Episode Details

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"Building a business is like jumping off a cliff and building the airplane on your way down." — Al Schuster

Join Niiamah (@niiamahashong) and Al Schuster, President of Polaris Brand Promotions and co-founder of Sample Finder, for a conversation that reframes what retail, innovation, and entrepreneurship can actually look like.

Al shares how frustration at a chocolate demo event sparked an entire platform, how his team survived a pandemic that wiped out competitors, and why he believes the future of retail is experiential, not transactional. This episode is packed with real talk on patience, team credit, and the art of jumping before you're ready.

Welcome to the Outlier's Edge Podcast, hosted by Niiamah Ashong, Founder of Outlier's Edge and Sherpa of the World of Difference. On this podcast, you'll join other high-performing unconventional leaders and entrepreneurs (aka Outliers) as they talk about leveraging what makes them different to make a difference in the world.

--Check out the video episode on YouTube!--

Timestamps:

0:00 Meet Al Schuster

1:40 Polaris Brand Promotions explained

3:31 From accounting to activations

6:29 Surviving the pandemic

7:59 The Sample Finder origin

11:22 Empowering consumers directly

13:43 Points, data, brand loyalty

17:46 #SaveRetail mission explained

24:18 Vetting and testing your idea

29:16 Building the plane mid-fall

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