INTERVIEW | Make Money by Building Billion-Dollar Brands from Scratch

Building an iconic brand takes more than a great idea—it takes vision, resilience, and years of relentless execution. In this compilation episode, Travis highlights three unforgettable conversations with entrepreneurs who built category-defining businesses from the ground up. Former Starbucks executive Mesh Gelman shares the lessons he learned from Howard Schultz before creating Cumulus, an innovative at-home nitro cold brew system. Shawn Nelson, founder of LoveSac, reflects on transforming a college side hustle into a billion-dollar furniture brand. And David Royce, founder of Aptive Environmental, explains how mastering systems, sales, and culture allowed him to build and repeatedly scale pest control companies worth hundreds of millions. On this episode we talk about: The leadership lessons Howard Schultz taught about earning customers every day How Cumulus spent more than four years in research and development before launching Shawn Nelson's journey from sewing bean bags in his college dorm to building LoveSac into a billion-dollar brand Why long-term commitment is one of the greatest competitive advantages in entrepreneurship How David Royce repeatedly built, sold, and rebuilt pest control companies by keeping the growth engine intact Top 3 Takeaways Great brands are built by obsessing over customers, staying humble, and earning trust every single day. Long-term success requires patience—whether it's years of product development, surviving bankruptcy, or navigating changing markets. Systems, culture, and repeatable processes often create more enterprise value than the product itself. Notable Quotes "The world will be fine tomorrow without Starbucks. We have to earn our business every single day." "I don't know, but I feel like I should keep going." "Learn or die. Evolve or die. Adapt or die." Connect with the Guests: Mesh Gelman LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meshgelman Website: https://cumuluscoffee.com  Shawn Nelson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawndnelson/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawnoflovesac LoveSac: https://www.lovesac.com David Royce LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-royce Website: https://aptivepestcontrol.com A Word from Our Sponsors: - Visit DrinkAG1.com/TMM to get a free AG1 Travel Case with 7 free AG1Travel Packs in your Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order while supplieslast.  - Go to Leesa.com for 30% OFF select mattresses (through July 12, 2026) PLUS get an extra $50 off with promo code TMM, exclusive for my listeners  - To learn more about Mode Mobile and its investor community, go to https://invest.modemobile.com/travismakesmoney -Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency.Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform.Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices