GT Dave - Building A Billion Dollar Kombucha Empire

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What is going on, everyone? Casey Adams here. Welcome back to the Rise of the Young podcast. On today's episode, we have GT Dave here with us. GT Dave is the founder and CEO of the kombucha company known as GT's Living Foods. In the late 1990s, he was the first to put Kombucha on store shelves, and his company currently owns 40% of the US kombucha market. On this podcast, we talked about how he got the idea to bottle Kombucha, and we also covered his passion for art and overall helping others with his product. So with that being said, please take a moment to share this episode with a friend. And also, if you didn't notice, I got an entire new setup for the podcast. So the audio quality for these shows moving forward are going to be absolutely incredible. So let me know what you think. And that being said, enjoy the episode with GT Dave.

All right, what is going on, everyone? Casey Adams here. Welcome back to the Rise of the Young podcast. Today we have GT Dave here with us. Thanks so much for coming on the show.

What's up, Casey? Thanks for having me.

So, number one, I'm super excited to have you on the show today. You're someone that when it comes to not only inventing, but disrupting a market when it comes to kombucha. You've been doing this for decades now. Where did this all start when it comes to launching GT's Kombucha?

Well, it started in the middle of the 90s, and I was just a young lad. I was barely a teenager, about 15 years old, and I came from a very unconventional background. I'd say a combination of spiritual and religious Eastern with western kind of beliefs or understandings and philosophies. And then of course, being a young gay male, I think at that time especially, I was seeing the world through a very unique lens. And so I essentially took that unique perspective and applied it to not only my personal life, but eventually how, you know, the inspiration that I had to start bottling kombucha, because to be honest, at the time I had dropped out of high school and I really didn't have any friends. So in my mind, there was nothing to lose. And I was very confident and even brave in the sense that I felt that I had to kind of pave my own path and find my own tribe, if you will. So kombucha definitely gave me that purpose and reinstated that passion for life and for health.

I remember reading something when you first tried kombucha, you weren't a fan, is that right?

That's absolutely right. Yeah, I wasn't a fan because kombucha came into the household when I was about 13 years old and my parents, who raised me a vegetarian, exposed me to all these bizarre foods. But to be honest, kombucha was like the weirdest of them all. And so I didn't want anything to do with it initially, but it wasn't until actually it helped my mom with her breast cancer, which is when I gave it a second chance.

For those that don't know what exactly kombucha is, I'd love for you to give us some information on that.

I'd be happy to, because you're right, a lot of people don't actually know what makes kombucha kombucha. I think a lot of people think of it as this better for you drink, perhaps a replacement for soda, which it certainly is. But it's. I think if you limit it to that description alone, it's too superficial and you're kind of dismissing or discounting its history. So the reality is that kombucha is this beautiful fermented beverage that's cultivated a lot like yogurt or a lot like a kefir, in the sense that you essentially let nature ferment this base. We don't add anything that comes from a lab. The kombucha scoby, which is an acronym for a symbiotic culture. Excuse me. Symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast is something that's naturally found in nature and it's self sustaining. It actually reproduces itself with every batch. And so a lot like a seed that a farmer plants in the ground and waters it and gives it nutrients and sunlight. And then eventually it grows to be a tree. And then the tree creates an apple, for instance, and then that apple is what we eat. But in that apple has another seed that you can essentially use for the next tree. Kombucha is Virtually that way. Like every batch, there's this offspring that you can use to make your next batch. And the fruit of that batch is what we call kombucha, which is this kind of bubbly, tangy, bright, fermented tea that has been consumed honestly for hundreds of years, if not thousands of years, and has really established this wonderful reputation for detoxification as well as replenishing the digestive system.

Love that, man. When it comes to the business of kombucha, you were the first person to bring it into stores. And when did you look at it from a business perspective? And how did you originally have that idea to commercialize it, in a sense?

Well, you know, it's interesting. So, I mean, what was the catalyst for me wanting to bottle kombucha was certainly not a financial opportunity or anything that was capitalistic or even entrepreneurial. Not to say that there's anything wrong with that, but because I was at the tender age of 15, I didn't really have that in my mindset. So what really was the initial catalyst for bottling kombuchas was essentially two parts is one is I quickly identified how special it was and how it certainly helped people like it helped my mother. And then I realized a lot of people weren't going to be able to do it on their own. And then the second half is, as I kind of touched on earlier, is it really gave me a sense of purpose, and it was. Gave me a reason to get up in the morning. I felt that it was very much a labor of love. And so that was really the driving force exclusively for the first 10 years. And it wasn't until about 2005, which is again, 10 years later, that I think I grew up. And what I mean by that is I grew up personally as a human being, because now I was in my 20s, and I also grew up as a professional. I started to understand the efficiencies and the art of delegation that really allowed me to be running this hobby, if you will, more like a business. And I think that's when things really started to take off.

