Mid-Day Squares & PerfectTed, Live in London PART 1 How to Build a $100M Brand Out Loud:
Brand Growth HeroesShow Notes
I am so thrilled to share this very special LIVE episode with you. I had the absolute joy of sitting down in London with Marisa Poster, co-founder of PerfectTed and Jake Karls, founder of Mid-Day Squares, for an unforgettable conversation about scaling challenger brands, radical transparency, and building community. And yes, I got to TASTE a Mid-Day Square and it's INCREDIBLE. In fact, I actually ate 3 in a row. If you haven’t come across Mid-Day Squares yet, they’re the Canadian-born brand redefining healthy afternoon snacking with functional chocolate AND now scaling rapidly across the US. Co-founder Jake Karls last joined me on Brand Growth Heroes in 2023 (scroll back to hear the original episode), and since then, the business has experienced significant growth, expanding from $8M to tens of millions in revenue, with its sights firmly set on reaching $100M. Because it was PerfectTed who first introduced me to Jake, it felt only right to have Marisa Poster join in the conversation as co-host! And thanks to Lucky Saint who SO kindly offering us their fab upstairs event room, we gathered 50 friends, founders, and partners for a night of storytelling, snacking, and straight-talking about what it really takes to scale a challenger brand. In this episode, we dive into: How Mid-Day Squares grew from the kitchen table to producing 150,000 bars a day. Why therapy, radical transparency, and “building a business out loud” became part of their DNA. The importance of building fans not just customers. How PerfectTed is making matcha accessible and creating a whole new category. The realities of expanding into the US market (and what’s different from Canada, the UK, and beyond). Why team communication and trust are make-or-break for founders. How Storytelling fuels challenger brands. What happens when new competitors enter a category and how to stay focused. The role of product excellence in sustaining growth. The highs, lows, trolls, and resilience it takes to keep going. This is part one of our Mid-Day Squares live series. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did hosting it! Next week we’ll be sharing the Q&A session, which ran for a whole extra hour and was packed with brilliant audience questions. And as you’ll hear at the end of this episode, Shani Higgs, Head of Sales at PerfectTed (and their fourth team member after the founders), will be stepping in to co-host with me for part two. You’re going to learn A LOT so stay tuned! Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss it. And if you’re not already, go check out Midday Squares and PerfectTed on Instagram and LinkedIn; their storytelling is world-class. A tiny favour: If this episode inspires YOU to think about new ways to drive business growth, please could you click FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE on your favourite podcast app and leave a review, and maybe share with someone you know will enjoy it? This small gesture from you means the world to us, and allows us to share these nuggets of insight and value with you more often.
Useful links Midday Squares LinkedIn Perfect Ted LinkedIn Midday Squares Facebook Midday Squares Instagram Perfect Ted Instagram Perfect Ted TikTok Midday Squares Perfect Ted Lucky Saint on LinkedIn Lucky Saint ============================================================ Thanks to Brand Growth Heroes’ podcast sponsor - Joelson, the commercial law firm ============================================================= If you're a founder, you already know how much of your energy goes into building the perfect product, creating standout branding and connecting with your consumers. But don’t forget that scaling a CPG business also comes with a maze of legal complexities that can make or break your business journey. From contracts, term sheets and regulatory compliance to protecting your brand's intellectual property as you expand, it's essential to get it right. And that starts with the right legal partner. So we're thrilled to introduce Joelson, a leading commercial law firm t
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