894 Milan Martin: Founder and CEO of Free Spirits

0:00Kara Goldin:I am unwilling to give up, but I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be. You just want to make sure you will get knocked down, but just make sure you don't get knocked out. So your only choice should be, go focus on what you can control. Hi everyone and welcome to the Kara Goldin Show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world's greatest leaders. We'll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can't wait to get started. Let's go. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by LinkedIn Hiring Pro.

0:46Kara Goldin:Hi, Kara here. For small businesses, every hire matters, but so does your time. I felt that pressure firsthand. You know, a bad hire isn't just frustrating, it's expensive in time, money, and team morale. And yet hiring the right person can feel like a full-time job on top of everything else you're already doing. Sifting through applications, trying to spot the real standouts, second-guessing decisions, it can get overwhelming fast. That's why having a way to save time without sacrificing quality isn't just nice to have, it's critical. Luckily, LinkedIn Hiring Pro is built for that reality. It's your hiring partner designed to help you hire with confidence by surfacing only the right candidates without turning hiring into another full-time job.

1:38Kara Goldin:Posting a job isn't always the hard part. It's finding, connecting with, and screening the right candidates. Hiring Pro streamlines the entire process from drafting your job to shortlisting candidates and conducting AI-powered interviews for initial screenings. Their updated conversational interface lets you describe what you need in plain language, no recruiter jargon needed. Nearly 60 % of hires find a candidate to interview within a week. With Hiring Pro, you spend less time searching and more time connecting with the right talent. Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire.

2:19Kara Goldin:Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash Kara Golden. Terms and conditions apply. Support for today's episode comes from Seed, the company taking a scientific approach to gut health. I'm selective about the supplements that earn a place in my daily routine. If I'm going to take something every day, I want to understand what's in it, how it works, and whether there is real evidence behind it. That's what stood out to me about SEEDS DSO-1. DSO-1 is a two-in-one probiotic and prebiotic formulated with 24 probiotic strains to support digestive and whole body health. It also uses SEEDS via CAP technology, a capsule-in-capsule delivery system engineered to protect the probiotics through digestion and deliver them where they need to go.

3:16Kara Goldin:And this isn't based on marketing promises. In a clinical trial, DS01 was shown to improve regularity, reduce bloating, and alleviate gas. Plus, it requires no refrigeration, making it easy to maintain your routine at home or while traveling. Make your daily probiotic one of the more informed decisions you make today. Go to seed.com forward slash Kara Golden and use code Kara to get 25 % off. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the Kara Golden Show. The non-alcoholic spirits business is booming, but making something cocktail lovers actually want to drink, that's a much harder problem to solve.

4:12Kara Goldin:Today's guest is Mylon Martin, the founder and CEO of an incredible company called Free Spirits. Like many entrepreneurs, Mylon didn't come from the spirits business. He started Free Spirits after asking a question that most people hadn't. What if alcohol wasn't actually the most important part of a great cocktail. So in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, he self-funded Free Spirits and built a company around that idea. And instead of simply taking the alcohol out, Free Spirits developed proprietary distillate reconstruction technology to recreate the aroma and voila, Free Spirits was born. So I'm so excited to get the background on this incredible company that is just killing it.

5:01Kara Goldin:Very, very excited to have Mylon Martin, founder and CEO of Free Spirits with us here today. So welcome, Mylon. Nice to see you and have you here. Yeah, thanks for that. Thanks for the intro. You're hired. We need a marketing. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by LinkedIn Hiring Pro. Hi, Kara here. For small businesses, every hire matters, but so does your time. I felt that pressure firsthand. You know, a bad hire isn't just frustrating, it's expensive in time, money, and team morale. And yet hiring the right person can feel like a full-time job on top of everything else you're already doing.

