Episode 058: Cody Alt - 6 Successful Companies By 30

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What's going on, everyone? Casey Adams here. Welcome to the Rise podcast. Today, episode 58, we have someone remarkable, Cody Alt. And it's a pleasure to have you on the show, man.

How you doing, man? Thanks for having me.

Absolutely, man. So, I mean, pretty much I've heard a lot of great things about you. I've kind of done a lot of research on your story as well. But kind of break it down for the audience. Audience, you're under 30, under 30 years old, you have six companies and that being said, man, where, where are you from? And then what was your journey? Coming up to this point, just in a brief context.

Yeah, man. So I'm from Montana, so I pretty much turned wrenches and was a grease monkey my entire life. So I kind of brought that work ethic to me with, you know, my journey from where I am. So growing up in Montana and then, you know, living in different 11 different cities and two years, three years I had an oil company that I had Semi Transport Crew 24, 7 to, from the oil refineries to the oil pads. So that kept me really busy. And then I decided to kind of set up, separate myself from that when I was 26 and kind of start these other companies one by one with cannabis fitness media. And I've just launched an underwear line as well.

Awesome, man. That's crazy. So for everyone listening, I have a lot of Young entrepreneurs. So you said you were 26. Is that when you started your first company or when did the entrepreneur stuff kind of come in?

So I always. I flipped and sold, like wheels and tires when I was in high school. Yeah, the first company when I was 20. So I had that oil company for six years. So I dropped. I played college football for a couple years, and then I got hurt. I dropped out. And then I started and pursued my way into the oil company and just kind of bootstrapped and figured it out as I went.

Okay, okay. What kind of injury did you have in football?

Tore my meniscus. My meniscus. And then I actually, I got repaired that and I was playing fast pitch softball in a men's league in the summer, and then I fractured my ankle in three places and tore all the ligaments.

That's insane. It's funny that you say that because like, a lot of people that I interview, like, for me, myself, I had a bad football injury when I was 15. I was in a neck brace for like 20 weeks. And it's cool because I think a lot of people that I've interviewed, it's like they have this tragic moment or something that just like pivots them. So is that something where it was like a pivoting point for you or what?

Yeah, I mean, I just needed to figure it out. I was either going to go on the school route or I was going to go and did what I wanted, so. And I've always had a hard time of people telling me what to do and kind of I've just been a bad employee. So I mean, the only way to fix that is just work.

Yeah, for sure. So to kind of dive into things, man. So what was the first company that you started at 20? You said it was the oil company.

Correct. So, I mean, I had a couple other little companies like here and there, you know, but nothing that I made any money at. You know, I got a T shirt company called Elite Athlete that just never made any money. But I mean, just from friends now, but never scaled. Yeah, that oil company was the first. The first big one for when I lived in 11 different cities in two and a three years. And then from there I transitioned and left and started a meal prep company out of my condo kitchen.

Okay, and what was that you said? What kind of company?

Meal prep.

Meal prep.

So, you know, we prepped them and then you can reheat them and eat them, you know, on the fly. So I started that Phoenix, Arizona, out of my condo kitchen and, you know, went three meals a week, seven meals a week, 11 meals, back down to five meals, and then all the way up to, you know, 2500 meals a week. And I opened a couple retail locations and decided I wanted to kind of slide and transition and get into the cannabis space as well. I still have that company, so we're still keeping people healthy and supplying them with meals. But yeah, so I wanted to get into the cannabis community because I found a different way and need that I saw to help other people, whether, you know, the kids with, you know, medication or people getting cancer, chemo, so on and so forth. So I decided to start, you know, the cannabis and CBD companies that I have now. So still helping people just in a different niche.

Yeah, yeah. So with the meal prep company, I think a lot of people that follow me, it's like they're young, they want to start a company or they already have a company. But for you, when you first started the meal prep company, was that something that you had capital or did you kind of just like started at your house with you and a boy or like, how was that process from like the ground up?

