that makes the best productsomething that starts selfish
(02:13):
And there was this meme on cannabis as it wasbeing legalized that it's really not that bad
for you.
And now there's some pushback on that andsaying it's actually worse than you worse than
not bad for you.
What's the latest science?
And tell me where people stand on on how bad ornot bad cannabis is for you.
Well, there's a lot of parts to this answer.
(02:34):
This has become a very like, so many thingsnow, a very political space versus a science
backed space.
If you wanna compare it, it's much better thanalcohol, Just naturally, I mean, alcohol has
been scheduled as a carcinogen.
It's been now proven to cause cancer of allsorts affecting males, females of any age that
(02:58):
drink it.
So I think that's an interesting thing.
We put that in a box and then we go to thescience from cannabis.
Not only have we been restricted at studyingcannabis legally, so that's the thing.
The is the studies that we do have on it haveonly proven positive things.
The the negative ones that we've come acrossare tainted.
(03:23):
They were on other substances.
There was other medical things involved.
It's not really a fair study.
And so what you're seeing is because of thedecline of alcohol use or consumption, you're
seeing a lot of lobbying and a lot ofmisunderstanding or a lack of education in the
space in general, which is a hard thing to facewhen you have a new company in in the industry.
(03:45):
I think the biggest part of this is creatinganother alternative for people that is
functional.
The nonalcoholic space is huge, but there arenot a lot of beverages there that are actually
getting you to feel something.
And that's where that hemp derived THC beveragecomes in.
It's you can have the best of both worlds.
(04:05):
You can have this.
You can sleep well after having a nice buzz,wake up in the morning feeling refreshed with
no hangover.
There are not a lot of things in life that giveyou a no compromise situation, and and cannabis
beverages do.
And you mentioned the lobbying, basically,lobbying from alcohol companies against
cannabis as a substitute.
Ultimately, Gen z and millennials are drinkingfar less than previous generations.
(04:30):
Alcohol is down at least 30% in consumption inThe United States, which affects pockets.
But we have amazing brands and and businessesthat are willing to accept us.
TotalMine is a great example.
They are an amazing partner.
We are in it'll be nine states with them, andthey have just been so supportive and
(04:54):
understanding that THC is a really big part oftheir business now.
It's not just this fun additive.
It's it's helping their business.
It's helping them grow and sustain their theircustomers.
Because, ultimately, it doesn't have to be aneither or.
Giving people an option is ideal when it comesto keeping your business afloat, and they
(05:16):
understand that.
And so you're seeing a lot of smallerbusinesses also understand that and follow
suit.
I'll call I I also see over time the the largecompanies are gonna start acquiring in the
space and Absolutely.
Just like they've done in other substitutespaces.
In terms of Gen z, I looked this up.
Gen z is drinking significantly less than thanprevious generations.
(05:40):
Why is that?
Gen z are understanding that it's not what'sbest for them.
They're more health conscious.
There's more information for them out there.
They can see the after effects.
They aren't necessarily choosing it at collegeanymore.
It's not something that they are partaking in,in that, like, camaraderie style, like we even
(06:01):
did as younger millennials and previousgenerations.
So I think you're just seeing a a shift inmindset and a change of vice, to be honest.
And I think that's something that I also wannabe clear on when it comes to cannabis
beverages.
As much as I don't wanna say that we are a vicebecause I think that we are positive in so many
ways, all of the good companies and the goodpeople in the hemp industry recognize that we
(06:25):
are a controlled substance in the sense thatyou should be 21 and over to consume.
This is still an adult product, and, we wannamake sure that consumers are safe.
That includes every consumer that's legallyable to consume it like Gen Z.
We wanna make sure that they are consumingresponsibly and that it is a healthy
alternative in all aspects.
(06:45):
But I think the Gen z young like, thisgeneration, this age that they're at, I think
they are smarter in so many ways compared toprevious generations just based on access to
information.
They have AI.
They could
They have AI.
Curiosity has gone down.
I'm glad that you mentioned the underage use ofTHC.
One of the consensus parts in the science isthat a lot of use early on could have pretty
(07:08):
significant brain development.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
And I think that goes for so many differentthings.
Alcohol being the easiest thing.
I was an underage consumer of alcohol.
Your I
brain
I
brain wasn't cool enough.
You're you're I was a really good teenager.
It is one of those things where there areplenty of things in our life that we shouldn't
(07:29):
be doing until technically we're 26, just basedon on the formation of our brain.
So when we classify ourselves as an adult,there's a reason for it.
21 is, the safer side to start consuming anyproduct like that, and cannabis falls into that
category.
And it it should be treated as such.
When we last chatted almost a year ago, youwere prelaunch.
(07:53):
Now you're in 40 stores and growing.
Tell me about how you went from launch to 40stores.
I have to brag.
We're in a 140, not 40.
Okay.
It's it's been an amazing ride.
So since we last spoke, we're still a babycompany.
We've barely been around for nine months.
It's it's it's just turning nine months, sotruly a baby.
(08:17):
And I think there are a lot of surprisescompared to when we spoke.
One of those being we got into distribution wayfaster than we thought that we would.
We thought we would be driven mainly by d to cand only start considering more of a serious
brick and mortar, push at, like, six months.
We got into total line way faster thananticipated.
(08:39):
We got a a contact, which we were super excitedabout.
We figured maybe one store they'll test us in,maybe two or three.
We sent them samples, and then they wanted usin three states, which was incredible and also
posed a very interesting problem, a champagneproblem as I like to call it.
And that being, you know, spoken from Taylor,our CPO, and food scientists that made heavy
(09:03):
water.
It's your run.
Your inventory run is in so many ways apractice round.
You wanna know what the consumers think.
You wanna make sure that it's it tastescorrect, that the color is perfect, all of
those things.
And so for us to have this type of success inour in our technical inventory run was amazing,
(09:27):
and we're so thankful for that.
So we love our product.
The quality is there, and it shows now withconsumer demand.
And the fact that Total Wine wanted it then andnow have only grown, like I said, we'll be in
in nine states with them now, which is anincredible achievement in our time frame.
Congrats on the early milestones.
(09:48):
Thanks.
As a CEO of a consumer goods company, what doesyour day to day look like, and where do you
spend your time?
That is a loaded question, but it's a questionthat I love.
As you know, I was a little bit late because ofa childcare issue.
I'm gonna be honest.
Obviously, I'm juggling a lot of things.
It's not just Hippie Water.
It's my acting career.
It's our podcast.
(10:09):
There's a lot of lot of things going on, butthat's honestly what I thrive on.
I think what we do really well at Hippie Water,if I do say myself, is is basically our
foundation.
The culture that we've made for our team andour employees has been a huge priority for us.
So I'm the co CEO.
(10:31):
Alex is my other co CEO.
And what is so great about the way that we workis that we complement each other.
Because his background has been in tech mainly,but it's scaling and startups, He has such an
amazing foundation for the internal workingsand what it means to be active and prioritize,
the growth of the company.
(10:52):
And in tandem, I'm the growth on an everydaysense, but also from from outward.
I'm talking with you.
I'm, you know, thinking of new ideas, ways toexpand, ways to utilize my network and my
relationships, and we make a really good team.
And I told you from the very beginning, I didnot wanna slap my face on anything unless I was
(11:13):
passionate about it and passionate aboutgrowing this company, every single day.
You know?
I think it's interesting.
A lot of CEOs, they feel like they need to doevery task.
It's almost like they almost feel guilty ifthey're not doing the operations and the
management.
I think it's more about what the company needsfrom you.
If you could do a podcast and it goes viral orif you could go on television, talk about
(11:39):
hippie water, that's much more valuable for thecompany even though you might not be doing the
technical thing that some CEOs might think youshould be doing.
But it's more about what's best for thecompany, not necessarily what you feel
compelled to do.
That's very well said.
And, yes, I mean, I just like mom guilt,sometimes I have CEO guilt.
(11:59):
Yeah.
And that needs to be something that I'mreminded of, and my team does a good job with
that.
But what I will say is that to your point, it'salso about who you hire.
I've also said from the beginning, I don'twanna be the smartest person in the room.
We're making strategic hires based on theirexperience.
I can't do their job better than they can.
And if I could, then that's also an issue.
(12:21):
We have amazing employees that are sosupportive and excellent in what they do.
And so because of that, I may have my own guiltabout maybe not making as many things as I I
would like to.
