Starting Line
This week’s podcast is with another “BPC Alumni” and someone we discovered through Outdoor Retailer. Dry Brew ended up in our traveling kit instantly, but what fascinated us with John and his team was how they’ve managed to scale the business, and the signals that they’ve followed to get there.
The team at Dry Brew has arranged for a 20% discount for the Second Nature community. If you want to try it out, hit this link and it’ll automatically apply your discount (or use code SecondNature20 at checkout).
Building A New Category: The Signal Was The Strategy
John Schade first discovered Dry Brew: a patented, waterless, ready-to-eat cup of coffee, while searching for something better than a mediocre coffee gummy he'd seen on Shark Tank. He reached out to the original founders immediately. It took over five years, and a random cold email in 2024, before he finally got the chance to help build it.
In this conversation, recorded after meeting at Outdoor Retailer through Popfly's Wild Reach program, John walks through Dry Brew's go-to-market journey, starting in aviation with pilots who instantly understood the product, then following that same signal into trade shows, outdoor specialty retail, and eventually Target. He also gets into the patent that protects the entire category, why packaging has to do all the talking on a retail shelf, and the wild, unexpected use cases customers keep finding - including a police officer who uses it for 2am hostage negotiation call-outs.
Here To Help
Popfly actually arranged the introduction to John and his team at Dry Brew as part of their Outdoor Retailer Wild Reach program, and this is another example of how they connect brands and creators in the right place and at the right time. The needs of a brand and the availability of athletes and creators aren’t always lined up perfectly, and what sets Popfly apart is that they make it easy to connect the dots at the perfect time. While this connection happened at a trade show, we’ve personally experienced this same type of connection with multiple brands on their platform - and thanks to their approach, you can dive directly into the work with a brand, instead of all the back and forth that typically takes place.
If you still haven’t had a chance to get a demo from Popfly on their platform, take this as a sign to make it happen. Use the link below to get a custom demo - and if you’re a creator who hasn’t made their profile yet, we highly recommend getting yourself set up on there.
Job Of The Week
✅ REI is hiring a Communications Manager, Brand and Product.
👟 Superfeet is looking for a Product Designer.
🤘 People for Bikes has multiple roles open: Executive Assistant, Fleet Forward Program Manager and State Policy Manager.
🚨 Lawyers! Whoop is hiring Assistant General Counsel, Litigation and Goodr is looking for a Director of Legal.
👉 Avelo Running (previously featured on the podcast, pre-launch!) has an open role for a Principal Firmware Engineer.
Article Of The Week
Our friend Kate Courtney made a massive career pivot this season, and it’s been fun to watch her navigate her new world in road racing. This is what she wrote after World Championships this year, and even if you don’t ride bikes, there’s some solid wisdom in here.
Also, our friend (and PNW Components Founder) Aaron Kerson wrote this incredible breakdown for calculating your margins. His Substack is filled with plenty more where this came from, have a look!
Second Nature Is Supported By Halo
Halo is a hospitality platform built by trail runners specifically for sports and event travel. They work with brands, event organizers and professional leagues to simplify one of the most operationally painful parts of any event: lodging. If you’re a brand thinking about experiential marketing, managing travel for your team or professional athletes, or a league handling lodging for your athletes and fans, Halo’s platform gives your brand a custom hotel booking platform and locks in better rates so you’re not managing hotel logistics from scratch. They’re already working with names like Western States, Aravaipa, Rabbit and New Balance.
And if you’re just heading to a race or event yourself this year, it’s worth checking out, too. Same platform with great rates, community, perks from band partners and less hassle. If any of this sounds like you, reach out to their team and tell them you heard about Halo on Second Nature.
Show Notes
BPC - Brand, Product, Content
BPC is our closing segment where we share Brands we’ve discovered, Products we’re using and Content that we love.
🏃♂️ Veloci: These shoes are John’s go-to for running. Fun fact, John’s original photo that he sent over for the episode was in the finish corral of an Ironman. Although this episode was not entirely about trail running or anything specifically outdoor, he’s the real deal!
🙌 Bookshop.org (Second Nature Book List!): Here’s our list of the books that have been recommended on the podcast so far, and in a way that supports local bookstores instead of Amazon. A big thank you to Ming for building this list (since the beginning of the pod!) - have a browse through it, there are some great recommendations in here.
Thank You
Stay tuned for next week, we’re talking about something that everyone needs, no one focuses on, and why it’s a huge opportunity to do the meaningful work of category creation.