No, man. So when I left my oil company, you know, we were making pretty good money. We were making, you know, 30, 50,000 a week. But I took like three months off, three to six months off to figure out what I wanted to do. And I only had 5,000 bucks left in my name when I finally started the company. So, I mean, I was the chef, the delivery driver, the labeler, everything. I mean, I would, I would spend, I'd wake up at five, six in the morning and I'd spend all day cooking in the kitchen till.

It was. You like cooking, it was packaging them, it was doing all of it.

Yeah, I was cooking all the chicken, all the rice, dude, I was doing everything. I was, I was a one man show for, you know, I did everything. That's just how I kind of had to bootstrap it, so. And then to get the business going, I was, you know, I was cooking meals during the day and doing all that stuff. Then I was bartending at night to help raise a little extra capital to keep funding it.

Dude, that's insane, man. So I think a lot of people don't get that because it's like you hear all the spotlights, but like the ground up, like you were, you were making the food, packaging it. So with that, like when it comes to scalability for a company like that, there's something I want to touch on because I think a lot of Young entrepreneurs lack team building and, like, where to take it from where they are now. So with you, what was, like, getting you from the point from cooking the food in the kitchen to now scaling that company for that company in particular?

Well, after I was in. After I was, you know, cooking, you know, a couple hundred meals, my most I cooked in my kitchen was 212 meals, and it took me 16 hours straight. Like, I'm talking straight cooking, packaging, everything. And then I had to take all my food out of my own fridge to put all those meals in there for the customers to keep. You know, like, I was a sacrifice I made to keep their food good. You know what I mean? I just put my food in a cooler. But then that was the point that I realized needed a commercial kitchen. It was time. So then I hired a chef, and then once I got a chef, you know, and then another employee for a delivery driver to help me there and then, then they were spending their time cooking, and I was out actually being able to help grow business. Then I was out putting flyers on cars and stuff like that while they were cooking. Yeah, so I was still working on it. Just wasn't in the kitchen as much.

Yeah, I think that's a good transition, especially for the audience watching, like, with that process of, like, going from starting to then hiring your first chef and your first guy to start packaging everything. How long of a process was that? Was it long, short, or what?

So, I mean, it took me from beginning idea to when I first hired the chef, it took me about 90 days. Okay, 90 to 120 days. But, you know, and granted, I move. I move super fast, so for most people, might take them a little bit longer, but I make my decisions. I make. I make super fast. Sometimes it bites me in the ass, but for the most part, my sense of judgment is pretty good.

Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So I know that looking at, like, the page that I saw, you have a lot of different companies. So before we kind of go in depth on every single one, just so people can kind of know, like, company and then, like, a mission statement of it, so people can kind of know all of the different things you're in, because I know that you have a lot of your plate, and I definitely want people to understand the complexity of everything that you're doing.

Yeah. So, I mean, I can start off with my. My cannabis company, Cushley. So we have cannabis products, but also my business model is different than anybody else in the country. So we have, you know, pre rolls, edibles, vape, pension, and flower, so. But I also have a delivery platform, too. So it took me a year to develop this delivery platform, and it's the closest thing between Amazon prime and Postmates, so. Yeah. So there's delivery platforms out there, there's cannabis companies out there, but there's no cannabis company that has their own delivery platform.

Okay, is that only in Cali or what? Exactly. With the laws and stuff.

I'm the only one in the country that has that, actually.

Okay. Okay. And where are you guys based at again?

Arizona and California. So we just launched in Arizona. We'll be launching in California May 1st.

Okay, so is that something where it's like, as the marijuana laws get more open and legal, different states, that's gonna allow your company to kind of have market share really quickly in each different market sector?

Yeah, exactly. So we're kind of held within state regulations. So in Arizona, we can only operate in Arizona with a legal license. In California, we can only operate in California with a legal license. And you can't cross borders, otherwise you go to jail. And I wouldn't do very well in jail.

Yeah, for sure. So how long has that company been, like, in your name?

November 2016, but it took me about 14 months to build. Build the delivery platform.

