Episode Details

Chris Kong spent a decade building sales and partnerships teams at venture-backed startups, taking companies from seed to Series D. Now he's the founder of Well, a New York-made daily hydration brand. In his first six weeks he landed partnerships with major boutique fitness brands, and he did it by showing up in person, not by sending cold emails. Chris and Vin cover founder-led sales, sampling without being salesy, how to collect feedback customers actually answer, and the three times of day your body needs hydration most.

Takeaways:

Don't spend your first big check on sales and marketing hires before you have product-market fit. No amount of spend fixes a product that doesn't work.

If nobody knows your brand, borrow trust. Partner with brands your customers already use.

Show up in person. Chris takes the class, earns the instructor's shout-out, and pitches afterward. It doesn't scale, but it builds real relationships.

Turn sampling into a challenge. A post-class giveaway (most jump squats in 60 seconds wins a tub) made people want to engage.

The second feedback email, sent personally from the founder, gets far more replies than the automated first one.

Ask for feedback within a week. After that, customers forget what the first use felt like.

There's no such thing as a perfect plan. Tell everyone what you're building and start.

Quotes:

"Invest into your product. Invest in your product. Get super close to who you're selling to." (6:00) "Do not wait for more than a week for feedback." (29:03) "Don't wait till you have the perfect business plan, the perfect business partner, the right financials. Just execute." (46:33)

Links:

https://hydratewel.com/

https://www.instagram.com/welhydration/

MARKED with Vin Infante: Bi-Weekly conversations with the builders of society. What the journey left on them, and the mark they're leaving on the world. Hosted by Vin Infante.