Very cool, man. When you first got into. I remember reading an article, it talked about getting into air wines when you sold them 20 bottles or something very small at the time. What was that feeling like, you know, being the first person to bottle it and put it into a store? Like, what was the goal back then? And what did the future look like when you first did that?

Yeah, well, first of all, I mean, to put it simply, it felt magical. It felt, you know, being A male, the closest I can imagine giving birth can be right where there's something that you are in love with, you've been working on, you feel strongly about it and all of a sudden see it kind of come out of you and become this physical thing that people can interact with. So that really was my first experience with bottling and selling my kombuchas. Being a kid, I was shopping at Air1, so it was really a dream come true to see my product that I essentially crafted with my own bare hands beyond the shelves of this store that frequent I had frequented so many years for so long. So it really was very fulfilling and very rewarding and it continues to be.

Yeah, no, it's awesome because I was there yesterday and I walked right by your entire GT's kombucha section. I'm like, it's so cool to, you know, after having it in the store for the first time to now, I'm sure you still go there and you see it and it's everywhere, right? And you know, looking back and so where you are now, what have you learned from scaling this business and how have you gone about that so well?

Well, there's many things that I've learned about scaling the business. One, and this is advice that I always give every entrepreneur, especially the ones starting out, is keep it simple, right? Don't over complicate it. In addition to that, don't get greedy. And greed comes in many different shapes and forms. Greed can sometimes be self inflicted false goals or self inflicted unnecessary pressure or just shooting for the moon. Right. I mean, I think it's important to have high goals and to be very ambitious with those goals. But just like with everything in life, it's one foot in front of the other. So for me, when I first started, I didn't want to have a global brand. I didn't even want a national brand. I didn't even want a statewide brand. I wanted a brand that did well in my town. And once I mastered Los Angeles, I expanded out into adjacent cities, then adjacent counties and adjacent states. And that's really what I believe has kind of kept me on a very straight, narrow path, is that every decision that I've made has been for the long term. In the long run, I believe in avoiding short sighted decisions, as great as they may seem, because they can a lot of times blow up in your face.

That makes so much sense, man. When it comes to culture at the office, what would you say creates great team culture? When building a company that's now global.

I would Say, the most important thing is to make sure everybody on your team, regardless of what role they have, understands that they really are a stakeholder and they have a purpose that may be greater than what they might see in front of them. Right. I say this a lot, especially when we do our kind of year end town hall conversations around the holidays, as I address our entire company, from the guy or gal sweeping the floors to the executive that's right below me, and I say, listen, we are all equal because each and everything that we do every day is part of this master plan of making the world a better place, as silly as that sounds or as cheesy as that sounds. And it really is getting people to feel empowered, to feel that they have a purpose to that they are part of something great and arguably something greater than them. And so I think that's really necessary to cultivate a culture of passion and purpose. And then, as you mentioned earlier, is kind of behind me. I know nobody can see this video but art. I'm a big believer in encouraging artistry and personal expression in everything we do. So whether it's our labels, our products, our marketing, how the environment that we surround ourselves, we really want it to be an uplifting and inspirational environment. And I believe that art comes in many different shapes and sizes. And I think food in many ways is an art form. And we see ourselves as kind of artists. And so I encourage that with all the people around me.

Love that. How often do you consume your own product? Because I know I saw something. It's like you drink between 8 to 12 bottles a day. Is that accurate?

That is accurate. And actually at times that's an understatement. And the reason why I drink so much. And by the way, I'm not encouraging people to mimic or match what I do, but it's a case in point that I am deeply involved in everything that we do. And I, you know, unlike some entrepreneurs that feel that they are the king of their palace, I am not the king of my palace. Quality is always king. And for products like ours, where our fans don't buy them because they're trending or because they're cute or it's popular right now, we believe we make something that really is for a lifelong relationship. And that's a very high standard to uphold, to be honest. And in order to do that effectively and consistently, in my opinion, is that you can never, ever, ever take your eyes off of quality. And if your quality ever changes, it only gets better. And so that's why I taste test all our batches. Because kombucha is not like a manufactured soda that you're just mixing things together and adding carbonation client a day. It's a lot like farming. It's different crops, different seasons, different seasonalities. And so of course we adhere or target a consistent result, but nature is the one that rules our world.