Okay.

So, yeah, I mean, was crazy because I was just gonna. My original business plan was I was just gonna have the delivery platform and I was gonna partner with every dispensary in the country and then deliver all their products. And then the more I got to thinking about it, scaling good. If you're doing a bunch, you're doing a lot of volume. But if you're not doing that much volume, you know, you're not making that much money because you're, you know, you're only making money on delivery fees and your drivers are just getting tips, you know, versus if I have my own products, and I have my own products are the only thing that I'm delivering on the platform. And all my products are actually better than everybody else's. Yeah. Then I see it dying, just like the big box stores. People are going to get sick and sick of waiting in dispensary lines even though it's legal. And they're just going to want to get delivered right to their house, just like they're getting the groceries delivered there.

Yeah, that's super sick, man. Because I know when it comes to that thing, it's like, that's crazy. You are the only company that has the actual ability to transport it to people, and you're the only one doing that's super dope.

So I promise you, save this webinar or you know, repeat back in a year or two, there will be more companies copying me and my business model, what I'm doing. But I'm the very first one.

Okay. Okay. Sick man. So I know regarding the company wise, when it comes to daily routine, obviously you have your feet in a lot of different things. Just from like a standpoint of time management, like what does your day look like on a daily basis? How do you manage your time? Because I think a lot of young entrepreneurs are kind of struggling with that.

Yeah. So I mean, just recently, I mean, I, you know, I had have an assistant now, but the biggest thing for me is allocating what I need to do the next day. So whether it's I'm laying in bed or anything. So now, now I have my list of meetings and everything with my schedule. And then I have a list for my assistant, the things that he needs to get done and checks in back with me. We just have a working document. And then I also have my task list that he's not able to do for me, whether it's things that I have to be there in person for or whatever. So those are structured lists on both sides. That way I don't miss anything. And then, you know, my employees help running around and everything like that as well. So it's completely around the team that I have built around me. Is the only way that I'm successful as the way I am, that's wouldn't be able to do it by myself. Absolutely not.

Yeah. Yeah.

The good people around you to make it work and then once you find those good people, then you can trust them, then, then it's all about not, not micromanaging people.

Yeah. Okay. So with an assistant. I know regarding having an assistant, how has it benefited you? How do you recommend bringing on an assistant? Because I think a lot of people that I know personally well, they're struggling with the right communication, the right person. So what's been your experience with all that?

Yeah, man. So the guy that I hired so I couldn't have a female assistant because I'm just, I'm too blunt and go like, I like to get done. So if they don't get done, like, I'm not mean, by all means, but if I raise my voice or something, it's just easier for me to deal with a male than a female. And he happened to be one of my friends, so that helps. But I'm just trying to like ease him into it. You Know, because he, especially if someone not doing this or having an assistant before syncing them with your calendar, kind of show them how you like how things done. So the biggest thing with that is just communication for sure.

That's sick, man. So regarding, I know we talked about the meal prep company Cush Lee, you said you're in the media space a little bit. What does that look like on your end?

Yeah, so we build like all of my companies, I've built all the websites, logos, branding, SEO, that's all done by in house.

That's sick.

So I just, I just deal that, you know, kind of case by case basis. We don't try to grow that business as much, but I like to just keep that my wheelhouse for friends and other people that have cannabis companies there or people that friends that want to start businesses that we can actually help them.

That's sick. So you're like your own right hand man with that. That's awesome. That's super cool. So regarding what I want to talk about next, just the overall platform of personal branding, social media, where it's at. I know that I checked out your page of a phenomenal brand and something I touch on a lot or when I speak at conferences or on my podcast, I talk about personal branding. So for you, I know that you have around 170,000 on Instagram. What has been the impact of having a personal brand? And my only question I would say after that is like, what do you, what do you look at a personal brand as what it is.

