The Branding Laboratory

Drink Like You Mean It: Building a Category-Defining Brand with Milan Martin

What does it take to build a brand in a category that barely exists yet? Milan Martin walked away from 20 years in advertising, including work on some of the world's most recognized campaigns, to found Free Spirits, a company making non-alcoholic spirits for people who love cocktails, not people trying to quit drinking. That distinction matters. Free Spirits isn't a sobriety brand, but a choice brand, built for drinkers who want to stay in the room, enjoy the ritual, and skip the regret later on. In this episode, Deevo and Milan dig into what it really takes to introduce something new to a market that doesn't know it wants it yet. Milan shares the brand strategy behind 'Drink Like You Mean It,' how Free Spirits is disrupting a trillion-dollar alcohol industry without wagging a finger at it, and the near-death shipping disaster that almost killed the company in year one. What You'll Learn: * Why the biggest misconception about non-alcoholic spirits is who they're actually for * How Milan positions a challenger brand against a deeply entrenched cultural narrative around alcohol * The 'and not or' philosophy that shapes everything from product strategy to marketing * What actually drives brand loyalty (hint: it's not product, it's community and identity) * How baby steps and compounding progress can take you further than a dramatic leap ever could Connect with Milan: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milanmartin/ Website: https://drinkfreespirits.com/ Instagram: @drinkfreespirits TikTok: @drinkfreespirits

The Modern Dating Code: Values, Attachment, and the Art of Choosing Right | Chelsko Thompson

What actually makes someone worth choosing in the modern dating landscape? In this episode of The Brand Laboratory, host Deevo sits down with Chelsko Thompson — known to her community as Chelsko — a relationship coach who helps men understand women, attraction, and themselves.Chelsko pulls zero punches. From unpacking attachment theory to explaining why leading with desperation repels the very people you want to attract, she lays out a clear-eyed framework for what it takes to show up grounded, clear on your values, and genuinely ready for a healthy partnership. Topics covered in this episode: 1: How Chelsko built her coaching practice from personal heartbreak and abuse recovery 2: The difference between anxious and avoidant attachment — and how to stop the cycle 3: Why asking the hard questions early isn't scary; it's efficient 4: The five values Chelsko looks for before she'll go on a first date 5: What men and women each need to do before they're actually ready to date 6: How social media is conditioning both sexes to chase the wrong signals 7: The masculine-feminine dynamic — what it looks like when it works. Whether you're re-entering the dating world or trying to figure out why the same patterns keep showing up, this conversation will give you language for things you've been feeling but couldn't name. Guest Bio: Chelsko Thompson, known online as Chelsko, is a relationship coach, musician, and actor who built her practice the hard way: through two abusive relationships, years of self-work, and the realization that the best thing she could do with what she'd learned was stop giving it away for free. She specializes in helping men understand attraction, dating, and healthy relationship dynamics, and has built a community known for honest, direct conversation about modern dating. Her upcoming course, Unshakeable, guides men through the inner work of becoming the kind of person a high-quality partner is drawn to. LISTEN / WATCH YouTube + all major podcast platforms. Instagram: @chelskocoaching Website: https://chirp.me/chelskonellie Host: thebrandstoryteller.com If this episode hit you, like it, subscribe, and leave a review. It helps the right people find this show.

How Emotional Intelligence Unlocks the Power Corporate Women Already Have

Camilla Calberg flew in from Copenhagen to join Deevo on The Brand Lab — and she did not come to play small. A former BP and IBM executive turned emotional intelligence coach, Camilla helps high-performing women in the C-suite break through the internal glass ceiling that no amount of talent or grinding can dismantle on its own. In this episode, they unpack her origin story (a four-year divorce battle and courtroom nervous breakdown that changed everything), her 3-step Identity-Inspire-Influence framework, and the commercial challenge of packaging personal healing as a measurable business advantage. If you've ever felt like you were doing everything right but still not getting the seat at the table you deserve, this one is for you. Episode Summary Deevo sits down with Camilla Calberg, a Copenhagen-based emotional intelligence and leadership coach, to explore why so many high-achieving women in the corporate world still feel invisible, overlooked, and stuck — and what to do about it. What You'll Learn * How childhood wounds quietly shape adult behavior in the boardroom * Why playing small is a learned behavior — and how to unlearn it * The real difference between surviving and thriving after trauma * How to position emotional intelligence as a strategic business tool * Camilla's Identity → Inspire → Influence framework in action Key Takeaways 1. The glass ceiling is both external (systemic) and internal (self-limiting belief). You have to address both. 2. Most high-performing women Camilla works with are in their mid-50s, have been headhunted, and still wonder why the CEO calls the EA instead of them. 3. The source code of playing small often traces back to childhood — specifically, not receiving enough unconditional love from a parent. 4. Camilla's 3-step program: Identity (limiting beliefs), Inspire (bold leadership behaviors), and Influence/Innovate (leading others from authenticity). 5. Lived experience is a legitimate credential — but it must be translated into client language, not just personal narrative. Guest Bio Camilla Calberg is a Copenhagen-based emotional intelligence and leadership development coach who helps high-performing women in the C-suite break through the internal glass ceiling holding them back. Drawing on 20 years in top-tier corporations including BP and IBM, and a deeply personal journey through a high-conflict divorce and court proceedings, Camilla developed a body-based, identity-first coaching approach that helps women leaders stop playing small and start claiming the influence they have already earned. Her clients are typically senior executives in their mid-50s who have achieved everything on paper — but know there's another level waiting. Connect with Camilla * Website: camillacalberg.com

