Cocky Ventures

0:00Welcome to the Emerging Brands Podcast with Kelly Bennett. This is the podcast to discover stories behind your new favorite CPG brands. Each episode brings you behind the scenes of the brand and founder story, learn what sets them apart in the marketplace, and their strategy going to market. We talk about plans for growth, practical advice for an emerging brand founder, and where to shop products that are making waves in food, beverage, wellness, beauty, and beyond. You'll also hear from industry experts, brand builders, investors, and operators you should absolutely have on your radar if you're building a CPG brand today.

0:44I'm your host, Kelly Bennett, a Brooklyn-based brand strategist with a front row seat of what makes an emerging CPG brand stand out. Whether you're building a brand of your own or love supporting what's next, you're in the right place. This podcast is brought to you by Hummingbirds. Hummingbirds is the go-to platform built for creator-powered retail activations. They are connecting everyday creators with CPG brands to generate shelf-level awareness, drive in-store momentum, and generate authentic content in markets that matter the most. Go to hummingbirds.com for all the details and let them know I sent you.

1:30Now, let's dive into the new episode. Hi, everyone. Welcome back to a new episode of Emerging Brands Podcast with Kelly Bennett. Today, we're switching it up a bit because I want to show you behind the scenes of what it looks like when your brand is raising capital. What does that look like? Like who are the people to learn from that would make the biggest impact on your brand? Ashley Pollard is here. She is the CEO of Cocky Ventures and truly one of my favorite people to follow on Instagram because I just love her perspective and how she builds brands. So Ashley, thank you so much for coming on the podcast.

2:14Ashli Pollard:I'm so happy to be here. That's such a kind thing to say. Thank you. It's true. It's really true. This is a space that I'm personally really interested about. I've been learning more about how it all works, and I really appreciate how you share very openly and honestly. And I would love to jump into your background first. I know you're a four-time founder, which is incredible, an investor, a mentor. So could you give us, I'm sure this could be a whole other episode, but just an overview of your career background? Of course. Yeah. Let's definitely turn to the CliffsNotes or I could be here for a while.

2:56Ashli Pollard:But so my background even extends further where I spent 12 years in the fashion industry as kind of like a really high level operator. My career kind of kicked off at Gucci, Prada, Oscar de la Renta. I spent a lot of time in the luxury space. You know, a lot of my job was sales, but not sales in the sense of like hitting a revenue goal as much as it is like partnerships, running the math to see what type of product is needed, what type of locations need things. It was very much an analyst position. And then segued into more contemporary, worked at Rebecca Minkoff for quite some time, Sam Edelman, Hunter Boots, those as kind of consultants in a way.

3:40Ashli Pollard:and also helped Kendall and Kylie launch their first venture and saw that through to an exit with PacSun acquisition. So that was how my career. I remember that brand. Yeah. Yeah. So it was a four person team. It was really small and we were small but mighty and it was, which was really cool. So I, I spent a lot of time in brand development and brand building, but always inside of preexisting businesses. And I got to make a lot of really big marketing decisions. I, I helped direct product and decide offer pricing or product pricing and nationwide campaigns, global initiatives, and really developed a name for myself.

4:20Ashli Pollard:I was very sought after. I had a really great job. I always deliver top of my game. And then when COVID hit and I had been a consultant at that point, you lose your job. You're not going to stay on during COVID. and I realized that I had all of these things that I knew about building businesses and brands and I took all of it, distilled it down into like step-by-step logic and templates and everything created, you know, over the years, 200 plus resources and put that inside of a library. That is my first business called The Doers. So people can access that library for$97 a month, which is really great.