However, the company is covered and that is theimportant thing.
So when I am doing something like this, I'm notworried about is that task being done is, you
(12:46):
know, is is am I missing something in thatmeeting?
It's like, no.
My team has got it.
If there's anything that happened, they willcatch me up.
We'll dive into it.
And I I'm far less worried than I could be.
And so that's that's a relief becauseultimately, everything that I do in my career
(13:07):
helps hippie water.
And that balance is essential to making surethat everything is running correctly.
It's your unfair distribution advantage.
Exactly.
Let me re remove some of that guilt.
People are very rarely motivated to dosomething that they're not excellent in.
And people are very rarely unmotivated to dosomething that they're really good at.
(13:27):
So people tend to know what they're really goodat at some level, and they wanna focus on that.
That's what they're motivated.
That's that's where they could be their bestself.
That's where they could keep on doing over andover in order to be the best.
So I actually have a contrarian view.
I think that companies should align themselvesaround people's super strengths and focus on
(13:47):
really, like, structuring away the weaknessesversus having these arbitrary boxes.
I think it's Elon Musk had said that CEO is amade up title.
There is a lot of these titles when you lookwhen you become a Delaware c corp, you have the
president and you have the secretary.
And there might be one other title, but youdon't actually have this the CPO or CEO or any
(14:10):
of these titles.
Very fair.
So yeah.
There is there are there are no rules fromcorporate state law on what you should be
focusing your time on.
I I love that.
That's that's that's very well said.
And and it's true.
And I am I'm actually grateful for that becauseultimately, the things that I've done in my
career and personal life have always beendriven by things that excite me, and I never
(14:33):
want that to stop.
I think we we stop progressing as soon as weare afraid to evolve and try new things.
And as much as there are things that scare meabout something like this, stepping into this
position, it's never boring.
And I have this desire to always learn more inin this aspect.
(14:57):
I wanna be this best CEO that I can.
I want the company to be the best that it canbe.
And learning on my feet or finding out whatthose weaknesses are and how to fill them is
something that is that I'm driven by ratherthan scared of.
And I think that's that's the important thing.
It's not necessarily about having that skilllike you're saying.
(15:19):
It's about how to overcome those weaknessessuccessfully.
And you're not always gonna make the rightdecision.
And that's the other thing.
It's it's being willing and able to pivot.
Being agile in a company is so important.
And, of course, Hippie Water is definitelysuccessful, but that doesn't mean that we
haven't made mistakes.
That doesn't mean that we haven't learned alongthe way.
(15:41):
One of the easiest things to point to is thatwe really thought that we would be targeting
Gen Z mainly.
And our actual audience, our strongest consumeris 30 60 and and swinging female.
The female isn't a surprise.
The older age group, not that they're old, ismore of a surprise.
We have a large Gen Z demographic, but it'sactually me.
(16:03):
Mike, the consumer is me.
It's the, you know, working mom that is reallytired, that wants to go and drink with her
friends but knows that it's not in her bestinterest.
So instead, she's gonna turn to something likehippie water that is gonna give her that no
compromise lifestyle and slowly make her lifebetter, incorporating healthier things.
And so I'm literally marketing to myself, andthat is the best lesson we could have learned,
(16:27):
especially this early on in our company.
How has being a celebrity founder, in what wayhas that helped you, in which way maybe it
wasn't as advantageous as you thought beforeyou started?
I would be doing everybody a disservice by notrecognizing the privilege that I have because
as much as I face challenges as a female CEO, Ialso have a foot in the door because of my
(16:52):
social presence.
What I will say the challenge is is gettingpeople to see past just the celebrity.
Right?
Because initially, followers excite people.
Social influence excites people.
But it's the
What what are you up to follower wise?
I'm over I'm I'm around 21,000,000 across allsocial platforms.
(17:14):
K.
Between me and you, we have 21,000,000followers.
So
great.
You know, but but that's true.
It's like that's exciting, and it's not thatit's not exciting.
However, there is a bigger picture there, and Ifeel like I'm always fighting the the token.
I never wanna be the token.
(17:34):
The token celebrity?
The token celebrity, the token CEO, the the putin that position for face value versus actual
value.
And I think that is the fight that I'mfighting.
And and that's okay because I would rather beunderestimated and prove them wrong.
You know, that's that's not a new saying.
It's not a new sentiment, but it's the truth.
(17:56):
I I just feel like ultimately, we we have along way to go, but I I have experienced mainly
pleasant encounters other than maybe somecondescending remarks or maybe just not taking
me as seriously as I would like them to.
(18:17):
However, I'm I'm really happy with where we'reat, and I think that we will just continue to
prove that our team is strong and our team isactually what makes Hippie Water.
So much of fundraising and and networking isabout believing in our team versus our company.
And as much much as I feel like our product isreally strong, making sure that our team is
(18:41):
solid is in some ways more important.
Certainly on the investing side Yeah.
Up until probably series b, series c, it'salmost all all team.
Yeah.
In in terms of if you were investing intocelebrity backed brand, what would you be
looking for outside of obviously, that the CEOis actually passionate or the celebrity is
(19:02):
passionate about the company.
Where do you think is the right place forcelebrities to align themselves?
Ultimately, it just has to be authentic.
It it doesn't actually really matter what theproduct is as long as it's something that you
actually use.
And that of course, it's it needs to be, like,a gap that is being filled in the market.
(19:24):
But, ultimately, it has to be something thatyou use on a regular basis or you've talked
about or you're passionate about.
And so it's it's less about the celebrity evenbeing, like, the center of the business.
It's it's more about the celebrity that'sattached.
Doesn't necessarily have to be on a day to day.
I I'm not judging celebrities that aren't.
(19:46):
It just means that the product that you'recreating has to go with your brand.
It has to be something that makes sense whenyou talk about it.
I think that that's the main issue.
We see people we see celebrities eitherchoosing a very oversaturated product
Mhmm.
Because it's worked for a couple othercelebrities, or we're seeing a product that
(20:07):
doesn't make sense that you can kinda tell isjust attached versus authentic.
So if you can speak on it authentically, andit's it it's not an oversaturated market, I
think that that is a plan for success, thatthat's a route for success.
SKINS is a great example.
Kim literally built her early following onShapewear.
(20:29):
It wasn't her own, but that transition to herown company.
Brilliant.
And also the product is great.
And that's those two ingredients is I mean,obviously, she's gotten so much success from
skims, and that product can stand by itself.
There's a couple order effects from that.
One is if you're not really deeply rooted inthe mission, you're just like a tree during a
(20:52):
storm.
You're gonna get uprooted very quickly.
And the time there's any issues, which isalways every single month, you're gonna want to
quit.
You're not gonna have the same level ofcommitment to it.
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You wanna be able to see longevity because youmight have a great product and you might be a
(21:18):
very popular celebrity, but you will not be thelast to make something like that.
You are gonna have another product and anothercelebrity that will combat whatever you're
making.
And so you need to make sure that you areinteresting enough and are constantly
developing new things to to drive yourconsumers to have brand loyalty because just
(21:39):
because your brand and your face is successfuldoes not mean that there's not gonna be another
brand and another celebrity that's going torise to the occasion.
And how are you going to combat that?
Is I think the long term thought when it comesto investing in one and also starting one.
If you're an investor taking a look at HippieWater, what would you say is your competitive
(22:01):
advantage?
What is your moat?
Kind of what I just spoke on.
I think we have the product.
We have the brand, the authentic the authenticmessage.
The space itself has so much room to grow, notjust our company, but the industry.
Our moat is ironically also growth becausewe're constantly facing new regulation and and
(22:25):
how to pivot and and sidestep and and lobbyourselves and and all of those things that come
with this industry.
Our moat is mainly the fact that we are stillin a brand new industry.
That's kind of how I see that.
So investors investing in us, it's it'spotentially more risky than other industries,
but it has so much potential that you're kindof silly not to.
(22:49):
There are not a lot of industries out therewhere you can get in this early.
We have so many consumer packaged goods thathave been around.
The categories have been around forever.
Alcohol has been around for nine thousandyears, probably more.
And so that industry is not new.
Cannabis beverages are brand new, and we havethe opportunity to become that Coca Cola of
(23:15):
cannabis beverages.
And that is not an opportunity that comesaround often.
And in five, ten years, this industry will lookcompletely different.
And in terms of, from a regulatory standpoint,you guys are under a hemp laws.