Wow. Wow, that's. I read that and I was like eight bottles a day. That's. That's really the master craft. I love that.

You know, it's funny is a lot of people ask me how I have so much energy to do the things that I do, and it sounds like a kind of a crazy plug. But I say it's the kombucha because I'm very fortunate to be able to have access to it and drink it throughout the day. That it really does power me throughout the day and give me kind of this, like limitless energy. So it's a bonus.

Yeah, absolutely. When it comes to your daily routine, do you have any rituals that you practice every day?

100%. Yeah. I think I'm definitely a creature of habit and I'm very much rhythmatic and routine. Not to say that I don't love things that I don't love to color outside the lines or do things that are kind of spontaneous. But I do believe that it's important to have this foundation of routines that you've architected that over time you've established like, this is the best way to keep me healthy, keep me sane, keep me productive, keep me whatever the goal is. So for me, I have non. I give myself a workout every day. I make sure that I get eight hours of sleep. I make sure that I get to do some kind of meditation or mindfulness. And it doesn't have to be, again, your more traditional meditation where I'm like sitting in a far, like a prairie or a field and I'm like meditating and like birds are flying over me. I mean, of course that's great, but sometimes it's just like having this moment to quiet the mind, take inventory of your thoughts, take inventory of your actions, set the table, if you will, for the day ahead of you. And again, I make sure that I do that routinely and daily because without that, I think sometimes you can wake up and be like, oh, my God, I didn't do anything, or I didn't do anything that I'm really proud of. Yeah.

Wow, that's super cool, man. When it comes to the last six, seven months, with the change of the economy and how everything has really came to a halt for a lot of businesses. How have you guys adapted during these times? When it comes to working from home and dealing with the pandemic that was upon us.

It'S been very interesting, to say the least. I mean, I think, to put it simply, we experience ups and downs and a combination of those and continue to. The interesting thing about COVID which I think a lot of people have said, is that it's this weird kind of equalizer in many ways. It's very different to 9 11, very different to the housing market crash. It's very different than I think any of us, regardless of your age, have seen in our lifetime. And I think, you know, obviously, the challenging aspect of it is, whether myself or people I know or people that I know through my friends and family, of just the suffering that's going on of health concerns, lack of employment, lack of income, of just the fear and uncertainty that I think that we all continue to live. And of course, you know, I think it's challenging right now because we don't. I think we all agree we don't really have a solid leader that we can look to. I was saying this the other day that I thought it was pretty remarkable that when 911 happened, it was almost like the next day we all united and there was this proud, patriotic, kind of patriotic kind of emotion that was tangible around you. With COVID it hasn't felt that way, which is kind of, I think, a missed opportunity, to be honest, because we really are all in this together. But I think there are certain. I think people are suffering more than others, and I think that is creating a little bit of that divisiveness. So that's the challenges that I personally and professionally have experienced. And of course, more on the professional side, just wanting to make sure that I'm keeping my staff safe, that we're not exposing ourselves or the families of our employees to any issues. But at the same time, it's a reminder that why we do what we do, like we've always stood for health, and I think now more than ever, your health is your wealth. And if you're not healthy, you don't really have anything. And I think Covid has certainly taught us that. So it's really reinstated and reaffirmed our purpose and passion. And then the last thing, and this is trying to be optimistic, is that Covid has certainly given us the gift of time, and that's to put energy and attention to things we normally didn't have the chance to previously love.

That I know that you mentioned before Just your appreciation of art. And I, I know that you have an art collection. Where does your passion for art come from?

You know, my collection of art was kind of, in a weird way, an unexpected encounter, if you will. So what happened was about 12 years ago when I built my first home, it was a contemporary home and had kind of an open floor plan. And the designers and architects that I were using started to reference certain areas of the house as galleries. And that was the first time that it was being suggested to me that art was in my future. And you know, to be completely honest, quite, quite early, I didn't really understand it. But I was very fortunate to have some really intelligent people come my way and take, kind of put me under their wing. And through that relationships, through those relationships, I was able to navigate the art world and what it has done for me and where I'm at today is I have this very wonderful understanding of what it means to be an artist and what it means to create incredible art and what I've learned and identified through my interactions with these artists and collecting their work or even just appreciating it. Is it 9 out of 10 times, if not 10 out of 10 times? The most incredible art comes from somebody that has a point of view that they want to share with the world, but not in a heavy handed way. Almost like this is something that I want to reveal or expose you to and I want you to feel a certain way, but the way you feel is up to you. And that's kind of a philosophy that I've adopted over the course of the last decade is I a lot of times create my products, not to sell them, even though selling them is nice. But I feel that I really want it to move people. I really wanted to allow people to grow from them and have this new enlightenment or this new awareness and new relationship with themselves and their health and. And so I think the art world is certainly kind of giving me and my brand and even my company more of a heart and soul.