4:57Ashli Pollard:And we have grown that to quite a business, which is really, really exciting. And then further than that, you know, we had people reaching out to me from my past life. One person in particular who I knew from Rolling Stone magazine reached out, said, I love what you're doing with the doers. Would you ever take a client for social media? I said, never in a million years. I only know how to do it for myself. And she said, oh, well, it would have been Brooke Shields. And I said, oh yeah, no, I'll take her. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll figure it out. Yeah. I think we're open for business now. Launched a marketing agency basically overnight and my team at the doers migrated over to become the team behind Brooke Shields and we catapulted.

5:34Ashli Pollard:We got multiple celebrity brands really quickly because we were killing it with her product brand. Scaled that extremely rapidly, grew to be a lean team, but very powerful, working with people like Bethany Frankel, Elaine Welteroth, Katy Perry, names I can't name that would floor some people. And it was really, really, really exciting. And with that, we realized we tend to have some capacity at times where maybe things are slow or where we're very efficient and can do things much quicker than someone else. And so we started doing these free projects to kind of support one person at a time to help them with their business.

6:16Ashli Pollard:But what we realized is that I really wanted equity stake because I wanted to stay on with this founder and see them through past this project. And so that's how we launched Cocky Ventures was to say, we always have a little bit of a pocket of space to support somebody and we have enough profit in order to be able to do that still and maintain a strong business. So how can we every once in a while take on a client who wants to grow a business, we believe in the idea, we know the founder is going to go far, but they don't have it in them to like build the proper social media system that we know is going to catapult them or brand themselves or build that website or build that packaging kit, you know, whatever it is.

6:55Ashli Pollard:So there's a multitude of ways that we were kind of working with people and we've now piloted four brands, which we're very proud of. None have gone to market yet. So once they are, we're definitely going to be very loud about them. Yes. I know that. You have to be patient and wait. Yes. Because we've been doing this for two years now. So there are some that, you know, we've had hiccups and they had to shift gears and, you know, find a different way forward. And one of them was supposed to launch this year and the tariffs allowed them to put them in a position where they couldn't buy the packaging.

7:30Ashli Pollard:And so it's just kind of been one of those games. We all get it. Yeah, we do. We do. Anyone listening gets it. They absolutely get it. So that's how Cocky Ventures started is you having the space and saying, okay, we could take on some equity and then putting in the marketing engine with that. Correct. So basically we price out, here are the services that we think that we could do for the next six months to blow this up. And that doesn't mean go viral, but that means like you are in such a stable position that all of your systems are in place and well-oiled that a child could come in and keep them going.

8:11Ashli Pollard:We've established really strong ad revenue and ROAS there. Your website is incredible. Your packaging looks great. Your branding is on par. Your messaging is converting, right? So we're there to kind of like do that really quickly and make sure that the system is kind of built and then all there is really is maintenance. So there's two parts of it. One is that we kind of price out. Here is what it would be. Let's call it retail. Right. But let's trim it down to where you're covering like labor, you know, because we don't want them to have to pay for the profit of it all in this agreement. And then that amount of money goes into a safe agreement.

8:48Ashli Pollard:And then I stay on with an advisory share. Very cool. I like how you set that up because we'll talk about it in a moment, but there's all different ways to raise capital or to bring on investors or advisors. And I like how you are not just doing one side of the street. You're also plugging in all of your resources and your team to really give that extra support, really. And because when a founder is first starting out, they don't know what they don't know. And the fact that you have these templates and processes and you're able to plug that in, that's a unique proposition. I think so, too. On top of the fact that, you know, we are incredibly great at our work.

9:40Ashli Pollard:we have a systems first aesthetic second approach in building the business my marketing agency because we knew that the efficiency piece and the ability to work quickly is going to lend itself as strongly to our success as the aesthetics and it has and so what's really great is that we've developed a big name for ourself no press no marketing for my marketing agency it's all been referrals and word of mouth because of the people that we work with and we always get results We've like 50 X businesses. Like it's crazy the amount of results that we've seen with people. And so for us, if we were to say we want to do exactly what you need to do to really catapult and take a market share, we might have to charge$100 ,000.