You have a certain you're limited you'relimited by the THC you could put in beverage,
but, that's what makes you legal in all 50states.
(23:37):
Well, not all 50.
So federally, we are legal under the farm bill,the 2018 farm bill.
And so what that means is because we are undera certain dry weight volume of hemp, we have
that loophole to use THC.
And so there's a couple of things to note onthis.
(23:58):
States are now making their own loss, whichthey should be.
I think hemp beverages, because we have thisangle, you're seeing a couple of things happen.
You're seeing it obviously was a surpriseloophole, but what you're seeing is success in
the space because of consumer demand and theaccessibility.
But you're seeing states cap the milligrams,which I personally think is correct.
(24:22):
I think what we should be seeing is moreregulation.
And obviously, we don't want, like, a chokeholdaround us, but we should be a regulated
industry for multiple reasons.
Like I said, we are substance.
It should be age gated.
We should make sure that there are regulationsto keep consumers safe.
We should be tested.
We should make sure that our, dosages or whatthey say that they are inside the can.
(24:46):
There are certain things that bring validityvalidity to the industry that are important.
So I agree with all of those things.
Some of those things can be annoying when theyare opinions made into law that are uneducated
when they don't really understand the space.
But as long as we can manage making sure thatthe science and common sense laws and
(25:09):
regulation come into place, we will be totallyfine.
So we can ship legally to 39 states directly toyour door through USPS, UPS, FedEx.
And those types of things, those loopholesitself, they might go away as far as small
regulation on a state by state basis.
(25:29):
Currently, that is not the case.
And so, you know, you're constantly pivoting.
However, the accessibility is great.
You're seeing states like Minnesota reallyleading the way.
You can buy it in grocery stores, restaurants,bars, and we're really giving people that
alternative option.
And I think there are a lot of states followingsuit.
(25:49):
Now you've got a state like California with thehemp ban.
It's a perfect example of lobbying andmisinformation.
So the idea was that hemp beverages weremarketing to kids.
Simply not the case.
We were only sold in liquor stores inCalifornia.
So, you know, the conference that was heldabout why they're banning hemp, there were
certain beverages on the table, and it wasthey're selling in grocery stores right next to
(26:12):
the sodas.
Completely incorrect.
But what you do see is the alcohol infusedwarhead popsicles next to the regular
popsicles.
And so there's a hypocrisy there, but there ispushback, and there there will continue to be.
And I think that type of regulation and thatban will change over time.
What's the biggest lesson that you've learnedbeing a time CEO?
(26:33):
One one big one is just where to relinquishcontrol, which we've kind of touched on.
But I think I'm so used to having control overalmost everything I do in my business, aside
from, you know, maybe direction on set.
And so that has been the big one to be like,where should I let go and where should I stand
(26:54):
firm?
Those are my biggest lessons.
It's, you know, understanding my place in thebest way possible because, ultimately, like we
were saying, you know, I don't have to doeverything.
I am constantly learning, which is great.
And I'm not saying I'm ever on a power trip.
I really am not, but it's it is learning thewhere am I needed, where am I not, where can I
(27:18):
best be, serving the business versus thebusiness serving me?
I never want that to be the case.
And so, because I am a time CEO, I might notknow where that place is, and asking the right
questions outside and, outside, influence asfar as, like, advice goes helps and internal
(27:39):
helps.
And so I think just that balance, has reallyshaped me as a CEO and made me better.
And I think you can probably relate to this,which is as a founder, your your job title
shifts and changes and molds.
So I think the best example of where I'm at asa CEO is understanding where I am as a founder
(28:03):
of a company like this because the four of usfounded the company, and we were all doing
everything.
We bootstrapped it.
We did everything ourselves.
We were relying on our own relationships.
And as soon as you hire one employee thatrelieves a job that you have to do, you
understand, oh, okay.
My job has now shifted.
I get to relinquish control on that.
(28:23):
So what should I focus on now that I have alittle bit more free time?
Think a lot of people listening to this wouldlove to learn how to relinquish control and
when to do that.
What are some best practices on that?
Like, what should you be doing yourself, andwhen is it good to give the task to somebody
else?
It's it's based on reminding yourself, I hiredthat person for a reason and reminding yourself
(28:47):
why.
I hired that person because their strength isan x, y, and z, and they might look at
something different than me.
Because of that, I hired them.
Let's trust them.
Let's see what they do even if it's not exactlythe way that I would do it.
You want them to succeed.
So if that works, that works, and you werewrong, and you need to be okay with being
(29:08):
wrong.
You can always pivot later.
You can always change your strategy.
But remember that you're hiring somebody for areason.
And if they have a different way of doingthings, that doesn't mean that it's bad and you
need to let them do their job and evaluateafterwards.
It it's it feels scary to experiment in thatway.
Yeah.
But I think that is the the the biggest lessonwhen you are starting out is I'm passionate
(29:35):
about this person that I hired, but I ambasically ruining both of our jobs if I'm not
letting them do their job that I hire them for.
I also think that's the standard to which tohire somebody, somebody that's clearly better
at you at the task.
Right.
Somebody that you would never really challengein doing their domain because that's that much
more experience.
(29:56):
Right.
We just hired somebody, a fractional CMO.
They had they were doing the advertising thatwe were looking to do for fifteen straight
years.
So it's kinda kinda be silly for me tointerject and and, you know, give my 2¢.
Right.
And and I think there's a balance there too.
You know?
All of those things that you just said, all thethings that I said, but at the same time, you
(30:16):
have founded your brand or your business.
And so, you know, your vision matters.
And if the overall vision gets skewed and goesin the wrong direction, that's when you shift.
But, yes, relying on experience is sonecessary.
Our industry is a perfect example.
I've never been in the cannabis industrybefore.
And so when is it right to implement certainemployees that have been in cannabis and when
(30:40):
is it not?
I think the thing with our industry is that alot of people have been in cannabis for a
really long time and actually are notstructured properly.
And that's a big statement and it'scontroversial, but I think bringing in people
that have not been in cannabis and have been onthe more corporate or the more structured side
is actually a positive.
And so finding the right blend is superimportant.
(31:02):
And and that takes, you know, trial and errorand and figuring out what works.
But but, yes, overall vision, overall brandneeds to stay on track, and how you get there
is based on the people that you lean on.
And, yes, hopefully, you make the rightdecision with the person that you hire and let
them do their job.
Yeah.
I almost think that there's some psychologicalaspect to letting go.
(31:23):
And I think the irony is that people that havea hard time letting go are usually very
independently successful and have gotten very,very far on their own, but kind of to get to
the next step, what got you there won't get youto the next step.
So you almost have to like work with your lefthand and handing it off to people.
And still there's this meme in a startup worldcalled founder mode, which is basically the
(31:47):
exact opposite.
So basically, startups started to get run overwith MBAs.
I'm kind of both a founder and an MBA site.
I have a foot in both both camps, but basicallythese MBAs with no founder experience would
come in and create these hierarchical kind oforganizations and things stalled.
(32:07):
It's the reason why startups have always beenable to compete with incumbents because they
were able to be scrappy and be be more flat.
And now there's this whole trend of foundermode, which started by Brian Chesky, which is
basically founders get in the trenches and workwith their team on fixing problems.
So you could go in one direction too far aswell.
(32:28):
Totally.
Completely agree.
What aspect of entrepreneurship were you notready for despite, you know, hearing it many
times over, but you became a founder, youbecame a CEO.
What weren't you ready for?
It's it's a great question.
It's and I'm definitely not saying that I wasready for everything.
I I think I wasn't ready for how exhaustingfundraising is.
(32:52):
There's aspects that I love, and it's notbecause of a lack of traction.
It's just I constantly asking people for money.
It's not very fun.
Yeah.
Even if you deserve it and, you know, yournumbers are good and your company is set up
well, it's, it's an awkward dance.
And believe me, I'm getting better at it.
(33:13):
But it's not something that I had ever donebefore.
So that's a new thing as a CEO.
Right?
One of the things that I had to learn is howhow do you, put pressure in the right ways?
How do you ask the right questions?
And and how do you figure out, you know, how tobest represent your company?
(33:34):
And and those meetings can be challenging, andyou're not gonna get it right every time.
Feels like an audition sometimes Yeah.
Where, you know, you wanna showcase your
Probably similar similar conversion from Yeah.
Audition to to check.