I love that man. And when it comes to just, you know, collecting art from a business perspective, you know, I myself, I love art. What have you learned about just the art industry? And I think obviously this, this goes into who you are and your brand and what you stand for. But art from a business perspective and appreciation for art and how it can go up in value, I'd love for you to give us some insight on what that world looks like for aspiring art collectors out there.

Yeah, collecting art is a wild, wild ride. It's a very Small community, of course. So before you know it, you realize or recognize that everybody kind of knows everybody. And that's why you have to be very mindful with your interactions with people. Because if you come off greedy, or if you come off insensitive or superficial, or that you're just collecting art purely for the financial aspect, a lot of times you're shut out. And that was actually something I was warned about early on as I was actually sat down by my art advisor and he just point blank asked me, are you collecting art for financial reasons? Wow. Because if so, I don't want to work with you. And it was a change in philosophy because candidly, I did start collecting art because it was a great investment. I mean, that's what a lot of people know about art. But when I was able to course correct and I think my eyes were opened to, yes, it's nice to make sure that the art that you acquire doesn't lose value and hopefully appreciate some value, but that can't be your exclusive reason for collecting it. And your reason for collecting art, and this is my reason, is it really is an opportunity to enhance your perspective of life and relationships and mankind and nature and this world. And so therefore the art that I collect is very provocative. It's been known to make people laugh, cry, smile, get sad because it pushes buttons. And that's the kind of art that I gravitate towards. I mean, I think my art is beautiful, but I think it's also powerful in a certain respect. And again, it's, it's taught me a lot. And I think, and that's why we have a lot of, a lot of art here at the company is. I take great pride in exposing my family members here at the company to art because a lot of times these are individuals that would never ever see this type of art on their own. So I feel it's quite a blessing that I have to be able to share that and expose them to it.

I love that man. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing them sometime.

I hope so.

When it comes to just the way that you've grown your company, what's your advice for entrepreneurs looking to scale company when it comes to, you know, having, for example, a beverage company, I'm a huge fan of just that whole industry. And in my life I plan to launch just an amazing beverage that I'm a, you know, that I'm a consumer of. What's your thoughts there? The growing beverage industry. It's something that, you know, it's hard to get into. You Walk down aisle and there's a hundred different water brands. And it's, you know, it's a hard market to penetrate. What's your advice to people that are looking to get into the beverage market?

Yes. So first of all, I mean the beverage industry is very competitive and it's honestly not dissimilar to a restaurant industry where it's very competitive and the consumer is very finicky and a lot of times they interact with the brand, get deeply into it and then move on. So there's a lot of kind of consumer breakups with brands, especially in the beverage space. And that is primarily, that primarily applies to more of the transactional brands. Right. Like as you said, bottled water. Like with the exception of a unique source for the water. Right. Like Fiji or something where it's like an aquaphor. It really is just your packaging and your brand that engages a consumer. And again, it's like a relationship. Like you constantly have to make sure that you're reinventing yourself and you're being fresh because if you don't, the consumer kind of runs out of reasons to buy you. Now my opinion for anybody like yourself that wants to start a beverage company is I really encourage you to take a long, hard kind of meditative insight or analysis of what it is that you're trying to do. Because again, and this is not me trying to toot my own horn, but in many ways one of the things that's so special about kombucha and why I think was blessed to be able to be a part of it is it really is something that stands for something. Right. It's not just to quench your thirst. It's not just to be cute or you know, cute packaging. It really has this life changing aspect. And that's hard in the beverage business because a lot of times, to put it simply, beverages are a combination of water sweetener and some kind of flavor or color.

Yeah.

And it's very rare that you have something like kombucha that is so expensive. I mean, I'd say the closest that we find is coffee because coffee is experiential. You drink it, it's part of your morning, it gives you energy, it gives you mental clarity. So that's what I always encourage people, beverage or otherwise, is just make sure, if you're going to start a company, make sure it's going to stand for something and add value to people's lives.

Yeah, absolutely. I love that, man. Just a question about, you know, you hear the quote all the time. Money doesn't bring you happiness. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. As someone that has had very successful financial success, just what have you learned from building a successful business, obtaining, you know, success in the financial world? And the question that everyone wants to know is how has it changed your life?