So for me, for a personal brand, like how I kind of deal with things, like if you look at my page, like my companies are in there, right. People know what I do because I'm constantly trying to build my personal brand, but I don't feel like I'm so salesy like a lot of these people, whether you're repping a company or you're selling T shirts, they're always buy this today, buy this today, buy this today. When in reality, you know, show some people some value while you're building your own brand. And then when you do need somebody or when you want to launch a new product or something, then people will believe in you and want to buy the product from you rather than try to be so salesy on it. So by just being you and putting out, you know, your own good content and whatever it may be, maybe it's a picture and, you know, quotes from other people. You know, everyone has their own style, but maybe just not being so pushy and salesy for Your own brand. So people that actually follow you gain trust and then when you want to buy something, they will.

Yeah, yeah, okay. That's what's up. So, and then I always like to regarding this school, your education, where it's at currently, along with social media, because I'm still in high school. I know that we talked about that before we started.

That's crazy.

So I always like to ask my guests that I'm interviewing because like for me it's like when I'm 17, I started my kind of entrepreneur slash social media stuff when I was 15. So as a question to you, what kind of advice would you give your 17, 18 year old self and then what were you doing then that you then could give that advice to?

Man, if I could give myself advice at 17 or 18 and I knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur, I would go head first. Oh yeah, I would. My biggest advice is just do it. Honestly. Yeah, don't, don't wait, don't wait for your parents to say that it's okay. Don't wait for your friends. If you want to just do it, just start making those steps. Make those three to five steps forward. Whether if it's making shoelaces or if it's, you know, creating a billion dollar cannabis brand, it doesn't matter. You just need to start doing five steps, five critical tasks every single day to get you going, starting that business or you know, whether it's you decide you want to start it, it's deciding the name, you know, trademark articles, organization, website, what products are gonna be selling, designs. So like just those little things, starting off at the beginning, start doing that. And then if you do those five steps every single day and in 60 days you're gonna look back like, holy shit, I moved. I got here really fast.

For sure, man. So regarding that, just like the process of that, I know that we talked a little bit about just like the process of your food company from the first day to 60, 90 day to now, scaling all these multiple companies. So regarding just in house, product and dealing with people, because I know a lot of what I focus on is just communication with their team members. And I know Andy Frisella, he talks a lot about team building. So my question to you is when it comes to building a team, what are like three critical tasks to tasks that you kind of implement when building your team and scaling that three critical.

Tasks on that, I look for teamwork.

Yeah.

The first thing is trust. Next thing is accountability. And then I look at their demeanor, how they are when I'm not around. I look a lot at social media. What do they post on social media? What are their lives like? For me now, social media is like, I don't even need to see your resume. I love that I can meet you. I can meet you for 30 minutes. I can look at your social media and see if I even want to be around you or not.

That's awesome. That's the question I was gonna lead up to, because then I was gonna say, as a CEO, what's your hiring process and how do you do that? But it's so hilarious because, like, me in high school, we always have, like, these presentations for my teachers. It's like, oh, yeah, don't post. Don't post bad stuff on social media as people might hire you, but they don't talk about the positive side of, like, you. You can structure your brand and structure it for the positive to bring in that, hey, let me hire you. You know what I'm saying?

I promise, if I'm looking for an employee and I'm a sales guy and there's two people and they're decent resume, have sales experience, and one has 50,000 followers and the other one has a thousand, guess who I'm hiring?

Dude, that's so sick, man. And I want young people to hear that.

Yeah, it's a walking advertisement. Walking. That's. That's. They're that much more valuable to me.

Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

Because growing your social media is not easy. It's hard. It's science. It's. It's just hard, period. So if you take the time and effort to even build up to that, then I know you have the time and effort to be a good employee. Oh, my.

That's. Dude, that's. That was fire, bro. I haven't heard a lot. None of my guests have really touched on that, and I'm glad you did, because I think a lot of young people see personal branding as like, all right, let me build my brand for what I'm doing. So. But then again, they don't look at it from that aspect of, like, if you ever plan on getting hired for a position of a high place in a company, it's like, it has that same balance of, like, for you and for a company, you know?

Right. Yeah, absolutely.

