The Next Generation…

January 31st, 2010 • Uncategorized

One of the more exciting results of the Bai rollout has been the positive response from college students. Not only are many of them becoming loyal Bai drinkers, but I also have had the opportunity to work with some of them to help spread the word about “Getting Bai” on a few different campuses.

Raising brand awareness is, of course, a critical mission for Team Bai. From a business perspective, it’s quite satisfying to see the passion for Bai among this generation of young adults. But working with and getting to know them also has been an invigorating experience for me personally. I have been fortunate to meet some very bright, extremely energetic students who clearly are budding entrepreneurs in their own right. They routinely come up with inspired ideas that remind me how much fun it is to be engaged in a venture that is built on passion.

For these students, I believe being part of Team Bai offers valuable experience in seeing firsthand how a young business can grow. And for me, there is a real satisfaction in passing along some of my own experiences — good and bad — and helping to guide a new generation of entrepreneurs. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll be working for one of them!

Rejected Drink Names…

January 31st, 2010 • 1 comment Uncategorized

We worked long and hard to come up with just the right name for our product. Bai, the Chinese word for “pure,” to me perfectly symbolized the idea of using a natural byproduct of the coffee bean to create an antioxidant-rich beverage for health-conscious consumers.

In naming each of the drinks, we aimed for concepts that would marry the spirit of some of the world’s most exotic, inviting coffee-growing regions with the refreshing, flavorful taste of each recipe.

But, like with crafting any recipe, we had to break a few eggs in the process. So here, for the first time, I will let our loyal “Getting Bai” readers in on a little secret — the names that didn’t make the cut:

Bensonhurst Blackberry

Peking Duck

Montana Molasses

Cancun Curry

New Orleans Onion

Poughkeepsie Pomegranate

Saskatchewan Sassafras

Bangkok Brisket

Fiji Fennel

Chernobyl Cherry

The State of the ‘Superfruit’

January 30th, 2010 • Uncategorized

Friends, customers, countrymen:

Stealing a tradition from the President, I come to you today to deliver an update on where Bai stands six months after our launch.

(Applause. Standing ovation.)

The response to Bai has been extremely favorable. While we are not yet available nationwide …

(Booooooo …)

… Bai is sold at a growing number of retail establishments in seven states, and we continue to work toward expanding the brand.

(Applause. Standing ovation.)

We are enjoying a particularly strong response on college campuses, where students have embraced Bai as an energizing, healthy complement to their fast-paced lifestyles.

(Applause. Standing ovation.)

We have launched the Bai5 line of five-calorie drinks available in two delicious flavors, Sumatra Dragonfruit and Panama Peach.

(Applause. No more standing ovations — my knees are getting tired …)

Through our blog, Facebook and Twitter presence, we are reaching more and more people to spread the word about the benefits of antioxidants and the power of the coffee berry.

(Applause.)

Going forward, we will continue to listen to your feedback about what you like, where you like to see Bai sold and what new flavors you would like to see us develop. Your ideas and contributions will help guide Bai’s continued success.

In short, my friends, the state of the “superfruit” is strong!

(Rousing applause. OK, one more standing ovation.)

Thank you!

The Family Business…

January 30th, 2010 • Uncategorized

One of the best salespeople at Bai is a little short on experience, but makes up for it with enthusiasm and a simple, effective pitch: “Try this — my dad makes it!”

Family has been the core of Team Bai since it was just a germ of an idea in my head. My wife and two kids are the “test kitchen” as we try out various flavor combinations. They vote on logo and label designs. They pitch names for our drinks. They work the tasting tables at stores. You can even spot them in some of the images on our website. On top of that, my father is one of the original members of our sales force.

My 8-year-old son brings Bai to his teachers and coaches, takes it outside to share with his friends during neighborhood football games, and can rattle off the names of stores near you that carry it. While I’m certainly happy for his extra sales push (especially at no commission!), it makes me proud to have my family so intimately involved in helping to build the business.

As interest in Bai has grown and we have added new members of the team, I’m pleased that we have found people to work with who share this commitment to family. My father’s background is in real estate. Another of our original reps is an entrepreneur who has done everything from running restaurants to selling luxury cars; another is a pilot who has flown corporate jets around the world. We recently added a new team member who came from a large beverage company and who, in making the decision to join Team Bai, consulted the person who matters most to him in the world, his mother. Coming from these diverse backgrounds, what we all share is a mission to build something special together. And as I work to make this business a success, I have the added pleasure of having my family grow larger.