Well, first of all, I agree with you. Money cannot buy you happiness, but it can buy you misery, that's for sure. And so as you said, I have been very blessed to experience financial wealth at a very young age. And you know, that's a dangerous situation. You see it a lot of times with celebrities as they become millionaires before they even enter their 20s and next thing you know, they have some kind of addiction or some kind of mental illness. Because being wealthy, believe it or not, is a kind of a cross you have to bear. It can change relationships, it can certainly change your point of view of the world. It can start changing you. I mean, I'm not the first to invent this statement, but I'll say it is that a lot of times the things that you own can start owning you. And I realized that kind of on and off throughout the first 10 years of my career because to be completely honest, when you get that first check has like 5, 6, 7 figures on it and, and, or you see your bank account starting to accumulate and you're like, you know, feel surreal and you almost start to feel like you're like the superhero that like you've conquered the world. And it's, it is a false reality because as they say, easy come, easy go. And wealth can sometimes breed a very large ego. It can sometimes make you very self righteous arrogance and all these things that I equate with being negative, I mean undesirable. So I had to check myself early on and I think what I know, what has helped me kind of stay on the right path is this is something that I owe to my parents, is being raised with spirituality. Because I think when you understand that this is not your only life and that as the saying goes, what you have in this world you can't take with you, you start to develop a detached point of view. And again, I'm not going to say I don't enjoy the success and the financial wealth that has come along with my career, but it's certainly not my identity. And I frequently ask myself, could I live without this stuff? The answer always has to be yes. Because if the answer is ever no, then I have to say, okay, then you're turning into somebody that you don't want to be and that's that kind of daily practice that honestly you have to do in so many different parts of life. Not just financial. It could be popularity, it could be fame. It could be all this stuff. It can quickly go to your head.

I love that, man. I appreciate the breakdown. That was amazing. When you talk about spirituality, what's something that you'd want someone listening today to learn about spirituality if they haven't, you know, grew up in an environment that preaches that or, you know, understands that?

Well, I will say the most important kind of principle of spirituality is just really understanding that all that really matters in this world is love. And that really is, you know, we're living creatures. We exist to give love and get love, although I think we forget about that a lot of times. And so if you can kind of root yourself in that philosophy, you understand that really is you never want to do anything to somebody that you wouldn't want done to you. You never want to hurt someone's feelings. You never want to do something that's wrong that causes pain or displeasure to another human being or another living thing. And what I put in that is obviously animals, nature, the planet, and it's really living a life that you can be accountable for. And I think that's why, in many ways, I think religion exists in our world is. I think even though I don't consider myself religious, I think it kind of gives people a guardrail, and it gives that. I think faith is really important because without faith, there really are no consequences to your actions. And that means you could basically do anything and hurt somebody in the process. So spirituality, to me is really just understanding that, you know, we're all here to give love and get love and be good to one another and hopefully leave this world a better place and better than we found it.

I love that man. Last question before we wrap up. That is, what do you want your legacy to be?

I want my legacy to be one that when people think of me as a human being or the things that I've done, that first of all, they have a smile on their face because they rather directly or indirectly experienced the kindness or the compassion or the beauty or the health or the enlightenment that I contributed on this planet. And through that, they grew and became a better person. That's all I really want. I mean, I don't want to go down in history as this, like, the richest person alive or the guy that created Kombucha or any of those egotistical, driven kind of goals and objectives. I just really want somebody like he was A good guy. He was. He was kind, he was loving, he was sincere, he was selfless. And if I, If I leave this world with that kind of impression, then I've done my job.

I love that, man. That's. That's a beautiful way to end it, man. Last, but not least, for everyone that's tuning in, that's listening, where's the best place that they can continue to follow you and just be a part of GT's kombucha?

Absolutely. Well, first of all, of course, the company and the products we make is the best way to understand our products. So our website is GT's Living Foods, and then our handles on social media are all GTS Kombucha. So that's G T S K O M B U C H A. And for those of you that want to follow me and see what I'm up to, I can't say my life is that exciting. Most of my handles are GT Dave3, which is mostly Instagram and I think YouTube.

Why the three? I was going to ask that.

Well, it's interesting. Somehow somebody squatted on the GT Dave, so I have to find him or her and. And settle that score. But also, to be honest, my luck runs in three. So I'm the third born, My third flavor is my best seller. My third relationship became my marriage. I mean, I could go on and on and on. I'm born on November 3rd. So, yes, there's a lot of symbolism in the number three.

Wow. That is very cool. Well, man, GT thank you so much for coming on the show. Demand. It was such a pleasure to have you on and I'm sure that the people listening, if they haven't already tried your kombucha, they're going to go give it a shot, man. So thanks so much for coming on.

Thank you, Casey. It's been a pleasure.

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.