Mark Lester and David Lester are brothers who have turned a shared history of high-level brand strategy into a family legacy of innovation. David is the co-founder of OLIPOP, the prebiotic soda that has fundamentally changed the beverage landscape by blending gut-health science with the nostalgia of a classic cola. Mark, co-founder of the consultancy Squint, has spent his career at R/GA and We Are Pi shaping the strategic direction of global icons like Nike and Samsung. Together, they represent a unique bridge between the rigor of global brand building and the intuition required to launch a category-defining startup.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- The hidden strategy of finding category value in plain sight
- How to break only one rule really hard to drive innovation
- Lessons from building a billion-dollar brand using global marketing rigor
- Why the discovery channel of the retail store still beats direct-to-consumer
- The unique dynamic of using brotherly advice to jump into the entrepreneurial unknown
Episode Chapters
- (00:00) Intro
- (01:24) Growing up in Northern England with entrepreneurial roots
- (04:28) The Nashville hike that launched a business partnership
- (06:59) Concepts for innovation and the “break one rule” mantra
- (12:29) The philosophy of Squint and finding hidden value
- (15:15) Managing the shift from family connection to business collaboration
- (18:02) Navigating the pivot from D2C back to retail discovery
- (24:48) Lessons in building brands for scale from the very beginning
- (28:11) Brands that make the Lester brothers smile
About David Lester and Mark Lester
David Lester is the co-founder of OLIPOP, the prebiotic soda brand that has achieved over half a billion dollars in sales by blending gut-health benefits with classic nostalgia. Before turning his focus to functional beverages, David spent a decade in global innovation and marketing at Diageo, working across three continents to master the discipline of consumer goods. Mark Lester is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Squint, a strategic brand consultancy that helps global icons like Nike and Netflix unlock hidden value. With a background at R/GA and We Are Pi, Mark brings twenty years of big-brand experience to the challenge of category disruption.
What Brands Have Made David and Mark Smile Recently?
The brothers recently shared a smile over the enduring power of brand nostalgia and personality. Mark is energized by the intelligent copywriting of David protein bars and the experience-led branding of Duolingo, while David finds joy in the community-built legacy of Atlanta’s Octane Coffee and the timeless playfulness of Nintendo.
Resources & Links
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