He's 3 Years Sober, 21 Years in Alcohol — And He Helps Founders Face What They've Been Avoiding

This conversation between host and Nate Fochtman cuts straight to the intersection of personal transformation and professional leadership. Nate — a 17-year solopreneur in the adult beverage space, 3 years sober, and the founder of Free Mind Group — shares how his lived experience (rock bottom, sobriety, two divorces) became the operating system for how he coaches founders today. The episode explores why culture problems almost always start at the top, how to actually diagnose them through a qualitative culture audit, and why the era of leadership masks is over. It's raw, honest, and practically useful for anyone leading a team or scaling a business. Key Topics Covered * The 'onion model' of founder coaching — how deep Nate goes based on client need * Why Nate's 17-year business is still intentionally one-on-one, with no buffers between him and the client * The culture audit process: 10–15 spontaneous probing questions, employees first, founder last * The C-suite client who discovered mid-sessions he was only there for the paycheck * Nate's personal journey: 21 years in alcohol, addictive personality, three years of sobriety * Why recovery taught him more about leadership than any academic program * The 'founders assume everyone is as passionate as them' problem — and how it dehumanizes teams * The death of the corporate mask: same person at work, at home, everywhere * How Nate's unfiltered LinkedIn newsletters went from dormant to 40K+ monthly organic views * The masculine/feminine energy balance conversation — and why men are confused about how to show up Guest Bio: Nate Fochtman is the founder of Free Mind Group, a one-on-one founder coaching and brand strategy consultancy serving the adult beverage space and beyond. With 17 years as a solopreneur — and a personal journey through addiction, sobriety, and rebuilding — Nate helps founders, operators, and executives face what they've been avoiding: culture gaps, identity drift, and the human cost of growth. No textbooks. No checklists. Just real, situational leadership coaching rooted in lived experience. Find Nate at fmgstrategy.com and @FreeMinNate on social media.

Stop Living Against Your Design: Stefanie Carlstedt on Human Design, Burnout, and Building a Business That Feels Like You | EP 87

What if your burnout isn't a productivity problem — it's a design problem? In Episode 87 of The Branding Laboratory, we sit down with Stefanie Carlstedt, a human design business coach and manifesting generator who spent years following every marketing tip, guru strategy, and morning routine she could find — only to lose herself completely in the process. She built a big business. Then she burned it down. Not because of failure, but because it was profoundly misaligned with who she is. Now Stefanie helps entrepreneurs infuse their unique Human Design into their business strategy — their marketing, their messaging, their offers, and how they lead. The results? Clients who walk away with a completely different business model than the one they came in with — and one that actually works for them. In this episode, we explore: * What Human Design actually is — and how it differs from Enneagram, Myers-Briggs, or strengths finders * The five energy types (generator, manifesting generator, projector, manifester, reflector) and what each means for how you work * Authority: how you're designed to make decisions — and why leading with your mind is costing you clarity * How Human Design acts as a GPS to your highest potential — not a box that limits you * Why the burnout epidemic among entrepreneurs is a sign of design misalignment, not time management failure * How to use your design to shape your marketing voice, business model, and team leadership * The Chiron return, energy centers, and what makes two people born in the same place at the same time different Whether you're a skeptic or already obsessed with Human Design, this episode will make you rethink how you're showing up — and why the most productive thing you can do might be to stop working the way everyone else does. About The Guest Stefanie Carlstedt is a human design business coach who helps entrepreneurs align their business strategy with their unique energetic design — so they can stop copying someone else's success and start building one that actually feels like them. Free Report: stefcarlstedt.com/hdreport Get your free Human Design report + 10-part audio: stefcarlstedt.com/hdreport 🔗 Connect with Stefanie Carlstedt: Website: stefcarlstedt.com Free Report: stefcarlstedt.com/hdreport