• #219: LeNoble Lumber –
    2025/08/20
    Snippet Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I'm Stephen's sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today's episode, a word from our sponsor, which is... Well, it's us. But we're highlighting ads we've written and produced for our clients. So here's one of those. [No Bull RV Ad] Stephen Semple: Hey, it's Stephen Semple here with the Empire Builders Podcast, and we're giving Dave Young the day off. And in replacement of Dave, I've got three really fun people that I know you're going to love hearing their story, three folks from LeNoble Lumber. And I'm going to let them introduce themselves and tell us a little bit about each one of them because we've got me plus three people. So this is a little bit different, but I know everyone's going to find this an awesome story. So because we're all really super polite people, it's ladies first, which means Jessica, you're up first. Jessica LeNoble: I'm Jessica LeNoble. I am the last one to join the business of the three. I've been here for almost a year now. Dan, who you'll meet in a minute, is my older brother. And it's just great to be here. Stephen Semple: All right, awesome. Thanks, Jessica. Well, Dan, you've been teed up here now. She teed you up. Dan LeNoble: Hi. So I'm Dan LeNoble. I'm vice president of LeNoble Lumber. As said before, Jessica is my younger sister. Ben is also my partner over here. I've been full-time with the company for over 15 years now. And just excited to be here as well. Stephen Semple: All right, awesome. And Ben. Ben Bernstein: Yep. Stephen Semple: Now, I know this is a podcast. We can't see that Ben's wearing his very special, bright, lime green, fluorescent tuxedo because he's calling in today from the shop. So Ben, let us know a little bit about you. Ben Bernstein: Yeah, my name is Ben Bernstein. I am co-vice president with Dan. I have been with the company since 2013. All of us are just very happy to be here, excited to be on the podcast. Stephen Semple: And here's the thing that I think is really special before we get into things is you guys are kind of in a pretty special place when it comes to businesses in America and the world. The business was established in, if I remember correctly, I think it was 1965. Dan LeNoble: Correct. Stephen Semple: By Paul, right? And you guys are generation number three, really, to be coming through the business. Isn't that correct? Jessica LeNoble: Yep. Dan LeNoble: Yeah, to this company, we're the third generation, but the three of us, in terms of the lumber industry, we go back even further than that. I know for a fact Jess and myself we're at least fifth generation in the lumber and I believe Ben is also further along as well. So we're third generation to this business, but we kind of joke that we don't have blood, we have sawdust in our veins. Stephen Semple: But I don't think a lot of people realize the success rate of a business still being successful and in the hands of the third generation is really rare. There is actually not many businesses that have managed to do that. It's amazing how often either the business has rolled up or it's been sold to somebody else or has been merged with something and has kind of disappeared. But for this to be around and still prosperous and happening in generation three is really, really special. And you guys should pat yourself on the back on that, that you've been able to do all of those transitions. Ben Bernstein: Well, I think the credit for that really goes to the generations before us that have seen the vision of seeing that, okay, we are in this spot towards the second half of our careers and how do we set up the success of this company for th...
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    24 分
  • #218: Frappuccino – Not A Brand???