So my question to you following that is, when did that kind of transition? Because I know social media is new and I've grown up with it, but as someone that has multiple companies, when did you start seeing yourself looking at social media in the recent five years, three Years or whatever.

When I got. When I got obsessed about growing my personal following, it wasn't until I was 27, actually. So like two and a half years ago.

Okay, I'm pissed.

I'm pissed about. I wish I would have got on Instagram when I was like 22. Yes. I'd be crushing.

Okay, okay, so with Instagram, is that one of the platforms that you're putting majority of your focus in or what's like your social media kind of outlook? What platform do you take the most and then what platform do you tend to be using the least? I always kind of like that to see where everyone is.

Yeah. You know, so I used to use Snapchat a lot. I used to use Snapchat, Snapchat and Instagram. I use Instagram more than anything, but Instagram, Snapchat. Since Snapchat did that update, I've like, my views got cut, literally like 80%. So I'm like, all right, fine. You know, until they change that, there's no sense for me even using it. You start the spin manuscript algorithm, you know, hurt everybody's engagement. But, you know, I still have a bunch, you know, still have Instagram, still the most powerful, but. And then, you know, use Facebook a little bit. I don't use Facebook so much for mostly just like friends. Like, my mom hits me up and stuff on it, you know, like, I'm not too crazy. I post stuff on my business page, but. So I could be better about that. But then I don't use Twitter at all. I think Twitter dying.

Okay, well, yeah, for sure.

It's more like a news media platform. You know, like if you're a journalist or you're trying to stay up to date on Twitter's great.

But yeah, for sure. So regarding company social media, how have you integrated and has social media been a vital factor in building company brands or just building the company when it comes to gaining revenue through that or how is that look like within your companies?

Absolutely. So every before I even think about starting a company, I make sure that that Instagram, that I have an Instagram name. Yes, blow with for sure. I do every so. So, like before I even launched Kushley, like we just launched not too long ago, but for the year and a half, I've built buzz around that through my own social media, through other social media pages. I've had a bunch of pages from, you know, Instagram's banning them because they're cannabis pages, which sucks. But I thought, you know, three or four pages get over 30, 000 followers and then get deleted. So I'm still. All those people know. So they see Cushy around, they're like, jesus, what is this company? You know, and we're about to start, we're about to sponsor the High Times Cups, which is cushing High Times, like sunglasses and water bottles and Sanber and being on 420. So I mean, it's just all about building, all about building that brand awareness around you, you know, to get it and then all like little customized things like having a K on the gummies and having a rolls and stuff like that. Like that. All of that stuff gets in their, in their brain. You know, people see like ads and stuff, you know, people's mental capacity. You only have their attention for, you know, three seconds.

Yeah.

Real. And then, you know, if you want somebody to purchase something, they need to see an ad on the average of seven times before they actually purchase. So being constantly around, you know, a lot of people know that people think that like, you know, they can show something up. They see it once and they're like, oh, well, they didn't buy it's because you got. That's why they're retargeting. You know, a lot of people, people don't know the science behind that. Four and seven times people need to see an ad before they're gonna purchase it.

Yeah. Yeah, definitely, man. I think a lot of people don't kind of focus on that. And I noticed that when you talked about kind of like Instagram, social media, you brought up a lot of collaborations with the sunglasses or the branding. So my question to you, kind of touching on that, because I love branding, I'm super interested in all of it. So with you, what's been like something or like I would say two or three tips when branding our company or a product that I've always implemented to your companies.

Yeah. So one thing, everything with the branding flows on, stays on point. So whether all the packaging needs to be the same so you're not, you know, like, you don't have, if you have men's products and the core colors are black and red, to not have black and pink or you know what I mean? And then make them flow like that. And then also for the Instagram, original content, everything professionally, you know, photograph super clear photos, nothing like glitchy, anything like that. Because a lot of people will save those. They'll put them on their screen savers or, you know, they'll share them with other friends. And the more sick content you post, especially now when you can like Share stories and, you know, share posts without people even knowing. That happens all the time without us even knowing. So the more sick stuff you can pump out, think about it.