What's interesting, though, with that and andmaybe this is, like, hopefully some relief to
new founders or brand new CEOs that have neverdone this before, is that just like an
(33:58):
audition, sometimes your worst audition, atleast the way that you felt, ends up being the
thing that takes you to the next step forwhatever reason.
It's it's, you know, maybe showing a lack ofego or, you know, something silly that you said
that made it endearing.
Who knows what it is?
But I I have definitely walked out of auditionsand gone, that sucked.
(34:22):
I I didn't do what I wanted to do or I said thewrong line or I forgot this or whatever it is,
and then that's the role that
you
book.
And I think this is very similar.
And and you don't have to always do thingsperfectly to get a good result.
So I think it's a lot of it is trusting yourinstincts and and understanding that you're
(34:43):
still a person, and and your story is whatmatters and and your execution is what matters.
Sometimes you're gonna have bad meetings.
Sometimes you're gonna have bad encounters.
Sometimes you're not gonna relate to anybody,and and that's okay.
It's not the end of the world even when itfeels like it in the moment.
One of the counterintuitive things aboutfundraising is when you come in and the
(35:05):
investor's nodding their head, and they'relike, it was so great to meet you.
That's almost a 100% no.
But when they start asking you tough questions,that's actually when they're interested.
It's one of those things you learn year as CEO.
That is a really great point, and it's so true.
If, you know, if they're if they're not trulyinspecting you, they're not interested.
You're back living in LA after moving fromNashville.
(35:27):
What has surprised you most about living in LAthis time around?
That's a great question because I, in so manyways, have always had a disdain for LA.
I grew up here.
You know, the majority of my life has beenspent in LA, but I I feel like because of being
in the industry, I did I think you do one oftwo things when you're in the industry.
(35:47):
You're either all in it all the time and thatcan be exhausting or you are a recluse and you
try and make a different private life outsideof the industry.
And I think I was raised to pull back when Iwasn't working for better and for worse.
And that was when I was growing up.
(36:07):
So I think it made sense, And it probably savedme from a lot of bad situations.
So as an adult, living back here in LA andreally understanding all of the the pleasant
things about it has been really healthy.
I'm coming back to LA with a completelydifferent outlook on life, a completely
completely different family dynamic, you know,with a young kid and and being able to
(36:31):
reconnect with childhood friends and and familythat still lives here and creating a different
type of community has been really exciting anda pleasant surprise because I'm not gonna lie,
I did come back feeling a little jaded.
And I'm happy that I have kind of worked on myown self awareness and broken some of that
down.
And, you know, it's not all bad and it's notall good, and and that's okay.
(36:54):
Ultimately, in my industry, I love my job.
Set is my happy place.
It's like summer camp.
You're mixed with so many people that you wouldnever come across normally, and it's wonderful.
And there are things about the industry thataren't so great, but I think getting better at
business in general, being in different circlesthat aren't just the entertainment industry has
been super healthy.
(37:15):
And I understand now how to connect and networkbetter than I did before, And I think it's only
served me better in every circle that I've beenin.
You have your own podcast, Women in the Nude,WITN.
How has podcasting been different than acting,and what do you learn from one art to the
other?
(37:37):
of all, it's been really fun.
I've really enjoyed this.
I think I've I felt really free doing thispodcast.
Ironically, I'm I'm doing things that arecontroversial.
You know, I've got a cannabis beverage and,women in the nude is a title that I didn't
realize was gonna get flagged so many times,which is why we now use our acronym a lot
because women in the nude is something thatgets flagged on social, which is really funny.
(38:00):
And so with that lesson, it's it's actuallyit's been liberating in a lot of ways because
I've always talked about all the things thatI'm talking about on the podcast, but I've
always been afraid to share them becausenaturally there are topics that aren't talked
about in the way that they should be talkedabout.
And so giving myself the outlet, providing acommunity of of women that we can kinda lean on
(38:26):
has been really awesome.
It's not all about, you know, women's health asimportant as women's health is.
It's also about women in business and thechallenges we face, the cool things about it,
you know, climbing up the ladder together,understanding that we don't it's not a, I rise
and you don't.
It's a we rise together and and how to makethat possible.
(38:49):
It's been a really beautiful thing.
And I started out being super remote with mypodcast.
I was on the road a lot.
I would do it while I was filming, while I wasin Tennessee.
And so having a headquarters in LA has beenreally great.
And, like, you're sitting on this couch rightnow.
It just feels
I feel very privileged as a man on the women inthe nude.
(39:11):
I know.
Yeah.
You are actually the man to be sitting on thiscouch getting interviewed.
It's obviously your podcast, but it does itdoes feel nice to connect with people on a
level.
I think just also after COVID, it was we wereout of practice, you know, even just auditions
or meetings or that sort of thing.
(39:31):
I've I've all been over Zoom or Meet and thatsort of thing.
So it's nice to sit down with somebody andconnect with them the way that we used to.
And it just happens to be that there's camerason.
What what do you wish that men understoodbetter about women?
I can tell you what I wish men did better.
I think ultimately what I I wish men understoodmore about women is that communication is an
(40:00):
asset, not something to be annoyed by.
I think we often see women when they explaintheir feelings, being told that they're too
emotional or they're too much or they'recomplainers or they're naggers or they're
overstepping when in reality, conversation iswhat moves things forward even if we don't
(40:23):
agree.
Mhmm.
Ultimately, communication is a strength.
And we might express emotions differently, butwe all feel very strong emotions.
And like I say to my toddler, every emotion isokay.
It's just how what you do with it.
And I think emotional intelligence isregulating yourself and figuring out how to use
(40:44):
it wisely.
And I think we could all use a dose of that.
And from evolutionary psychology, womendeveloped emotions in order to communicate and
influence basically the men of the tribe wherethe men would just hit each other with a club.
So it certainly has served its evolutionarypurpose.
People grow together or they grow apart.
(41:05):
It's part of life, friendship, marriage,whatever it is.
And ultimately, communication is the ultimategoal.
Because if I can tell you how I'm feeling andyou can tell me how you're feeling and we can
work on it together, we're much happier.
There's no resentment.
We can figure out a path forward.
(41:26):
We can help each other, support each other, andfulfill each other, in ways that we wouldn't be
able to if we weren't talking about it.
It's a disservice.
It might feel awkward in the moment, butthere's no progress in that.
So, again, communication is my biggest message.
Relationship, marriage, you know, business, allof it.
Let's get the awkward conversations out of theway so that we can build whether that's in life
(41:49):
or business or friendship.
We can't support each other properly if wedon't know what the problem is.
What would you like our audience to know aboutyou, about Hippie Water, or anything else you'd
like to share?
I want them to know that our movement isexciting and it's it's real.
And ultimately, at the end of the day, I thinkour product has quality It has wellness It has,
(42:17):
you know, our consumers' best interest And thenabout me, I I guess I just want them to know
that I I believe in what I'm doing in everyaspect of my life.
And where could they see more of Hippie Water?
Where could they order?
Hippiewater.com.
And if you go to our website, you can find ourstore locator and see if there's one near you.
(42:39):
Another really exciting thing, sorry tosidestep again, but we are seeing companies and
businesses like DoorDash get involved.
So in Florida is a good example.
You can DoorDash heavy water right to yourdoor.
Okay.
Yeah.
Well, Sasha, this has been great to catch upand
Likewise.
Look forward to taping taping here in New Yorksoon.
Sounds good.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Thanks for listening to my conversation.
(43:00):
If you enjoyed this episode, please share witha friend.
This helps us grow.
Also provides the very best feedback when wereview the episode's analytics.
Thank you for your support.
So before we jump into the business and howyou're doing, tell me about why exact why are
you so passionate about cannabis infusedbeverages, and why pick this space out of
everything you could have done?
I definitely could have picked an easier space.
(00:20):
I'll tell you that.
But I think that's kind of the point.
So as you know, I I've been an actress for manyyears.
And because of that, a lot of my life is oncamera.
A lot of growing is on camera.
And I've had a lots of health issues over theyears.
I've got PCOS and epilepsy, and it's it'sreally affected my day to day life.
(00:42):
I'm so passionate about cannabis because itreally has changed my life.
I was never a cannabis user.
My parents were like, meth, cannabis, samething, which is so not the case.
And, you know, you get older and you realize,wow, there's a lot more out there.
I was really negatively impacted by alcohol.
I I love it in so many ways, but it's a socialritual that we've all become so accustomed to
(01:08):
that it's normal.
