“Psshhhht.” That’s the universally appreciated sound of a nice, cold beer on a hot day. And nobody wants and deserves some timely suds more than a runner who’s just put in the training work, run a race, or hit a new PB… and not the PBR kind.
Now, you might be thinking that cracking a cold one open is probably not the best choice, nutritionally. And you’d be right. Wet your whistle? Sure, but what about hydration and electrolytes?
That’s why Martin and his partner Carl (both of the UK) want to welcome beer-loving runners into the Fold. The Fold Brewing, to be precise. Martin’s a beer lover who enjoys going for a run; Carl’s a running lover who enjoys going for a beer. Wait until you hear how they met.
But first, the beer. This lager’s got vitamins (say that with a British accent, please!) It’s a bit lower in carbs and alcohol, too… not so low that you’d want to down 10 of them, but low enough that you can easily enjoy a couple post-run without feeling bad about it. One of their earliest reviews says the reviewer was saving them for after a run, but the beer’s so nice that he’s been dipping into the fridge to have one just because.
About a year ago, Martin was looking for a new business opportunity. He’d picked up his running during the pandemic since there wasn’t much else to do while he was on lockdown. He also started using Strava, an app that adds a social element to the usually solitary sport of running. One day, he sat in his back garden with a beer in one hand and an electrolyte drink in the other, and had the thought… why not combine them?
What’s even cooler than ice-cold suds is how Martin found his co-founder.
As one does, when one has their million-dollar idea and is a member of The One Percent, Martin posted his. (We know the power of building in public. The community is there to help. Contrast that with “Amazon Seller” groups where the members guard their product ideas with their lives, wary that someone else will swoop in and “take” their idea and ruin its one strength: low competition.)
Not long afterward, Martin made a surprising discovery. His running coach, Carl Wakeford, was also in The One Percent. Carl’s got about 70K followers on Instagram, and Martin was one of them. Martin reached out and the duo decided to partner up as co-founders.
A wise man (cough *Ryan*) once said his favorite way to build million-dollar businesses fast was to partner up with an audience leader and build a brand together. And that’s just what Martin’s doing. Both he and Carl have day jobs, but they love this business so much that even though they’re building for an exit in 3-5 years, they may never want to sell. Running, beer, money… it’s a pretty great combination.
How’d they launch? They stacked the deck, of course. Martin has been building a small but thirsty audience on Instagram and an email list (now about 1400 people). They’ve been hosting monthly running competitions to get their community started. They’re documenting their journey of developing the product, too. So, that’s where they promoted their launch, featuring a six-month supply of lager, a pair of running shoes, a gift card, and some race tickets. While Martin says it wasn’t quite the $10K launch we see often in the community, it was still great. They made sales, got great reviews, and started seeing repeat orders the same week. Now, it’s time to spoil those customers and keep the ball rolling.
This is a major shift for Martin. He says in his past businesses, it was more about how much money he could make. Now, it’s about how much value he can give to his community. This has made it easy to make business decisions, and it’s a perspective that will serve him and Carl well going forward, too.
This is a brand we’ll enjoy sipping… er, watching. If you’re in the UK, grab one and raise a glass to Martin and Carl.
Are YOU Next?
We'll keep following along with Martin's story on the road to $1 million. We hope it'll inspire other entrepreneurs to build great businesses, too. Maybe you're next?
Here at Capitalism.com, we're on a mission to make one million millionaires by 2028. Looks like Martin's well on his way! He's building a brand that makes the world a better place - and it's one that can create generational wealth in the process.
If you'd like to be one of those million millionaires, we'd love to help you, too.
The first step is finding the business that's perfect for YOU to build. That's why we made this free video for you - watch it now and find your million-dollar business idea.
