Are There Enough Founders on Substack?
plus my review of Grown Alchemist at Equinox, a hot new midtown restaurant opening, a crazy new album, and more!
GM everyone and welcome if you’re a new subscriber!
Yesterday, Who Do You Know? seemed to be everywhere in the ‘press’
My note on on Equinox partnership with Grown Alchemist (we’ll talk more about this later) was mentioned in Feed Me.
Kendall Dickieson mentioned my Graza article in her social media marketing newsletter.
and
mentioned my thoughts on the disastrous Bumble campaign in her ‘Brand Baby’ newsletter
As a result, many of you may be new so here’s a little background on me…
I’m Jake Bell, I’m a brand/creative strategist based in NYC. I work with brands to help them on campaigns, design, strategy, etc. I write this daily newsletter breaking down insights on brands, marketing, business, fashion, and culture. I interview founders, tastemakers, and the coolest people you need to know.
This week I interviewed Juliana Goldman, founder of Potion, and Kailee McKenzie, founder of Staatsballett.
Okay now that is out of the way let’s get into today’s letter. I’m covering—
My review of Grown Alchemist
Should brand founders join Substack?
Patrick Mahomes new coffee brand
Din Tai Fung’s midtown opening
A hot new album
and more!
I tried Grown Alchemist today at Equinox. I’ve talked about the gym’s new body care provider extensively but had a busy week and haven’t been, but today that changed. I was a little concerned after DM’ing with some real experts in the space. They told me about GA’s formulation, and said everything GA makes has oils. My main takeaway after trying the body wash, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and facial moisturizer is that it f*cking sucks. Everything feels loose and thin, its nowhere near as supple as Kiehl’s. It also smells like the inside of a clinic. GA’s packaging is like Aesop without any swag. Not a fan. Should we all boycott by dumping it out?
Should founders join Substack? Vogue recently wrote an article breaking down the growing list of brand founders creating newsletters on this platform.
and are two that come to mind as part of this growing list.We’ve seen the TikTok-ification of nearly every piece of media becoming shorter and shorter, there may be a lane for long-form writing giving insights into brands. I’ve written about how Gen Z has destroyed the traditional sales funnel, and consistently rewards brands that form a sense of community and real connection with their consumers. I think this strategy can work when the brand founder gives real insights into their product development, challenges, successes, and behind the scenes content. Vogue wrote,
For designers or brand founders willing to “go there”, Substack offers something that no social platform currently does: the opportunity to own access to your followers beyond the platform by owning your email list. Between the potential TikTok ban in the US and worldwide news bans from Meta, this potential is undeniable. Yet the long-form nature of Substack means any copy-and-paste social marketing strategies just won’t cut it.
The whole ‘build-in-public’ concept really works for tech startups and brands like Minted NY, who have documented there meteoric rise via video. But when its just a list of things they are reading or eating… its like okay how is this relevant? I was just talking about this at dinner last night, but there is a real opportunity on Substack for a founder to write about gritty industry tea. I want drama, intrigue, and a raw take on what it’s like running a brand. That would be a smash hit and help build an authentic connection, compelling audiences to invest in the story. So should founders start a Substack? Yes, but only if you’re willing to really let it all out.
Patrick Mahomes is launching a ‘sport coffee’. The 3-time Super Bowl winning quarterback is partnering with industry vet Michael Fedele (prev. led marketing at BodyArmor before selling to Coca-Cola for $8B) to launch a canned coffee beverage with B-vitamins and electrolytes. The can is designed to be very ‘sporty’ and that makes sense considering their target customer is athletes. But my only critique is timing. Why launch the drink during the NFL off season when people are less interested in what Mahomes is doing or drinking for that matter? can you make this make sense?
Din Tai Fung is opening in midtown. The popular Taiwanese restaurant is opening its first NYC location between on 50th St. soon, and its being designed by the same architecture firm that designed Coqodaq, the excellently designed Koren fried chicken restaurant that I think looks lovely but won’t go to because a chicken tender covered in gold in gauche and dumb. I’ll go to Din Tai Fung though.
Ian just dropped his debut mixtape. The 20 something rapper has been dominating the conversation lately with his incredible social media presence. He is leaning into being another white rapper and its hilarious. He had his On The Block performance table side at his family’s Easter dinner, and had his mom and grandma help him announce his mixtape. He also shut down a SoHo street the other day to preview the tape. It slaps!
Rosalia is on the cover of 032c. Excited to pickup what they are describing as their “darkest issue ever” titled The Opioid Crisis Lookbook.
Alright that is all for today. This has been the biggest week in Who Do You Know? history so thank you all for being here and subscribing.
Next week I am following up on my Good Brand vs. Bad Brand series (last time I critiqued Bella Hadid’s new fragrance brand) and have an interview with a brand strategist who helped build a multimillion dollar DTC brand and brought curation as a service to the forefront. Stay tuned.
If you want to talk more send me an email and we can meet up and chat: jake@jb.studio
Also my birthday party is this weekend. I’ve a place rented so if you want to come email me and maybe I’ll send you the invite.
BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jake Bell is a content marketing and creative strategist based in NYC. He specializes in content creation, branding, art direction, creative strategy, and making things cool.
To learn more about Jake visit www.jb.studio
Have a tip email me jake@jb.studio
Like video? Check out his TikTok
Like fit pics and pictures of chairs? Visit his Instagram.
Definitely aligned re GA at Equinox — someone commented on my TikTok saying that it smells like lemon cleaning product which I thought was pretty accurate. It seems like the majority of feedback has been negative… I wonder if we’ll see a response from either of their PR reps? Or maybe just a fast replacement…
I love seeing founders on Substack as long as it doesn’t feel like an ad! Same holds true with founders I follow on other platforms. Especially for brands where the founder is very much the face of the company (ex. Hill House or Set Active)