But it was affecting my sleep, which affectedmy seizures.
It was affecting my hormones, which affected myPCOS.
And then I had my son, and it was just, youknow, I I couldn't get up in the middle of the
night and then have a hangover the next daywhen I wanted to work and be functional and be
a mom and all of those things.
And I didn't have a problem with alcohol, butat the same time, I did.
(01:29):
It was one of those things where it wasn't aconsumption issue.
It was the effect that even just two glasses,one glass of wine would have on me.
And then I started mourning what it actuallywas as far as a loss goes, which was the social
aspect.
I missed the connection of let's grab a youknow, some cocktails or or let's open a bottle
(01:50):
of wine and share something together.
And that was the aspect that I was trulymissing.
And some sparkling water wasn't really cuttingit.
Yeah.
And I wanted something different.
And so I created Hippie Water because I wantedsomething different and an option for me.
And that passion has fueled everything thatwe've done with Hippie water.
And I think that makes the best productsomething that starts selfish
(02:13):
And there was this meme on cannabis as it wasbeing legalized that it's really not that bad
for you.
And now there's some pushback on that andsaying it's actually worse than you worse than
not bad for you.
What's the latest science?
And tell me where people stand on on how bad ornot bad cannabis is for you.
Well, there's a lot of parts to this answer.
(02:34):
This has become a very like, so many thingsnow, a very political space versus a science
backed space.
If you wanna compare it, it's much better thanalcohol, Just naturally, I mean, alcohol has
been scheduled as a carcinogen.
It's been now proven to cause cancer of allsorts affecting males, females of any age that
(02:58):
drink it.
So I think that's an interesting thing.
We put that in a box and then we go to thescience from cannabis.
Not only have we been restricted at studyingcannabis legally, so that's the thing.
The is the studies that we do have on it haveonly proven positive things.
The the negative ones that we've come acrossare tainted.
(03:23):
They were on other substances.
There was other medical things involved.
It's not really a fair study.
And so what you're seeing is because of thedecline of alcohol use or consumption, you're
seeing a lot of lobbying and a lot ofmisunderstanding or a lack of education in the
space in general, which is a hard thing to facewhen you have a new company in in the industry.
(03:45):
I think the biggest part of this is creatinganother alternative for people that is
functional.
The nonalcoholic space is huge, but there arenot a lot of beverages there that are actually
getting you to feel something.
And that's where that hemp derived THC beveragecomes in.
It's you can have the best of both worlds.
(04:05):
You can have this.
You can sleep well after having a nice buzz,wake up in the morning feeling refreshed with
no hangover.
There are not a lot of things in life that giveyou a no compromise situation, and and cannabis
beverages do.
And you mentioned the lobbying, basically,lobbying from alcohol companies against
cannabis as a substitute.
Ultimately, Gen z and millennials are drinkingfar less than previous generations.
(04:30):
Alcohol is down at least 30% in consumption inThe United States, which affects pockets.
But we have amazing brands and and businessesthat are willing to accept us.
TotalMine is a great example.
They are an amazing partner.
We are in it'll be nine states with them, andthey have just been so supportive and
(04:54):
understanding that THC is a really big part oftheir business now.
It's not just this fun additive.
It's it's helping their business.
It's helping them grow and sustain their theircustomers.
Because, ultimately, it doesn't have to be aneither or.
Giving people an option is ideal when it comesto keeping your business afloat, and they
(05:16):
understand that.
And so you're seeing a lot of smallerbusinesses also understand that and follow
suit.
I'll call I I also see over time the the largecompanies are gonna start acquiring in the
space and Absolutely.
Just like they've done in other substitutespaces.
In terms of Gen z, I looked this up.
Gen z is drinking significantly less than thanprevious generations.
(05:40):
Why is that?
Gen z are understanding that it's not what'sbest for them.
They're more health conscious.
There's more information for them out there.
They can see the after effects.
They aren't necessarily choosing it at collegeanymore.
It's not something that they are partaking in,in that, like, camaraderie style, like we even
(06:01):
did as younger millennials and previousgenerations.
So I think you're just seeing a a shift inmindset and a change of vice, to be honest.
And I think that's something that I also wannabe clear on when it comes to cannabis
beverages.
As much as I don't wanna say that we are a vicebecause I think that we are positive in so many
ways, all of the good companies and the goodpeople in the hemp industry recognize that we
(06:25):
are a controlled substance in the sense thatyou should be 21 and over to consume.
This is still an adult product, and, we wannamake sure that consumers are safe.
That includes every consumer that's legallyable to consume it like Gen Z.
We wanna make sure that they are consumingresponsibly and that it is a healthy
alternative in all aspects.
(06:45):
But I think the Gen z young like, thisgeneration, this age that they're at, I think
they are smarter in so many ways compared toprevious generations just based on access to
information.
They have AI.
They could
They have AI.
Curiosity has gone down.
I'm glad that you mentioned the underage use ofTHC.
One of the consensus parts in the science isthat a lot of use early on could have pretty
(07:08):
significant brain development.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
And I think that goes for so many differentthings.
Alcohol being the easiest thing.
I was an underage consumer of alcohol.
Your I
brain
I
brain wasn't cool enough.
You're you're I was a really good teenager.
It is one of those things where there areplenty of things in our life that we shouldn't
(07:29):
be doing until technically we're 26, just basedon on the formation of our brain.
So when we classify ourselves as an adult,there's a reason for it.
21 is, the safer side to start consuming anyproduct like that, and cannabis falls into that
category.
And it it should be treated as such.
When we last chatted almost a year ago, youwere prelaunch.
(07:53):
Now you're in 40 stores and growing.
Tell me about how you went from launch to 40stores.
I have to brag.
We're in a 140, not 40.
Okay.
It's it's been an amazing ride.
So since we last spoke, we're still a babycompany.
We've barely been around for nine months.
It's it's it's just turning nine months, sotruly a baby.
(08:17):
And I think there are a lot of surprisescompared to when we spoke.
One of those being we got into distribution wayfaster than we thought that we would.
We thought we would be driven mainly by d to cand only start considering more of a serious
brick and mortar, push at, like, six months.
We got into total line way faster thananticipated.
(08:39):
We got a a contact, which we were super excitedabout.
We figured maybe one store they'll test us in,maybe two or three.
We sent them samples, and then they wanted usin three states, which was incredible and also
posed a very interesting problem, a champagneproblem as I like to call it.
And that being, you know, spoken from Taylor,our CPO, and food scientists that made heavy
(09:03):
water.
It's your run.
Your inventory run is in so many ways apractice round.
You wanna know what the consumers think.
You wanna make sure that it's it tastescorrect, that the color is perfect, all of
those things.
And so for us to have this type of success inour in our technical inventory run was amazing,
(09:27):
and we're so thankful for that.
So we love our product.
The quality is there, and it shows now withconsumer demand.
And the fact that Total Wine wanted it then andnow have only grown, like I said, we'll be in
in nine states with them now, which is anincredible achievement in our time frame.
Congrats on the early milestones.
(09:48):
Thanks.
As a CEO of a consumer goods company, what doesyour day to day look like, and where do you
spend your time?
That is a loaded question, but it's a questionthat I love.
As you know, I was a little bit late because ofa childcare issue.
I'm gonna be honest.
Obviously, I'm juggling a lot of things.
It's not just Hippie Water.
It's my acting career.
It's our podcast.
(10:09):
There's a lot of lot of things going on, butthat's honestly what I thrive on.
I think what we do really well at Hippie Water,if I do say myself, is is basically our
foundation.
The culture that we've made for our team andour employees has been a huge priority for us.
So I'm the co CEO.
(10:31):
Alex is my other co CEO.
And what is so great about the way that we workis that we complement each other.
Because his background has been in tech mainly,but it's scaling and startups, He has such an
amazing foundation for the internal workingsand what it means to be active and prioritize,
the growth of the company.
(10:52):
And in tandem, I'm the growth on an everydaysense, but also from from outward.
I'm talking with you.
I'm, you know, thinking of new ideas, ways toexpand, ways to utilize my network and my
relationships, and we make a really good team.
And I told you from the very beginning, I didnot wanna slap my face on anything unless I was
(11:13):
passionate about it and passionate aboutgrowing this company, every single day.
You know?
I think it's interesting.
A lot of CEOs, they feel like they need to doevery task.