    2025/08/13
    Starbucks was having a students going home issue and needed to keep selling coffee, so they copied and perfected as Seattle treat. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I'm Stephen's sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today's episode, a word from our sponsor, which is, well, it's us. But we're highlighting ads we've written and produced for our clients, so here's one of those. [Maven Roofing Ad] Dave Young: Welcome back to the Empire Builders Podcast. I'm Dave Young alongside Stephen Semple. And man, this topic takes me back. I feel like in the early days of the Empire Builders Podcast, we talked a lot about coffee and coffee products. Stephen Semple: We did. We did. Dave Young: And today, you told me we're going to talk about Frappuccino. Stephen Semple: Yes. Dave Young: And my big question is is that a brand? Stephen Semple: No, it's a name. It's a product name. And it's actually owned by Starbucks. And yep, Starbucks, I looked this up, Dave, guess what episode Starbucks was? Guess how far back we got to go? Dave Young: I don't know, single digits? Stephen Semple: Yes, episode five. It's like four years ago we talked about Starbucks. Dave Young: And they own the word Frappuccino? Stephen Semple: They own the word Frappuccino. No one else can use the name. They didn't create it. And it's funny, when I learned this, I went, "No, no, no." Because Tim Hortons and things like that, they use Frappuccino. And then I noticed they don't. It's called things like frozen caps or frozen cappuccinos. No one actually uses the name Frappuccino, even though in my mind they did. Dave Young: I feel stupid. You don't hear why? Stephen Semple: Why is that? Dave Young: It's a portmanteau of frozen and cappuccino. I never figured that out before. Stephen Semple: Well, it's actually not quite that. Dave Young: Isn't it? Okay. Stephen Semple: No, it's going to be something a little bit more interesting. You're close, but it's a little bit more interesting than that. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: So it's kind of an interesting story, and it's a huge category in Starbucks. And in fact, when the idea was first introduced to Howard Schultz, he hated it. He was like, "No, we're not doing this. I'm a coffee purist. We're not doing this frozen drink thing with the star and all this other crap." But our story actually starts with the relocation of George Howell from Berkeley to Boston in the early-1970s. Because George is a real coffee nerd. I mean real coffee nerd. There's stories of George pulling into a diner and wanting to have a coffee and smelling the burnt coffee in the diner. And basically, he'll ask for a pot of hot water and he'll pull out his beans, pull out a coffee grinder, and his French press, and to start to make coffee. And people would gather around, like, "What the hell are you doing?" Dave Young: To show them how to make coffee. Stephen Semple: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So it's the 1970s, and there's not much of a coffee culture yet in United States. But there was in Berkeley, which he just left. And Berkeley was kind of ground zero for the coffee culture in the United States. Dave Young: I see what you did there. Grounds, zero. Stephen Semple: I didn't even think about that. And he's moving to Boston. Now, ironically, Boston is kind of the starting point for coffee consumption in the United States, but it's really still not good coffee. George wanders the Boston area visiting literally every cafe and ordering coffee, and it's terrible. He tries all of them, and he's continually disappointed. And George not only misses coffee, but the culture of coffee,
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    19 分
  • #217: Sesame Street – Breaking Boundries
    2025/08/06
    Using TV addiction to educate children. Sesame Street broke boundries and changed rules to bring education to every child. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I'm Stephen's sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today's episode, a word from our sponsor, which is... Well, it's us, but we're highlighting ads we've written and produced for our clients. So here's one of those. [Seaside Plumbing Ad] Dave Young: Welcome back to the Empire Builders Podcast, the podcast where Stephen Semple and Dave Young, that's me, Stephen Semple is him, we talk about businesses and how they grew and what made them empires. And normally during our little countdown to the recording, Stephen hands me the topic. He whispers in my ear what we're going to talk about today, and he didn't do that. So I still have no idea, but my enthusiasm is high because before we started recording, he said, "I've got some really good ones that we're going to record today." I'm thinking, "Finally. Finally, some good..." No, I just, they're all good. But you've got me on the edge of my seat, Stephen. You said I would be able to get this without the timer, without the countdown. Stephen Semple: That's it. So it starts off this way, "Can you tell me how to get, how to get to..." Dave Young: Sesame Street? I can sing it. Stephen Semple: Yes, that's it. Well, I could sing it as well, but no one wants to hear me sing. Dave Young: Sunny day, dah, dah, dah. Oh, yeah. Oh, Sesame Street. Stephen Semple: Yes. Dave Young: Cool. Stephen Semple: Yes. We're going to talk about Sesame Street. Now- Dave Young: Are we going to do voices? Stephen Semple: You might be able to. Dave Young: Here's the countdown, 5, 4... Four countdowns. Three. I don't think The Count did countdowns, did he? Stephen Semple: No, he never did, I don't think. But it's a nonprofit. It's owned by a nonprofit. Dave Young: [inaudible 00:02:59]. Stephen Semple: But a 1996 survey found that 95% of all American preschoolers had watched it by the time they were three years old. Dave Young: Sure. I believe that. Stephen Semple: Ninety-five percent. Now, when you hit a number like that, holy crap. I started looking at some of these things and went, "This is a story that we've got to explore." So Sesame Street first aired on November 10th, 1969 on Public Television. And put in perspective, that's the year that a man landed on the moon. That's what we're going back to. Dave Young: So here's the funny thing, I wasn't even a preschooler. I was six. I'd watch it today if it was still on. Stephen Semple: It's amazing. Dave Young: All the Spanish I know came from Sesame Street. Stephen Semple: There you go. Dave Young: I can count to 10. Stephen Semple: There you go. Amazing, eh? Dave Young: Yeah. So 1969... Stephen Semple: It changed television. And it's estimated that it's contributed to the education of over 150 million kids. It's the home of Elmo, and Tickle Me Elmo is one of the best-selling toys of all time, and all this was created and owned by a nonprofit. And the creators were Joan Cooney, Lloyd Morrisett, and of course, Jim Henson was a big contributor in the early days. And Joan was a documentary TV producer for Public Television. And the story basically starts in 1966, and Joan Cooney had just completed a documentary on a school in Harlem that was trying to close the gap in results with white counterparts. And if you think about it, in the mid-1960s, a lot is happening. The Civil Rights Movement is in full swing, but there's still this big gap. And Black first-graders are scoring lower on tests than 85% of white kids.
