Season 1 · Episode 36
Kat Cole, Focus Brands // Leading A $5 Billion Company, International Expansion + Brand Partnerships
Creator Lab - interviews with entrepreneurs and startup founders
September 16, 20201h 20m
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Show Notes
Subscribe + Watch on YouTube:https://youtu.be/JcJIvhXdbt0 Let me know what you think on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bzaidi Who Is Kat Cole? Kat is one of the most impressive business leaders in America. Fortune magazine named her on their 40 under 40 list & her story is often cited as an example of the "American Dream". She worked her way up from being a waitress at Hooters aged 17, to an exec at 26 and a president at 31. Today, she's the president of a parent company doing $4-5bil in sales in 60+ countries, across 6500+ locations. Their 7 brands including Cinnabon, Carvel & Jamba Juice. In this conversation you'll learn how she thinks about growth, adapting products to emerging trends, using brand partnerships to grow & the factors that go into expanding internationally. Five Things You'll Learn
- Lessons In Leadership – how to establish credibility, even as a young leader, to lead a team through any situation.
- Emerging Trends + The Innovation Adoption Curve – how she thinks about adapting to emerging trends for brands like Cinnabon + Jamba Juice. Finding your place on the innovation adoption curve while holding onto where you came from.
- Impact of Lockdown On Malls + Airports – how recent events have impacted their 6500+ locations in malls + airports, and where she sees opportunities
- International Growth – the factors you should think through when expanding internationally, stories of mistakes made, and examples of situations she navigated in Argentina, Turkey + UAE
- Brand Partnerships – controlling your brand when expanding with partners, and when to consider licensing vs franchising vs joint ventures
- 00:00:00 Preview
- 00:02:04 Welcome
- 00:05:01 From Waitress to Vice President of Hooters
- 00:08:41 Invaluable Lessons In Leadership
- 00:14:18 "I'm Friendly, But Not Your Friend"
- 00:16:49 Blending Humility + Confidence
- 00:20:57 Scale + Revenue of Focus Brands
- 00:22:12 Case Study: Turning Around Cinnabon
- 00:29:23 Opportunity = When Your Company Says "No"
- 00:33:03 Approach To Testing New Products
- 00:35:10 Adapting to Trends: Jamba + Cinnabon Example
- 00:42:11 Jamba + The Innovation Adoption Curve
- 00:48:54 Mall Traffic In 2020
- 00:51:47 Prediction On Airport Traffic
- 00:53:22 Increased Search Demand For "Near Me" + "Delivery"
- 00:54:35 DTC vs Third-Party Delivery Services
- 00:57:25 International Growth: Hooters in Argentina
- 01:01:11 Importance of Cultural Context: Turkey Example
- 01:04:47 International Context – Asking the Right Questions
- 01:06:29 Factors To Consider When Expanding Internationally
- 01:12:08 Growing Through Licensing, Franchising + Joint Ventures
- 01:14:51 Brand Partnerships – Controlling Your Brand
- 01:17:34 Wrap-Up