It's almost like they almost feel guilty ifthey're not doing the operations and the
management.
I think it's more about what the company needsfrom you.
If you could do a podcast and it goes viral orif you could go on television, talk about
(11:39):
hippie water, that's much more valuable for thecompany even though you might not be doing the
technical thing that some CEOs might think youshould be doing.
But it's more about what's best for thecompany, not necessarily what you feel
compelled to do.
That's very well said.
And, yes, I mean, I just like mom guilt,sometimes I have CEO guilt.
(11:59):
Yeah.
And that needs to be something that I'mreminded of, and my team does a good job with
that.
But what I will say is that to your point, it'salso about who you hire.
I've also said from the beginning, I don'twanna be the smartest person in the room.
We're making strategic hires based on theirexperience.
I can't do their job better than they can.
And if I could, then that's also an issue.
(12:21):
We have amazing employees that are sosupportive and excellent in what they do.
And so because of that, I may have my own guiltabout maybe not making as many things as I I
would like to.
However, the company is covered and that is theimportant thing.
So when I am doing something like this, I'm notworried about is that task being done is, you
(12:46):
know, is is am I missing something in thatmeeting?
It's like, no.
My team has got it.
If there's anything that happened, they willcatch me up.
We'll dive into it.
And I I'm far less worried than I could be.
And so that's that's a relief becauseultimately, everything that I do in my career
(13:07):
helps hippie water.
And that balance is essential to making surethat everything is running correctly.
It's your unfair distribution advantage.
Exactly.
Let me re remove some of that guilt.
People are very rarely motivated to dosomething that they're not excellent in.
And people are very rarely unmotivated to dosomething that they're really good at.
(13:27):
So people tend to know what they're really goodat at some level, and they wanna focus on that.
That's what they're motivated.
That's that's where they could be their bestself.
That's where they could keep on doing over andover in order to be the best.
So I actually have a contrarian view.
I think that companies should align themselvesaround people's super strengths and focus on
(13:47):
really, like, structuring away the weaknessesversus having these arbitrary boxes.
I think it's Elon Musk had said that CEO is amade up title.
There is a lot of these titles when you lookwhen you become a Delaware c corp, you have the
president and you have the secretary.
And there might be one other title, but youdon't actually have this the CPO or CEO or any
(14:10):
of these titles.
Very fair.
So yeah.
There is there are there are no rules fromcorporate state law on what you should be
focusing your time on.
I I love that.
That's that's that's very well said.
And and it's true.
And I am I'm actually grateful for that becauseultimately, the things that I've done in my
career and personal life have always beendriven by things that excite me, and I never
(14:33):
want that to stop.
I think we we stop progressing as soon as weare afraid to evolve and try new things.
And as much as there are things that scare meabout something like this, stepping into this
position, it's never boring.
And I have this desire to always learn more inin this aspect.
(14:57):
I wanna be this best CEO that I can.
I want the company to be the best that it canbe.
And learning on my feet or finding out whatthose weaknesses are and how to fill them is
something that is that I'm driven by ratherthan scared of.
And I think that's that's the important thing.
It's not necessarily about having that skilllike you're saying.
(15:19):
It's about how to overcome those weaknessessuccessfully.
And you're not always gonna make the rightdecision.
And that's the other thing.
It's it's being willing and able to pivot.
Being agile in a company is so important.
And, of course, Hippie Water is definitelysuccessful, but that doesn't mean that we
haven't made mistakes.
That doesn't mean that we haven't learned alongthe way.
(15:41):
One of the easiest things to point to is thatwe really thought that we would be targeting
Gen Z mainly.
And our actual audience, our strongest consumeris 30 60 and and swinging female.
The female isn't a surprise.
The older age group, not that they're old, ismore of a surprise.
We have a large Gen Z demographic, but it'sactually me.
(16:03):
Mike, the consumer is me.
It's the, you know, working mom that is reallytired, that wants to go and drink with her
friends but knows that it's not in her bestinterest.
So instead, she's gonna turn to something likehippie water that is gonna give her that no
compromise lifestyle and slowly make her lifebetter, incorporating healthier things.
And so I'm literally marketing to myself, andthat is the best lesson we could have learned,
(16:27):
especially this early on in our company.
How has being a celebrity founder, in what wayhas that helped you, in which way maybe it
wasn't as advantageous as you thought beforeyou started?
I would be doing everybody a disservice by notrecognizing the privilege that I have because
as much as I face challenges as a female CEO, Ialso have a foot in the door because of my
(16:52):
social presence.
What I will say the challenge is is gettingpeople to see past just the celebrity.
Right?
Because initially, followers excite people.
Social influence excites people.
But it's the
What what are you up to follower wise?
I'm over I'm I'm around 21,000,000 across allsocial platforms.
(17:14):
K.
Between me and you, we have 21,000,000followers.
So
great.
You know, but but that's true.
It's like that's exciting, and it's not thatit's not exciting.
However, there is a bigger picture there, and Ifeel like I'm always fighting the the token.
I never wanna be the token.
(17:34):
The token celebrity?
The token celebrity, the token CEO, the the putin that position for face value versus actual
value.
And I think that is the fight that I'mfighting.
And and that's okay because I would rather beunderestimated and prove them wrong.
You know, that's that's not a new saying.
It's not a new sentiment, but it's the truth.
(17:56):
I I just feel like ultimately, we we have along way to go, but I I have experienced mainly
pleasant encounters other than maybe somecondescending remarks or maybe just not taking
me as seriously as I would like them to.
(18:17):
However, I'm I'm really happy with where we'reat, and I think that we will just continue to
prove that our team is strong and our team isactually what makes Hippie Water.
So much of fundraising and and networking isabout believing in our team versus our company.
And as much much as I feel like our product isreally strong, making sure that our team is
(18:41):
solid is in some ways more important.
Certainly on the investing side Yeah.
Up until probably series b, series c, it'salmost all all team.
Yeah.
In in terms of if you were investing intocelebrity backed brand, what would you be
looking for outside of obviously, that the CEOis actually passionate or the celebrity is
(19:02):
passionate about the company.
Where do you think is the right place forcelebrities to align themselves?
Ultimately, it just has to be authentic.
It it doesn't actually really matter what theproduct is as long as it's something that you
actually use.
And that of course, it's it needs to be, like,a gap that is being filled in the market.
(19:24):
But, ultimately, it has to be something thatyou use on a regular basis or you've talked
about or you're passionate about.
And so it's it's less about the celebrity evenbeing, like, the center of the business.
It's it's more about the celebrity that'sattached.
Doesn't necessarily have to be on a day to day.
I I'm not judging celebrities that aren't.
(19:46):
It just means that the product that you'recreating has to go with your brand.
It has to be something that makes sense whenyou talk about it.
I think that that's the main issue.
We see people we see celebrities eitherchoosing a very oversaturated product
Mhmm.
Because it's worked for a couple othercelebrities, or we're seeing a product that
(20:07):
doesn't make sense that you can kinda tell isjust attached versus authentic.
So if you can speak on it authentically, andit's it it's not an oversaturated market, I
think that that is a plan for success, thatthat's a route for success.
SKINS is a great example.
Kim literally built her early following onShapewear.
(20:29):
It wasn't her own, but that transition to herown company.
Brilliant.
And also the product is great.
And that's those two ingredients is I mean,obviously, she's gotten so much success from
skims, and that product can stand by itself.
There's a couple order effects from that.
One is if you're not really deeply rooted inthe mission, you're just like a tree during a
(20:52):
storm.
You're gonna get uprooted very quickly.
And the time there's any issues, which isalways every single month, you're gonna want to
quit.
You're not gonna have the same level ofcommitment to it.
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You wanna be able to see longevity because youmight have a great product and you might be a
(21:18):
very popular celebrity, but you will not be thelast to make something like that.
You are gonna have another product and anothercelebrity that will combat whatever you're
making.
And so you need to make sure that you areinteresting enough and are constantly
developing new things to to drive yourconsumers to have brand loyalty because just
(21:39):
because your brand and your face is successfuldoes not mean that there's not gonna be another
brand and another celebrity that's going torise to the occasion.
And how are you going to combat that?
Is I think the long term thought when it comesto investing in one and also starting one.
If you're an investor taking a look at HippieWater, what would you say is your competitive
(22:01):
advantage?
What is your moat?
Kind of what I just spoke on.
I think we have the product.