I have two more questions for you, man. I definitely appreciate your time. So one last thing is I'm not sure if you read a lot or the content you take in from, like, a mentorship standpoint, but who have you seen have been mentors in your life when it comes to look up to or learn from, in a sense, man.

So I take a lot from Gary Vee. I disagree with some of the stuff he says, but I definitely agree with a lot of the stuff. Andy and I are personal friends. I always love listening to what he always has to say. Yes, I can listen to a podcast and pick one thing, one or multiple things from that guy every single. Every single week. You know what I mean? Yeah, just. Just really good surrounding yourself with people like that because you can always pick up so much knowledge. And they have years and years on me too, you know, so they can help save a lot of mistakes. Yeah.

So last question to wrap it off, man. Just. I loved your journey from, like, multiple companies. The branding, the social media, you obviously get it. That's why you're successful. That's why you've been able to build what you've been able to build. But from someone listening, maybe they're 15 to 20, whatever it may be, throughout your entire journey, what would you say has been, like, the biggest takeaway from the struggle, from the failures to the successes? What's that one little piece of advice you want to give to that one young person listening today, man?

So I never had my first struggle or failure until I left my oil company. And then when I was starting the meal prep company, I was rock bottom. Like, I had to make a choice, you know, Four months into the business, I just saw this. For some reason, I wanted to rent this retail location. And it was 300. It was like 400 square feet, right? It's like $12 a month. My rent at the time was 1500, and I was running low on rent. And so I pretty much came to the conclusion that for 90 days, I was either I was gonna build the store out no matter what, I was gonna sleep in the store if I had to, but I might get kicked out of my condo or my part, whatever, right? So I was rock bottom cooking meals, you know, by myself in my apartment, stacking them. We're bartending at night, redoing that the next day, over and over and over again. And once I Decided to open that retail location. I kind of mentally got into my head like, shit, I might be sleeping in the store and then waking up early in the morning and showering at the gyms. Like, no matter what, whatever it takes, I'm gonna make this work. So my biggest advice to someone that from 17 to 21 that wants to start something, to not be one foot in, one foot out. So if you're going to do something, make sure that's the only thing that you have going on. You can't start three businesses at once your first time. You just can't. Me, I have a. I have a, you know, the systems in place now, I can start two companies right now and scale them both and, you know, in under a month. But my trials and tribulations to get to that point. So just focus on one thing. Make sure that that's all that you're going to do. You're not going to be sidetracked. You're not going to, you know, a job over here or whatever. I'm not saying to quit, but if you had to have another job over there, at least allocate two hours a day, one hour day, 30 minutes a day, every single day to get a little bit done with this business. So you can leave this one and hit this one full time.

Okay, Perfect, man. That's. I think that's a lot, especially from a young standpoint, that's super valuable because, I mean, I. I personally have some friends that they try to do everything but they never get it anywhere, you know, So I think that's definitely something, something super valuable to leave off on, man. So everything that you talked about, for everyone listening, all of Cody's social media accounts will be in the descriptions, all the links to his company. And then for Cody, one more last question to you. What's the best place for people to connect? I know that we talked about Instagram. Is that the best place to go?

Yep, absolutely. Hecody all on Instagram. And that's where. That's where I'm at.

Awesome, man. So, yeah, like everyone, like you said before, guys, make sure you're focusing on something. One thing that you know that you can dive in hard on. And that being said, Cody, I really appreciate you coming on. Everyone listening. Like I just said, all of his social medias will be down in the description. And I really appreciate you coming on, man.

This ain't luck. This is by design.

I had a Monarch, Legacy of Monsters, an Apple original series. The world is on fire. I decided to do something about it. On November 17th.

This place.

It's not ours. Believe me, the most massive event of the year arrives. If you come with me, you'll know everything. I promise. Monarch Legacy of Monsters streaming November 17th only on Apple TV Plus.