Being the Master of Your Own Brand
Being a first time entrepreneur can feel daunting. It’s a strange mix of feeling like you know everything there is to know about your product or your service, but perhaps aren’t as clear on the mechanizations of how that translates in to running a business.
It can be a quite a feat trying to thread that needle early on as you’re still working out the kinks. For most people, they have the time to do that. However, if you’re Chris Gronkowski, and you’re facing down a panel of Sharks, figuring out how to handle that balance has to be… let’s say a bit expedited.
When Chris was on the show with Ice Shaker to pitch his line of insulated cups and protein shakers, the Sharks — the insightful bunch that they are — couldn’t help but notice Chris shared a last name with a certain New England Patriot tight end. To that end, they had to ask: why call the company Ice Shaker? Why not Gronk Shaker? On it’s face, a fair question. It’s hard enough to launch a new product in a crowded market. Anything that can help you stand out from the crowd, even a little bit, can help. But this is where really knowing your brand comes in.
No doubt, the insights from a Shark can be invaluable. They’ve been around the retail block more than a couple times, and, certainly, they don’t make suggestions without having plenty of first-hand knowledge. Even so, who would know more about the Gronkowski brand than a Gronkowski himself? And Chris knew that for every New Englander or Patriot fan who might be drawn in at the idea of a “Gronk” branded company name, there would be quite a bit more who’s football alliances fell outside of Boston.
In the end, Chris kept the Ice Shaker name. But it’s true that the power of the Gronk name is undeniable, especially to the audience the Ice Shaker was marketing to initially: gym buffs, sports fans, weight lifters. So while the name of the company stayed sports neutral, Chris did see fit to offer a special edition “GRONK” branded shaker cup for those who would want one.
There are a lot of very smart business people out there. People like the Sharks, who have invested in more companies than you can shake a stick at. No doubt, experts when it comes to startups. But no one, not Sharks, not venture capitalists, not investors, should know what your brand stands for better than you, and Chris stood firm, knowing that, despite how popular his name might be among a certain set of consumers, his bet was on casting as wide a net as possible.
That said, a good idea is a good idea, and when you can land on a solid compromise, as he did with the special edition shaker, you can sometimes get the best of both worlds.
To hear more about Chris’s story, and how he built Ice Shaker, check out his episode from season 1 of Mark Cuban’s Founder Focused, and subscribe to our YouTube channel to see new episodes.