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    19 分
  • #216: Oliva Gibbs Law – Part 2
    2025/07/30
    Zach Oliva truly understands commitment and dedication to growing something you believe in. He practices active recommitting to stay on goal. Dave Young: Welcome to The Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I'm Stephen's sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today's episode, a word from our sponsor, which is... Well, it's us, but we're highlighting ads we've written and produced for our clients. So here's one of those. [Oliva Gibbs Ad] Rick: Told you, Brian. Brian: Told me what? Rick: This is part two of last week's episode. Brian: Oh yeah. And it was getting good. Rick: If you missed it, go back and listen to part one first. Take it away, fellas. Stephen Semple: Hey, it's Stephen Semple here, and as the guys just alluded to, this is part two of an amazing podcast on Oliva Gibbs energy law. And not to give too much away, in case you don't want to go back and listen to the first episode, although I think you should. Oliva Gibbs basically in about a 15-year period of time, went from three lawyers to now there are six offices and 60 people. And in this podcast, we are going to go down some really interesting rabbit holes. This has turned out to be one of my favorite podcasts, and I know you're going to enjoy it. Zach Oliva: So I think probably for the five years before COVID, I would take these trips and it would be called a think week or weekend or whatever, and I would get a flip phone and I would go to a cabin in rural Texas. Stephen Semple: Well, you just dated yourself there. You got a flip phone. Zach Oliva: Yeah, I still have a flip phone. I have a flip phone. I use a flip phone every weekend. I've been using a flip phone every weekend for seven years. I would use my flip phone and I would go on these trips and I would take my dog and just hang out at this cabin. I would read a bunch of books about business strategy or investing or whatever, and I would think through issues. And I had really good ideas that would come up during those think weeks. And I think that where I failed in a lot of those was I would come back and I would try and implement those ideas completely on my own. And so I didn't know yet the importance of getting buy-in from the team and all that stuff. And so it caused actually a lot of frustration. The great thing about Strategic Coach is now I have think weeks all the time because I just have free days where I'm taking time off. But I still use a flip phone every weekend since probably the last six or seven years. It's amazing. Stephen Semple: So one of the things I wanted to ask you about, because it's really easy to say the whole thing of, "Okay, I'm going to go and I'm going to hire some professionals, I'm going to hire some experts, but not everybody has success doing that and for a bunch of reasons." And you've had great success doing it. So if you are going to give somebody advice saying, "Look, you're going to grow your business, go out and hire some experts that are great at helping grow the business." What advice would you have for folks in terms of, I guess, finding, selecting, and working with those professionals so that they have the type of success that you and Brad have had? Zach Oliva: I think where I've seen people fail and hiring things like advisors or coaches or things like that is they don't understand the nature of commitment. And so when a few years ago I worked with an awesome performance coach named Christopher Doris, and he coaches professional golfers, NFL players, entrepreneurs, stuff like that. And his big thing is what does all in look like here? And why would you do anything if you're not all in? And Stephen, do you know what the nature of commitment is? Stephen Semple: Well,
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    24 分
  • #215: Oliva Gibbs Law – Part 1
    2025/07/23
    Zach Oliva had just graduated from law school when Ohio discover a huge natural gas shale. Well, he went digging where no other lawyers were... Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector and storyteller. I'm Stephen's sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today's episode, a word from our sponsor, which is, well, it's us, but we're highlighting ads we've written and produced for our clients. Here's one of those. [Oliva Gibbs Law Ad] Stephen Semple: Hey, it's Stephen Semple with the Empire Builders Podcast. We're doing something a little different this week. We've given Dave the day off, and I've got a really special guest with me, Zach Oliva. He's the co-founder of the law firm Oliva Gibbs, in Texas. They're an energy law firm. You guys, you've done something special in terms of what you've grown into. How many lawyers are you now, Zach? Zach Oliva: I think probably close to 60 attorneys across six offices in the U.S. It's been a lot of fun. Stephen Semple: You always know you've grown to a size when it's like, "I think it's 60." Zach Oliva: Yeah. Well, we're always looking for rock stars. I know that there's probably some offers that went out this week, not sure what the status of those are and things. We're blessed with a really great team. Stephen Semple: How long have you guys been around for now? When was the firm established? How many years ago now? Zach Oliva: 2013, actually. Stephen Semple: 2013? Zach Oliva: 12 years, yeah. Stephen Semple: Yeah, that's phenomenal. In 12 years, it has grown from yourself and Brad to basically being now 60 odd lawyers, and being in that magic- Zach Oliva: Yeah. Well, we started the business with another partner who has since retired. Stephen Semple: Okay. All right, there was three. Zach Oliva: I think I was 26 years old. I was reflecting on that the other day. I think I was 26, which, I was pretty dumb then, so I didn't know how stupid of an idea. I also didn't have kids, which makes the decision a little bit different. Stephen Semple: Tell me about how all of this started, because the thing that's also interesting is the area you've gone after, oil and gas. Look, it's not the glamorous space. It would be a bit of an easy one to overlook and not get excited about, and you guys have built this amazing business. As we've worked together, I've learned more and more about how it's actually a far more interesting and innovative industry than people give it credit for. How did it all get started? Zach Oliva: Well, I was in law school in Ohio, where I grew up, and Ohio got just destroyed by the Great Recession. I got out of law school around 2011, and there were no jobs. I was reading the paper, and I noticed that in the paper, they kept talking about this thing called the Utica Shale and the Marcellus Shale, which, they were calling it the most prolific natural gas discovery ever in the country. It was under Ohio, so under the land, under the state of Ohio and New York, and parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and no law firms in Ohio at that time had an oil and gas practice. I was going to these firms, saying, "Hey, I think there's going to be something here. I would love to come work for you, even for free, because I really think that this is going to be a big industry in Ohio. By the way, there are no big industries in Ohio anymore. If anything's going to work, it's going to be this one." None of them were interested in a kid fresh out of law school working for free, doing something that they had no idea how it worked, which, I don't blame them at all. I had a professor who was a really bright guy, and he was really knowledgeable about the country. He was previously an advisor,
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    22 分
  • #214: Mr. Coffee – So Easy a Man Can Do It
    2025/07/16
    Vince Marrotta realized that the percolated coffee at home was not as good as the coffee at restaurants. Mr. Coffee is how he fixed that. Dave Young: Welcome to The Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Simple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I'm Stephen's sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today's episode, a word from our sponsor, which is, well, it's us, but we're highlighting ads we've written and produced for our clients. So here's one of those. [Waukee Feet Ad] Dave Young: Welcome back to The Empire Builders Podcast. Dave Young, here alongside Stephen Semple, and he whispered in my ear that today the topic and keeping with our current theme is Mr. Coffee. Stephen Semple: Mr. Coffee. Dave Young: That's Mr. Coffee to you, sir. Stephen Semple: That's it. That's it. Dave Young: So we're talking about the machine, right? Stephen Semple: Correct. Dave Young: Mr. Coffee is not a coffee brand, it's a machine. Stephen Semple: That's correct. It's the home brew coffee machine. Dave Young: Yeah. I'm trying to think of the associations that come to mind and thinking maybe one of their first spokesmen was Joe Garagiola. Stephen Semple: No close. Dave Young: No? Stephen Semple: Joe DiMaggio. Dave Young: Joe DiMaggio, that's right. Stephen Semple: So close. So close. Dave Young: Joe. I knew it was a Joe and it was related to baseball. Stephen Semple: Well, that's why I'm saying you were like, it was so close. Dave Young: I remember. Yeah. Stephen Semple: But yeah, it's an interesting part of the whole coffee story. And as we talked about in the last one, Folgers, and I'll tie it together at the end of this, if you actually take a look at Gaggia, Starbucks, Folgers and Mr. Coffee, you basically have got the story of coffee in America. And it was