🎙️ SXSW Was Loud—Here’s the real talk

If you can’t find your community, build your own. I was missing something at all these founder meetups - they all felt so…..not me.

Maybe I'm different? A misfit. A builder. A damn good time that’s simply “misunderstood”.

So that’s why we’re here. Because energy is contagious and it’s not about where you’re at, but who you’re with. We’re all searching for something to be a part of. Something that feels real, that feels like “us”. Building is a lonely game. Tough questions need to be filtered by hard people, and yet we look around…. and still feel alone. No more.

Welcome to the most exclusive club in the world that anyone can have access to. You just have to BE AN OWNER.

Welcome to, Owners Only.

📆 What We Hit On This Week:

• Brands looking for Talent Equity Partners

• Latest Happenings in “Creator Equity”

• This Week’s Must Follow - Creator Spotlight

• Upcoming Events - You gotta be out to be in

• Hot “Coach” take on SXSW

• Top Tools and Drops from the Owmies

This week’s 1 of 5 companies looking for equity partners:

A cutting-edge hydration company that has created the first molecular hydrogen-infused electrolyte drink to enhance athletic performance and accelerate recovery.

Looking For: Fitness enthusiasts, athletes, and wellness advocates who can authentically demonstrate the product's benefits within active lifestyles.

Founded 2024 | Family Office Backed | <1M in Revenue

🍫 MrBeast’s Feastables Eyes $500M in 2024

MrBeast’s snack brand, Feastables, is on pace to generate half a billion dollars in revenue this year. Built on chocolate, fueled by creator equity. Attention is currency. You can build a great 7/8 figure business the same way. Own your audience.

🧊 Plunge Opens Cap Table to Fans in Community Raise

Cold plunge brand Plunge launched a community funding round, letting everyday customers invest directly in the business. With investment levels as low as $500 and high as $100K, backers get tiered perks—like early product access, HQ tours, private events and more. 

📝 Russell Westbrook Drops His Own Newsletter

Russell Westbrook just launched “Word of Westbrook” on beehiiv—a direct pipeline into his mindset, culture, and perspective. Another A-list athlete betting on owned content. No middlemen. No filters. Just brand building.

📢 Spotter Launches Creator Upfronts 

Spotter is hosting its first-ever Spotter Showcase, that will take place in NYC on March 27, giving YouTubers like Ryan Trahan and Colin & Samir a seat at the table traditionally reserved for TV networks. The goal? Premium brand deals for episodic YouTube series.

Everyone needs a coach.

There’s too much fluff out there—no one’s having the hard conversations. It’s all “You’re killing it!” “Love what you’re building!”. Cool bro. But deep down; all you keep thinking is, I have no fucking idea what I’m doing… I just need someone with real answers.

Last week, I had so many heart-to-hearts that ended with “thank you.” Not because I’m a therapy dog—but because I’m as good a listener as I am a bully. Founders need both. You’ve got to cut through the soft talk and get to the real issue if you want to make an impact.

All the dinners and meetups, it’s a lot of gratuitous b.s. with no one wanting to hurt each other’s feelings. Peel back just one layer and the safe space I found most founders yearning for, unlocked some of the most fruitful conversations they’ve had all year.

Why are you failing when everyone thinks you’re winning? Don’t give me the P.C. script you tell your mom or your co-founder. You see what they don’t—and it’s eating at you. It’s all over your face. You know you can be better. Faster. Stronger. So what’s stopping you? What?

Chasing greatness is healthy, but I’ve had more late-night arguments with myself than I care to count. Always staring into the back of my eyelids; anxious and alone. No one to speak to - no one to challenge. No safe space to just say “fuck it, what if we burned all the boats….”

Hard talks need hard people, and most of us aren’t built to say what we really feel. If you start to say what everyone’s thinking that no one’s got the balls to say, it cuts through the fog and leaves room for real conversations that can lead to real friendships. Try it. If at nothing else, it’s damn good people watching.

SXSW is an incredible gathering of people, yet all I could think about was how to foster more of the conversations we owners only get to ponder in the wee hours of the night.

Not everyone has a mentor, and as I approach 40, I realize how much I want one. Just like the people who confided in me this week—maybe they thought I could be theirs, because they wanted one too. Over a dinner someone asked me “Who’s your mentor?” I’d never been asked before, so I paused and said, “The man I want to be in ten years.” It hit hard. We all went quiet. That was a truth none of us expected. Most importantly, me.

So if you feel like SXSW was great and you made some nice new contacts, awesome. But if you had some real talks about shit that’s been bogging you down for a while, didn’t it feel good? Don’t you want a “coach” or whatever the hell that means?

If you need someone to talk to, you can always block time with me; any Friday here.

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