Q. Shortly after its launch, Halo Top rocketed to success. How did you and your team do it?
A. Like with anything in life, we didn’t do anything special. We worked hard, made the most of our lucky breaks, and did our best to get it right rather than worry about being right. In 2015, we reformulated so that our product was much better and retained virtually everyone who tried it, and we rebranded so that our brand was visually disruptive and would stand out on the shelf.
We then got a lucky break with some PR, putting millions of eyeballs on our brand, after which the product and brand itself became a viral sensation via word-of-mouth marketing.
Q. You started your own law firm before dipping into the ice cream business. What drives your entrepreneurial spirit?
A. It started as maniacal independence. I simply can’t stand if someone else can tell me what to do, when to do it, how to do it. It since has grown into the joy of creating and building. I love the innovation piece and constantly thinking about how to get and stay outside the box.
Q. What lessons did you learn in selling Halo Top and starting something new with Gatsby Chocolate?
A. I could write a novel on what I’ve learned, but I’ll just say that it’s really hard. It certainly doesn’t get easier just because I did it once. I had romanticized the early days way too much and forgotten just how hard it is to build a brand from scratch. I also think it’s critical that you partner with a team of cofounders – people who don’t need to be managed, who aren’t employees. My sweet spot is anywhere from two to four people. I think that’s the ideal founding team number, and sky is the limit with what you can do with two to four co-founders.