actually after I was doing the research on Mr. Coffee, I went, holy smokes. Here's how these four go together. This is really quite remarkable. So we'll touch base on that at the end. Dave Young: Can I make a guess as to the evolution of this? Stephen Semple: Sure. Dave Young: Because remember we talk about when you're looking at innovation, take a product, take a service, whatever it is, and remove friction, make it easier and better. Before Mr. Coffee was a thing, you had these percolators at home. I remember my mom would, it's a metal pot that plugged into the wall and had a little light on it, and then when it's plugged in it's on and when it's unplugged it's off. Had a metal basket, like a stem up from the bottom that would shoot boiling water up into the top of the percolator and the little glass cap on the lid so that you could tell that it was working. And then that would just spray down on the coffee grounds in the metal basket and then drip into the hot water. And when enough time had passed, I'm not sure what the timing was on it, but then you had a pot of coffee. You waited until either the light went out or stayed on, or the bubbles, the percolating quit happening. I don't know how that worked. Well see, now I'm- Stephen Semple: I forget how that worked. Dave Young: ... going to go about that. But here's the thing. The problem is, it seems to me like it took a long time for that to actually happen and at the end of the process, you've got this metal basket full of wet gross coffee grounds that you have to clean. You have to get rid of it. So you dump it in the trash, and now you've got wet coffee grounds in the trash, or you run it down the sink and now you've got a plumbing problem. But those are problems that I think Mr. Coffee aimed to solve. Stephen Semple: Well, and there's a problem you're also not even talking about is the coffee was not as good because of ...
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    19 分
  • #213: Folgers – The Best Part of Waking Up
    2025/07/09
    From a horrible caffeine delivery system, Jim Folger takes a huge interest in making coffee better and we thank him for it. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I'm Stephen's sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today's episode, a word from our sponsor, which is, well, it's us, but we're highlighting ads we've written and produced for our clients. So here's one of those. [Pin Point Payments Ad] Dave Young: Welcome back to the Empire Builders Podcast, where Stephen Semple, who's the guy that you're going to hear next, and myself, David Young. We talk about empires and how they're built and what makes them tick. And if you're listening to us in the morning, it's totally appropriate for the topic that Steven just whispered in my ear, which is Folgers, and immediately popped into my head was the old jingle. The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup. Stephen Semple: And Folgers is what a dominant, dominant, dominant force in the coffee space. In the home ground space the data that I was able to find as they do close to 900 million in sales are basically 27% of the market. Dave Young: My guess is that they in the past have been more than that, but the crafty roasting kind of people have probably been nibbling away at that over the years, but I'll be back in the '70s or '80. Stephen Semple: I didn't go back. Dave Young: They were just a juggernaut. Stephen Semple: And I didn't go back and take a look at that. But look, when you're number one, you're number one, right? That's a big deal. Dave Young: When you and I were kids, nobody was grinding their own beans. You bought a big can of coffee and put it in a percolator. That's what coffee was. Stephen Semple: But the interesting part, we will talk a little bit about that campaign. The best part of Waking Up. That campaign came out in 1984, and prior to that, Maxwell House was actually number one. That campaign allowed them to surpass Maxwell House and become the leader in the space. So it was a very, very successful campaign. Dave Young: It's one of those jingles. I don't know if it's out yet, but I did a copy or a copy, an episode of Sticky Sales, sales stories with Matthew Burns, and we talk about Winston and the power of the Winston Jingle can get in people's heads. And if you were a kid before 1971, you still remember that jingle? Stephen Semple: Yes. Dave Young: And so Folgers, and gosh, you were inundated. You couldn't escape the Folgers jingle. Stephen Semple: And there's the power of the fact that it's a rhyme. The best part of Waking Up. Like rhymes, as we know, have got a rhythm and a power to them. We'll come back to the jingle later, but let's go back to the beginning. Dave Young: Let me put one more little plug-in for that episode with Matthew, because we talk about the scientific reason that audio is so sticky in your head. So it has to do with the brain and humans' unique ability to process sound. And that's the fun part. It's more than just a story of, oh, this is how we sold cigarettes. So anyway, check that out. Stephen Semple: That's awesome. That's awesome. So as we all know- Dave Young: But wait till the end of the podcast. Stephen Semple: So as we all know, the Boston Tea Party was a thing in the United States, and in fact, it actually led to the growth of coffee being something that people started drinking in the United States. It ended up becoming a statement and a revolutionary idea. And coffee houses started to pop up both in the United States and around the world. Dave Young: But it was [inaudible 00:04:58] that tea and the tax on it. Stephen Semple: Yeah, that started getting things going but-
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    18 分
  • #212: Red Bull – Powerful Branding Works
    2025/07/02
    Red Bull has used the same marketing for 20 years. This is the power of a well thought out brand that stays the course. Dave Young: Welcome to The Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector and storyteller. I'm Stephen's sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today's episode, a word from our sponsor, which is, well, it's us, but we're highlighting ads we've written and produced for our clients. So here's one of those. [OG Law Ad] Dave Young: Welcome back to the Empire Builders Podcast. And I'm Dave Young, and that's Stephen Semple, over at the other microphone. You may not be able to see him if you're listening on a podcast. That makes sense, doesn't it? So the only clue he gave me as the countdown timer started to what this episode is all about is he said, "Gives you wings." I'm like, well, obviously we're going to be talking about Red Bull. I didn't miss that one, did I? Stephen Semple: No, you got it right. Isn't that amazing how powerful that is? Dave Young: "Gives you wings." Yeah. I mean, we tell people all the time. That's just branding. That's just becoming known for some things, right? And the longer you do it, and the more consistently you do it, the easier it is for people to know you by a slogan, "Gives you wings" or "Ba-ba-pa-pa-pa," right? Stephen Semple: "I'm lovin' it." Dave Young: Just a few notes. And now all of a sudden, 60, 70 years of advertising is rolled up into five little notes in your head that brings back all those associations. So Red Bull, man, they're everywhere. Stephen Semple: Well, and they have not changed their advertising in 20 years. Like the whole using the drawings and it gives you wings. They have stuck with that for over 20 years. So when you say doing it over and over again, here's the other part where I got to give them real credit on the "Gives you wings." I could see somebody going, yeah, but it doesn't give you wings. We all get it. Dave Young: That's magical thinking. Come on. Stephen Semple: Magical thinking. And that's why it's powerful. And then the other thing they did is they misspelt wings. They have the extra I in there. Dave Young: Never even noticed that. Stephen Semple: Yeah. And the reason why they did that is it makes it trademarkable. Dave Young: Okay. So the chicken wing places can't infringe on them, right? Stephen Semple: Well, if something's a common phrase, you can't prevent other people from doing it. So they do that little thing and he said, you hardly notice it. So there's a bunch of little clever things that they've done. Dave Young: Well, take us back to the beginning. Stephen Semple: I just want to talk to you about how big in 2023, 12 billion in sales. Dave Young: Man. Stephen Semple: But to date, they've sold a hundred billion units, 12 billion in sales last year. And you think about it, they really have one product. Sure they've got a sugar-free one, and every once in a while they do some seasonal ones, but pretty much they're one product. Dave Young: Is caffeine. Stephen Semple: Yeah. And it's these little 8.4 ounce cans and actually started in rural Thailand. I'm going to butcher this guy's name, because it's a Thai name, I don't know Thai, but was a pharmacist, Chaleo Yoovidhya, I think is how you pronounce his name. And again, I may have that completely, completely wrong. But here's the deal. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: He's a pharmacist. He has a pharmacy in urban Thailand, and it's 1976. And what he notices is there's these energy tonics coming from Japan, and they're really popular in the cities. And he grew up in a poor rural area and he notices these imports are kind of expensive. And he decides to make his own version of it.
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    20 分