We have the brand, the authentic the authenticmessage.
The space itself has so much room to grow, notjust our company, but the industry.
Our moat is ironically also growth becausewe're constantly facing new regulation and and
(22:25):
how to pivot and and sidestep and and lobbyourselves and and all of those things that come
with this industry.
Our moat is mainly the fact that we are stillin a brand new industry.
That's kind of how I see that.
So investors investing in us, it's it'spotentially more risky than other industries,
but it has so much potential that you're kindof silly not to.
(22:49):
There are not a lot of industries out therewhere you can get in this early.
We have so many consumer packaged goods thathave been around.
The categories have been around forever.
Alcohol has been around for nine thousandyears, probably more.
And so that industry is not new.
Cannabis beverages are brand new, and we havethe opportunity to become that Coca Cola of
(23:15):
cannabis beverages.
And that is not an opportunity that comesaround often.
And in five, ten years, this industry will lookcompletely different.
And in terms of, from a regulatory standpoint,you guys are under a hemp laws.
You have a certain you're limited you'relimited by the THC you could put in beverage,
but, that's what makes you legal in all 50states.
(23:37):
Well, not all 50.
So federally, we are legal under the farm bill,the 2018 farm bill.
And so what that means is because we are undera certain dry weight volume of hemp, we have
that loophole to use THC.
And so there's a couple of things to note onthis.
(23:58):
States are now making their own loss, whichthey should be.
I think hemp beverages, because we have thisangle, you're seeing a couple of things happen.
You're seeing it obviously was a surpriseloophole, but what you're seeing is success in
the space because of consumer demand and theaccessibility.
But you're seeing states cap the milligrams,which I personally think is correct.
(24:22):
I think what we should be seeing is moreregulation.
And obviously, we don't want, like, a chokeholdaround us, but we should be a regulated
industry for multiple reasons.
Like I said, we are substance.
It should be age gated.
We should make sure that there are regulationsto keep consumers safe.
We should be tested.
We should make sure that our, dosages or whatthey say that they are inside the can.
(24:46):
There are certain things that bring validityvalidity to the industry that are important.
So I agree with all of those things.
Some of those things can be annoying when theyare opinions made into law that are uneducated
when they don't really understand the space.
But as long as we can manage making sure thatthe science and common sense laws and
(25:09):
regulation come into place, we will be totallyfine.
So we can ship legally to 39 states directly toyour door through USPS, UPS, FedEx.
And those types of things, those loopholesitself, they might go away as far as small
regulation on a state by state basis.
(25:29):
Currently, that is not the case.
And so, you know, you're constantly pivoting.
However, the accessibility is great.
You're seeing states like Minnesota reallyleading the way.
You can buy it in grocery stores, restaurants,bars, and we're really giving people that
alternative option.
And I think there are a lot of states followingsuit.
(25:49):
Now you've got a state like California with thehemp ban.
It's a perfect example of lobbying andmisinformation.
So the idea was that hemp beverages weremarketing to kids.
Simply not the case.
We were only sold in liquor stores inCalifornia.
So, you know, the conference that was heldabout why they're banning hemp, there were
certain beverages on the table, and it wasthey're selling in grocery stores right next to
(26:12):
the sodas.
Completely incorrect.
But what you do see is the alcohol infusedwarhead popsicles next to the regular
popsicles.
And so there's a hypocrisy there, but there ispushback, and there there will continue to be.
And I think that type of regulation and thatban will change over time.
What's the biggest lesson that you've learnedbeing a time CEO?
(26:33):
One one big one is just where to relinquishcontrol, which we've kind of touched on.
But I think I'm so used to having control overalmost everything I do in my business, aside
from, you know, maybe direction on set.
And so that has been the big one to be like,where should I let go and where should I stand
(26:54):
firm?
Those are my biggest lessons.
It's, you know, understanding my place in thebest way possible because, ultimately, like we
were saying, you know, I don't have to doeverything.
I am constantly learning, which is great.
And I'm not saying I'm ever on a power trip.
I really am not, but it's it is learning thewhere am I needed, where am I not, where can I
(27:18):
best be, serving the business versus thebusiness serving me?
I never want that to be the case.
And so, because I am a time CEO, I might notknow where that place is, and asking the right
questions outside and, outside, influence asfar as, like, advice goes helps and internal
(27:39):
helps.
And so I think just that balance, has reallyshaped me as a CEO and made me better.
And I think you can probably relate to this,which is as a founder, your your job title
shifts and changes and molds.
So I think the best example of where I'm at asa CEO is understanding where I am as a founder
(28:03):
of a company like this because the four of usfounded the company, and we were all doing
everything.
We bootstrapped it.
We did everything ourselves.
We were relying on our own relationships.
And as soon as you hire one employee thatrelieves a job that you have to do, you
understand, oh, okay.
My job has now shifted.
I get to relinquish control on that.
(28:23):
So what should I focus on now that I have alittle bit more free time?
Think a lot of people listening to this wouldlove to learn how to relinquish control and
when to do that.
What are some best practices on that?
Like, what should you be doing yourself, andwhen is it good to give the task to somebody
else?
It's it's based on reminding yourself, I hiredthat person for a reason and reminding yourself
(28:47):
why.
I hired that person because their strength isan x, y, and z, and they might look at
something different than me.
Because of that, I hired them.
Let's trust them.
Let's see what they do even if it's not exactlythe way that I would do it.
You want them to succeed.
So if that works, that works, and you werewrong, and you need to be okay with being
(29:08):
wrong.
You can always pivot later.
You can always change your strategy.
But remember that you're hiring somebody for areason.
And if they have a different way of doingthings, that doesn't mean that it's bad and you
need to let them do their job and evaluateafterwards.
It it's it feels scary to experiment in thatway.
Yeah.
But I think that is the the the biggest lessonwhen you are starting out is I'm passionate
(29:35):
about this person that I hired, but I ambasically ruining both of our jobs if I'm not
letting them do their job that I hire them for.
I also think that's the standard to which tohire somebody, somebody that's clearly better
at you at the task.
Right.
Somebody that you would never really challengein doing their domain because that's that much
more experience.
(29:56):
Right.
We just hired somebody, a fractional CMO.
They had they were doing the advertising thatwe were looking to do for fifteen straight
years.
So it's kinda kinda be silly for me tointerject and and, you know, give my 2¢.
Right.
And and I think there's a balance there too.
You know?
All of those things that you just said, all thethings that I said, but at the same time, you
(30:16):
have founded your brand or your business.
And so, you know, your vision matters.
And if the overall vision gets skewed and goesin the wrong direction, that's when you shift.
But, yes, relying on experience is sonecessary.
Our industry is a perfect example.
I've never been in the cannabis industrybefore.
And so when is it right to implement certainemployees that have been in cannabis and when
(30:40):
is it not?
I think the thing with our industry is that alot of people have been in cannabis for a
really long time and actually are notstructured properly.
And that's a big statement and it'scontroversial, but I think bringing in people
that have not been in cannabis and have been onthe more corporate or the more structured side
is actually a positive.
And so finding the right blend is superimportant.
(31:02):
And and that takes, you know, trial and errorand and figuring out what works.
But but, yes, overall vision, overall brandneeds to stay on track, and how you get there
is based on the people that you lean on.
And, yes, hopefully, you make the rightdecision with the person that you hire and let
them do their job.
Yeah.
I almost think that there's some psychologicalaspect to letting go.
(31:23):
And I think the irony is that people that havea hard time letting go are usually very
independently successful and have gotten very,very far on their own, but kind of to get to
the next step, what got you there won't get youto the next step.
So you almost have to like work with your lefthand and handing it off to people.
And still there's this meme in a startup worldcalled founder mode, which is basically the
(31:47):
exact opposite.
So basically, startups started to get run overwith MBAs.
I'm kind of both a founder and an MBA site.
I have a foot in both both camps, but basicallythese MBAs with no founder experience would
come in and create these hierarchical kind oforganizations and things stalled.
(32:07):
It's the reason why startups have always beenable to compete with incumbents because they
were able to be scrappy and be be more flat.
And now there's this whole trend of foundermode, which started by Brian Chesky, which is
basically founders get in the trenches and workwith their team on fixing problems.
So you could go in one direction too far aswell.
(32:28):
Totally.
Completely agree.
What aspect of entrepreneurship were you notready for despite, you know, hearing it many
times over, but you became a founder, youbecame a CEO.
