Scaling for Good with Mike Beckham

Simple Beginnings: Mike and Heather's Entrepreneurial Journey

In this season finale, Mike and Heather Beckham discuss their journey of starting Simple Modern and the challenges and joys of being married to an entrepreneur. They share how faith has played a role in building the company and striving for excellence in all areas of life. They also discuss the importance of work-life balance and how they prioritize their marriage and family. Heather provides additional key insight and advice on supporting and challenging an entrepreneurial spouse. Lastly, they ...

The Story Behind Simple Modern's Licensing Triumphs

Corbin Wallace, Chief Growth Officer, played a key role in navigating the complex licensing landscape. Together with Mike, they explore the intricacies of building partnerships with iconic brands like Disney and the NFL, emphasizing the art and science of licensing. The episode covers challenges faced in securing licenses, the creative processes involved in designing unique patterns, and the importance of understanding partners' needs with a long-term mindset. Beyond Disney, the conversation tou...

Goals Beyond Profit: Simple Modern's Commitment to Giving Back

Jeff Hannam, the Chief Financial Officer and Mike discuss the challenges of recruiting Hannam, who had no prior experience in the consumer packaged goods industry but eventually joined as CFO. The conversation delves into the strategic decisions made early in Simple Modern's growth, emphasizing the importance of building a strong financial organization and making the business bankable. Hannam explains how they managed inventory, the nuances of the consumer product business, and the role of forec...

Building Trust Through Tech

Caleb Phillips, the Vice President of Technology at Simple Modern and Mike discuss the challenges and opportunities that arise when integrating technology into a non-tech company, the importance of understanding the business side of technical tools, and how building relationships plays a significant role in successful technology implementations. Discover how effective communication and building pathways for collaboration can bridge the understanding gap and lead to successful project outcomes. T...

How Simple Modern Forged Customer Bonds

Chris Hoyle, CMO at Simple Modern, explores the challenges and growth of the brand. Mike and Chris discuss the importance of aligning the organization with a shared purpose and reminisce about the company's early days. They highlight the role of style in connecting with customers, emphasizing the magic of double vacuum insulation. The narrative unfolds the company's journey on Amazon, positioning Simple Modern as a value brand. The conversation touches on managing a creative team, qualitative an...

The Fingerprint of Successful Culture: LIVE from the Main Street Summit

Embark on a 13-year entrepreneurial journey with Mike Beckham where he shares the highs and lows of building businesses. Beckham unveils the key to business success—cultivating a winning culture. Live from his keynote at the Main Street Summit, Mike explores the intricacies of culture and introduces three underestimated pillars: trust, purpose, and ownership. Trust, the linchpin, is dissected through the Trust Equation, emphasizing the balance of interpersonal and performance dimensions. Purpose...

Mike's Story: From Finance to Simple Modern

Bryan Porter, co-founder of Simple Modern, takes over the host chair to interview Mike Beckham, the CEO of Simple Modern. As Mike navigates the unfamiliar territory of being a guest on his own podcast, Bryan jumps into Mike's background prior to Simple Modern, exploring his atypical journey from a finance undergraduate to the world of entrepreneurship and e-commerce. Mike reflects on the pivotal moments that led him to transition from the nonprofit world to the business world, emphasizing the im...

The Role of Customer-Centricity in E-Commerce

Bryan Porter, the Chief e-Commerce Officer of Simple Modern discusses the company strategy for achieving initial traction on Amazon, emphasizing a channel strategy over a product strategy. Mike and Bryan describe the intricacies of succeeding on Amazon, emphasizing the importance of understanding the platform's algorithm and customer behavior. The speakers share insights into building effective product listings, including the significance of customer clicks, conversions, and providing a unique v...

How Relational Equity Built Strong Partnerships

Lee Graves has played a pivotal role in scaling the company. He discusses the challenges and strategic decisions made during the process. Mike and Lee touch upon the critical aspect of finding the right partners for scaling operations, focusing on manufacturing, shipping, and fulfillment warehousing. They navigate through the importance of humility, the willingness to learn, and the value of a partner's track record in building a successful and scalable operation. Mike and Lee note the cultural ...

Scaling Up: The Simple Modern and Target Partnership Journey

In 2017, the company had one of its biggest days. In this episode, you'll hear the remarkable story of how Simple Modern, a company known for its stylish water bottles and lifestyle products, forged a multi-year partnership with Target, resulting in millions of dollars in product sales on Target shelves. Mike Beckham, CEO and co-founder of Simple Modern, sits down with Kelley, one of the architects of the Target partnership, to discuss the intricacies of mass retail, salesmanship, and the import...

Hiring for Values Builds Thriving Culture

In a world where resumes don't tell the whole story, this episode gets to the heart of building a thriving workplace culture. Jon Kuhlman, Chief Culture Officer, explains the importance of culture and how it can shape an organization. They discuss the role of culture in their organization, what it means to them, and how they have worked to build and maintain a healthy culture. They touch on various topics, including: * The definition of culture and how it's like the air we breathe within an orga...

