62. The Perfect Pivot - Lessons from Start-Up CEO Brandon Bahr

Mar 15 2022 • 1 hr

My guest today is Brandon Bahr, co-founder and CEO of Simple Solvants, providing the highest quality ethanol for medical grade hemp oil extraction. Brandon started his company at the onset of the Covid Pandemic immediately addressing a need for ethanol in hand sanitizer production. However, he chose to pivot and focus on what he and his co-founders knew best - medical grade hemp extraction. They understood the importance of providing high quality ethanol to ensure the health and safety of medicinal cannabis and CBD.

In this episode we discuss:
- How to start, grow and scale a business
- How Brandon founded his company
- Pivoting for profit or purpose in Covid
- The health risks of low grade ethanol on CBD and medical marijuana
- How CBD is extracted from the Setiva Plant
- The importance of logistics on the profitability of a company
- How to choose between quality and affordability in production
- How to A/B test business decisions
- When to consider Venture Capital for a start up
- Maintaining a cuture of excellence in a start up
- How CEO's should think strategically
- How leaders can empower employees

Chapters
00:00 - Intro
01:30 - Entrepreneurial Journey
03:39 - Importance of Ingredients
07:33 - Ethical Responsibility of Companies
10:20 - Difference in Hemp, Cannabis, CBD
12:20 - How Oil is Extracted
15:30 - Why start an ethanol company?
21:00 - The Covid Pivot
27:15 - Quality vs Cost
33:27 - Distribution is the Future
35:58 - Amazon of Ethanol
39:10 - Strategic Testing for Success
43:00 - Venture Capital Considerations
46:39 - Uncovering Other's Values in Business
47:58 - Building a Culture
52:49 - Final 3 Questions

Watch on YouTube

--------------------------------------------------