5:43Kara Goldin:Sifting through applications, trying to spot the real standouts, second-guessing decisions, it can get overwhelming fast. That's why having a way to save time without sacrificing quality isn't just nice to have, it's critical. Luckily, LinkedIn Hiring Pro is built for that reality. It's your hiring partner designed to help you hire with confidence by surfacing only the right candidates without turning hiring into another full-time job. Posting a job isn't always the hard part. It's finding, connecting with, and screening the right candidates. Hiring Pro streamlines the entire process from drafting your job to shortlisting candidates and conducting AI-powered interviews for initial screenings.

6:29Kara Goldin:Their updated conversational interface lets you describe what you need in plain language, no recruiter jargon needed. Nearly 60 % of hires find a candidate to interview within a week. With Hiring Pro, you spend less time searching and more time connecting with the right talent. Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash Kara Golden. Terms and conditions apply. This message is a paid partnership with AT &T Business. Hey everyone, Kara here. Let's get real about those early days of building a business, Not the highlight reel, the actual day-to-day, the friction, trying to manage everything across time zones, across teams, across locations, and realizing how much depends on staying connected.

7:24Kara Goldin:I remember those days at Hint, a retailer call, an order, a decision, all of it. And you realize quickly, connection isn't a nice-to-have, it's the lifeblood of your business. As a founder, you don't want to think about your connectivity. You just need it to work every time. That's why AT &T Business matters. AT &T Business is the reliable provider for small business owners. And when you have that kind of reliability behind you, you can focus on what actually moves your business forward. Powered by AT &T Business, built to work. Get AT &T Business at business.att.com. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by Chime.

8:13Kara Goldin:Some of the best companies are built by challenging things everyone else has simply learned to live with. Banking has had plenty of those things, fees, complicated rules, and a lot of friction. Chime approached it differently. They created a simpler, more modern banking experience designed to help people keep more of their money and make everyday banking feel a whole lot easier. Chime offers the most rewarding, fee-free banking with no overdraft fees, no monthly fees, and no minimum balance fees. What I really like is that you get 5 % cash back on your Chime card in a category of your choice, like gas or groceries, while building credit through regular everyday spending with no credit check.

8:57Kara Goldin:You can also grow your money faster with a savings rate that's nine times the national average. And if you're ever in a pinch, SpotMe lets you overdraft up to$200, fee-free. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to chime.com slash Kara Golden. That is chime.com slash Kara Golden. Sign up now. It only takes a few minutes. Chime is a fintech, not a bank. banking services and Chime card provided by Chime's bank partners. Qualifying direct deposits required. Terms and limits apply. Go to Chime.com slash disclosures for details. I love it.

9:41Kara Goldin:So, okay. So for listeners who are just discovering your incredible brand, Free Spirits, how do you describe the company? So, you know, we are the non-alcoholic spirits company for people that love to drink, you know full stop right and i think a lot of people assume that you know i'm sober or the team is sober or that the brand is for sober people and it just you know it's not wrong but it actually it's it's just a small part of the story right i think that my story started you know you know in the advertising business and the advertising business is one of those work hard, drink harder businesses.

10:23And alcohol and cocktails and drinking was the answer to every question, whether it was, you know, the clients are pissed off. Great. We got to take them out and, you know, get them boozed up or the, we couldn't crack the big idea. It was a boozy lunch or, you know, the employees are kind of feeling burnt out. We got to throw a boozy party. And I think when the aha for me with the business was, gosh, you know, I, I look back on all the times that I was over-served, maybe to put it politely. And I realized one day that it was never because I wanted to get drunk. It was just that phenomenon of, you know, Kara, if you and I are sitting in a great cocktail bar in New York or Tokyo or London or San Francisco, and you're having great conversation and you're drinking amazing cocktails and your glass is empty.

11:10and I say, Cara, you know, I'm gonna go get some more cocktails. Would you like one? The answer nine times out of 10 is, well, of course I do. Why would I not want another cocktail? Because an empty glass says more than you might think. It says, okay, well, I'm not participating anymore. I don't have something to look forward to. I'm not in it. And the idea of kind of downshifting to a water or a cranberry juice, which was historically kind of the only option, that sucked. It was boring. because there's something intrinsic to a cocktail that we all go, ooh, wow, what's in it, right? Where did that bourbon come from?