Weekend Warriors, Bai-style

January 29th, 2010 • Uncategorized

The air outside was frigid, but inside the gym it was heating up on the basketball court. Three friends and I were battling in a game of 2-on-2, with all the elements of a “weekend warriors” classic: Pushing. Shoving. Tough layups. Lucky bounces. “Sopranos”-quality cursing (sorry, kids). Clutch shots. Cries of frustration. Shouts of triumph. (Did I mention the pushing and shoving?)

The game was 1 point per basket up to 11, with the rule that you had to win by 2. On my side was the guy we call our neighborhood All-American — a definite plus. But our true secret weapon was, as you might guess, a certain antioxidant infusion. (Don’t leave home without it!)

With the score tied at 11, we took a break. My teammate and I headed to the sidelines to re-energize with some Bai, while the other two headed to the fountain for a splash of metallic, lukewarm water. Back on the court, the overtime battle raged: 12-11 us … 12-12 … 13-12 them … 13-13 … 14-13 them … 14-14 … 15-14 us … 15-15 … 16-15 us… then, finally, 17-15 us. Victory!

We congratulated each other on a well-played game, talked about trying to organize another one soon, and fretted about how we would feel trying to get out of bed the next morning. More than winning the game, the real fun that night was spending time with friends, being active and feeling energized. From the earliest stages of creating Bai, that same sensibility has guided our growth — it’s not just about creating a great product, though I think we have done that, it’s about helping contribute to a healthy, happy lifestyle for the people who enjoy our product. So maybe that’s why, as I walked off the court, I couldn’t help but notice the light from the ceiling shining just a bit brighter on the nearly empty bottle of Bai next to my gym bag.

Oh, and for the record … getting up the next morning? Ouch.

The glamorous life of a CEO

January 23rd, 2010 • antioxidants, coffee fruit

When I was a kid, I knew that Colonel Sanders wasn’t just the face on the bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. In his commercials, the Colonel was right there in the kitchen next to the pimply kid in the paper hat, mixing up the 11 secret herbs and spices. So I learned early on that running a company meant you had to be hands-on. Today was certainly a big reminder.

In between meetings, I swung over to the Bai warehouse to review a shipment of our newest product, Bai5 Peach. As the door to the truck swung open, I was confronted by a simple but painful formula:

Plastic bottles + Poorly stacked 1,600-pound pallet racks = Disaster

You can imagine how thrilled I was to see toppled cases and crushed bottles of my newest pride and joy strewn around the truck. You can also guess how much I enjoyed spending the next few hours picking through the cases to salvage as many bottles as possible to fulfill orders for our clients.

But when life feeds you lemons, there’s nothing you can do but make a delicious antioxidant infusion (you didn’t think I was going to say lemonade, did you?). So I rescheduled my next meeting and spent the afternoon restacking and recounting to fill those orders. And one of the side benefits was that I wound up with a bunch of bottles of the new drink to bring home to my friends and neighbors, who gave it a rousing thumbs-up (and hopefully not just because it was free).

So I made it through another day in the glamorous life of a startup CEO. My solace is that I’m sure even the Colonel had days when his order came out a little too extra crispy –and things turned out pretty well for him.

What is “Getting Bai”?

January 21st, 2010 • Uncategorized

What is “Getting Bai”?

This blog is about you.

Well, really, it’s about me — but in the sense that I want to bring you into my world to learn more about Bai and what drives me and the rest of our team. I am truly enjoying the experience of building this business and I want to give people a look “Behind the Beverage.” (Now let’s hope this doesn’t turn out like a “Behind the Music” episode, where five years from now we’re talking about how I had to sell my diamond-encrusted bath robe collection to stop foreclosure on my ski chalet …)

When I talk about Bai with potential customers or investors, or even with friends and neighbors, I don’t focus on how good the drink tastes (though it comes in several delicious, thirst-quenching fruit flavors with two low-calorie options!) but rather on how Bai has evolved and what it represents for me, my team and the people who drink it.

I came up in the coffee business. If you like, jump over to our company website at www.drinkbai.com to read my bio (it’s OK, I’ll wait for a minute …). With Bai, I wanted to pay my respect to the coffee experience, but take it in a new direction by using the “superfruit” of the coffee bean to give people an infusion of antioxidants to fuel their active lifestyles.

Since we launched Bai last summer, the feedback has been gratifying. I have heard directly from people in all walks of life who love the drink and are making it a part of their busy lives. These are the people — college students, parents, athletes, executives, and so on — who are “Getting Bai.”

I hope you will join us for the ride.