What weren't you ready for?
It's it's a great question.
It's and I'm definitely not saying that I wasready for everything.
I I think I wasn't ready for how exhaustingfundraising is.
(32:52):
There's aspects that I love, and it's notbecause of a lack of traction.
It's just I constantly asking people for money.
It's not very fun.
Yeah.
Even if you deserve it and, you know, yournumbers are good and your company is set up
well, it's, it's an awkward dance.
And believe me, I'm getting better at it.
(33:13):
But it's not something that I had ever donebefore.
So that's a new thing as a CEO.
Right?
One of the things that I had to learn is howhow do you, put pressure in the right ways?
How do you ask the right questions?
And and how do you figure out, you know, how tobest represent your company?
(33:34):
And and those meetings can be challenging, andyou're not gonna get it right every time.
Feels like an audition sometimes Yeah.
Where, you know, you wanna showcase your
Probably similar similar conversion from Yeah.
Audition to to check.
What's interesting, though, with that and andmaybe this is, like, hopefully some relief to
new founders or brand new CEOs that have neverdone this before, is that just like an
(33:58):
audition, sometimes your worst audition, atleast the way that you felt, ends up being the
thing that takes you to the next step forwhatever reason.
It's it's, you know, maybe showing a lack ofego or, you know, something silly that you said
that made it endearing.
Who knows what it is?
But I I have definitely walked out of auditionsand gone, that sucked.
(34:22):
I I didn't do what I wanted to do or I said thewrong line or I forgot this or whatever it is,
and then that's the role that
you
book.
And I think this is very similar.
And and you don't have to always do thingsperfectly to get a good result.
So I think it's a lot of it is trusting yourinstincts and and understanding that you're
(34:43):
still a person, and and your story is whatmatters and and your execution is what matters.
Sometimes you're gonna have bad meetings.
Sometimes you're gonna have bad encounters.
Sometimes you're not gonna relate to anybody,and and that's okay.
It's not the end of the world even when itfeels like it in the moment.
One of the counterintuitive things aboutfundraising is when you come in and the
(35:05):
investor's nodding their head, and they'relike, it was so great to meet you.
That's almost a 100% no.
But when they start asking you tough questions,that's actually when they're interested.
It's one of those things you learn year as CEO.
That is a really great point, and it's so true.
If, you know, if they're if they're not trulyinspecting you, they're not interested.
You're back living in LA after moving fromNashville.
(35:27):
What has surprised you most about living in LAthis time around?
That's a great question because I, in so manyways, have always had a disdain for LA.
I grew up here.
You know, the majority of my life has beenspent in LA, but I I feel like because of being
in the industry, I did I think you do one oftwo things when you're in the industry.
(35:47):
You're either all in it all the time and thatcan be exhausting or you are a recluse and you
try and make a different private life outsideof the industry.
And I think I was raised to pull back when Iwasn't working for better and for worse.
And that was when I was growing up.
(36:07):
So I think it made sense, And it probably savedme from a lot of bad situations.
So as an adult, living back here in LA andreally understanding all of the the pleasant
things about it has been really healthy.
I'm coming back to LA with a completelydifferent outlook on life, a completely
completely different family dynamic, you know,with a young kid and and being able to
(36:31):
reconnect with childhood friends and and familythat still lives here and creating a different
type of community has been really exciting anda pleasant surprise because I'm not gonna lie,
I did come back feeling a little jaded.
And I'm happy that I have kind of worked on myown self awareness and broken some of that
down.
And, you know, it's not all bad and it's notall good, and and that's okay.
(36:54):
Ultimately, in my industry, I love my job.
Set is my happy place.
It's like summer camp.
You're mixed with so many people that you wouldnever come across normally, and it's wonderful.
And there are things about the industry thataren't so great, but I think getting better at
business in general, being in different circlesthat aren't just the entertainment industry has
been super healthy.
(37:15):
And I understand now how to connect and networkbetter than I did before, And I think it's only
served me better in every circle that I've beenin.
You have your own podcast, Women in the Nude,WITN.
How has podcasting been different than acting,and what do you learn from one art to the
other?
(37:37):
of all, it's been really fun.
I've really enjoyed this.
I think I've I felt really free doing thispodcast.
Ironically, I'm I'm doing things that arecontroversial.
You know, I've got a cannabis beverage and,women in the nude is a title that I didn't
realize was gonna get flagged so many times,which is why we now use our acronym a lot
because women in the nude is something thatgets flagged on social, which is really funny.
(38:00):
And so with that lesson, it's it's actuallyit's been liberating in a lot of ways because
I've always talked about all the things thatI'm talking about on the podcast, but I've
always been afraid to share them becausenaturally there are topics that aren't talked
about in the way that they should be talkedabout.
And so giving myself the outlet, providing acommunity of of women that we can kinda lean on
(38:26):
has been really awesome.
It's not all about, you know, women's health asimportant as women's health is.
It's also about women in business and thechallenges we face, the cool things about it,
you know, climbing up the ladder together,understanding that we don't it's not a, I rise
and you don't.
It's a we rise together and and how to makethat possible.
(38:49):
It's been a really beautiful thing.
And I started out being super remote with mypodcast.
I was on the road a lot.
I would do it while I was filming, while I wasin Tennessee.
And so having a headquarters in LA has beenreally great.
And, like, you're sitting on this couch rightnow.
It just feels
I feel very privileged as a man on the women inthe nude.
(39:11):
I know.
Yeah.
You are actually the man to be sitting on thiscouch getting interviewed.
It's obviously your podcast, but it does itdoes feel nice to connect with people on a
level.
I think just also after COVID, it was we wereout of practice, you know, even just auditions
or meetings or that sort of thing.
(39:31):
I've I've all been over Zoom or Meet and thatsort of thing.
So it's nice to sit down with somebody andconnect with them the way that we used to.
And it just happens to be that there's camerason.
What what do you wish that men understoodbetter about women?
I can tell you what I wish men did better.
I think ultimately what I I wish men understoodmore about women is that communication is an
(40:00):
asset, not something to be annoyed by.
I think we often see women when they explaintheir feelings, being told that they're too
emotional or they're too much or they'recomplainers or they're naggers or they're
overstepping when in reality, conversation iswhat moves things forward even if we don't
(40:23):
agree.
Mhmm.
Ultimately, communication is a strength.
And we might express emotions differently, butwe all feel very strong emotions.
And like I say to my toddler, every emotion isokay.
It's just how what you do with it.
And I think emotional intelligence isregulating yourself and figuring out how to use
(40:44):
it wisely.
And I think we could all use a dose of that.
And from evolutionary psychology, womendeveloped emotions in order to communicate and
influence basically the men of the tribe wherethe men would just hit each other with a club.
So it certainly has served its evolutionarypurpose.
People grow together or they grow apart.
(41:05):
It's part of life, friendship, marriage,whatever it is.
And ultimately, communication is the ultimategoal.
Because if I can tell you how I'm feeling andyou can tell me how you're feeling and we can
work on it together, we're much happier.
There's no resentment.
We can figure out a path forward.
(41:26):
We can help each other, support each other, andfulfill each other, in ways that we wouldn't be
able to if we weren't talking about it.
It's a disservice.
It might feel awkward in the moment, butthere's no progress in that.
So, again, communication is my biggest message.
Relationship, marriage, you know, business, allof it.
Let's get the awkward conversations out of theway so that we can build whether that's in life
(41:49):
or business or friendship.
We can't support each other properly if wedon't know what the problem is.
What would you like our audience to know aboutyou, about Hippie Water, or anything else you'd
like to share?
I want them to know that our movement isexciting and it's it's real.
And ultimately, at the end of the day, I thinkour product has quality It has wellness It has,
(42:17):
you know, our consumers' best interest And thenabout me, I I guess I just want them to know
that I I believe in what I'm doing in everyaspect of my life.
And where could they see more of Hippie Water?
Where could they order?
Hippiewater.com.
And if you go to our website, you can find ourstore locator and see if there's one near you.
(42:39):
Another really exciting thing, sorry tosidestep again, but we are seeing companies and
businesses like DoorDash get involved.
So in Florida is a good example.
You can DoorDash heavy water right to yourdoor.
Okay.
Yeah.
Well, Sasha, this has been great to catch upand
Likewise.
Look forward to taping taping here in New Yorksoon.
Sounds good.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Thanks for listening to my conversation.
(43:00):
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