Jason Karp and Rohan Oza – The Power of Brand

**Patrick O'Shaughnessy** (0:00)
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Hello and welcome everyone. I'm Patrick O'Shaughnessy and this is Invest Like the Best. This show is an open-ended exploration of markets, ideas, methods, stories and of strategies that will help you better invest both your time and your money. You can learn more and stay up to date at investorfieldguide.com.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:33)
Patrick O'Shaughnessy is the CEO of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management. All opinions expressed by Patrick and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
Clients of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management may maintain positions in the securities discussed in this podcast.

**Patrick O'Shaughnessy** (1:59)
My guests today are Jason Karp and Rohan Oza. Jason is the founder and CEO of HumanCo, a holding company focused on building businesses that help people live healthier lives. Jason formerly ran the hedge fund Tourbillon Capital and was a popular guest on the podcast several years ago. After watching Jason lay out the vision for HumanCo, my family and I became investors in Jason and his team. Rohan is the co-founder of CAVU Venture Partners, one of the fastest growing venture funds in the CPG space, which has helped grow brands like Beyond Meat, Hims, Vital Proteins, and Bi.
You may also recognize him as one of the recurring sharks on ABC's Shark Tank. Our conversation covers how to think about investing in brands, what makes for a great brand, how partnerships with influencers and celebrities can turbocharge a brand, how brand ultimately gives you pricing power, and how Rohan and Jason try to, in their words, add sizzle to the brands that they work with. I really enjoyed this conversation with two of the smartest people I know on this topic and hope you will too.
So Rohan, since it's our first time chatting, I think the best place to begin this conversation between the three of us is with a bit of your background. I'm gonna go all the way back to your time at Mars working on M&Ms. Can you talk about your very first experience working in this industry and this vertical and kind of what lessons you still think about looking back on the early parts of your career?

**Rohan Oza** (3:20)
Like describe to Drake song, cause I definitely started at the bottom.
I was working the morning, the afternoon and the night shift nine days straight. And then you get four days off, but your body clock was completely whacked. But I was 20 years old. So I rebounded pretty quickly. And I was working in the factory floor, putting Snickers in boxes, because the Snickers nine had not been fully automated. So I was still manual packing.
And then I would have to go clean the actual machines, which obviously was a amazing job in some respect, but also didn't help with my waistline, because you ate what you cleaned, frankly. Cleaning chocolate was fantastic. But yes, I definitely learned the business from the bottom up, and I learned the importance of manufacturing and inspiring operations. And then I moved into sales and marketing.
And I suppose the first thing I learned at Mars is the power of brand, especially with chocolate. I mean, there's not much of a difference when you want to put chocolate, nougat, and nuts together with a little bit of caramel. It's not that difficult to do, but creating a billion dollar powerhouse brand like Snickers is tough to do. And I think the power of branding and customer loyalty, retail presence and retail impact is something I really learned at Mars. And that has kind of stayed with me throughout. And especially in the UK, because in the UK Mars actually dominated the retail shelf with their candy lineup even more than they do in America.