10:23Ashli Pollard:But through this, we could put 30, 40, 50, depending on what we're doing into a safe agreement because we're trimming away a lot of the like fluff that maybe the client thinks they want, but they don't need. or the stuff that we're like, if we just strip away some of the stuff, we'll be able to work quicker. You know what I mean? I do. And so it allows everybody to be able to kind of win because it's not even that you get, you know, $30 ,000 of a safe, like, let's call it investment, even though it's time. You technically are getting maybe a hundred, you know? Because the fact that you now don't have to go pay those vendors full rate and we are one of the best in the game as it is.

11:03Got it. Just to break it down a little bit more, because I know that there's many first-time founders listening to the podcast in the really early trenches. Can you just break down a little bit more of what you were saying? So a safe agreement versus like say a straight investment or cash into a business and also understanding there's different ways that you can essentially have an investment into your business when it's also through services. Can you just break that down a little bit more? Yeah.

11:39Ashli Pollard:So, you know, I do make financial investments. I've made about$50 ,000 this year. I'm probably capped, but if the right thing came along, maybe, right? So I do make, let's say, like monetary investments, right? And money. Now, the nice thing is that when you get an investment through me, you get cash. When you get an investment through Cocky Ventures, you get results. And the reason why I say that those two things are different is because if you're a first time founder getting$50 ,000 cash, are you going to spend it well? Do you know how to vet marketing agencies? Do you know the right thing to ask?

12:17Ashli Pollard:Do you know exactly? Do you know that that's the strategy you want to deploy with that cash, right? So it puts a lot of pressure on the founder to make the right choice. And a lot of times people come to us with cash saying, I just got an investment and I want this and I want this and I want this, excuse me. And we're like, that's not the right way to use that money for your goals and for what you need to do. And we will tell people that, but a lot of marketing agencies will take your money, you know? And so for us, what we notice is that if you come to us and we believe in the idea and we believe in the founder, and keep in mind, we take one or two projects a year, right?

12:55Ashli Pollard:Maybe more if we're able to tighten up some of our efficiency things. But if someone comes to us and we want to move forward, they aren't just getting like, here's cash, go spend it. Hope it works. They're also getting somebody who's saying, this is going to work. I will, I'm betting so hard on it because I'm in this with you. You have skin in the game too. Correct. So I'm not going to be like, cool, let's go. Like we got, you know, revenue for the, for our marketing agency. No, that's not the ploy. The move is, will this deliver? And we know how to deliver results. It's about what we want to do first, second, third based on the goals of the business?

13:34Ashli Pollard:Do you want this instead of this? Do you want press? Do you want market share? Do you want to be in stores? Do you want to grow your email list? And all of these are different initiatives and some can happen at the same time. But what's nice is that in working with a company like Cocky Ventures where you're getting services, we personally, and some venture studios won't do this, but we personally won't put the dollar amount that we would charge into a safe agreement. So if someone said, which is a safe agreement is like an investment agreement, right? But we, so if someone comes to us and says, I want branding and website and email flows and social media for six months or whatever it is, we could say, and the hundred thousand is kind of a made up number for easy math, but like, let's say it's a hundred thousand that that's what you would have to pay us cash.

14:22Ashli Pollard:We won't do that. We will trim it down to like genuinely how much are we going to have to pay to get these things done? Because I do end up still paying all these people. You know what I mean? Right. Because you have a team to also operate. Right. So, you know, it's interesting because you can get that$100 ,000 cash check from an investor and then go spend it at$100 ,000 at dial zero. Or you can come to Cocky Ventures and get that$100 ,000, but only lose 30 % or 30%. $30 ,000,$40 ,000 in that way, in what you're giving up. That makes sense. So for these types of opportunities, you said you usually take on one to two a year.

15:08I know you work with pre-seed brands. Can you also break that down from your side of the street? What is those brands or opportunities or founders or ideas that you're like, wait, hold on? I could definitely do something with this.

