Startups and Sparkling Drinks with Scout Brisson, CEO of De Soi

Description:

Scout Brisson, the CEO of De Soi, sits down with Lee today to talk about her current leadership role and the unique journey she has had up to this point in her career. With some impactful lessons learned in corporate America, and a desire to head up something important, Scout made the leap into the world of startups, and soon after found herself working with De Soi's amazing co-founders, none other than Morgan McLachlan and Katy Perry! De Soi is now poised to become a market leader in non-alcoholic and sparkling drinks, and after hearing from Scout about their philosophy and brand identity, it's not hard to see why.

In This Episode You’ll Hear About:

[02:58] Scout's current home in LA and her early years on the East Coast.

[08:08] Taking to leadership from a young age and Scout's path to discovering her entrepreneurial spirit.

[15:37] Unpacking the pressure that Scout felt during her college years and the decision that she made to stop pursuing medicine.

[20:34] Scout's excitement about working at M13 after McKinsey.

[23:17] Advice from Scout about building a founding team at a startup!

[25:55] Her biggest strengths and weaknesses; problem-solving, organization, and more.

[29:05] Scout's next career steps after M13.

[31:58] Tracing the birth of De Soi and how Scout connected with the founders.

[35:17] Stepping into the role of CEO at De Soi and the conversations around this time.

[41:10] Working with Katy Perry; Scout talks about the star's amazing energy and the values she brings to the table.

[43:17] The future of De Soi and plans for the next year.

[45:05] Scout explains exactly what apéritif means, and talks about some of their flavors and ingredients.

[49:02] Fundraising and investor conversations; Scout's experiences recently.

[51:58] Scout's final advice for aspiring CEOs about self-belief.

Quotes:

“I wanted to be a dog breeder; that should be my fun fact.” — Scout Brisson [0:11:58]

“I really liked science, I loved my classes that I took in high school; biology, and chemistry. I wasn't exactly sure how that would come together for me.” — Scout Brisson [0:12:26]

“You've got to drop the perfectionism, and the over-precision.” — Scout Brisson [0:18:15]

“I am an extroverted problem-solver.” — Scout Brisson [0:26:00]

“It was all just a whirlwind of learning something new for the first time, every day.” — Scout Brisson [0:30:59]

“We were able to get scrappy solutions in place and launch the business, and we were off to the races after that.” — Scout Brisson [0:34:30]

“That's the beauty and challenge of startups, you look back two weeks and you think how much has changed in that period of time.” — Scout Brisson [0:35:35]

“It's me and the board, and we are figuring out the strategy alongside the management team, and working with the team every day to execute on that.” — Scout Brisson [0:38:39]

“We are all working really hard, so how do we make sure people aren't getting burnt out?” — Scout Brisson [0:39:14]

“I had managed people before, but not a team at this size.” — Scout Brisson [0:39:35]