Hint Water’s Kara Goldin: The Outsider’s Advantage

What I Know

When Kara Goldin launched her fruit-flavored water company, Hint, in 2005, she’d worked in media and tech--but never in consumer products, much less beverage creation or distribution. But armed with curiosity and verve, when she lacked know-how, she asked the right questions. And perhaps what she didn’t know was the most valuable asset of all--because the immense challenges that would come didn’t seem impossible. Goldin tells host Christine Lagorio-Chafkin about her biggest moments of doubt, including when Hint’s biggest customer, Starbucks, canceled its orders, which amounted to 40 percent of the company’s sales. Goldin learned, though that and other challenges, that it’s to be expected that you’ll get some “no”s as you build your business. Whether you keep growing is up to whether you continue your journey of learning.