15:26Ashli Pollard:Yes. So there's a few things. And a lot of this we've heard a lot before. A lot of it is the founder. A lot of it is the founder. You get it. You're willing to run. You're willing to have the conversation. If, you know, for instance, I may poke holes just to see how the founder reacts. Maybe even I don't see that as a whole. I just want to see how they take it. And there's times when I'll have interviews with people and I'll say, you know, tell me about the business. And maybe I'll say, you know, this doesn't really look like it's filling a gap in the market. There's a lot of people already operating this way.

15:57Ashli Pollard:And they'll say, yeah, I guess you're right. Hmm. Versus, correct, I could understand where you're coming from, but this, but this, but this. Prepared, right? And so I want someone who's really trying to fix a problem. Not somebody who just wants a product to have a product. Not somebody who just wants an app to have an app. I want someone who says, there's a gap here, and I know that I can uniquely fill that gap. So that's one. The other thing is that I have to believe in the product. So I've said no to a lot of incredible founders, incredible products, if I won't be a consumer of it. Across all of my, I have multiple businesses, multiple social media accounts.

16:34Ashli Pollard:Across all of them, you know, I have a combined 100 ,000 person reach. So for me, I want to be able to say, like, I tried this, I use it. I use it every day, or I use it often. And so there are some things that don't fit into my lifestyle that I've passed on. And that may change in the future. But for now, as we are, you know, rather in our infancy with Cocky Ventures, I need to make sure that it's something I can really get into personally. So that's another thing that we look for. On top of the fact that is the product doing something different? And does the founder have enough of a vision to contribute and collaborate with us on marketing and branding?

17:10Ashli Pollard:because sometimes people will come to us and say, I just want branding that's cool. And for us, we want to hear, I'm interested at being a mix of sporty and rich and, you know, ALD and, you know, Erewhon or something like that. We're like, we got it. We get exactly what you're trying to do here. Let's go, right? We need somebody who can come in and kind of say like, I don't think that's what our brand would be or that's not the direction I'm trying to go in. Because then we know you aren't giving us full reign to say, we're just going to do willy nilly because can you maintain it past a certain point if we were to opt out or whenever our time is up, I mean.

17:53Yes. I was just having this conversation with another colleague working on building a brand strategy for a founder really early stage. and I was really wanting to see, okay, what is her vision and what can she, what do I feel like she could really sustain and also run with? Because there's one thing to build a brand that's cool, but if it has no connection with the founder and she's probably going to be doing this as a solo founder for the beginning, at least, I don't think there's much of a runway personally. So I always love to connect those dots. So I'm really glad that you just said that because I'm sure you get this all the time too of I want to be the next poppy of fill in the blank.

18:40Ashli Pollard:That's the hottest one right now, right? I want to be the Uber of X right a while ago. So I love hearing people like you just said of have a unique perspective, want to have their own take, their own point of view, because you could do so much more with that. And I think that's what consumers still really crave. They want that unique, more nuanced perspective. Well, and the other thing is that I think it is bad for business to aim for the money because to me, I'm like, we all are. That should be implied, right? So let's be honest. So if someone came to me and said, I want to be the next Poppy, I always push back and I say, what does that mean to you?

19:23Ashli Pollard:And if they say, I want to exit for a billion, why? Because you want the wealth? In my opinion, you will burn out so fast. That is the quickest way to never hear from me again. What I want to hear is I want to, you know, carve out a new niche in an existing market. I want to be something that builds enough of a community that it is so strong you can't look away. and whether or not it's a unicorn is another thing. A lot of that is luck. A lot of that is team members outside of you. There's a lot of things that come into play to make something like that happen. So when I do ask someone like why, and they say, I want to be a unicorn, I want to hit a billion, I'm done.

