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A Rebel’s View on Growth
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Edgar Blazona is the real deal: he grew and learned as a punk-ass kid designer and furniture rebel, went to college in corporate America, continued as a serial entrepreneur and founded several successful companies, including Benchmade Modern, the folks who make and sell Rebellious Luxury by the inch. We talked about Edgar’s journey, changes in 21st century manufacturing and branding, and the importance of finding your own way.
3:31 – “I kept pushing buttons and finding my way into the room… and kept growing.”
5:04 – on the game vs. the work “it’s more important to play the game than do the work… while the work is very important… if no one likes you, no one’s going to want to work with you.”
6:57 – on changes manufacturers should or must address: “Dropship. How do we change our business model to handle that? From credit card swipe to the machine?”
9:00 – “The industrial revolution or Henry Ford’s assembly line is about the process from raw material to finished good, as efficiently as possible – vs. today, starting from the customer and go backwards into the factory: which parts of the process are superfluous, from the customer perspective?”
9:50 – “The DTC/direct-to-consumer dropship model is going to take over, and retailers are pushing that more.”
12:35 – “As a manufacturer, do we have our own brand? Do we build a brand? Or do I sell it thru a wholesaler… you’re seeing manufacturers creating brands and going direct, that is going to change the landscape… that’s disruption.”
16:01 – we started digging deeper on branding. Two definitions emerged: “Compelling promise, delivered. Also: What do you see, and what do you feel?
19:30 – “No one wants to be a used car salesman… how do we pitch our brands in an authentic way? If you can’t connect to the authentic side, I don’t think you can connect to the feeling side.”
20:54 – “I’m gonna dig it, I’m gonna have fun… if you’re not having fun, you shouldn’t do it.”
26:01 – on aspects of growing a business: “your secret sauce is not just sitting in a dark room designing (or making) stuff…your flywheel is the curiosity and the love for branding that allows you to think of ways to make your ideas come alive.”
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