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The Next, Episode #28 - by Justin Mares - The Next

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In the last 4 years I’ve founded 3 health brands (Kettle & Fire, Perfect Keto, Surely), which each do tens of millions in revenue. I’ve raised ~$20mm to build Kettle & Fire, gotten into 10k+ retail stores, bootstrapped Perfect Keto, launched 80+ SKUs… and have a small portfolio of Shopify apps I run on the side. Previously, I worked in tech and had no experience in CPG, DTC, or any other 3-letter industries. If you missed past episodes, you can catch up here (Episode 25, 26, 27). Otherwise, let’s dive in! Men in America are in bad shape. Not just physically (though, well, that too), but in almost every facet of life. Men now make up only 40.5% of college students, are 5x more likely to spend time in juvenile detention, and are failing high school at much higher rates (as Andrew Yang has called attention to). Men also make up an estimated 70% of the homeless population (1), comprise 80% of diagnosed autism cases, and have seen their average wages decline since 1990 (in real terms). 4.6x

Hi there, and welcome to The Next - my take on health, wellness, and brand building. In the last 4 years I’ve founded 3 health brands (Kettle & Fire, Perfect Keto, Surely), which each do tens of millions in revenue. I’ve raised ~$20mm to build Kettle & Fire, gotten into 10k+ retail stores, bootstrapped Perfect Keto, launched 80+ SKUs… and have a small portfolio of Shopify apps I run on the side. Previously, I worked in tech and had no experience in CPG, DTC, or any other 3-letter industries. If you missed past episodes, you can catch up here (Episode 25, 26, 27). Otherwise, let’s dive in!…

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