11:46You know, what distilleries that come from? Like, what's the ingredients? Who mixed it up? What's the garnish look like? It's this celebratory occasion that ultimately we're after. And so that's why we keep drinking them. Most people, not all, but most people keep drinking for that reason. and it sometimes gets us into trouble when all the while it wasn't the intention to get drunk. It was just the intention to stay in the moment and keep doing something wonderful with people you're enjoying, right? And that's really, you know, our tagline is drink like you mean it, which is really about this idea of intentionality of like, you know, all those times you went out and maybe had too many, woke up the next day feeling like hell, that wasn't your intention.

12:33You're like, I don't know, man, I just meant to go out and have a great time with some friends and drink some great cocktails. So it's really about this intentional living kind of ethos.

13:07Kara Goldin:job on top of everything else you're already doing. Sifting through applications, trying to spot the real standouts, second-guessing decisions, it can get overwhelming fast. That's why having a way to save time without sacrificing quality isn't just nice to have, it's critical. Luckily, LinkedIn Hiring Pro is built for that reality. It's your hiring partner designed to help you hire with confidence by surfacing only the right candidates without turning hiring into another full-time job. Posting a job isn't always the hard part. It's finding, connecting with, and screening the right candidates.

13:46Kara Goldin:Hiring Pro streamlines the entire process from drafting your job to shortlisting candidates and conducting AI-powered interviews for initial screenings. Their updated conversational interface lets you describe what you need in plain language, no recruiter jargon needed. Nearly 60 % of hires find a candidate to interview within a week. With Hiring Pro, you spend less time searching and more time connecting with the right talent. Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash Kara Golden. Terms and conditions apply. This This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by Chime.

14:30Kara Goldin:Some of the best companies are built by challenging things everyone else has simply learned to live with. Banking has had plenty of those things, fees, complicated rules, and a lot of friction. Chime approached it differently. They created a simpler, more modern banking experience designed to help people keep more of their money and make everyday banking feel a whole lot easier. Chime offers the most rewarding fee-free banking with no overdraft fees, no monthly fees, and no minimum balance fees. What I really like is that you get 5 % cash back on your Chime card in a category of your choice, like gas or groceries, while building credit through regular everyday spending with no credit check.

15:15Kara Goldin:You can also grow your money faster with a savings rate. That's nine times the national average. And if you're ever in a pinch, SpotMe lets you overdraft up to$200 fee-free. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to chime.com slash Kara Golden. That is chime.com slash Kara Golden. Sign up now. It only takes a few minutes. Chime is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services and Chime card provided by Chime's bank partners. Qualifying direct deposits required. Terms and limits apply. Go to chime.com slash disclosures for details. This message is a paid partnership with AT &T Business.

16:01Kara Goldin:Hey everyone, Kara here. Let's get real about those early days of building a business. Not the highlight reel, the actual day-to-day, the friction, trying to manage everything across time zones, across teams, across locations, and realizing how much depends on staying connected. I remember those days at Hint, a retailer call, an order, a decision, all of it. And you realize quickly, connection isn't a nice to have, it's the lifeblood of your business. As a founder, you don't want to think about your connectivity, you just need it to work. Every time. That's why AT &T business matters. AT &T Business is the reliable provider for small business owners.

16:48Kara Goldin:And when you have that kind of reliability behind you, you can focus on what actually moves your business forward. Powered by AT &T Business. Built to work. Get AT &T Business at business.att.com. I love it. Well, I can speak from experience that if I'm going to go and have a drink, I'm always like wanting to know what the mix is, right? What else is kind of surrounding that drink if I am going to have some sort of cocktail? Otherwise, for me, it's just not even worth it. So that is where your company comes in, too, that I just think you guys have just done such a nice job with the actual product.

17:35Kara Goldin:But then the story makes you really think. And obviously, you had spent two decades in advertising prior to founding the company. So what made you decide, like, now's the time for me to go and do this? I think it was the realization that the advertising world teaches you how to use this thing that is just kind of glibly called creativity. that in the advertising world, you know, we take that and we apply that to advertising. But intentionally or not, that business kind of opens your eyes to the, you know, the opportunity of way of seeing the world differently and applying this crazy idea of, you know, creativity to, you know, solving problems.

