Episode #55
Mark Cuban Rated Us 10/10 & We Set Out To Build A $100M Brand | Hannah Perez, SEEQ
Hannah Perez is the co-founder of SEEQ, the protein brand that defined clear protein and went from her business partner's parents' living room to national shelves at Target, Walmart, Sam's Club, and The Vitamin Shoppe. In today's episode, we sit down with Hannah Perez for a wide-ranging conversation about the "why not me" mindset, the messy middle of figuring out your calling, and how SEEQ went from a viral TikTok experiment to a category-defining brand. Along the way, she walks us through her story: growing up in South Dakota watching Shark Tank and deciding ordinary people could build extraordinary things, a string of scrappy side hustles in high school and college that taught her how to sell before she ever had a "real" business, and the moment she met her now co-founder Ben and finally found her long-term lane. She talks about the wild early days of SEEQ selling out of a family's living room, the surreal moment Mark Cuban's son ordered a bottle and Mark Cuban posted about it, and how a three-year goal she and Ben wrote down years earlier predicted their Target launch down to the month. She also opens up about the harder, quieter chapter more recently: learning to let go of the parts of the business that used to be entirely hers, and figuring out who she is beyond the brand. Key Moments and Highlights: Where Hannah's "why not me" mindset started Why changing your mind is a skill worth practicing The scrappy side hustles that taught her how to sell Meeting Ben and finding the idea that finally stuck Selling out of a living room and going viral on TikTok The day Mark Cuban's son ordered SEEQ Mark Cuban's SEEQ shoutout and 10/10 rating video The three-year goal that predicted their Target launch Learning to let go as the business grows Putting yourself at the center of your own life This is one of the most inspiring conversations I've had on the show, and I hope you find some valuable takeaways from Hannah's story as a person, a business owner, and somebody who full-sends it in life. Thanks for listening. Be Where Your Feet Are. From the Episode: Mark Cuban's SEEQ Review: Mark & His Son Rate Seeq Forbes 30 Under 30 Article: SEEQ Forbes Profile Our Journey: seeqsupply.com/pages/copy-of-our-story Find Hannah & SEEQ: Hannah on Instagram: @hanxperez SEEQ on Instagram: @seeqsupply SEEQ: seeqsupply.com Follow The Garden: Instagram: @thegarden.podcast TikTok: @thegarden.podcast Follow Drew Korf: Instagram: @drewkorf TikTok: @drew.korf Episode Chapters: 00:00 – Intro & the "why not me" mindset 04:27 – From an elementary ed degree to chasing business 07:54 – Why changing your mind is a skill worth practicing 10:53 – The "Ferrari engine with nowhere to go" feeling 14:49 – Scrappy side hustles: sneakers, socks, and a DIY chemistry experiment 19:26 – Meeting Ben and finding the idea that finally stuck 24:56 – What makes their co-founder partnership actually work 28:27 – The early days: 4,000 units and a family's living room 33:58 – The Cuban's and selling out of the first product order 41:16 – The moment they decided to build a $100M brand 45:00 – Forbes 30 Under 30 and learning to actually feel the wins 51:11 – The three-year goal that predicted their Target launch to the month 59:31 – Feeling like the underdog again against legacy brands 1:03:27 – Imposter syndrome and the moving goalpost 1:06:02 – Letting go: hiring leadership and redefining her role 1:12:00 – Building a personal brand after years behind the scenes 1:15:20 – Putting yourself at the center of your own world 1:18:09 – The Feel Good Award & closing thoughts