How We Started Making Products In The USA

In 2020 and 2021, the world experienced a massive supply chain disruption, impacting industries across the board. Simple Modern's Production Manager, Wes Zimmermann, and Engineering Manager, Jenny Scott, share their insights into the company's journey from zero to one in domestic manufacturing. This conversation focuses on how Wes and Jenny tackled the challenges of setting up domestic manufacturing, emphasizing the importance of learning, asking the right questions, and building relationships w...

How We Design Exceptional Products

Ever wondered how businesses decide which products to pursue? Curious about the role customer feedback plays in shaping decisions? In this episode, Alex Benton, Simple Modern's VP of International Manufacturing, and Nathaniel Haskins, Simple Modern's General Counsel, share their experiences, challenges, and triumphs as they navigate the complex landscape of product development. Discover how every product and design decision can profoundly impact people's lives, making this conversation a true ex...

Starting and Scaling a Sales Organization

In the first episode of season two of Scaling for Good, Mike and Simple Modern's Chief Sales Officer Carson Rock cover the essence of entrepreneurship at any scale and how Simple Modern has grown into a winning sales organization. They emphasize the pivotal roles of agility, adaptability, and a perpetual "day one" mindset as key factors in driving success, irrespective of a company's size. Carson also sheds light on Simple Modern's distinctive approach to fostering partnerships with some of the ...

Season 2 Trailer: Scaling For Good

You're invited into the secrets behind Simple Modern, the drinkware company that defied conventions. Join us as we explore the journey from a passionate startup to a global sensation, all while focusing on generosity and community impact. Learn exclusive strategies, insider insights, and the transformative lessons that helped us scale from zero to nine figures in annual revenue. This podcast is your backstage pass to the world of purpose-driven entrepreneurship. Get ready to be inspired and empo...

Becoming a Leader Worth Following

The long-term sustainability of an organization largely depends on the quality of the organization's team, which ultimately ties back to the company's leadership. Mike discusses the characteristics of a leader worth following and then shares practical advice for how to become that type of leader. Learn: Who/How/Why to become a leader worth following Riding the highs & lows of entrepreneurship Creating balance between work & family CONNECT WITH MIKE LinkedIn / Twitter CONNECT WITH SIMPLE ...

Scaling, Empowerment + Development

Mike shares his wisdom around when to scale, how to scale, and how to empower and develop the team around you. We believe this has been the secret sauce behind Simple Modern’s success. Learn: How to scale well: develop yourself and develop others Stages of CEO/leader Attracting A players Funding’s role in scaling Keeping vision in front of your people CONNECT WITH MIKE LinkedIn / Twitter CONNECT WITH SIMPLE MODERN Website / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / YouTube...

Persisting vs. Quitting: "Should I stay, or should I go?"

"Should I stay, or should I go?" When faced with the question, "What do we do now?," you have three options. Mike breaks those down and shares a personal story of when it was time to quit, and what led to what is now Simple Modern. Learn: 3 options when facing, “what do we do now?”: Persist, Quit, Pivot Why it’s hard for entrepreneurs to quit Sunk cost fallacy Changing the narrative on quitting CONNECT WITH MIKE LinkedIn / Twitter CONNECT WITH SIMPLE MODERN Website / Twitter / Facebook / Instagr...

Generosity to the Core

Radical Giving: The Secret To Life. When you inject generosity into a company it will flourish as well as the people, and Mike has witnessed that in action at Simple Modern. Tune in to hear how they have fostered holistic generosity within the culture at Simple Modern - from the very beginning. Episode Highlights Tone setting + why Simple Modern leaned further into generosity during the pandemic (0:45) Foundational story that shaped how Mike thinks about generosity (3:45) Generosity as a corners...

Innovation + Differentiation: Do what’s already working…. Just do it better.

We’re diving into innovation and differentiation. The secret to success is finding the white space. Do what’s already working . . . Just do it differently and better. Hear how Mike and his co-founders landed on drinkware as their product to sell. Learn: The trap many entrepreneurs get stuck Step-by-step instructions to differentiate from competitors Finding the white space Experimentation & iteration Episode Highlights Tone setting + creating something that has value (1:00) How Simple Modern...

Start with Culture: What is the day-to-day environment?

Start with Culture What is the day-to-day environment? Discussion on the dream culture that the founders wanted, what culture is, and how do you create the vision. Learn: Key aspects to culture Defining generous culture Why good culture matters 4 ways to build exceptional culture Retaining culture during periods of growth CONNECT WITH MIKE LinkedIn / Twitter CONNECT WITH SIMPLE MODERN Website / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / YouTube...

Trailer: Scaling for Good with Mike Beckham