Starting a business is hard. Starting a beverage company is almost impossible. With a 95% failure rate in year one and 99% by year five, most founders never make it out alive.

That's what makes Aaron Hinde's story so compelling. As the Co-Founder of FITAID, a clean-ingredient beverage brand now valued north of $100M, he's navigated a landscape that destroys nearly everyone who steps into it.

In our conversation, Aaron breaks down the truth behind building in one of the harshest categories in consumer goods, from the retail relationships that quietly drain millions to the dozens of moments his company nearly went bust.

If you're building a brand, scaling a team, entering a competitive market, or simply trying to figure out how to keep going when the pressure of entrepreneurship hits, this episode will reframe what's possible.

Key Takeaways with Aaron Hinde

00:00 Intro

01:40 The Hidden Retail Fees That Kill Beverage Brands

05:09 The Most Important Metric Beverage Founders Should Track

07:56 The Real Differentiator Behind FITAID Energy Drinks

10:34 "Clean" Energy Brands That Aren't Actually Clean

12:16 Deciding When to Launch (or Kill) a Product Line

17:13 Why Entrepreneurship Isn't for Most People

21:12 Dean Jackson's Framework for Defining Success

24:01 Resourcefulness, Persuasion, and Relationships at Work

31:29 How to Save Your Company When the Market Collapses

35:36 How Great Leaders Keep Their Teams Aligned

38:59 Facing Your Blind Spots As a Leader

45:24 The Non-Negotiable That Would Kill a $500M Offer

48:28 What He'd Do Differently If He Started Again

52:06 The Freedom That Comes From Dropping the Mask

53:39 Aaron's Advice for New Entrepreneurs

Watch on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/wSrXlTixjCc

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