18:25And I did 20 some odd years in that business. I got to, I wouldn't say the top of the mountain, but you know I was running a you know an agency on the west coast and traveling globally and doing all the things and big you know huge budgets for you know global campaigns all the things like I got close enough to the top of the mountain where I said all right I feel like it's halftime in my career I was probably you know 45 at the time and um like you know do I want to do this for the next for the second half or do I want to do something that is less cyclical and more vertical, right? And it's like use marketing and creativity as a way of building value in the world versus just campaign, campaign, campaign.

19:09And, uh, you know, I, I left gray where I was, I was running their, their West coast, uh, uh, agencies. And, um, you know, I just kind of asked the question of, you know, what in my own life, what are some of the biggest challenges? And I think, Like, you know, like so many of us, I had my own personal struggles with alcohol, you know, never to the point where I was worried about, you know, clinically being dependent on it. But it was just more, it negatively impacted relationships and, you know, all those things. And I said, well, you know, gosh, what if, you know, what if you could drink all those amazing cocktails without the ill effects?

19:47Or, you know, what if the alcohol was controllable? and, you know, and then of course came the stigma that we had to overcome of like when I was a kid, you know, in my 20s in New York, if you weren't drinking, if you went to the bar and you're like, yeah, guys, I'm not drinking tonight. The response was the very bro culture of like, oh, come on, man, come on, just, you know, have a couple, have a couple. And of course, nine times out of 10, you would. And so, you know, I think that it was kind of solving the product piece of it, but then solving the stigma piece of it of, you know, olden, you know, olden days when somebody was drinking an O'Doul's, the immediate thought was, oh my gosh, they must be an alcoholic.

20:24Versus, you know, these days, the stigma of if, Cara, if you're drinking a non-alc margarita, it's a bucket of positive associations of good for her. She's, you know, she's on a health kick. Maybe she's, you know, wants to wake up early and work out. Whatever the reasons are, it's her prerogative versus it used to be such a judgmental thing to not be a drinker, whether it be in the moment or more broadly.

20:47Kara Goldin:This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by LinkedIn Hiring Pro. Hi, Kara here. For small businesses, every hire matters, but so does your time. I felt that pressure firsthand. You know, a bad hire isn't just frustrating, it's expensive in time, money, and team morale. And yet hiring the right person can feel like a full-time job on top of everything else you're already doing. Sifting through applications, trying to spot the real standouts, second-guessing decisions, it can get overwhelming fast. That's why having a way to save time without sacrificing quality isn't just nice to have, it's critical.

21:32Kara Goldin:Luckily, LinkedIn Hiring Pro is built for that reality. It's your hiring partner designed to help you hire with confidence by surfacing only the right candidates without turning hiring into another full-time job. Posting a job isn't always the hard part. It's finding, connecting with, and screening the right candidates. Hiring Pro streamlines the entire process from drafting your job to shortlisting candidates and conducting AI-powered interviews for initial screenings. Their updated conversational interface lets you describe what you need in plain language, no recruiter jargon needed. Nearly 60 % of hires find a candidate to interview within a week.

22:14Kara Goldin:With Hiring Pro, you spend less time searching and more time connecting with the right talent. Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash Kara Golden. Terms and conditions apply. This message is a paid partnership with AT &T Business. Hey everyone, Kara here. Let's get real about those early days of building a business. Not the highlight reel, the actual day-to-day, the friction, trying to manage everything across time zones, across teams, across locations, and realizing how much depends on staying connected. I remember those days at Hint, a retailer call, an order, a decision, all of it.

23:03Kara Goldin:And you realize quickly, connection isn't a nice-to-have, it's the lifeblood of your business. As a founder, you don't want to think about your connectivity. You just need it to work every time. That's why AT &T Business matters. AT &T Business is the reliable provider for small business owners. And when you have that kind of reliability behind you, you can focus on what actually moves your business forward. Powered by AT &T Business, built to work. Get AT &T Business at business.att.com. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by Chime. Some of the best companies are built by challenging things everyone else has simply learned to live with.