20:06You have no, you did not the number one most important thing,

20:11Ashli Pollard:which is I want to fix a problem. I want to be in service of something or there's a very big miss and I know I can uniquely fill that space. I'm going to forward this to people. You're like, listen to Ashley. I totally a thousand percent agree. And I just love how you broke that down. So for you, what, aside from that next stage of finding that right fit and finding the founder that has the vision, that has differentiation, that has that grit as well, what does it look like so far in cocky ventures to work with you and your team in the more next steps phase? Is it a year commitment? Is it a forever thing?

21:03Like just breaking down again, having people understand what is possible when building a business.

21:11Ashli Pollard:Yeah. And just to talk in like really like basic terms, what we have to understand is that if you do like services or time for equity, you have to have an end point. Because if I say we're going to do branding and website and set up all your email automations, that's a project that's in and out. We have a close date, right? Right. But what we also say, what we also tend to say is we'll also do the first six months of social or the first six months of social and email. We cannot go past a certain point because it's time for equity. So if we say we'll do it forever, we'll have 100 % at some point.

21:53Ashli Pollard:Do you know what I'm saying? Right. So we need to have a close. And that's where the advisory shares piece comes in. That's why I require to have an advisory stake as Ashley Pollard, the person. Because when my team exits our container, right, I want to be there with you to help sustain it. I will help you hire someone. I will say that person cannot keep this up. I can say I know someone who's great at this. There are members of my team that work freelance. I could say keep her on freelance, but only pay her 10 hours a week, right? So the reason that this has to happen is because if what we basically will say is like genuinely or generally, this is the amount that we're putting in, let's say it's$30 ,000, they get their valuation, we now get a percent of that company.

22:45Ashli Pollard:And so if we do another six months, we get more. And if we do another six months, we get more. That is, in my opinion, not even unethical. It's far past unethical. It's stupid. I'm not going to keep taking from the business that I want to be growing and growing and growing and supporting the founder. I don't want her to be giving away so much of her equity to our company when at that point, at that six-month mark, you should be rolling in the money in order to hire out a team of your own. And I'm here to help you make that smart decision. Again, thank you for breaking that down because I know that that was a light bulb moment of just helping founders understand, again, choice, opportunity.

23:28And I really love how you work with female founders. As someone, as a female founder myself, I primarily work with female founders. And there's such an education gap, especially when we get into this side of the business. And so I really appreciate your transparency because I know that this is going to be super helpful for someone to just have that confidence also when they overhear a conversation or get asked a question. They're like, oh, wait, I heard Ashley talk about this. Now I know what they're talking about, right? Like that for me is a big part of why I have this podcast so that we can share this information.

24:10Is there any other piece of advice you would share with a female founder who's maybe in the really, really early stages of building their brand. Maybe they're finalizing their first product. They have a really good idea of their concept, the problem, the solution, their point of view. But that next stage of, okay, maybe it's time to raise or not, or different options. Any piece of advice of just helping someone best understand what's the right move for them? Yeah.

24:41Ashli Pollard:You know, I think that I'm biased in the sense that I run a marketing agency and a social media and email space, right? And I think that social media is unavoidable. I think that we are past the time where you can say, I don't want to be a content creator. You do. Like someone has to, right? The way that we are shifting is not a trend of the next year that founders are involved, it is an evolution into they are. So what I would recommend is find a social media that you're naturally scrolling. I don't want you to learn TikTok because someone told you the algorithm is good. It's the best algorithm.

25:16Ashli Pollard:But if you are not naturally there, you will not do well. There's like secret languages on each platform that you kind of have to like understand what's kosher and what's not, right? So where are you naturally scrolling? Is it Pinterest? Is it Instagram? Is it TikTok? Is it Facebook? Right? And pick one of those platforms to give a shit about and post every day. What I tell people is like two posts before 9am. Before 9am, get two posts up, you're done, right? I don't care if it's LinkedIn and Instagram. I don't care if it's two posts on Instagram. I don't care if it's Instagram and TikTok. Two posts before 9am.