23:51Kara Goldin:Banking has had plenty of those things, fees, complicated rules, and a lot of friction. Chime approached it differently. They created a simpler, more modern banking experience designed to help people keep more of their money and make everyday banking feel a whole lot easier. Chime offers the most rewarding, fee-free banking with no overdraft fees, no monthly fees, and no minimum balance fees. What I really like is that you get 5 % cash back on your Chime card in a category of your choice, like gas or groceries, while building credit through regular everyday spending with no credit check. You can also grow your money faster with a savings rate that's nine times the national average.

24:36Kara Goldin:And if you're ever in a pinch, SpotMe lets you overdraft up to$200, fee-free. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to chime.com slash Kara Golden. That is chime.com slash Kara Golden. Sign up now. It only takes a few minutes. Chime is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services and ChimeCard provided by Chime's bank partners. Qualifying direct deposits required. Terms and limits apply. Go to Chime.com slash disclosures for details. Support for today's episode comes from Kalshi. We make predictions every single day about pop culture, entertainment, the economy, and the biggest stories making headlines.

25:24Kara Goldin:Kalshi, America's number one prediction market platform, lets you trade those predictions in a live market. And what I find interesting is that these aren't just opinions. You can actually see what people think is likely to happen based on a live market. Here's a fun one. Will Zendaya win Best Actress at the next Academy Awards? Right now, that's trading at about 28%, meaning$100 trade at 28 cents would pay out about$357 if it happens. The award season predictions may be almost as entertaining as the movies themselves. On CalShea, you're trading against peers in a live market, meaning there's no house.

26:08Kara Goldin:And as the probability changes, you can buy in and out of your position. Download the CalShea app and use code CARAGOLDEN to get$20 off when you trade$20. K-A-L-S-H-I. CalShea. Trade on anything. 18 plus only restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors. CalShe products are not available in all jurisdictions. Prices, values, and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, see calshe.com slash regulatory. Who do you think outside of their consumption of drinks and whether or not they drink alcohol or not drink alcohol?

27:02Kara Goldin:I guess, first of all, what percent do you think still drinks alcohol but still enjoys your drink? I mean, that's one of the most fascinating things about this journey so far is that 90, the numbers somewhere between 92 and 95 % of people that drink non-alcoholic spirits, cocktails, beer, wine are still drinkers. So our whole approach is it's a moderation play. This is not an absence play. And of course, we love and respect and honor those in our, you know, community that are in fact sober. And there's, you know, there's a lot of them. But the great majority of our customers, at least, are people who still drink and kind of have that same experience that I've had, which is, no, man, I still drink.

27:51And I want to go out and drink exciting, complex cocktails and have all of the great experiences. I just want to reduce the ill effects of too much alcohol that I've experienced way too many times.

28:03Kara Goldin:This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by LinkedIn Hiring Pro. Hi, Kara here. For small businesses, every hire matters, but so does your time. I felt that pressure firsthand. You know, a bad hire isn't just frustrating. It's expensive in time, money, and team morale. And yet hiring the right person can feel like a full-time job on top of everything else you're already doing. Sifting through applications, trying to spot the real standouts, second-guessing decisions, it can get overwhelming fast. That's why having a way to save time without sacrificing quality isn't just nice to have, it's critical.

28:47Kara Goldin:Luckily, LinkedIn Hiring Pro is built for that reality. It's your hiring partner designed to help you hire with confidence by surfacing only the right candidates without turning hiring into another full-time job. Posting a job isn't always the hard part. It's finding, connecting with, and screening the right candidates. Hiring Pro streamlines the entire process from drafting your job to shortlisting candidates and conducting AI-powered interviews for initial screenings. Their updated conversational interface lets you describe what you need in plain language, no recruiter jargon needed. Nearly 60 % of hires find a candidate to interview within a week.